End of an era: On January 31, 2023, Microsoft stopped selling product keys for Windows 10 through its official website. Now users are automatically redirected to Windows 11 pages, offering to familiarize themselves with the new OS.
Let me remind you that we also said that Windows 11 is incompatible with applications that use non-ASCII registry keys, and also that Windows 11 22H2 Warns That It’s Not Safe to Store Passwords in Notepad.Earlier this month, a warning appeared on the Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro pages informing users that January 31, 2023 will be the last day Windows 10 is available for purchase on the site.
As can be seen by clicking on the links above, starting today, trying to go to the Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro pages does indeed lead to an automatic redirect to the Windows 11 page. That is, it is no longer possible to purchase Windows 10 directly from the Microsoft website.
Of course, this does not mean that Windows 10 will disappear altogether now, because Microsoft will support the operating system until October 14, 2025, the OS can still be purchased from third-party sellers, and manufacturers release devices running Windows 10.
According to Stat Counter, Windows 10 is still used on 69% of the world’s PCs, while Windows 11 has only reached 18% so far.
It’s also worth noting that users of older and unsupported versions of Windows, including Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1, can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free and even upgrade to Windows 11 if the hardware allows.
Oh, and only recently the Windows 7 Extended Security Update Program was cancelled.
In addition, Windows 10 and Windows 11 use the same activation process, which means that if user purchases Windows 11, he can downgrade it to Windows 10, which will eventually be activated automatically.
