New warning for Windows users as Microsoft’s controversial decision hits.

In just the last two weeks, Microsoft Windows users have been deluged with serious malware warnings as a bumper Patch Tuesday gave way to multiple U.S. government warnings. This is not the time to even consider dropping ongoing security support, but for hundreds of millions of users, there may soon be little choice.

We’re talking Windows 10 end of life, of course, which hits next October, and the dire situation with hundreds of millions of Windows users holding out from upgrading to Windows 11, either because they don’t want to or because their hardware does not meet Microsoft’s strict security hurdles to make the leap.

The question on many users’ minds has been whether these security restrictions will be relaxed as deadline-day approaches, to push millions more over the line. Or perhaps any kind of free extension to give users more time, quite apart from whatever expensive paid-for options Microsoft also chooses to introduce.

Unfortunately, for any Windows 10 users hoping for such changes last month brought more bad news in addition to Patch Tuesday. Microsoft dashed hopes by shutting down the well-publicized “/product server” workaround that tricked the Windows setup process into completely ignoring its usual hardware tests.

At the time, I commented on Forbes that “Microsoft’s new workaround decision seems to be a confirmation of its intent, maintaining its firm stance where Windows 11 hardware is confirmed… which is bad news for the 70% of all Windows users staring down the barrel of October 2025.”

XDA Developers has now suggested that “using unsupported hardware on Windows 11 is only going to get more miserable,” and their reasoning—if right—should be another warning for Windows 10 holdouts that Microsoft is unlikely to relent.

There is the obvious benefit for Microsoft, as the site mentions, in “forcing people who want to continue to get official support to move to Windows 11 [which] would drive PC sales,” but “there’s another layer that’s in play here.”

This “other play” refers to AI, specifically Microsoft’s major push into integrating it through what they’re calling “Copilot+ PCs.” These PCs are equipped with advanced AI tools optimized for the hardware’s NPU. As of now, these Copilot+ PCs are relatively scarce, but projections suggest a significant increase within a year.

With millions of PCs anticipated to upgrade, the presence of Copilot+ PCs is expected to rise substantially. This increase seems logical, particularly when considering the potential steady income from AI subscription services.

The timing is perhaps unintentionally perfect, as a new need for AI-optimized PC hardware coincides with an increase in AI-based recurring revenue. This situation resembles arriving at your connecting flight’s gate just as your previous flight lands at the adjacent one.

Recent news adds further insight into this trend. One significant development is the return of the Recall feature, which records continuous screenshots of activities on your PC. Initially criticized for privacy concerns, it is now being reintroduced with added security options and the possibility for user opt-out, although originally it was rumored to be impossible to uninstall. The rumor about uninstalling Recall turned out to be false, indicating that users might need to adapt to its permanent presence. The feature is here to stay.

The second variation on a theme is the new potential for Windows 11 to index all video and audio files stored on a PC to enable intelligent searching. You can see where all this is going. The very nature of your PC will shift to becoming your de facto memory for everything, everywhere, with Microsoft’s AI overseeing the lot. Not a good time for holdouts to be sticking to their ancient, end-of-life OS.

All told, it promises to be an interesting 13-months for the Windows ecosystem as all this plays out, including the take-up of the new AI offerings—especially Recall—and the extent to which Windows 11 upgrades manage to bridge the vast current gap.

“Whatever happens,” XDA Developers warns the 70% of Windows users that have yet to upgrade, “there’s a good chance that using Windows 11 on incompatible hardware is only going to get more miserable from here on out.”

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