Download these free Windows themes before Microsoft closes the download page forever
It can hardly have escaped the notice of anyone that Windows 10 is reaching the end of support later this year. By now, it is abundantly clear that there will be no more (official) security updates as of October, but there are other casualties that are starting to become apparent.
Fans of using themes as a way of customising the look of Windows will be sad to hear that the official Microsoft page that is used to host hundreds of themes is due to be closed down.
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As is becoming increasingly common with Microsoft, there has been no major announcement about the upcoming closure of the Windows Themes page, just a note added to the top of the page itself. The idea, presumably, is that those who are likely to be affected by the closure will visit the page and learn of its imminent retirement.
Microsoft starts things off by using the Windows Themes pages to remind people, once again, about the impending demise of Windows 10:
Support for Windows 10 will end in October 2025
After October 14, 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide free software updates from Windows Update, technical assistance, or security fixes for Windows 10. Your PC will still work, but we recommend moving to Windows 11.
This is immediately followed by a notice headed Important:
This page containing links to download Windows themes is now obsolete and will be retired soon. We recommend downloading the latest themes directly from the Microsoft Store for the best experience.
There is no date for the retirement at the moment, but for now there are still lots of themes available to download. As it is not clear whether these will all remain available in the Microsoft Store, you can download them all for posterity here.
When the Windows Themes page does vanish, here’s where you need to look instead to get your fix -- Windows themes in the Microsoft Store.
Image credit: Chernetskaya / Dreamstime.com