Windows 11 has made significant strides in adoption, now operating on 78.8% of Windows devices following Microsoft’s cessation of support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, as reported by Lansweeper. Meanwhile, Windows 10 still holds a 16.9% share of devices, but it is now vulnerable to security threats due to the lack of updates for newly discovered vulnerabilities.
Laura Libeer, Technical Content Copywriter at Lansweeper, noted, “There’s a temporary bridge that we need to consider when looking at these numbers. Microsoft’s consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) program allows eligible Windows 10 devices to remain patched for an additional year, extending support until October 12, 2027. However, this is a paid extension, a temporary solution rather than a long-term fix, and it does not cover most enterprise, Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), or domain-joined configurations.”
For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), eligible Windows 10 devices can receive free ESU until October 14, 2026, without the need to enable Windows Backup or sync settings, apps, or credentials to the cloud. In contrast, consumers outside the EEA must either pay for ESU, redeem Microsoft Rewards points, or enable Windows Backup to secure an additional year of updates.
Windows 10 adoption remains high in some sectors
A notable portion of devices still running Windows 10 are either unable or unwilling to transition to Windows 11. Approximately 21.4% of Windows devices in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) continue to operate on Windows 10, compared to 16.6% in large organizations. Budget constraints are a significant factor hindering migration for smaller businesses, leaving some organizations reliant on an unsupported operating system.
Industries that depend on long-lasting, certified, or embedded hardware have been particularly slow to adopt Windows 11. The healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors exhibit the highest percentage of Windows 10 devices, followed by consumer and retail, and then manufacturing. Many of these systems are linked to specialized equipment, kiosks, and industrial devices that present challenges for upgrades due to hardware limitations and vendor certification requirements.
Security and compliance risks
Devices running Windows 10 face nearly three times the number of active Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) compared to their Windows 11 counterparts, averaging 1,903 vulnerabilities per device against 652. Alarmingly, 66.6% of these vulnerabilities are rated as high or critical, with 2.4% known to be actively exploited. Some Windows 10 LTSC editions remain supported under separate lifecycle policies.
Organizations are compelled by regulatory frameworks to maintain systems on supported software or to document and mitigate the risks associated with unsupported systems. Cyber insurers are increasingly scrutinizing unsupported operating systems, which could lead to higher premiums, coverage exclusions, or denied claims if unsupported devices contribute to a security incident.
Support deadline nears
Approximately 2.8% of Windows 10 systems do not meet the hardware requirements for Windows 11, necessitating hardware replacement as the sole upgrade path. These devices are primarily found in consumer and retail, transport and logistics, and manufacturing sectors, where specialized systems such as point-of-sale terminals, rugged handhelds, and embedded controllers are designed for extended service lives and are often tied to specific hardware and software requirements.
Windows 10 is not the only unsupported operating system still in use; when including Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows XP, a total of 18.7% of Windows devices are running an operating system that has reached its end of support. Additionally, 22.2% are on versions that will reach end of support within the next six months, culminating in a total of 40.9% of systems that are either already unsupported or soon to be.
As Libeer pointed out, “The consumer Extended Security Updates that are holding much of the remaining Windows 10 base together will expire on October 12, 2027. Once this support lapses, the devices that are currently being propped up will not migrate on their own; they will transition directly into the unsupported category. This means that two in five Windows machines are either already out of support or are on the verge of becoming unsupported.”
