‘It’s obvious that users are frustrated’: consumer rights group accuses Microsoft of not providing a ‘viable solution’ for Windows 10 users who can’t upgrade to Windows 11

2 3 minutes read

‘It’s obvious that users are frustrated’: consumer rights group accuses Microsoft of not providing a ‘viable solution’ for Windows 10 users who can’t upgrade to Windows 11

Microsoft recently threw a lifeline to consumers, offering alternatives to paying $30 for extended support for Windows 10
PIRG thinks this doesn’t go far enough in terms of avoiding an impending e-waste calamity
The organization suggests Microsoft considers providing longer-term support for Windows 10, or relaxes the spec requirements for Windows 11

Microsoft’s recent lifeline to help those stuck on Windows 10 – due to not meeting the stricter hardware requirements for a Windows 11 upgrade – simply isn’t enough, according to a consumer rights group.

The Register reports that it has spoken to Lucas Rockett Gutterman, who leads the Designed to Last campaign for the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) in the US.

As you may be aware, PIRG has a mission to combat obsolescence and e-waste. The organization has previously levelled accusations at Microsoft of its Windows 11 requirements effectively shoving hundreds of millions of otherwise perfectly serviceable PCs into landfill, come the end of Windows 10 in October 2025. (The organization isn’t alone in that, either.)

You may have seen that last week, Microsoft made a concession on this front. We’ve long known that one option for consumers will be to pay $30 for an additional year of security updates (something that’s never been offered before), but now Microsoft just introduced some other choices too.

Instead of forking out cash, you can elect to use the Windows Backup app to sync all your settings to the cloud (OneDrive). Alternatively, you can redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.

However, Gutterman remains distinctly unimpressed with the new choices, telling The Register that: “Microsoft’s new options don’t go far enough and likely won’t make a dent in the up to 400 million Windows 10 PCs that can’t upgrade to Windows 11.”

Gutterman adds that: “What [Microsoft hasn’t] done is commit to automatically providing longer support for Windows 10 or loosening the hardware requirements for Windows 11.”

“It’s obvious that users are frustrated,” Gutterman concludes. “They feel yanked around and don’t think this [latest] announcement provides a viable solution.”

Analysis: thinking beyond a one-year extension

(Image credit: Microsoft)

To be fair to Microsoft, I think that giving Windows 10 users a couple of new options to avoid paying $30 to keep security updates going for an extra year (through to October 2026) is actually a very positive move – especially because simply using the Backup app isn’t a particularly hefty imposition.

I can see where Gutterman is coming from with the points he makes, but the suggestion that Microsoft might consider loosening the system requirements for Windows 11 is, I feel, rather a waste of breath. That isn’t going to happen at this point, and I think the software giant has been pretty clear on that.

For me, the key point raised is providing Windows 10 support beyond an extra year for consumers, and this is something I’ve been harping on for some time. While businesses can get a three-year program of extended security updates (if they want that much), so far Microsoft is only offering consumers a single year.

Perhaps the software giant feels that this is enough, but it really isn’t – not when it comes to keeping all those olds PCs off the scrapheap. Why isn’t Microsoft looking at extending support for multiple years for consumers too, from an eco-friendly angle?

Just a second additional year of support would be some welcome extra breathing room, even if Microsoft charged for it rather than offering any kind of alternative angle like using the Backup app. Of course, a non-paying option would be better. I’d even suggest making Windows 10 ad-supported to keep those security updates coming for two or three years.

What do you mean that’s already happened and ads are all over the place? Ahem – in all seriousness, I think allowing Microsoft to push more ad notifications (in a still limited fashion) within Windows 10 would be a compromise many would take, rather than paying extra to keep their non-Windows 11 compatible PC alive through to 2027 or 2028. At least suffering the adverts would have a plus side to it in this scenario, and if you can’t stand the idea of yet more ads, you can stump up the $30.

Whatever the case, I fully agree with PIRG that a one-year extension for consumers isn’t good enough in terms of Microsoft’s responsibilities towards preventing excessive e-waste – and hopefully the company will see the sense in further extended updates for consumers, too, not just businesses.