For the few organizations and use cases where Windows 8.1 is still in use, IT professionals should begin immediately planning an upgrade to Windows 10 or 11, as Microsoft’s support for Windows 8.1 will end in January 2023.
On Jan. 10, 2023, those running Windows 8.1 and Microsoft 365 will continue to function, but they will no longer receive updates for the operating system or Office apps, including new features, security fixes and other quality updates, according to the company’s support page.
After that date, organizations running machines on Windows 8.1 will be at greater risk for viruses and malware, the company warns.
The company will begin notifying users of Windows 8.1 next month, and will provide a link to learn more about their upgrade options. Microsoft is pushing users to upgrade to Windows 11, but most devices running Window 8.1 will not meet the hardware requirements for upgrading to Windows 11. However, many are able to be upgraded to Windows 10 by purchasing and installing a full version of the software, the company notes on a support page.
However, Windows 10 also has an end-of-support date, but Microsoft will continue to support Windows 10 until October 14, 2025, so users have a few more years until they need to upgrade to Windows 11.
Unlike it did with Windows 7, Microsoft will not be offering an Extended Security Update program for windows 8.1 to keep the operating system secure.
According to Microsoft, Windows 8.1 users should consider looking into purchasing new machines altogether, as PCs built with Windows 8.1 are designed with technology that is about a decade old.
”To maintain the reliability and stability of Microsoft 365, we strongly recommend you take advantage of the latest hardware capabilities by moving to a new PC with Windows 11. PCs have changed substantially since Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 were first released. Today’s computers are faster, more powerful, and sleeker—plus they come with Windows 11 already installed,” the company says in a support note.
Windows 8, which is generally regarded as an undesirable version of Win.dows, went out of support in January 2016, with Windows 8.1 being released in 2014—just two years after the release of Windows 8—as an update to its predecessor.
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