Microsoft Is Giving Free Windows 10 Security Updates to Anyone Who Enrolls in Its Insider Program

Microsoft’s end-of-support deadline for Windows 10 is October 14, 2025. After that date, the company will stop issuing free security patches for the operating system that still runs on hundreds of millions of PCs worldwide. But there’s a surprisingly simple workaround — and it doesn’t cost a dime.

As CNET recently reported, anyone who enrolls their Windows 10 machine in the Windows Insider Program will continue receiving Extended Security Updates (ESUs) at no charge. No subscription fee. No hardware upgrade. Just a settings toggle.

How It Works — And Why Microsoft Is Doing This

The Windows Insider Program has traditionally been Microsoft’s channel for distributing pre-release builds of Windows to testers willing to tolerate bugs in exchange for early access. But a lesser-known tier within the program — the Release Preview Channel — delivers near-final builds that are essentially identical to the stable release most people already run. Enrolling in this channel keeps your PC on production-quality software while also qualifying it for ESUs beyond the October cutoff.

Here’s the process: Open Settings, go to Update & Security, then Windows Insider Program, and sign up with a Microsoft account. Select the Release Preview Channel. That’s it.

Microsoft hasn’t loudly advertised this path. The company would obviously prefer that users upgrade to Windows 11, which requires TPM 2.0 and other hardware specifications that many older machines can’t meet. But with an estimated 400 million PCs still running Windows 10 according to StatCounter data, Microsoft faces a real security problem if a massive chunk of the install base goes unpatched overnight.

So this Insider Program loophole serves a dual purpose. It keeps those machines patched. And it feeds Microsoft’s telemetry pipeline with data from real-world users testing release-candidate builds.

For businesses and individual users who were staring down a $30 annual ESU fee — or $61 for the second year, with prices doubling each subsequent year — this is a meaningful alternative. Microsoft announced its paid ESU program pricing in late 2024, and the escalating cost structure made it clear the company views extended Windows 10 support as a transitional measure, not a long-term solution.

What’s the Catch?

There are trade-offs. The Release Preview Channel occasionally delivers updates slightly ahead of the general public, which means you could encounter minor issues before they’re caught and fixed in the final public release. In practice, this channel is the most stable of all Insider tiers — far less risky than the Dev or Beta channels — but it’s not identical to simply running the standard Windows 10 release.

Telemetry is another consideration. Insider builds send more diagnostic data to Microsoft than standard installations. If privacy is a priority, that’s a factor worth weighing.

And there’s no guarantee this approach will last forever. Microsoft could change Insider Program terms, restrict ESU access, or sunset Windows 10 Insider builds entirely. The company hasn’t made any long-term commitments here. You’re essentially relying on a policy that exists today but could shift tomorrow.

Still — free versus $30 per year (minimum) is a compelling proposition for the hundreds of millions of users who can’t or won’t move to Windows 11.

The broader context matters too. Microsoft has been tightening hardware requirements with each Windows generation, and the TPM 2.0 mandate for Windows 11 locked out a significant number of perfectly functional machines manufactured before 2018. Environmental groups and right-to-repair advocates have criticized the resulting e-waste implications. U.S. PIRG estimated that the end of Windows 10 support could send hundreds of millions of computers to landfills prematurely.

This free ESU workaround doesn’t solve that problem permanently. But it buys time.

What Industry Professionals Should Do Now

For IT administrators managing fleets of Windows 10 machines, the calculus depends on scale and risk tolerance. Enrolling devices in the Insider Program’s Release Preview Channel is straightforward for individual PCs, but managing Insider builds across an enterprise environment introduces complexity that most IT teams would rather avoid. Microsoft’s paid ESU program, despite its cost, offers more predictable support terms and is designed for organizational deployment through existing management tools like WSUS and Intune.

For individual users and small businesses? The Insider route is a no-brainer, at least in the short term.

The real takeaway: Microsoft has quietly left a door open. Whether by design or by oversight, the Windows Insider Program provides a legitimate, free path to continued Windows 10 security updates after October 2025. Smart users will walk through it while it’s still available.

But don’t mistake this for a permanent fix. Start planning your Windows 11 migration — or your move to Linux — regardless. The clock is still ticking. Microsoft just gave you a little more time on it.