Microsoft has shipped a fix for commercial customers who believed they were enrolled in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program but received error messages on the first Patch Tuesday after support ended.

The patch was released in [1]KB5072653 , which Microsoft has referred to as the "Extended Security Updates (ESU) Licensing Preparation Package for Windows 10."

To install it, a device must first have the October 2025 security update installed. Then the preparation package can be installed, and finally, the November 11 security update can be deployed.

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Microsoft has not made it clear what this "preparation package" does, only that [3]it must be installed before the November 11 security update.

[4]

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The ESU program was [6]announced as a way for customers to continue receiving security updates for Windows 10 after support ended. It is a paid program, although some consumers can avoid the subscription charge [7]depending on their region or willingness [8]to sign up to Microsoft's services .

It's been more than a year since Microsoft announced the ESU program for Windows 10, making its troubled start all the more disappointing. Some consumers encountered [9]problems with the enrollment wizard, while other commercial customers who activated their devices through the Microsoft 365 admin center encountered installation errors.

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With Microsoft charging handsomely to keep the updates flowing – $61 per device for year one, doubling annually – the bumpy transition is vexing for admins.

Microsoft has not shared figures for the number of devices running Windows 10 or how many customers are enrolled in the ESU program, but it is clear that Windows 11 has hardly been a roaring success.

According to [11]Statcounter , it took until June 2025 for Windows 11 to finally surpass its predecessor in market share. Even by the end of free support for most versions of Windows 10, a few months later, the venerable operating system accounted for more than 40 percent of the Windows desktop market.

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There are multiple reasons why Windows 11 has not set the market alight, not least its hardware requirements, which have rendered many devices running Windows 10 obsolete.

Still, the ESU program will keep those devices secure for some time yet, and we're sure it will function as intended for everyone at some point. ®

Get our [13]Tech Resources



[1] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/kb5072653-extended-security-updates-esu-licensing-preparation-package-for-windows-10-8c8b215c-d2af-44dc-b712-1ec403842cdc

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aRymJWZy2RePRQcXUk0UDgAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[3] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/november-11-2025-kb5068781-os-builds-19044-6575-and-19045-6575-7fe13257-9079-49af-9369-e0e6242701dd

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aRymJWZy2RePRQcXUk0UDgAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aRymJWZy2RePRQcXUk0UDgAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/31/microsoft_windows_10_support/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/26/not_in_eu_and_want/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/25/microsoft_free_esu_tier/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/12/microsoft_esu_wizard_fix/

[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aRymJWZy2RePRQcXUk0UDgAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[11] https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide

[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aRymJWZy2RePRQcXUk0UDgAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/