Home windows 10 reaches its Finish of Life in October 2025, and a California resident is especially disgruntled about this looming deadline.
He is not alone, in fact, however Lawrence Klein feels strongly sufficient that Microsoft is out of order in bringing the shutters down on Home windows 10 in simply a few months that he has fired up a lawsuit in opposition to the corporate.
As The Register studies, Klein has accused Microsoft of violating client authorized code and enterprise code (together with false promoting legislation) by winding up assist for Home windows 10 too early, in his opinion.
The crux of the argument is that too many individuals stay on Home windows 10 for the working system to have assist pulled (there are nuances right here, which I will come again to). And that some 240 million gadgets do not meet the {hardware} necessities to improve to Home windows 11 – resulting from Microsoft setting these PC specs at an unreasonable stage – and the potential e-waste nightmare that would immediate.
In brief, the upgrades required for Home windows 11 – together with TPM 2.0 safety, in addition to ruling out some surprisingly latest processors – aren’t justified.
Moreover, Klein argues that this improve timeline is all a part of Microsoft’s drive to push of us to make use of its Copilot AI with Home windows 11, in a broader push to get extra adoption for Copilot+ PCs – in different phrases, to purchase new machines and discard previous Home windows 10 {hardware} (and once more, we’re again to that e-waste concern).
You may learn the lawsuit in its entirety (it is a PDF) right here, however that is the gist, and Klein argues that Microsoft ought to postpone killing off Home windows 10 and wait till far fewer persons are utilizing the older working system.
Because the go well with states: “[The] Plaintiff seeks injunctive reduction requiring Microsoft to proceed offering assist for Home windows 10 with out extra charges or circumstances till the variety of gadgets operating the working system falls beneath an affordable threshold, thereby making certain that buyers and companies are usually not unfairly pressured into pointless expenditures and cybersecurity dangers [of running a Windows 10 PC without security updates].”
Is Klein justified on this lawsuit? In some respects, I feel so, and whereas I do not think about for a minute that this authorized motion will go wherever by way of the end result of the go well with itself, I’ve a sense it might come into play, and be vital, not directly.
What do I imply by that precisely? Nicely, let’s dive into the pondering behind Klein’s lawsuit, and the important thing explanation why it’d drive Microsoft to take a seat up and take discover.
1. Home windows 11’s {hardware} necessities actually are unreasonable
Do we actually want TPM 2.0 compelled upon us? Sure, it ushers in a greater stage of safety, I do not dispute that – however lots of of thousands and thousands of PCs doubtlessly heading to landfill appears too heavy a worth to pay. For me, as already talked about, the choice to rule out some comparatively new CPUs within the Home windows 11 specs is especially baffling.
The important thing level right here is that Microsoft has by no means pushed the PC {hardware} necessities as laborious because it has with Home windows 11, and that leaves it open to criticism, though this remark is nothing new. What is new, although, is that the shortage of equity in setting this increased {hardware} bar has change into crystal clear with the variety of people who find themselves nonetheless utilizing Home windows 10, which brings us onto my subsequent level.
2. This near Finish of Life, there are clearly too many individuals nonetheless utilizing Home windows 10
The lawsuit cites outdated figures as to what number of of us are nonetheless on Home windows 10 – an estimate drawn from April 2025 means that 53% stay on the older OS. Whereas that is now not the case, the extent stays excessive.
Based mostly on the newest report from StatCounter (for July 2025), Home windows 10 utilization is 43%, which may be very excessive with the Finish of Life deadline imminent. Usually, an outgoing Home windows model would have means fewer customers than this – Home windows 7 had a 25% market share when it ran out of assist (and it was a well-liked OS).
There are all the time holdouts when a brand new model of Home windows comes out, but it surely’s wanting like that is going to be actually dangerous with Home windows 10’s finish of assist. That is Klein’s central argument, and I feel it is a key issue that Microsoft would not look like taking into consideration – or maybe would not wish to withstand.
Possibly the software program big is pondering there will be a last-minute flood of Home windows 11 migration, however given the outlined {hardware} necessities downside, I doubt it.
3. Proving the cynics proper?
One other a part of Klein’s case in opposition to Microsoft is the assertion that the corporate is utilizing Home windows 10’s finish of assist and Home windows 11 upgrades to steer individuals to purchase new PCs that main in AI, particularly Copilot+ PCs. And certainly Microsoft hasn’t helped itself right here, overtly pushing these Home windows 11 gadgets because the lawsuit factors out – and that features intrusive full-screen ads piped to Home windows 10 machines.
That appears like a crass tactic, and makes it appear to be a part of that is certainly about pushing these Copilot+ laptops. Sure, by all means, promote Copilot+ PCs and their AI talents (that are restricted so far, I ought to word) – however do not do it on this means, straight at Home windows 10 customers, and count on that to be considered in something apart from a detrimental and cynical mild.
4. Microsoft has already made a concession, true – but it surely’s not sufficient
It is value noting that not every part Klein places ahead on this go well with appears cheap. I do not assume you possibly can argue that 10 years of assist is stingy, which is what Microsoft has given Home windows 10. Nevertheless, Klein picks out ‘transitional’ assist in his lawsuit, which means the size of assist after a succeeding OS has been launched – 4 years on this case – which is not fully honest and appears lean. The issue right here is just not the size of time for assist as such, however the totally different circumstances round {hardware} necessities.
Additionally, calling Home windows 11 ‘wildly unpopular’ as Klein does at one level is equally unfair – even when adoption of the working system has been very sluggish, admittedly. There is a particular bias in the direction of capturing the OS down throughout all fronts, and I feel that weakens Klein’s argument.
However my fundamental bone of competition right here is that Klein ignores the concession Microsoft has made by way of the prolonged 12 months of assist for shoppers who wish to keep on Home windows 10. Because the lawsuit states, this additional assist via to October 2026 might be had for the worth of $30, however just lately, Microsoft launched the flexibility to get this extension totally free, effectively, type of. (Financially, you will not pay a penny, however that you must sync some PC settings to OneDrive, and I do not assume that requirement is just too onerous myself.)
That was an vital transfer by Microsoft, which it is not given any credit score for right here, however that mentioned, I nonetheless do not assume the corporate goes far sufficient. As I’ve mentioned earlier than, an additional 12 months of assist is definitely welcome, however Microsoft wants to take a look at an extra prolonged program for shoppers.
So, whereas the lawsuit does go off the rails (a minimum of for me) round these points, it does successfully put a highlight on how we’re taking a look at measuring assist, and a special perspective apart from a tough timeframe. As an alternative of speaking about ‘x’ years of prolonged protection, it mentions a stage of Home windows 10 adoption that needs to be reached earlier than Microsoft pulls the plug on assist for the OS.
I feel that is a beneficial special approach on this entire affair, and whereas 10% of whole Home windows customers – which is the low bar Klein units for Home windows 10 – possibly feels too low, there’s an attention-grabbing dialog available right here. (The opposite route Klein’s go well with suggests, which others have raised, is Microsoft merely enjoyable the {hardware} necessities for Home windows 11 – however I feel at this stage of the sport, we will safely conclude that this may not be occurring.)
5. Beneath stress
My closing level by way of why this lawsuit might show a compelling kick within the seat of the pants for Microsoft is that whereas, as already noticed, I can not see Klein triumphing over the corporate, it is extra gasoline to the hearth within the marketing campaign to stave off a doubtlessly main e-waste disaster.
Merely put, the PR round this – and it has been spinning up headlines aplenty over the previous couple of days – is one more reason for Microsoft to take a seat up, take discover, and possibly do some rethinking over precisely how Home windows 10’s Finish of Life is being applied.
We have already seen one concession – the aforementioned free path to get prolonged assist for Home windows 10 – in latest occasions, which certainly will need to have been a response to the frustration that Klein and lots of others really feel. So, maybe this lawsuit may very well be the catalyst to prod Microsoft into going additional in its appeasement of the sad Home windows 10 customers on the market – fingers crossed, at any charge.
