A Southern California resident is suing Microsoft over its plan to end mainstream support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, arguing the move forces unnecessary hardware upgrades and advances the company’s ambitions in generative AI at the expense of users.
The complaint, filed in San Diego Superior Court by Lawrence Klein, asks a judge to require Microsoft to continue delivering Windows 10 updates at no charge until devices running the older OS fall below 10% of Windows installations. Klein says he owns two Windows 10 laptops that become effectively obsolete when security updates stop, unless he pays for extended coverage or replaces his systems.
Product Lifecycle vs. Real World Adoption
It’s a common tension in the tech sector: product lifecycles versus real-world adoption. Windows 11 launched in 2021, but only in mid-2025 did it surpass Windows 10 by some measures. Klein’s filing cites data indicating a majority of Windows users were still on Windows 10 as recently as April, while other trackers placed that share closer to the low-40% range by summer. Either way, possibly as many as hundreds of millions of machines remain on the older OS as the deadline nears.
Klein frames Microsoft’s decision as part of a broader strategy to steer customers toward Windows 11 devices, particularly Copilot+ PCs that feature neural processing units (NPUs) to accelerate the company’s AI tools. While the Windows 11 upgrade is free, many PCs fail the hardware bar, most notably the TPM 2.0 security module required for current and future Windows releases. The lawsuit warns that pushing those users to buy new hardware will generate a wave of e-waste and leave holdouts exposed to escalating cyber risk if they remain on an unpatched OS.
Microsoft does offer Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 10 through 2028, but it’s not free. Individuals can purchase one year of ESU for $30, and business pricing starts around $61 per device in year one, rising steeply by year three. ESU also requires a Microsoft account, which is another friction point for some Windows 10 users.
Beyond pricing, the complaint asks the court to require Microsoft to stop what it calls misleading messages about Windows 10’s end-of-support, outline the security implications for users who don’t migrate, and communicate alternative protections for those who intend to keep running Windows 10. Klein is not seeking personal damages beyond attorney’s fees.
The Larger Security Issue
The case also highlights a practical security dilemma. When a widely deployed OS loses security updates, the risk doesn’t stop with the owner of the unpatched machine. Connected networks and counterparties can be affected. Klein’s filing points to businesses that still store sensitive consumer data on Windows 10 systems, arguing that Microsoft’s timeline knowingly heightens systemic exposure.
Microsoft, for its part, has long defended its cadence of advancing platform security. Windows 11’s hardware baseline (TPM 2.0, refreshed CPUs, and NPUs) reflects an architecture aimed at isolating sensitive operations and enabling new classes of AI features. The company is also trying to balance positives, like free upgrades, with the downside of end-of-support deadlines to move a vast installed base forward.
With roughly a month to go before the October 14 deadline, the case appears unlikely to conclude in time to alter Microsoft’s schedule. But the suit surfaces questions with staying power: how aggressively a platform vendor can drive hardware-dependent features, how to mitigate downstream security risk when customers lag, and who shoulders the cost of keeping legacy systems safe.
