Some of the support options will cost you money, but some are free, especially those concerning Windows 10. Microsoft is offering Windows 10 as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users. Oct 11, 2012  How long will Microsoft support Windows 7? Today's Best Tech Deals. There will be no free support, Microsoft won't honor warranty claims, and the company will not add new features. MICROSOFT HAS ANNOUNCED that it will offer an extension to Windows 7 support. Because of course. Windows 7 is due to reach end of life (EOL) in less than 500 days on 14 January 2020. Microsoft is offering six versions of Windows 7: Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, OEM, and Enterprise. The three versions that Redmond will be promoting most heavily are Home Premium.

In a new blog post entitled “Helping customers shift to a modern desktop”, Microsoft has announced that it will indeed start charging Windows 7 customers a monthly fee from January 14th 2020, if they want to keep their computers safe.

Users running Windows 7 (pictured) now have little choice but to upgrade to Windows 10

Microsoft Support Windows 7 Download

If this date rings a bell, that’s because it is the day Microsoft will end ‘Extended Support’ for Windows 7 according to the company’s Lifecycle page. This means no more patches or security updates unless, as we now learn, you pay. Furthermore, Microsoft says it will increase the cost of this every year.

“[T]oday we are announcing that we will offer paid Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) through January 2023. The Windows 7 ESU will be sold on a per-device basis and the price will increase each year,” explained Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Office and Windows Marketing, and author of the company’s blog post.

Pricing was not revealed by Spataro, but for some the announcement will be seen as a good thing. Microsoft could have just cut off all Windows 7 users on January 14th 2020, leaving them stranded and their data vulnerable, so the introduction a monthly charge gives users an alternative if they remain dead set against upgrading to Windows 10.

On the flipside, given Windows 7 is still used by almost 40% of computers globally (source), I suspect many users would have expected Microsoft to recognise the platform’s ongoing importance and extend support voluntarily without charge.

Free updates to Windows 10 have now ended

Worse still, as it stands, Microsoft is currently only making this offer to Windows 7 Professional customers in Volume Licensing. Some small businesses may qualify, but the vast majority of everyday consumers (most of whom are running Windows 7 Home) will not.

Obviously, Microsoft’s stance may change but, until it does, Windows 7 consumers will have to upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 8 (support lasts until January 10th, 2023). Staying put will be unthinkable as every new vulnerability will be unpatched, leaving security holes big enough for hackers to drive a bus through.

Free Download Microsoft Visual Foxpro Support Library For Windows 7

If you do now want to upgrade, you’ll run into two pain points: Windows 8 is no longer officially for sale and Windows 10 is no longer a free upgrade, with prices for the latter starting at $139 for an online download.

Consequently, while Windows 7 users have long been able to laugh at the ongoing problems of Windows 10 users, it now appears it will be those users who upgraded for free who will get the last laugh…

Edit: several readers mentioned to me free upgrades to Windows 10 are still available with a Windows 7 key. I tried this on two older machines still running Windows 7 and their keys did not work. Microsoft's official Windows 10 upgrade page also confirms free upgrades ended 29th July 2016. If you somehow managed to get a free Windows 10 upgrade after this date, I can't explain it other than to say: Congratulations!

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