Windows 8.1 users will soon receive notifications from Microsoft that OS support will end on January 10, 2023. The company will start sending reminders to devices running Windows 8.1 next month. They will be similar to the ones that Microsoft previously sent to Windows 7 users, reminding them of the end of support. This was reported by The Verge.

From now on, Windows 8.1 users have to decide whether to upgrade their operating system or buy a new PC. Most computers running Windows 8.1 will not be able to install Windows 11 due to strict CPU requirements.

“Most Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 devices will not meet the hardware requirements for upgrading to Windows 11, as an alternative, compatible Windows 8 and 8.1 PCs can be upgraded to Windows 10 by purchasing and installing a full version of the software,” says the support note by Microsoft.

Windows 10 will run until October 14, 2025, so this is the most likely alternative. Computers running Windows 8.1 will not stop running suddenly on January 10, 2023, but without software updates and security enhancements, it will be risky to use them. Windows 8.1 will no longer offer an extended security update program, so businesses will be forced to upgrade or run the risk of running software without updates. 

For the users of Windows 8.1 Microsoft published some explanations on how to update or transfer files to a new computer. 

To a large extent, Windows 8.1 was an attempt to fix Windows 8, which had a lot of updates and was not liked by users. Windows 10, which appeared in 2015, lost many of the biggest changes to Windows 8, and Windows 11 went even further, reviewing many of the old elements that existed in previous operating systems.