The end of support for Windows 10 is creating an e-waste disaster – Inside track

This post is by Ugo Vallauri, co-director, at the Restart Project.

The end of free support for Windows 10 happens today, 14 October, ironically coinciding with International E-Waste Day. Up to 400 million of the computers currently running Windows 10 don’t meet Microsoft’s requirements to upgrade to Windows 11. This forces users to either buy new devices, join a Microsoft scheme for a temporary extension of support, switch to an alternative operating system or risk using unsecure software.

If these computers are discarded as a result, they could turn into up to 700 million kilogrammes of e-waste, adding to the 62 billion kilogrammes of e-waste produced globally each year, of which the UK is the second highest producer per capita.

It’s the largest case of premature, planned obsolescence
What’s happening today is a perfect example of premature and planned obsolescence, possibly the largest example to date. It is premature, because many of the affected computers are primarily used to run web-based services, for which newer, more powerful devices aren’t necessary.

This choice by Microsoft is also deliberate: by requiring hardware to meet certain specific requirements to upgrade to its new Windows 11 operating system, the company planned to make a huge portion of today’s computers practically obsolete. And the software manufacturer executed its strategy consistently, primarily focusing its communication on the importance of upgrading to new computers compatible with the new software to stay secure. In parallel, it has delayed publishing information about alternative options available, in the hope that people would decide to upgrade to a new device.

Twenty million people in Britain are affected
Polling data from a YouGov survey for The Restart Project shows that 39 per cent of people in Great Britain currently own or use at home a computer running Windows 10. What’s even more concerning is that 62 per cent of respondents using Windows 10 don’t have a plan to change their computer or operating system after today. The Restart Project estimates over 20 million British people are affected, with almost 13 million computers becoming vulnerable to hackers and malware as soon as support to the operating system ends.

How did we get to this point? Microsoft as well as many other manufacturers of small electrical and electronic devices can get away with arbitrarily stopping support for existing devices simply because there is no legislation forcing them to continue supporting their existing products for as long as needed by users.

People reject the need to replace devices often
Right to repair advocates and digital rights groups have been raising awareness of this issue across the world in recent months, creating campaigns and resources for users. For example The Restart Project created a toolkit to help community groups support people through the end of Windows 10, informing them of the various options available: from switching to free and open source operating systems to paying for extended Microsoft support. In the lead up to International Repair Day on 18 October, thousands of repair events around the world are breathing new life into laptops, saving people money and cutting waste. This growing movement is proof that people are rejecting fast tech turnover.

While the end of Windows 10 is a great opportunity to advocate for free and open source alternatives, this solution can’t be easily rolled out to hundreds of millions of users and devices. Additionally, at a time when the use of refurbished devices is growing everywhere, the end of Windows 10 support is rendering millions of devices, already replaced by corporate and other users, virtually useless as second hand devices, contributing to widening the digital divide.

People in the EU have a different support option
This is why systemic solutions must be put in place to solve this and future cases of software obsolescence. A global coalition of organisations is urging Microsoft to extend free, automatic support for Windows 10 until 2030. In parallel, in the EU, the Right to Repair Europe coalition is calling on the European Commissioner Jessika Roswall to protect citizens and businesses from software-driven obsolescence with ambitious EU Ecodesign rules for devices like laptops.

Meanwhile, in the UK, since April 2024, manufacturers of internet connectable products are required to indicate the minimum amount of software support they commit to provide for their products, under the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Regulation.

While a step in the right direction, this falls short of requiring manufacturers to provide a minimum support period. It contributes to improving consumers’ information without increasing consumer rights.

The Windows 10 case is telling: Microsoft had to (quietly) agree to extend free support in countries in the European Economic Area, but not in the UK, as its practices were not compatible with the EU Digital Markets Act.

Polling from The Restart Project reveals that 84 per cent of people in the UK support the introduction of legislation to prevent software obsolescence. It’s therefore imperative that the government pushes ahead with ambitious right to repair legislation, as demanded by over 430 community groups, organisations and businesses which have already signed the Repair and Reuse Declaration, endorsed by 80 MPs.