The party's over. After seven years of looking the other way, Microsoft has finally announced that it's closing the loophole that allowed PCs running Windows 7 and Windows 8.x to upgrade for free.

Microsoft Ends Windows 8.1 Support Today, Here’s What That Means The end of support means the operating system will be vulnerable to security risks. Users should upgrade immediately.

Microsoft Edge will drop support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 after the release of version 109 on January 12th, 2023.