Windows 10 termination of service: will cause 240 million computers to be reduced to e-waste!

Leading analyst firm Canalys believes that 240 million non-Windows 11-compliant PCs will be obsolete and relegated to e-waste from October 2025 onwards as Windows 10 services are terminated.

"If non-Windows 11-compliant PCs were folded into laptops and stacked on top of each other, they would reach a height of 4,080 kilometers, which is 600 kilometers higher than the diameter of the moon," Canalys says in a graphic analogy.

Most of these 240 million PCs could at least be recycled if they were in good condition, but their refurbishment and resale value would be greatly reduced by their incompatibility with the latest supported versions of Windows.

Many of those 240 million PCs will still be usable for years to come, but the demand for devices that are no longer supported by Microsoft will be minimal.

Even companies with the tightest budgets will be deterred by the lack of free and ongoing security updates for their devices.

Microsoft will reportedly offer non-required cybersecurity updates for Windows 10 for a fee.

In early December, Microsoft released a statement announcing that it would be extending the provision of Windows 10 security updates until October 2028, although no annual rates have been announced yet.

Plans for extended support for Windows 7 start at $25 per PC in the first year and increase to $100 per PC per year in the third and final year.

If Microsoft adopts a similar pricing structure for charging for extended support for Windows 10, it's clearly not cost-effective for businesses.

A better approach would be to switch to new computers that support Windows 11, with these older computers being phased out.