Sticking with Windows 10? No more Microsoft 365 for you!

It has been hard to escape reminders that Windows 10 reaches end of support later this year; Microsoft has made much of the fact that there will be no more security updates after October 14. But there are further consequences awaiting anyone who decides to keep using Windows 10.

Microsoft has revealed that when Windows 10 support ends, Microsoft 365 apps (or Office to most people) will also stop working. Users are left with two options -- switch to an Office alternative, or upgrade to Windows 11.

See also:

• Microsoft increases its focus on artificial intelligence by creating a new CoreAI team
• Microsoft will forcibly install the new Outlook app on Windows 10 in February
• Apple defends Siri, saying the data it collects is never used for advertising, never sold, and never used for profiling

In a post about the end of support, Microsoft says: “Microsoft 365 Apps will no longer be supported after October 14, 2025, on Windows 10 devices. To use Microsoft 365 Applications on your device, you will need to upgrade to Windows 11”.

At least that is part of the story. Elsewhere online, Microsoft says something slightly different. In a support document, the company starts by saying:

Using Microsoft 365 on older, unsupported operating systems may cause performance and reliability issues over time. As a valuable Microsoft 365 subscriber, we want to continue to provide a stable productivity experience. Therefore, if you're using Microsoft 365 on a computer running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1, we strongly recommend you move to a supported Windows operating system. If you are using Microsoft 365 on a computer running Windows 10, we strongly recommend that you upgrade to Windows 11 before Windows 10 support ends on October 14, 2025.

Expanding on this, Microsoft continues to talk about the end of support for Windows 10 specifically:

Support for Windows 10 will end on October 14, 2025. After that date, if you're running Microsoft 365 on a Windows 10 device, the applications will continue to function as before. However, we strongly recommend upgrading to Windows 11 to avoid performance and reliability issues over time.

The advice from Microsoft is simple: “To maintain the reliability and stability of Microsoft 365, we strongly recommend you take advantage of the latest hardware capabilities by moving to a new PC with Windows 11”.

But the confused messaging makes it unclear what the user experience may be. Microsoft 365 may stop working under Windows 10, or it may not. Or it might be unreliable. Time will tell. Maybe.

Image credit: Waingro / Dreamstime.com