Windows 8.1 users have likely gotten a reminder earlier this year by the operating system itself that technical support for it will end on January 10th 2023 (Microsoft had a campaign about this back in June).
As the support end date is just around the corner, it is highly advisable that businesses and organizations that haven’t upgraded to a newer system yet, should start procuring a replacement. Otherwise they risk using an operating system without security updates and software fixes, which can easily lead to unexpected errors, crashes, and breaches with no way to reverse them, ultimately resulting in loss of data and productivity, or even worse.
Currently, due to the advancement in computer technologies, Windows 8.1 users’ devices are likely to not meet the hardware requirements of Microsoft’s latest operating system Windows 11. This is why we recommend upgrading to Windows 10 instead, specifically the following product:
End of support: 14.10.2025 (Pro) / 09.01.2029 (Enterprise)
This product comes from Microsoft’s Volume channel, and as such, it’s excellent for any business or government organization – thanks to the assortment of features geared towards enterprises, most notably:
- possibility to install either Windows 10 Pro, or Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019
- easy installation and activation
- flexible management of the system features and licensing
- simple transfer to a new device, if needed
More information about features and specifics is available in the product description.
Note that Windows 8.1 won’t suddenly stop working past the end of support date, so users have some leeway to perform the migration even after January 2023. However, we recommend to not postpone it too much in order to avoid exposing the IT environment to vulnerabilities unnecessarily.
