- Windows 10’s extended updates program isn’t working for some
- In some cases, this is due to regional limitations for the ESU rollout
- In others, a glitch may be misidentifying Windows 10 PCs and preventing them from signing up for extended updates without explaining why
Some people who want to stick with Windows 10, avoiding Windows 11 – or perhaps are unable to upgrade due to their PC specs – are apparently finding that they can’t access Microsoft’s offer of extended support for the older OS.
Windows Latest reports that Windows 10’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) scheme isn’t working for some, and this may be due to regional issues or a bug that derails the sign-up process.
A reader in the Netherlands reached out to Windows Latest, complaining that they couldn’t sign up for the ESU. Even though it was offered on their PC, they received a message saying, “Enrollment for Windows 10 Extended Security Updates is temporarily unavailable in your region.”
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There was no explanation offered beyond that, or indeed any indication of when the ESU might be made available.
Microsoft confirmed to Windows Latest that the rollout of the ESU is staggered and may not be showing up for everyone yet, particularly those in Europe.
Microsoft said, “The enrollment experience for the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program may vary by region based on local market factors.”
The software giant also clarified that the ESU rollout has begun in the EEA (European Economic Area) as of October 15 – the day after support for Windows 10 was ended officially – so some folks in Europe would have been getting it straight away. Clearly not everyone, though.
As for the bug reportedly preventing ESU sign-ups for some, which can affect anyone, no matter where they live around the world, this produces an unhelpful error message that says, “Something went wrong.”
Anyone who’s used Windows for some time will likely have encountered that old chestnut at some point, and it roughly translates to: ‘this thing crashed and we’ve no idea what caused it.’
The affected Windows 10 user is then told to close the ESU window and try again, but doing so just results in the same error.
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Windows Latest carried out some investigative work on this matter, coming to the conclusion that the error might relate to how Windows 10 classifies the host PC.
The long and short of the theory is that Windows 10 produces this error for work PCs (enterprise or education systems), and if the OS wrongly detects the host PC as a work machine, rather than a consumer computer, it’ll refuse the ESU in this manner.
Business sign-ups are a separate case, and so it makes sense that you wouldn’t be able to enrol for the consumer ESU if Windows 10 somehow thinks you’ve got an enterprise (or education) PC.
Although why there’s no indication given to explain this – some kind of a message saying that business organizations can’t sign up for the consumer ESU, so you know why the error is being produced – isn’t clear. It could be an oversight by Microsoft, and it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened, but at any rate, take this conclusion with some seasoning for now. It does seem plausible enough to me, and others have theorized this on Reddit, too.
How to get around these stumbling blocks – or should you just wait it out?
(Image credit: MAYA LAB / Shutterstock)
Regarding the regional limitations raised here, it isn’t unusual for a Windows feature to have a phased rollout, but this will be frustrating for some Europeans (and maybe others across the globe) who still can’t grab the ESU.
Microsoft hints that this might also pertain to Windows 10 PCs not having the latest monthly update installed (from October), which you need for the ESU – but it seems unlikely those trying to sign up wouldn’t have grabbed that security update by now. Indeed, on Windows 10 Home, it should have been force-installed at this point. Still, if you haven’t applied the latest update, definitely do that.
Those who’ve run into the ‘something went wrong’ error will doubtless be even more frustrated. As noted, this could be due to the misidentification of the PC as a business machine, so Windows Latest suggests that it might affect those who’ve previously linked their Windows 10 installation to a work (or school) account. If that is the case for you, it might be worth trying to delete that old account (and any related folders on the system drive – though be careful what you’re doing here).
If that doesn’t work, Windows Latest suggests performing an in-place upgrade for Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool to fix errors with the ESU, but again, proceed at your own risk (and back up everything before you try that).
The other option is to simply wait for Microsoft to iron out any misidentified PC difficulties, and of course, holding on should also resolve any regional rollout-related stumbling blocks (the ESU will eventually arrive everywhere, and it shouldn’t be much longer for anyone still left without it).
The downside of waiting is that the first security update provided by the ESU arrives tomorrow, so from then on, your Windows 10 PC will be officially out of date for support. That’s not a pleasant thought, but the reality is that you’re not likely to be in any immediate danger – at least for a short time, anyway, if you’re very careful about what you’re doing online. But as I’ve discussed elsewhere in detail already, I’d very much err on the side of not taking any risks if at all possible.
A final trick you might want to try that I’ve seen mentioned on Reddit is to click on the link highlighted here in Microsoft’s Windows end-of-support portal, which will open system settings and should fire up the ESU enrolment. Going this route, rather than via Windows Update, has cured problems with the sign-up process for a number of folks, but again, make sure you are running the latest October patch for Windows 10 before you do this.
You shouldn’t have to try fudges and keep your fingers crossed to sign up for extended updates, of course, so none of this is ideal – but here we are. These issues are hopefully affecting just a minority, although there are a number of reports on Reddit complaining about not being able to get the ESU past the October 14 End of Life deadline for Windows 10.
Some people encountering these kinds of troubles with maintaining Windows 10 support may even be annoyed enough to make the move to Windows 11, if they’ve been procrastinating on that (assuming their PC meets the system requirements). It’s certainly a possibility if they have to wait much longer for the ability to benefit from the ESU, because, as already noted, you don’t want to stay on Windows 10 without up-to-date security patches for long, especially if you’re not confident about how to stay safe when you’re online and steer clear of common scams.
Another glitch in Windows 10’s ESU to be mindful of is that some people who have signed up successfully are being wrongly informed that they’re not supported.
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