Microsoft recommends a drastic move for Windows 11 upgrade, report says

Windows 10 is coming to an end. Microsoft set the date of October 14, 2025, as the day when support for Windows 10 comes to an end. Still, a lot of Windows 10 users are sticking with it.

Windows 10 users represent 58.7% of all Windows desktop users, while Windows 11 is at 38.1% according to StatCounter. This is a slight improvement from last month when the gap between the two Windows versions was at its narrowest.

Microsoft wants its users to make the switch to Windows 11, and in a new message about the upgrade, the company suggested a radical idea: Just get a new computer.

Microsoft sent an email titled "End of support for Windows 10 is approaching" to Windows 10 users and along with giving info about the upgrade to Windows 11, there was also a link to buy a new computer, according to a report from Windows Latest.

Included with the link to get a new PC, the email has a FAQ explaining what it means when Microsoft ends support for Windows 10, what users can do with an old computer, and some of the benefits of Windows 11.

This email is part of Microsoft's approach to get Windows 10 users to make the jump before support ends on October 14.

Do I need a new computer for Windows 11?

It's very unlikely that Windows 10 users will need a new computer to run Windows 11.

The minimum specs required to run Windows 11, according to Microsoft, are a 1 GHz or faster processor with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor, 4GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0.

A thread on the Windows 11 subreddit from 2022 asked what the oldest computers were that users were able to install Windows 11 on. Multiple posters said they have computers from the mid-2000s running Windows 11.

Even though most Windows 10 computers should be able to upgrade without any issue, there are lesser-known hardware requirements that could cause an error requiring users to stay with Windows 10.

For those who insist on staying with Windows 10, Microsoft will offer Extended Security Updates (ESU) for a price. There is a one-time fee of $30 to get Windows 10 updates for another year. After that, anyone on Windows 10 will be completely on their own.

How to upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10

Fortunately, Microsoft is making it very easy to upgrade a PC from Windows 11.

If you're on the old operating system, you're likely already seeing messages about the upgrade. Microsoft is giving away the upgrade to Windows 11 for free, although a blog post from the company went up back in January claiming that this would be a "limited time deal." Microsoft has since deleted that post, confirming with Windows Latest that the upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10 will remain free.

Microsoft claims Windows 11 is safer, has better performance, more functionality and better features such as the controversial Microsoft Recall, which takes snapshots of the computer allowing users to do a search for actions they've done in the past.