Microsoft made a commitment to provide 10 years of product support for Windows 7 when it was released on October 22, 2009. When this 10-year period ends, Microsoft will discontinue Windows 7 support so that we can focus our investment on supporting newer technologies and great new experiences. The specific end of support day for Windows 7 will be January 14, 2020. After that, technical assistance and software updates from Windows Update that help protect your PC will no longer be available for the product. Microsoft strongly recommends that you move to Windows 10 sometime before January 2020 to avoid a situation where you need service or support that is no longer available.
After January 14, 2020, if your PC is running Windows 7, it will no longer receive security updates. Therefore, it’s important that you upgrade to a modern operating system such as Windows 10, which can provide the latest security updates to help keep you and your data safer. In addition, Microsoft customer service will no longer be available to provide Windows 7 technical support.
For most Windows 7 users, moving to a new device with Windows 10 will be the recommended path forward. Today’s PCs are faster, lightweight yet powerful, and more secure, with an average price that’s considerably less than that of the average PC eight years ago. Our Guide can help you choose a new PC in just a few easy steps.
Want to learn more about Windows 10? Check out our overview page to learn more.
To take advantage of the latest hardware capabilities, we recommend moving to a new PC with Windows 10. As an alternative, compatible Windows 7 PCs can be upgraded by purchasing and installing a full version of the software. For more information, see Windows 10 upgrade FAQ.
The Windows 10 free upgrade offer ended on July 29, 2016. To get Windows 10 you will need to either purchase a new device or, if you have a compatible PC, purchase a full version of the software to upgrade your existing device. We recommend that you don’t install Windows 10 on an older device, as some Windows 7 devices are not compatible with Windows 10 or could experience reduced feature availability.
If you continue to use Windows 7 after support has ended, your PC will still work, but it will become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. Your PC will continue to start and run, but you will no longer received software updates, including security updates, from Microsoft.
Windows 7 can still be installed and activated after end of support; however, it will be more vulnerable to security risks and viruses due to the lack of security updates. After January 14, 2020, Microsoft strongly recommends that you use Windows 10 instead of Windows 7.
Support for Internet Explorer on a Windows 7 device will also be discontinued on January 14, 2020. As a component of Windows, Internet Explorer follows the support lifecycle of the Windows operating system it’s installed on. See Lifecycle FAQ – Internet Explorer for more information.
If you are using Windows as part of a work environment, we recommend you check first with your IT department or see Windows 10 deployment support to learn more.
Windows for embedded devices such as ATMs or gas pumps have lifecycle dates that sometimes differ from versions of Windows that are used on PC devices.
For the best possible experience, we recommend doing a fresh installation of your programs and apps on your new Windows 10 PC. Microsoft Store has a variety of third-party apps that can be easily downloaded and installed. On your Windows 10 PC, you can open Microsoft Store by selecting the icon on the taskbar or by searching for “Microsoft Store” in the search box on the taskbar.
For any software not currently available in Microsoft Store, we recommend going to that company’s official website and downloading the Windows 10 version from there. In limited circumstances, some older software may not have an updated version that’s compatible with Windows 10.
Your experience may be different depending on the Office version you’re running. To learn more, see Windows 7 end of support and Office. It’s important to note that Windows 7 itself will no longer receive security updates, leaving your device vulnerable to security threats. As such, if you’re running Microsoft Office on a Windows 7 PC, we recommend you move to a new Windows 10 PC.
As explained in our March 12, 2019 blog post, Microsoft will deliver a handful of reminder notifications through the end of 2019 with recommending actions to take ahead of Windows 7 end of support. To learn more about Windows 7 end of support, you can visit Windows 7 end of life support information or review our frequently asked questions above.
Ten years after the initial release of Windows 7, support is coming to an end on January 14, 2020. You are receiving notifications as a Windows 7 customer so that you have plenty of time to get ready. After that, technical assistance and updates that help protect your PC will no longer be available. These notifications will link to information to help you with recommended actions, answer questions you might have, and provide resources to assist in this transition period.
When you close the notification window, it will simply close.
Visit Windows 7 end of life support information to learn more about what end of support means and why it matters for you, plus find resources to help you back up your files and photos and transition smoothly to a new Windows 10 PC.
Your online safety is important and we’re glad you’re asking this question.
You can compare what you are seeing to the image below to verify it is genuinely from Microsoft. Or, rather than clicking on a notification, you can visit Windows 7 end of life support information to learn more about Windows 7 end of support and what you need to do to get ready.
As a reminder Microsoft will never send you a notification asking you to call us or directly asking for payment.
In speaking with Windows 7 customers, they told us they would like a few reminders, with early enough notice. Based on that feedback, we’ll send reminders once a month at most as we approach this important end of support date.
To turn off notifications, select Do not notify me again in the lower left corner of the notification, and then close the window. After you make this selection, you won’t receive any more of notifications about the upcoming end of support date.
We designed notifications so that they would not appear on devices in managed organisations. More specifically, notifications were designed to exclude Enterprise and Server editions of Windows 7 with secondary checks not to appear on devices that are domain-joined, installed with Windows 7 from Volume Licensing programs, on devices in kiosk mode, or devices that previously turned-off free upgrade notifications through registry settings.
When a notification appears, to turn off notifications, select Do not notify me again in the lower left corner of the notification, and then close the window. After you make this selection, you won’t receive any further notifications about the upcoming end of support date.
Note: We do not recommend uninstalling KB4493132 or KB4524752 as it will be downloaded again the next time the device scans for updates.
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