Software & Apps > MS Office 33 33 people found this article helpful When Was Office 2010 End of Life? Microsoft ended support in October 2020 By Karen Marcus Karen Marcus Twitter Writer University of Colorado at Denver Colorado State University Karen Marcus is a former Lifewire writer who has also written for companies like HP, Intel, IBM, Samsung, and others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 9, 2023 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email In This Article Expand Jump to a Section What Does End of Life Mean? Why Did Office 2010 Support End? Upgrading to Microsoft 365 Microsoft ended support for Microsoft Office 2010 on October 13, 2020, meaning it discontinued all support, including security updates. What Does End of Life Mean? End of life is the date after which an application is no longer supported by the company that makes it. After Office 2010 end-of-life, you could continue to use the software, but you would be doing so at your own risk. New computer viruses and other malware are being developed all the time and, without the security updates to fight them off, your data and your system might be vulnerable. Think of 'end of life' in these terms: No more tech support, bug fixes, or security patches. Why Did Office 2010 Support End? The Office 2010 end of life cycle is similar to that of previous Microsoft Office versions. Microsoft states, “Microsoft Office 2010 has a support lifecycle during which we provide new features, software updates, security fixes, and so on. This lifecycle lasts for 10 years from the date of the product’s initial release.” Upgrading to Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 is the cloud version of Office. The advantages are that all your information is stored safely in the cloud, and you can use the software suite across multiple devices. The disadvantage is that it’s a subscription service that you must continue to pay for regularly. Office 2021 One-time purchase. Not regularly updated. One computer per license. Microsoft 366 Online subscription service (monthly or annual). Updated regularly. Up to six licenses with one account/log into them simultaneously. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit