If you still run Windows 10 on one or multiple of your PCs, you may be aware that Microsoft is ending support for the operating system in about two months.
Come October 2025, Microsoft won’t release updates for the consumer editions of Windows 10 anymore. Windows 10 users may join the Extended Security Updates program to receive another year of support, but this requires becoming active.
If you do not do anything, you won’t receive any updates anymore for the operating system after October 2025.
Joining ESU is a simple process, but you still need to pick one of the available “payment” options: pay with Microsoft Rewards points, enable cloud backups, or pay with money.
Consumer ESU Enrollment is a new script for Windows that simplifies the process. It does require an administrative account and Internet connectivity, but that is about it.
When you run it without parameters, it will enroll using the free backup option and use a Microsoft account or a local account for that, depending on which you used to sign in to the operating system.
Here is what the developer Abbodi says about the order on GitHub (via Deskmodder):
By default, the script will run in the following order, if a step failed, the next is executed:
- Enroll using Microsoft account currently logged-in as Windows user.
- Enroll using Microsoft account currently logged-in with Microsoft Store.
- Enroll using current Local account.
- Acquire Consumer ESU license manually as last resort.
You may run the script using optional parameters to force one of the available options. If you use a local account, you can run .\Consumer_ESU_Enrollment.ps1 -Local to make sure that you are enrolled using the local account and not a Microsoft account.
Note that you may need to run Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force prior to that to allow the execution of unsigned scripts temporarily.
While you may enroll manually as well, using the script may speed up things significantly, especially if you use a local account to sign in to Windows.
Now You: do you still run Windows 10 on a device that you use regularly? Did you join ESU? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
So I read this and the GitHub several times and I am confused. This will not require a MS account, by using the free backup. But… How can you setup the free backup without a MS account, if a MS account is required to setup the free backup?
There you go Fredrico. Also directly/instantly my question when i just received this information today the 31st of august from a friend Microsoft guru. I will request him the one-by-one procedure ‘steps’ to instal the “extended ESU’s”(how long will these Chip.in/GitHub ESU extensions last, is another Q?) I have NEVER used MS-accounts and email appl. in what-ever form.
Give Rowan Cammell says: August 20, 2025 at 2:25 am a good read. i do not quiet understand this just now yet.
This Guy- Abbodi- is a Hero!
Made also the windows 7 -8 Esu update patches…. great stuff!
Thank You!
Thanks Martin for the article.
After reading info online about the ESU enrollment, I’ve been waiting for weeks for the option to turn up in Settings>Updates&Security without any sign of the ESU enrollment notice to click on to enroll. None of my PCs have shown it despite Updates being completely up-to-date and some of them already having Windows Backup already set to backup Settings. This script has worked on 5 PCs now and what is great is that I haven’t had to set up the Windows Backup process or change from Local Account to Microsoft Account login and then back again. The whole process works in about 1 minute!! It works easily and quickly whether the PC is on Local or Microsoft Account login and it doesn’t alter the existing login settings!! 🙂
I just wonder how long this script will be allowed to remain operable once Microsoft get wind of this… 😐 !
Thanks again, Martin for your valuable tech blog postings!
Enrol?
K, 0Patch would be it, after next month’s
“patch day”–which if such works. Got the
barge pole on hand.
For the procrastinator sitting on the fence
I am. On the frontline of others’ life,
health and welfare.
Oh well, that’s all I have by the wharf.
Windows 10 Pro 22H2 now whatever.
GRC InControl.
Wish I could go back to Seven so long
beloved, though.
Make sure to run the script twice as per the instructions.
How do you check your ESU enrollment status?
After running the script the second time this is what I saw. The last 3 lines are what concerns me.
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> d:
PS D:\> cd "new stuff"
PS D:\new stuff> Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
PS D:\new stuff> .\Consumer_ESU_Enrollment.ps1 -Local
Evaluate ESU Eligibility state ...
Eligibility Status: Eligible
Eligibility Result: SUCCESS
Obtain MSA Token ...
Obtained token for Local user account
Run Consumer ESU Enrollment ...
IsEnrolled result: True
Get ESU Eligibility state ...
Eligibility Status: Unknown
Eligibility Result: UNKNOWN_RESULT
PS D:\new stuff>
Ah, it showed up now. Top right on the windows update ui. “Your PC is enrolled to get Extended Security Updates”. It just took a minute. That old laptop is rather slow.