Microsoft Office 2010 - support ending in October

[Springs Branch]

I have MS Office 2010 installed on my home PC, and use Word and Excel almost daily.
Sporadically over the past year, and now continuously, a banner appears alerting me that support for Office 2010 will end on 13 October 2020.

I'm reluctant to move to Office 365 and pay rolling year-in-year-out subscriptions to Microsoft - given that Excel & Word already do way more than I'll ever need, and I won't need any spurious new "features & benefits".

Questions are:
- What will happen if I choose to just continue using my non-Cloud-based Office software beyond October?
- Will Microsoft be implementing some trickery to force O.2010 users into their rent-seeking business model?
- Will I then be unable to open later versions of Word & Excel files with my "obsolete" software?

Presumably other users have already experienced a similar situation with the earlier versions of Office.

 

[Lewlew]

When a company says that they are going to stop supporting a product, it usually means that they won't be providing any updates to fix bugs/security holes/optimise things etc. The software will continue to work with no problems.

If you do run into any issues then are plenty of free alternatives out there. I use Google Docs/Sheets (and have done for a while) which is pretty comparable to Office for the things I do. It can open all Office files and will be supported for a long time so will work with any versions of Office document types. There is a very small learning curve in the way that Google do some things compared to Microsoft but overall I'm very happy with it. You don't download it, it's all done in your internet browser of choice and you can either save files locally on your computer or to Google Drive.

There's also OpenOffice which is a free open source software package that is available. I've only used it briefly so can't recommend it but it is generally regarded as being very comparable to Office.

 

[CrispyUK]

Office 2010 will continue to work after 13 October and you can continue to use it, however the end of support means Microsoft won't be providing technical support, bug fixes or security fixes after this date. If a security vulnerability is discovered in Office 2010 after this date, Microsoft won't be releasing an update to prevent malicious types from exploiting it, so you could open yourself up to additional risks. How much of a potential problem this is depends on how you are using Office and your home computer in general. Also Office 2010 will no longer be available for download from Microsoft, so make sure you have a copy of the installer in case you need to re-install in future.

If Microsoft introduce a new version of the Office file formats in future (like in 2007 when .docx was introduced as the successor to .doc for Word documents) then you are unlikely to be able to open these, the creator would need to save the file in the older format, which may causes problems with any features exclusive to the newer version which Office 2010 won't be able to handle. A bit like how you can't expect a DVD player to read a Blu-ray disc

If you would like to stick with Microsoft Office (rather than one of the alternatives Lewlew has suggested above), but want to update without getting into the monthly/annual SaaS model, then one-time purchases are still available. Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 is probably the version you'd need, £119.99 as a downloadable purchase from Microsoft Store UK, can probably save slightly by shopping around, although I would be wary of anywhere selling it considerably cheaper than this. Note also that Office 2019 will only work with Windows 10 (or macOS), it is not compatible with earlier versions.

 

[36270k]

There are plenty of alternatives to Microsoft Office.
I use LibreOffice all the time. It can read/write any Microsoft document as well as its own odt files.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I had to upgrade from Office XP to a newer version when I bought a new laptop. I too was concerned about the 'monthly rent and you are ours forever' model so I did as CrispyUK suggests and bought a 'one-off' standalone copy of Office 2019. It was the price stated £119.99 but with £20 off as an offer at the time from Currys when I bought the laptop.

As I understand it, if you take up, but then stop paying the monthly fee (for Office 2019, don't know about 365 T & C's) you can still open your office files but cannot edit them.

 

[Harpers Tate]

Another vote here for one of the "Open Source" equivalents - Libre Office or Apache Open Office are examples and work perfectly well. They are compatible with MS Office file formats, are current, standalone, completely free and maintained. I have a specific reason for preferring Apache, but have used Libre as well.

 

[MotCO]

can probably save slightly by shopping around, although I would be wary of anywhere selling it considerably cheaper than this.

What is the risk of using cheaper Microsoft Office products? I've used them in the past, they seem to work ok - if I recall you download a copy from the official Microsoft site and input the security number, so it seems to be a kocher Microsoft product. I know that there is no such thing as a 'free lunch', but I'm struggling to see the catch.

 

[DB]

I'd pretty much agree with everything written so far. You could continue using Office 2010, but it won't get security fixes so that's not a good idea. It will probably also stop working (Outlook) with Microsoft email services later in the year as the minimum security requirement for these is being increased (other mail providers may be doing the same).

Of the free alternatives, Libre Office is probably the most popular, so may be worth downloading it and trying it. One thing to beware of is that by default it doesn't save in the Microsoft file formats, so you may want to go into the settings and change this. It looks a bit like Microsoft Office pre-2007, but is more than capable of everything most home users would need. Compatibility with the Microsoft equivalents is generally good in terms of files appearing the same in both, although there can occasionally be issues. Libre Office doesn't include a mail client so if you use Outlook you will need one of those - Emclient isn't bad, and is free for personal use.

If you want to stick with Microsoft, the options are the one-off purchase of Office 2019, which has extended support until 14/10/2025 (meaning it will get security updates until then), or the subscription (annual or monthly) Office 365, which needs an active subscription (if the subscription expires, it will within a month go into a reduced-functionality mode where you can view files but not much else). This doesn't have a support expiry date as such - it is supported and updated for as long as the subscription remains active. It should be noted that it will also periodically receive new features, which will install as updates, whereas Office 2019 won't in most cases. It's also worth nothing that the family plans are quite good value (up to six people), so if you have other family members requiring Office this can work out quite well price-wise.

What is the risk of using cheaper Microsoft Office products? I've used them in the past, they seem to work ok - if I recall you download a copy from the official Microsoft site and input the security number, so it seems to be a kocher Microsoft product. I know that there is no such thing as a 'free lunch', but I'm struggling to see the catch.

That rather depends on the provenance! If they are unopened retail packs (e.g. bankrupt stock) then it may be OK - for a while the retail offerings have only contained the key, and the software has had to be downloaded from Microsoft. However, if it's one of those where you are just emailed a key then you have no idea what it is or where it came from. It may be a leaked volume license key (volume licenses are business licenses which will activate multiple copies), and if it becomes known that it has leaked it's entirely possible that it may get blocked, and the software will become unlicensed and go into the reduced functionality mode where it will only allow read access.

Basically, I wouldn't risk it - with software purchases, always get them from a reputable source.

 

[py_megapixel]

You can buy Office 2019 as a one-of purchase but it costs an arm and a leg (£120 I think?)

There's many free or lower cost alternatives, such as LibreOffice, Softmaker Office and so on

 

[John Hunt]

Another vote here for one of the "Open Source" equivalents - Libre Office or Apache Open Office are examples and work perfectly well. They are compatible with MS Office file formats, are current, standalone, completely free and maintained. I have a specific reason for preferring Apache, but have used Libre as well.

And a vote from here too. I had a catastrophic hard disk failure on my laptop recently. All my data was OK because I hold it on sticks - the only two concerns I had were e-mail (which was not too difficult to get back again) and Student Office. Apache Open Office works just as well as Mr Gates' product.

 

[mbonwick]

You don't necessarily need to go to Office 2019; Office 2016 is in extended support (i.e. security updates) until 2025. Also, you don't mention what operating system you're using - Office 2019 is Windows 10 only (hence the long support period for 2016 as the last Windows 7 compatible version).

Personally I've never had issues buying cheaper keys from eBay, but then I know what to look for to avoid the clearly dodgy listings. There are some perfectly legitimate routes that cheap keys become available, so if you know what to look for I see no issue going for them.

 

[DB]

You don't necessarily need to go to Office 2019; Office 2016 is in extended support (i.e. security updates) until 2025. Also, you don't mention what operating system you're using - Office 2019 is Windows 10 only (hence the long support period for 2016 as the last Windows 7 compatible version).

The 2016 support period is what was the norm (compatibility with W7 isn't really a consideration now as that's out of support - and is a considerably higher security risk than Office 2010) - they've reduced it for 2019 as part of their push to get everyone onto their subscription services (there have been many tactics to do this - in the business sphere it's far more pronounced as they are pushing much harder there, as anyone who has to deal with hybrid Exchange setups, or the ridiculous system requirements for Exchange 2019, will know!)

Office 2016 is not availble from Microsoft now as a retail purchase, in any case, so the only option there would be to find a retailer with old stock. Not sure that there would be much point though.

 

[mbonwick]

The 2016 support period is what was the norm (compatibility with W7 isn't really a consideration now as that's out of support - and is a considerably higher security risk than Office 2010) - they've reduced it for 2019 as part of their push to get everyone onto their subscription services (there have been many tactics to do this - in the business sphere it's far more pronounced as they are pushing much harder there, as anyone who has to deal with hybrid Exchange setups, or the ridiculous system requirements for Exchange 2019, will know!)

Office 2016 is not availble from Microsoft now as a retail purchase, in any case, so the only option there would be to find a retailer with old stock. Not sure that there would be much point though.

All very true, but there's plenty of people out there still on Windows 7 despite all the pushing from Microsoft. It's dangerous to assume.
I've not looked in the past couple of months, but even in January there was no shortage of 2016 keys. That might be changing now as you say with Windows 7 having finally dropped support.

I just can't see any advantage in going to the subscription model for your average home user (obviously I see the extra £££ that Microsoft are trying to bring in).

 

[DB]

I just can't see any advantage in going to the subscription model for your average home user (obviously I see the extra £££ that Microsoft are trying to bring in).

Might be worth it for familiies as the cost per user is lower, and kids will need to know how to use the Microsoft software, but generally I agree - I deal with Office 365 day in day out at work but have not got a personal subscription, and have Libre Office on my home laptop.

That said, it does depend on the user - some are not comfortable using anything apart from the Microsoft offerings as that's what they know.

 

[eMeS]

I bought Office 97 when it was the latest thing, and installed it on whatever OS was current at the time. Like an idiot I invested a lot of my time writing MSAccess database code not knowing that it wouldn't be long before MS changed the support platform, and any code calling VisualBasic routines was dead. I still use Excel 97 & Word97, and just the front ends of several Access97 databases. At around the same time, my perfectly adequate copy of Autosketch stopped working when I upgraded my version of Windows. Guess what - I've been very reluctant to pay for any software since...

 

[Crossover]

Just to point out, there are changes between Office 2010 and the new Office versions file formats. What they are I don’t know but we are just retiring Office 2010 at work and going to Office 365 and the various documents created in the older version have got messages about converting them. It may just be new features but I don’t know what happens if you open a new document in the old version

 

[malc-c]

To be honest I'm still using office 2007 on my windows 10 PC, and support for that ended ages back. I can still open old documents as well and new ones... It still allows me to write letters, reports etc, and the PDF plugin that has long since disappeared from the MS download page gives me the opportunity to save a document as a pdf that is readable on any platform. Outlook still works with my ISP despite outlook 2007 being unsupported.

The only issue is that any of the bug fixes, or "security" fixes are missing, but using a decent AV / Malware application prevents you opening an attachment with a doggy macro. But if you simply want to type and print off a letter then older versions of Office are still perfectly up to the task.

For me I'm old school, and with so many online data breaches there is no way I would ever consider using Office365 and saving my sensitive documents to a google drive. I've had my details circulated on dark sites following a breach at Ticketmaster where e-mails, passwords, payment details and other info was hacked.... The stress and inconvenience it caused was something I wouldn't want to go through again.

I have lots of old "obsolete" software on my modern PC (Ryzen 1500x /Win10 pro). PhotoshopCS2 - does all the image processing I need, Office 2007 still allows me to write all the letters and spreadsheets I need. I also run older versions of specialist software such as PCB design software, but it still allows me to design and produce multilayer PCBs for my electronics projects. The only time I encountered an issue is when a small application used a 3rd party DLL file and that wasn't compatible with the newer OS...but on the whole running older software isn't a problem.

 

[37424]

I wouldn't get overly excited about it I was running Office 2007 on a whole school full of PC's until the end of last year, I would be more concerned about running a no longer supported OS, but for apps there will be plenty of apps out there still being used by companies and individual's which are no longer supported by their manufascturer.

 

[malc-c]

I wouldn't get overly excited about it I was running Office 2007 on a whole school full of PC's until the end of last year, I would be more concerned about running a no longer supported OS, but for apps there will be plenty of apps out there still being used by companies and individual's which are no longer supported by their manufascturer.

My previous employer up until 2017 had a server running Windows server 2003 on a machine that was pentium rather the zenon based and probably had less power than the i7 desktop I was given, networked with a 10/100 switch which also handled the phone system. My new PC had windows 7, but three others were still running windows XP !! The network sharing was so bad that you would always get the egg timer when accessing any document on a network share.... I did suggest that they look at upgrading their IT but they were so tight fisted that they waited unto the warehouse managers PC died before replacing his old XP machine with a new HP SFF desktop, which had more computing power than the server it was accessing !

 

[37424]

My previous employer up until 2017 had a server running Windows server 2003 on a machine that was pentium rather the zenon based and probably had less power than the i7 desktop I was given, networked with a 10/100 switch which also handled the phone system. My new PC had windows 7, but three others were still running windows XP !! The network sharing was so bad that you would always get the egg timer when accessing any document on a network share.... I did suggest that they look at upgrading their IT but they were so tight fisted that they waited unto the warehouse managers PC died before replacing his old XP machine with a new HP SFF desktop, which had more computing power than the server it was accessing !

That doesn't surprise me, a previous large company I worked for had plenty of of obsolete apps and OS on PC's and Servers but they were mainly highly specialised software and it would be mitigated on a restricted VLAN, I don't doubt there are many smaller organisations that don't have well managed IT that are running all sorts of obsolete stuff, of course Microsoft and such need to keep the pennies rolling in even though the old versions of Office and other software may be perfectly good enough for their needs.

 

[gingerheid]

Hmm. I was determined to stick with 2010, but it suspiciously gained a deactivating itself but not letting me reinput the code error

 

[najaB]

What will happen if I choose to just continue using my non-Cloud-based Office software beyond October?

Nothing. It will continue to work the same as it does now. However, you won't get any security updates.

Will Microsoft be implementing some trickery to force O.2010 users into their rent-seeking business model?

Nope. That said, the industry is increasingly moving to Software as a Service (SaaS) models as it represents a lower [intial] cost for end users and more predictable revenue for the vendors. As an example, a standalone licence for the full Office 2019 Suite (depending on version) is around £450 as compared to £59/year for the subscription model. You will have spent the same after 7 years, but with the subscription model you will have the latest version of the software at the end of the seven years, whereas with an outright purchase you'll have seven year old software. Plus the subscription also gives you 1TB of online storage.

Will I then be unable to open later versions of Word & Excel files with my "obsolete" software?

Office versions from 2010 onwards use the xml-based 'x formats' (eg .docx), rather than their proprietary binary predecessor (eg .doc). MS hasn't indicated an intention to move away from that format, but forever is a long time and things may well change.

 

[najaB]

Hmm. I was determined to stick with 2010, but it suspiciously gained a deactivating itself but not letting me reinput the code error

If you have a valid licence then you can re-activate the software. This may require contacting MS if the automated processes don't work.

 

[najaB]

The network sharing was so bad that you would always get the egg timer when accessing any document on a network share.... I did suggest that they look at upgrading their IT but they were so tight fisted that they waited unto the warehouse managers PC died before replacing his old XP machine with a new HP SFF desktop, which had more computing power than the server it was accessing !

What companies like that don't appreciate is that the lost productivity costs way more than upgrading their IT to something that almost appears up-to-date.

 

[DB]

Software as a Service (SaaS) models as it represents a lower cost for end users and more predictable revenue for the vendors. As an example, a standalone licence for the full Office 2019 Suite (depending on version) is around £450 as compared to £59/year for the subscription model. You will have spent the same after 7 years, but with the subscription model you will have the latest version of the software at the end of the seven years, whereas with an outright purchase you'll have seven year old software.

Hmm. It's not always as simple as that! Most home users will be fine with the more basic Office 2019 options (which are a lot cheaper) as they don't need all the programs.

I've generally found that SaaS is on average more expensive than outright purchases when averaged out. Which isn't to say it's always the wrong option - and in this case, as you say, there are other factors such as the online storage. I would however always encourage looking at what you actually need and making the comparisons on a case by case basis.

 

[swt_passenger]

Hmm. It's not always as simple as that! Most home users will be fine with the more basic Office 2019 options (which are a lot cheaper) as they don't need all the programs.

I've generally found that SaaS is on average more expensive than outright purchases when averaged out. Which isn't to say it's always the wrong option - and in this case, as you say, there are other factors such as the online storage. I would however always encourage looking at what you actually need and making the comparisons on a case by case basis.

I use an Office subscription, and I think you probably also need to include In your reckoning the capability for multiple installations across different machines and/or for other users. I’d need to check but it’s quite a few.

 

[najaB]

Hmm. It's not always as simple as that! Most home users will be fine with the more basic Office 2019 options (which are a lot cheaper) as they don't need all the programs.

It was an apples to apples comparison. You can purchase the Home & Student version for £180, if all you need is Excel, Word and PowerPoint - that takes the payback period to just three years.

I've generally found that SaaS is on average more expensive than outright purchases when averaged out. Which isn't to say it's always the wrong option - and in this case, as you say, there are other factors such as the online storage. I would however always encourage looking at what you actually need and making the comparisons on a case by case basis.

That depends on the period that you look at it over - if you're happy to use software that is 5 or more years old then outright purchase is probably the way to go, but if you prefer to upgrade the subscription model is the way to go (not to mention the lower initial capital outlay).

 

[DB]

That depends on the period that you look at it over - if you're happy to use software that is 5 or more years old then outright purchase is probably the way to go, but if you prefer to upgrade the subscription model is the way to go (not to mention the lower initial capital outlay).

Not always - it depends on the software. In the case of Microsoft, they are pricing it to try to push as many people as possible towards their subscripton model. What happens when they've got most people on it remains to be seen!

 

[37424]

What companies like that don't appreciate is that the lost productivity costs way more than upgrading their IT to something that almost appears up-to-date.

Well some do, some don't, it used to drive me up the wall when my some of my IT colleagues said we needed to upgrade to the latest version of this and that, and I would ask what the actual benefit was was? to which the answer was frequently very little. Obviously you have balance that against becoming too out of date as upgrading can be difficult and costly, but I'm not a fan of SaaS and particularly for something like Office, I would rather buy the software and run it for a number of years, but you pays your money and take your choice.

 

[malc-c]

I don't like rentware, which is basically what a subscription based package is. It ties you in to your data, so it then becomes a big task to migrate to a different application later on. I'm involved in a database application for keeping data on reptile collections. Originally the developer was in partnership with someone and they produced a standalone application that was a one off purchase for around $50. They parted company and years later the developer brought out a new application, but whilst is still ran local on the users PC, requires a live subscription of $6.99 pm for it to run. Granted it's not like having data in the cloud, but it means that anyone entering details of their collection, either as a hobbyist or business will lose access to that data if they cancel the subscription, so they are tied in for life effectively and could end up paying thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the application. Yes they/ we are constantly bring out updates and adding customer wish lists to the project for free, but I still feel uncomfortable locking people into the application like this.

To be honest, whilst I've been given a lifetime membership in return for my involvement in the new application, I still use his old program that I purchased years ago to maintain records on my collection of reptiles as I know I won't be faced with any access issue should we fall out or something happen to him and the servers are pulled.