Microsoft's announcement to kill its most popular operating system isn't working

In February, Microsoft announced it was killing support for its most popular operating system, Windows 10, but the company's efforts to transition users from Windows 10 to Windows 11, isn't working.

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Windows 10 is by far Microsoft's most popular operating system at the moment with a market share of more than 70%, according to Statcounter. Despite the company announcing it was ending support for the operating system in October 2025 users still aren't making the switch over to Windows 11, as Statcounter reports that for the first time since late 2023 Windows 10 has climbed past 70% market share.

According to the firm;s April numbers, Windows 10 climbed nearly 1% in market share, with Windows 11's market share dipping to 25.68%, which indicates the new Windows 10 users came directly from Windows 11. Why is this happening?Extremetech reports Windows 10 users may be climbing due to refurbished PC's being dumped in retail channels, and due to many of these PCs having an SSD and being a lot cheaper, buyers may find them very attractive in an effort to save money and still acquire a decent rig.

It should be noted, previous Windows versions typically lost users after the next operating system is released, as users make the switch to a more updated and feature-friendly OS. However, Windows 11 appears to be losing users mid cycle, and to an operating system that is nine years old.