Update: Republished on May 12 with reaction to Microsoft’s surprise deadline u-turn and reports of a new campaign to provide users a different way out.

No one saw this coming. Microsoft’s campaign to push Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 had been heading in just one direction. Until now. The Windows-maker has suddenly and quietly changed a critical deadline, which will surprise the 700 million PC owners yet to move to Windows 11.

In January, I reported on yet another Microsoft deadline to push Windows 10 users to take the free Windows 11 upgrade. While some 240 million users don’t have a new enough PC to run the latest OS, hundreds of millions can upgrade but are currently choosing not to — albeit that number is reducing month-by-month.

This deadline hit apps rather than the OS itself. “Microsoft 365 Apps will no longer be supported after October 14, 2025, on Windows 10 devices,” the company said. “To use Microsoft 365 Applications on your device, you will need to upgrade to Windows 11.”