Microsoft has said it will no longer support PCs which run Windows 8.1 as from January 10th 2023. Window users whose PCs are on Windows 8.1 operating system will no longer get software or security updates.
“If you have devices running Windows 8.1, we recommend upgrading them to a more current, in-service, and supported Windows release. If devices do not meet the technical requirements to run a more current release of Windows, we recommend that you replace the device with one that supports Windows 11,” the Software Giant explained in the announcement.
Just to make sure Windows 8.1 users do know, Microsoft is going to start notifying them starting in July about the looming end-of-support date. The notifications will be similar to ones Microsoft has used in the past to remind Windows 7 users about end of support dates.
“When they see notifications, users will be able to click “Learn more,” “Remind me later,” or “Remind me after the end-of-support date” leading up to January 2023,” Microsoft said.
Microsoft has used these kinds of notifications in the past when trying to get users on older versions of Windows to upgrade to more recent/still-supported versions. (For what it’s worth: Those running domain-joined PCs, in the past, haven’t gotten nagged.)
As the company announces the end of support for Windows 8.1, it has also highlighted that this could potentially put the users’ PCs with older operating systems at a greater risk for viruses and malware.
Microsoft has also published a list of FAQs for the Windows 8.1 users to answer the doubts they might have. In the FAQs, the company has recommended users to switch to a newer version of the operating system or to use a new device that runs Windows 11 for easy transition and a better experience.
The support for Windows 8.1 being discontinued does not mean that the software will stop working, rather it will just stop receiving the new security and software updates. After January 10 next year, Microsoft 365 applications will too no longer be supported on Windows 8.1.
As these are governed by Microsoft’s Modern Lifecycle Policy that requires users to stay updated, even the Microsoft Office applications like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and others will stop receiving the latest security and software updates.
Microsoft began rolling out Windows 8.1 — the immediate successor to its not-well-received Windows 8 operating system — in 2013. Microsoft marked the end of “Mainstream Support” of Windows 8.1 in January 2018. Under Microsoft’s lifecycle support policy, Windows 8.1 also gets an additional five years of “Extended Support” during which users get regular security updates, possible software updates, and technical assistance.
Microsoft is not planning to offer Extended Security Updates for Windows 8.1 as it has done for Windows 7. That means there will be no way to continue to get security updates for Windows 8.1 after January 10, 2023. Microsoft is advocating that users on Windows 8.1 go to Windows 11, but Windows 10 is another option. Windows 10 will continue to be supported by Microsoft and receive security updates until October 14, 2025