- Microsoft is sending emails to press people to update from Windows 10 to Windows 11
- While at first glance, that looks like a useful movement to help some users, Microsoft email fishing is far from ideal
- It also runs the risk of making Windows 10 users feel spam, particularly because they are still pushing in numerous times within the operating system.
Microsoft is trying once again to persuade Windows 10 users that they need to update Windows 11, before the imminent support cessation for the previous operating system at the end of this year.
This time, however, the thrust to update is not being delivered within Windows 10, but by email, although it is not the first time that Microsoft has tried this approach.
I received an email from Microsoft (sent to the email address linked to my Microsoft account) with respect to my PC with Windows 10 that needs an update at the end of November 2024, a few months ago, but now the software giant is sending new messages to update this month.
I did not get this last mail (not yet, anyway), but Windows Latest did, and although it has the same title, a warning that “the end of the support for Windows 10” is approaching, the email itself is something different.
However, the general impulse of the content is similar. There is an outstanding reminder of the exact date that Microsoft stops for Windows 10, which occurs on October 14, 2025, and some suggestions on what to do with its old PC (circle or recycle the machine). You can also click on a link to verify your eligibility of update for Windows 11.
Microsoft also clarifies that its PC will continue to work, it is just that there will be no more support, as in software updates, which are made. There is also a link to a propaganda on how Windows 11 is safer (which is certainly true), and a push to use OneDrive to make a backup copy of its files if you plan to use Windows 10 after the deadline has passed, addressing 2026.
Analysis: exceeding the limits and taking some odd angles
There are a couple of things that seem strange here. First, the Plug for OneDrive feels very free, and just a solution to counteract the possibility that its PC compromises executing a outdated operating system. Where the hell is the severe warning that it is not really a good idea to execute Windows 10 on its PC when the support for the operating system expires?
As you can know, without safety updates, your computer will be left vulnerable to exploits, since when holes appear in Windows 10, they will no longer repair, a recipe for disaster, potentially.
Of course, if you really want to stay with Windows 10, then, for the first time, consumers can pay to extend the support, and recommend that you do it (for other options, explore my article on how to prepare for the end of Windows 10’s life). Finally, Microsoft does not mention this support extension in your email.
I say it is strange, but then, Microsoft would really prefer that you update Windows 11 anyway, either on its current PC, if it is eligible, or buying a new Windows 11 computer. And for that purpose, there is a link in the email to ‘explore new computers’, which is something that Microsoft has been urging us to do for a while. As I have argued before, it could be said that there is a merit to the suggestion in some way, but many other concerns exceed that around the environmental cost that a lot of Windows 10 PC ends in the Scrapheap could intervene.
These are serious concerns, and probably why Microsoft is sending the other message in this email advising on the recycling (or the exchange) of its old PC with Windows 10 if it is updated.
The other point here is, do you want to receive emails directly from Microsoft about Windows 10 updates? Well, somehow, I suppose it is better (or at least a little less annoying) than to be pressed to update within the operating system itself, but the problem is that Microsoft is also doing it, so Windows 10 users are obtaining both barrels, so to speak. Sigh…
It is likely that we can expect several additional bombings of this type of emails as 2025 progresses, and the October support deadline is approaching: the messages that people may be wanting their spam lidie filter, frankly.
Do not be misunderstood here: I do not say that it is not important to warn consumers about the dangers of a outdated operating system, it is definitely, but Microsoft is quite surviving with its wide approach here, and what is worse, this particular email actually underlines those dangers (while protruding other Microsoft products).
