Category: Microsoft

Does not apply to IT-managed systems.

In a newblog post,Microsoftreports that it has reached a new phase in the gradual rollout ofWindows 1124H2. Compatible systems will be automatically updated to the latest release. Launched in October, Windows 11 24H2 has been plagued by a handful of jarring problems, includinggame-breaking bugs,persistent caches, and broken HDR. Recent patches have addressed most of these issues, and Microsoft is now confident enough to initiate automatic 24H2 updates for mainstream consumers. Note that this does not apply to managed systems.

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The initial rollout began for Copilot+ PCs in June of last year. If you don’t own an “AI PC,” 24H2 launched as early as October but was marred by bugs and glitches, most of which have been fixed per Microsoft’s blog. So, if your PC wasn’t on the latest release, it will automatically be updated to 24H2. Note that this only applies to eligible devices running Windows 11 Pro/Home on the 23H2/22H2 builds, which no organization can manage.

After checking Microsoft’s bug log, we found that many problems had been resolved. However, the potential for newer bugs still exists. Users can defer the update by up to five weeks using the “Pause Updates” feature in the “Windows Update” tab in “Settings.” If you’re eager to update, select the “Check for updates” option in the same tab to see if the update is available for your device.

Microsoft is aware of issues that have not been resolved, such as the Failure to install 24H2 on specific Asus devices, the camera’s unresponsiveness on a handful of systems, unexpected behavior with wallpaper applications, etc. Note that affected devices will be put on a “safeguard hold” until these issues have been resolved.

Copilot PCs will get the most out of this update with the infamous Recall feature and other AI goodies. Sadly, these features will continue rolling out in phases for select devices under the Windows Insider Program. The good news is that Windows 11 24H2 promises faster update times and better performance for AMD’s Ryzen CPUs. Intel mandates the installation of specific Windows 11 24H2 patches for optimal performance with Arrow Lake processors, even though our testing shows little to no improvements.

Microsoft hasannouncedthat support for Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 10 will end this year on October 14, as reported byThe Verge. This is also the end-of-support date for Windows 10 as a whole, but the move is still a little surprising considering that Microsoft is now offering theWindows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) Program.

Anyone who joins this program for $30 can continue to safely use Windows 10 for a whole extra year — so you might think that Microsoft would let them continue to use the Office apps too. That said, it’s not like the apps will disappear, they just won’t receive any more updates.According to Microsoft, this could cause “performance and reliability issues over time” but whether these issues will pop up within the ESU program’s duration or not is anyone’s guess.

Theswitch from Windows 10 to Windows 11has been long and painful for Microsoft — even after three years, there’s still a substantial chunk of people who are still using the older operating system. There are plenty of reasons why — lots of people still use machines that don’t meetWindows 11 hardware requirements, and others have been permanently scared off by years of scathing public opinion that Windows 11 is nowhere near as good as Windows 10. It’s also taken a long time for gamers to come around to Windows 11, though itrecently overtook Windows 10for the first time in October 2024’s Steam hardware survey.

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Whatever the reasons, this reluctance to upgrade has clearly been driving Microsoft insane. The company is trying everything from full-screen upgrade prompts to awkward marketing tactics declaring 2025 as “the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh.”

Unfortunately for Microsoft, however, there is a huge number of people who only own PCs out of necessity and won’t even think about replacing them until they literally stop working. There are also plenty of businesses reluctant to upgrade since their current company PCs still work perfectly well in every other way.

In a lot of ways, it feels like the world just didn’t need another iteration of Windows yet. Perhaps the company really should consider supporting a basic no-new-stuff version of its OS for all the people who just don’t care. It might be expensive, but surely all of this drama, failure, and marketing around upgrades is expensive too.

We know Windows 10 is on borrowed time – but is the Windows 11 upgrade offer, too?

• A Microsoft blog post has been written about the free Windows 11 upgrade
• It mentions that the upgrade is for a ‘limited time only’
• This could be read as a hint that Microsoft will drop the free offer when Windows 10 expires later this year

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In an interesting turn of events, perhaps in an effort to increase thepressure on Windows 10 users to upgrade,Microsofthas issued a vague suggestion that the free upgrade toWindows 11might expire, possibly at the same time support runs out for the older OS.

Neowinnoticed that Microsoft has penned ablog postwhich advisesWindows 10users that they need to carefully mull their options considering that support is discontinued on October 14, 2025. And naturally, one of those choices is to upgrade to Windows 11 (another is topay for an extended program of updatesfor a year, an option that’s not been available to consumers in the past, just businesses).

At any rate, the key point is the title of the post, which is: “Free Upgrade to Windows 11 (For a Limited Time Only).”

Now, this is interesting, because as far as we’re aware, Microsoft has never specifically mentioned that the free upgrade to Windows 11 has a time limit on it.

One way you could read this title, then, is that there is indeed an expiry date for the offer, which would presumably be when Windows 10 support finishes – which is the hint imparted here, given the subject of the blog post.

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(Image credit: Microsoft)

Analysis: Would Microsoft really do this?

The question this throws up is: will Windows 11 no longer be free whenWindows 10 hits End of Life? Well, we shouldn’t get carried away here, that’s for sure, as it’s notable that the only mentioned of ‘limited time’ is in the headline, and there’s no reference to this anywhere else in the article. You’d expect it to be clarified somewhere, after all, so perhaps it’s just a throwaway comment of sorts.

That said, this feels like some kind of a hint being dropped, and the official stance on the freebie offer, as outlined by Microsoft in the FAQ for the ‘How to get Windows 11’ portal is as follows: “The free upgrade offer does not have a specific end date for eligible systems. However, Microsoft reserves the right to eventually end support for the free offer.”

No one has ever taken that second sentence all that seriously, and it’s been regarded as just part of the usual clauses and embellishments that can be added by companies in a ‘just in case’ kind of fashion. However, perhaps Microsoft will actually exercise that right when Windows 10 shuffles off its mortal coil later this year. It’s far from unthinkable.

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While we can envisage such a future, there remains a pressing concern for Microsoft – Windows 11 adoption has been painfully slow. And ultimately, the software giant still wants people to make the move to Windows 11, so ditching the free offer would work against that.

Or, perhaps more to the point, if the freebie upgrade is officially canned come October 2025, Microsoft might still leave loopholes open that allow folks to step up to Windows 11 free of charge. Just as happened with Windows 10 when Microsoft ended thefree upgradethere, which was only supposed to be good for a year, but wasleft available for a long, long timeafter that period had expired.

It’s my feeling this is likely a move by Microsoft to help persuade fence-sitters to get on with it and upgrade to Windows 11, which, to be fair,at this point they should be doing anyway. Overall, I’m not convinced there’s any real teeth to the very vague threat aired here, but I could of course be wrong.

Only in a few countries…for now

(Image credit: Microsoft 365/YouTube)

Nobody likes a price hike but Microsoft is preparing to raise the cost of its 365 subscriptions to “ensure Microsoft customers are among the first to access powerful AI features in our apps.”

The (somewhat) good new is it’s only happening in a few countries for now and the U.S. isn’t among them.

As spotted byThe Register, Microsoft has sent out emails to 365 users in six Asia-Pacific countries, detailing that subscriptions will see a big price hike of up to 45%. The increase will come to Microsoft 365 Family and 365 Personal subscriptions.

According to emails, Australian 365 Family users will also see an increase from AU$139 to AU$179, while 365 Personal subscribers will have a rise from AU$109 to AU$159. That’s a 45% price hike, and it’s all for AI features and enhancements in apps that’s contributing to it.

Currently, these price increases have been noted in several countries: Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. While there’s no word of this steep cost raise coming to other countries, we’ve already heard ofMicrosoft announcing a 365 and Copilot price hike, which is set to arrive in April.

The price hike is set to contribute to several improvements to a suite of apps, such as “advanced security with Microsoft Defender, creative tools like Clipchamp, and countless enhancements to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook,” a Microsoft spokespersonsaid. More importantly, it comes withMicrosoft Copilotand Designer.

Fortunately, as stated in the post, these price hikes aren’t mandatory if users don’t want the added AI features, as a basic version of Microsoft 365 will be available, too.

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(Image credit: Microsoft)

Is Microsoft Copilot worth the price increase?

One of the biggest AI features that seems to be bumping up the price for Microsoft 365 subscriptions is Copilot, but it’s already had a rocky start.Microsoft Recallis an interesting yet flawed feature, while otherfeatures can be fun and useful, but not worth a 45% price increase.

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If Microsoft follows through with this high price hike around the world, it will need to ensure that it’s AI features are updated and upgraded, offering more to users in apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. Even our own Alex Wawro thinksApple Intelligence is already better than Windows Copilotdespite it still rolling out.

Luckily, there are other feature Microsoft is bringing to PCs, including being able toconnect to a Meta Quest headset with three virtual displays, along with bringing anAirDrop-like feature for Windows to share files easily between a PC and iPhone.

Microsoft has notified users of itsMicrosoft 365 suitein six countries about hefty price increases when renewing their subscriptions.

The company claims that the increases are necessary to ensure that Microsoft customers are among the first to access powerful AI features in its apps. 

Last week, subscribers in Asia received emails about the upcoming price increases. An annual Microsoft 365 Family subscription in Australia will increase from AU$139 to AU$179 (converted from 83.57 euros to 107.64 euros) when renewed, an increase of nearly 29 percent. For Microsoft 365 Personal subscriptions, the price will rise from AU$109 to AU$159 (from 65.55 euros to 95.61 euros), an increase of nearly 46 percent. Microsoft’s Australian website currently displays these prices as standard. The price increases have been announced for Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

New features added

A Microsoft spokesperson stated that the price changes reflect the extensive subscription benefits Microsoft has added over the past 12 years, including advanced security with Microsoft Defender and creative tools such as Clipchamp. This is in addition to numerous improvements in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. According to the spokesperson, the price changes also include new features such as Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Designer.

The spokesperson added that the enhancements are not mandatory. Subscribers can opt for a cheaper version of Microsoft 365 without Copilot.

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Alternative subscriptions and ambiguities

A Microsoft 365 Classic option is available without the price increases, but many users report it is difficult to find. For example, the alternative appears only when cancelling a subscription. And users find the process confusing or cumbersome. Even with search engines like Bing (from Microsoft) and Google, finding details about this suite proves difficult.

In March 2024, however, Microsoft didpromise tooffer Office editions under perpetual licenses, albeit without associated cloud services.

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Negative reactions

The announcement provoked many negative reactions online. Users accused Microsoft of inflating prices. Microsoft has not answered whether these price increases will be implemented elsewhere. It is also unclear whether the price increases will affect business licenses. The company stated that the goal of the changes is to listen, learn, and improve based on customer feedback.

Microsoft has pledged to invest as much as $80 billion in datacenters by 2025, primarily for AI applications. The cost of these investments appears to be passed on to customers. However, this is meeting resistance, especially since many AI features Microsoft offers are available for free from other providers.