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Windows 11 Upgrade and Windows 10 EOL

Windows 11 Upgrade and Windows 10 EOL

Windows 11 is a no-charge upgrade and is already in use by many units/faculties on campus. Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025.*

All units and individuals on campus are strongly encouraged to begin planning to ensure Windows computers (managed and unmanaged) are upgraded to Windows 11 before October 2025. On October 14, 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide technical support, feature updates or security updates for Windows 10*.

  • Upgrading to Windows 11 by October 2025 is essential from a cybersecurity and data privacy perspective.*

  • Windows 11 has been evaluated for use with University of Waterloo enterprise applications.

It is also recommended to encourage employees and students to update their self-managed/personal Windows machines to Windows 11 by October 2025 (steps and instructions are below).

Upgrade to Windows 11

Before you upgrade

Windows 11 Upgrade Instructions – managed computers

 

Windows 11 Upgrade Instructions – unmanaged/personal computers

Windows 11 upgrade instructions for self-managed/personal devices: Windows 11 update instructions (personal or self-managed computers)

 

What if my computer/software/peripheral is too old to support Windows 11?

To see if your computer will run Windows 11, see https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/windows-11-specifications  and run https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/windows-11#pchealthcheck

*The campus community is encouraged to upgrade hardware and software to support use of Windows 11 where possible.

Windows 11 Learning Resources

Windows 11 - what's new, different  

Windows 11 Essential Training | Learning

Learn more about Windows 10 end of support updates for education.