Microsoft is getting ready to ship reminders to Windows 8.1 customers that support will end on January tenth 2023. The software program big will begin sending notifications to current Windows 8.1 units subsequent month, as a primary reminder main up to the January 2023 support cutoff.
The notifications can be comparable to ones Microsoft has used previously to remind Windows 7 users about end of support dates. Microsoft initially sundown Windows 8 support in 2016, however the Windows 8.1 replace will stop support absolutely in January 2023. Microsoft won’t offer an Extended Security Update (ESU) program for Windows 8.1, so companies received’t find a way to pay for extra safety patches and can have to improve or settle for the danger of operating software program with out safety updates.
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Windows 8.1 was largely a big fix for the reception to Windows 8. Windows 8 launched a brand new touch-centric imaginative and prescient for Microsoft’s future, but it surely ditched the standard desktop and Start button in such a giant approach that many PC customers rejected it. The mobile-first OS didn’t jibe with what customers needed, and Windows 8.1 introduced again the Start button in an admission from Microsoft that it had tousled.
Despite the Windows 8.1 replace enhancements, the Windows 8 period can be one Microsoft and plenty of of its prospects can be eager to forget. Microsoft tried to modernize Windows within the face of iPad competitors, and ended up alienating many of its loyal prospects as an alternative. Windows 10 arrived in 2015 and walked again many of Windows 8’s boldest adjustments, and Windows 11 has gone even additional by eradicating the Windows Phone-like Live Tiles from the Start menu and overhauling many of the ancient relics which have existed in Windows for many years.
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Windows 8.1 customers will now want to determine whether or not to improve their working system or purchase a brand new PC. Most Windows 8.1 machines received’t even support Windows 11, admits Microsoft, due to its strict CPU requirements. “Most Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 devices will not meet the hardware requirements for upgrading to Windows 11, as an alternative, compatible Windows 8 and 8.1 PCs can be upgraded to Windows 10 by purchasing and installing a full version of the software,” explains Microsoft in a support note.
That leaves Windows 10 because the doubtless improve path, which can proceed to be supported till October 14th 2025. Windows 8.1 machines received’t magically cease engaged on January tenth 2023, however with out software program updates and safety fixes it’s a large danger to preserve operating the OS subsequent yr. Microsoft’s support site has a bunch of FAQs and articles to assist Windows 8.1 customers improve or transfer information to a brand new machine.
