Windows 11 or Windows 10 in 2026? Microsoft is ending support for 10 in October. Should you upgrade or is there a reason to stay

[Mia86]

Q: Windows 10 end of support is October 14 2026. My machine runs 10 fine and I have been putting off the upgrade. Should I just do it now or is there a reason to wait or even stay on 10?

Machine is from 2020, Intel 10th gen, 16GB RAM, passes the Windows 11 compatibility check

[CobyOlaleye]

If it passes the compatibility check just upgrade now. The October deadline means security patches stop. Running an unpatched Windows on the internet is not a sensible position

[QubitZero]

Windows 11 is genuinely fine in 2026. The early complaints about the interface were valid and most of them have been addressed in updates over the past two years. It is not Windows 8

[Mia_59]

The main things that actually changed: Start menu is less customisable, Taskbar is more restricted, Settings is more complete but differently organised. None of these will significantly affect your daily use

[Holly]

If you have specific software that is Windows 10 only test it first. Most things work but some older applications have had issues with Windows 11. Run the upgrade on a cloned drive if you are worried

[Anvil33]

Extended Security Updates for Windows 10 will be available for consumers for a fee similar to what business customers pay. Not worth it for most people when upgrading is free and the machine is compatible

[Chris_50]

The Recall AI feature and some of the Copilot integrations in Windows 11 are the parts worth knowing about before you upgrade. You can disable them but they are on by default

[Marcus95]

Do a full backup before upgrading regardless of how confident you feel. Windows upgrades go wrong occasionally and having a backup costs you 30 minutes and saves you days

[Hollow Coder]

If your machine is from 2020 and passes the check the upgrade experience will be smooth. The horror stories are mostly from people trying to force upgrade incompatible machines

[Buffer]

One practical tip: upgrade sooner rather than later. The closer you get to October the more people are upgrading simultaneously and Microsoft's update servers slow down noticeably

[SwiftQuarry]

Rufus + winslopr + debloat