Help and questions

Will my Windows 10 security updates go beyond October 2026?

Yes, if your computer is enrolled. Here is where things stand:

Windows 10 was supported by Microsoft until 14 October 2025. After that date, a Windows 10 computer only gets security updates if it is enrolled in Microsoft's Extended Security Updates programme. Home users can enrol free by backing up their settings with Windows Backup. An enrolled computer gets security updates until 12 October 2027. One that is not enrolled has had none since October 2025. Microsoft directed all users to upgrade to Windows 11.

Some older articles still give a date in October 2026. The date above is the current one.

Covered in Chapter 1 of Windows 11 for Seniors

Why will my PC not upgrade to Windows 11? I go to update and it says my PC doesn't meet minimum requirements.

That message comes from Microsoft's own check. It means the computer is missing something Windows 11 needs. It does not mean the computer is broken, and it carries on working as it is.

Whether it is still getting security updates is answered in the question above.

Someone who knows computers, a family member or a local repair shop, can tell you whether the missing part can be added or whether a newer computer makes more sense. There is no need to decide quickly. If you do move to Windows 11, your files come with you: they stay in the same folders (Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Downloads).

For when you have Windows 11, Windows 11 for Seniors shows you round it step by step

Windows 11 is a joke, right? Or am I missing something?

You are not missing anything, and you have not done anything wrong. Windows 11 is the same computer with the furniture moved. Your files are where you left them, your programmes are still installed, and keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V are unchanged.

Two changes make it feel familiar again:

• Move the Start button back to the left. Right-click an empty part of the taskbar, click Taskbar settings, then Taskbar behaviours, and change Taskbar alignment from Centre to Left.
• Find your programmes. Open the Start menu and click All apps. To keep one handy, right-click it and click Pin to Start.

Read Chapter 3, The Start Menu, free

How do I restore files from OneDrive back to the desktop?

First, the reassurance: your files are not lost. OneDrive is Microsoft's free cloud storage, a safe copy of your files kept on Microsoft's computers. A white cloud icon at the bottom right of the screen means everything is backed up; a blue one means it is still copying.

To move a file:

1. Click the folder icon on the taskbar. This opens File Explorer.
2. On the left, click OneDrive and find the file. Click it once.
3. Hold Ctrl and press X.
4. On the left, click Desktop. Hold Ctrl and press V.

Moved something to the wrong place? Press Ctrl+Z straight away and it goes back.

If a file was deleted and the Recycle Bin has been emptied, go to onedrive.com, sign in, and look in the Recycle Bin there.

Covered in Chapters 5 and 10 of Windows 11 for Seniors

Using a laptop when you're partially sighted: how do I make the screen easier to see?

Windows 11 has this built in. Two settings make the biggest difference, so do these first:

• Make everything bigger: Settings, then System, then Display, then Scale. Try 125% or 150%.
• Make the words bigger: Settings, then Accessibility, then Text size. Drag the slider until reading is comfortable.

Then, as needed:

• Magnifier: hold the Windows key and press Plus to zoom in, Minus to zoom out, Esc to close.
• High contrast: Settings, then Accessibility, then Contrast themes.
• Narrator reads the screen aloud: Windows key + Ctrl + Enter turns it on and off.

Covered in Chapter 11 of Windows 11 for Seniors

Can anyone recommend a user guide for Windows 11 for seniors? I've just got my new laptop set up.

Ours is written for exactly that moment. Windows 11 for Seniors has eleven short chapters in plain English, one calm step at a time: finding your way round the screen, the Start menu, files and OneDrive, getting online safely, email and video calls, simple fixes when something goes wrong, and making the screen easier to see. It works as a reference book too, so you can go straight to the chapter you need.

You can read a full chapter first and see whether the style suits you.

Read Chapter 3 free

How do you keep aging parents and grandparents safe online?

Warnings fade within a week. A few things done together, once, last much longer:

• Agree a family safe word, in person, and never put it in a message. Any call or message asking for money must include it. No word, no money, however real the voice sounds.
• Save your own numbers in their phone, clearly named, so ringing back on a known number is always easy.
• Agree what happens if either of you is caught out: no blame, straight to the bank, straight to each other. People who have agreed this ring quickly, and speed matters.
• On the computer, Windows Defender is built into Windows 11 and runs on its own, so there is no need to buy antivirus. Microsoft never sends a pop-up with a phone number.

The whole visit takes about twenty minutes, with the kettle on.

The Grandparent Scam Handbook has a page written for sons and daughters

I called the number on the screen but thought I should contact Microsoft myself to be sure.

Checking was the right instinct. A pop-up that says your computer has a virus and gives a phone number is a scam. Microsoft never sends one.

• Close it: hold Alt and press F4, or click the X. If it will not close, restart the computer.
• Do not call the number.
• A genuine warning comes from Windows Security, the shield icon at the bottom right of the screen, never from a web page.

If you gave card or bank details, or let the caller into your computer, ring your bank on the number on the back of your card, or dial 159, which connects you safely to your own bank's fraud line.

Covered in Chapters 6 and 10 of Windows 11 for Seniors

I've just had a phone call from (supposedly) BT, saying they want to stop hackers infiltrating all my computer data.

Treat any caller who wants into your computer as a stranger, however official they sound. Use three steps:

1. Hang up. You do not need a reason or an excuse.
2. Look up the real number yourself, on a bill or a statement. Do not ring back the number that called, and do not use a number the caller gave you.
3. Ring back on that real number and ask whether they called you. Wait a few minutes first, and use a different phone if one is handy.

If the call was genuine, this costs two minutes. If it was not, nothing is lost.

The "hang up, look up, ring back" drill is Section 5 of The Grandparent Scam Handbook

I've had a fake Evri text asking for a redelivery fee, and a parking fine one with a link to pay.

Do not tap the link. Forward the text, free, to 7726, then delete it. That is all it needs.

If you already tapped it and entered card or bank details, that happens to careful people too. Ring your bank on the number on the back of your card, or dial 159. Then report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at reportfraud.police.uk (in Scotland, ring Police Scotland on 101).

For any message asking for money, a code or a password, the rule is the same: Stop. Think. Call.

Read Stop. Think. Call., the message-scams chapter of WhatsApp for Seniors, free

Grandma got scammed. What can we do?

First: being tricked by professionals is not foolishness, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Then act quickly, because speed matters far more than blame.

1. Ring the bank. Use the number on the back of the card, or dial 159. Say: "I believe I have been scammed and I need to stop or recall a payment." Under UK rules in force since 7 October 2024, you can ask the bank to reimburse a bank transfer you were tricked into making to a UK account, and it must consider the claim. There are exceptions, so report it as soon as you can, and within 13 months at the latest.
2. Report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, ring Police Scotland on 101. If anyone is threatened, or a courier is on the way, ring 999.
3. Tell the family, because a second attempt often follows the first.
4. Choose a new safe word if one was mentioned.

Covered in Section 6 of The Grandparent Scam Handbook