June 18, 2025 On October 14—ironically just four days before International Repair Day (October 18, 2025) and on International E-Waste Day itself—Microsoft will end free support for Windows 10, a decision that will lead to a massive increase in electronic waste.

Update: On June 24, Microsoft announced additional ways for individual users to access the extra year of support without paying a one-time $30 fee. While this is positive in the short term, it only postpones the problem for 12 months.

About half of all Windows computers are still running Windows 10. Hundreds of millions of these computers do not meet the strict hardware requirements of Windows 11 and will therefore lose any option for continued free support overnight.1 Without security updates, these computers will no longer meet software compatibility or cybersecurity standards, putting pressure on individuals, educational institutions, government agencies, and businesses to upgrade hardware prematurely. Microsoft's decision not only accelerates premature disposal but also undermines efforts to extend product lifespans and places additional strain on resource usage and waste management systems. US PIRG estimates that dropping support for Windows 10 could potentially create over 700 million kg of e-waste.

This is just one example of how software obsolescence drives up resource consumption, turns functional devices into e-waste, and drives people to purchase often expensive new devices. Without regulations that prevent companies from making these kinds of decisions, these impacts are likely to worsen.

But in the lead-up to International Repair Day, we are pushing back.

Communities are mobilizing

Around the world, thousands of repair events and community efforts are mobilizing, breathing new life into computers, saving people money, and reducing waste. They do this by helping to install free and open-source operating systems, both on computers still in use and on computers prematurely discarded by people and companies that have already upgraded hardware due to Microsoft's decision.

Alliance member The Restart Project has co-created an "End of Windows 10" toolkit for community repair groups that want to support people affected by this issue. It offers practical advice on adapting repair events, organizing new types of events, and collaborating with others, as well as information on the options available for people with Windows 10 machines.

And for the ninth consecutive year, communities around the world will gather on the third Saturday of October to celebrate International Repair Day. This year's event will highlight the problem of software obsolescence and is expected to be even larger than in 2024, when more than 2,000 events were held in 40 countries.

This growing movement demonstrates that people are increasingly refusing to accept fast tech. And it's starting to work. Under pressure, Microsoft is now offering the option to purchase up to three additional years of affordable security updates for Windows 10 for education users. Meanwhile, businesses are being forced to pay an exorbitant price for the same support, and consumers have been promised an expensive one-year extension, an option that, at the time of writing, still appears unavailable.

But let's be clear: this last-minute "snooze button" is a band-aid solution. Without strict regulations, our rights and our planet will continue to be sacrificed for corporate profit. We need regulations that protect people and the planet—not just the bottom lines of tech companies.

A Bigger Problem Than Microsoft

Microsoft isn't the only company pushing its products to premature end-of-life. In the absence of regulations, software obsolescence will continue to prematurely end the lifespan of electronic devices. Computers, wearable technology, smart home devices, and more will continue to add to our e-waste mountain as consumers are forced into expensive, unwanted purchasing decisions. In the lead-up to International Day of Repair, we call on political leaders to help us all put an end to the premature disposal of electronics:

• Make products last: We need strong regulations that require minimum durability and repairability, with software and security support that matches their potential lifespan—not just for computers, but for all energy-related products. No more devices designed to break or become prematurely obsolete.

• Fix the economy: Right now, it's cheaper to pollute than to maintain. That's backwards. We need to tax disposable products with short lifespans more – and reward those that last. Those who generate waste should pay for it, not the consumer or the planet.

• Give waste a second life: We need clear targets and serious funding to scale up the reuse and repair of WEEE. Recycling alone won't save us – we need a system that keeps products in use and resources in the loop.

We're participating

The Repair Café Altura also wants to participate:

• We've planned an event for International Repair Day and added it to the official map.

• We can help people affected by the end of Windows 10 with The Restart Project's toolkit.

• In Europe? Follow Right to Repair Europe for policy updates and more ways to get involved.

• In the UK? Support the UK Repair & Reuse Declaration by signing it on behalf of your community group or by emailing your local Member of Parliament.

• In the US? Follow US PIRG for updates on the right to repair.

Read more about Repair Café International's Linux Repair Café events.

Looking for coverage of this issue in other countries?

• Repair Café Denmark: Windows 10 End of Life

• HOP, France: The End of Windows 10: Software Obsolescence for Millions of Devices?

• End of 10, Germany

• Reparatur-Initiativen, Germany: The End of Windows 10 – and How to Use PCs and Laptops Afterward

• Re-Use Austria: Fighting Electronic Waste: Repair Initiatives Stand Up to Microsoft

• Repair Café Foundation, Netherlands: Linux Repair Café Gives Laptops a Longer Life

• Repair Together, Belgium: End of Windows 10 Support: Software Obsolescence That's Annoying

• Repair Café Roma, Italy: Windows 10 End of Support

• U.S. PIRG: Graveyard for Electronic Waste

Estimates put the number at between 240 million and 400 million computers. ↩︎ 

October 4th is the first session after this summer. During the break you can watch our presentation (click on the image below for this Prezi presentation). On Saturday October 4th you can have your stuff repaired again from 10am to 12pm in Caliço Park! https://prezi.com/view/V4JMbAfUtQeKKgjCVgDg/

Feel free to stop by and take your defective devices with you. Fixing is always better than throwing it away!