There is, of course, nothing to stop you from continuing to use Windows 8.1 after the end of support, but this is really not recommended because of the security risks involved. You might be able to upgrade your Windows 8.1 device to a newer version of Windows, but we recommend moving to a new PC that can run Windows 11 as the best option. After 10 January 2023, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or technical support for Windows 8.1. On the support website, the company says:Ĭhange can be difficult, but we’re here to help you take the next steps. Unsurprisingly, this latter option is Microsoft's recommended course of action. You can either upgrade to Windows 10 if you want to retain your existing hardware, or buy a new computer with Windows 11 pre-installed. In reality the options are rather limited. The final option is to use the 'Learn more' button to learn about the options that are available to you. Then there is the 'Remind me later' option which will hide the screen for the time being, but you can expect it to pop up again next month. The first option is to click 'Remind me after the end of support date' which will prevent it from appearing for the next few months. When the nag screen appears, there are a few ways to respond. After this date, there will be no more updates and no further technical support available from Microsoft. The warning screen tells people who have chosen to hang on to the aged operating system that the last security updates for Windows 8.1 are scheduled for release on January 10, 2023.

Microsoft releases new versions of free Windows 11 virtual machines.

Microsoft releases KB5015814 update for Windows 11 to fix security flaws and PowerShell issues.

Microsoft launches Windows Autopatch for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

However, with Windows 10, you'll still be supported until 2025, getting a few extra years out of your PC. Being that Windows 11 only supports a subset of Windows 10 hardware, and Windows 8.1 hardware is going to be eligible for Windows 10 only. And yes, that means that you can still use your Windows 7 or 8.1 key to activate Windows 10. Now the current version is Windows 11, but interestingly enough, while Microsoft only publicized the free upgrade for a year, you can still use any Windows 7, 8.1, or 10 key to activate Windows 11. When Windows 10 came out as a free upgrade, people moved on pretty quickly.

It radically designed an interface that was familiar to users for decades, and it didn't do so in an intuitive way.

Windows 8, with all respect to the people that worked on it, was a disastrous flop. When support for Windows XP and Windows 7 ended, it was a really big deal because so many people were still using those operating systems. Windows 8 è un sistema operativo per personal computer prodotto da Microsoft come parte della famiglia di sistemi operativi Windows NT. Presumably, this push isn't super-aggressive because there are so few users on Windows 8.1.