There’s Always a Catch with Microsoft: Free ESU Enrollment Requires Constant Microsoft Account Logins
If you signed up for ESU (Extended Security Updates) and don’t pay for it (i.e., you used one of the free offers), then you must sign into your Microsoft account every 60 days to keep your Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU). This is Microsoft’s method to verify your device is still actively enrolled in the free ESU program and hasn’t been disconnected from the Microsoft account you used for initial enrollment. This process prevents users from signing up, then switching back to a local account and receiving free updates. This ensures users are continuously committed to receiving them through the program’s conditions.
Microsoft periodically checks your device to see if you’re still meeting the requirements for the ESU program. If more than 60 days pass since you last signed into your Microsoft account on the device, your PC will be removed from the ESU program. To regain access to ESU updates, you’ll need to sign back into your Microsoft account on that device and re-enroll in the program.
Microsoft uses this method to prevent abuse. The 60-day sign-in requirement is Microsoft’s way of stopping individuals from enrolling in the free ESU program with a Microsoft account and then switching to a local account to avoid ongoing requirements. It ensures that the Windows 10 PC remains actively connected to the Microsoft account used for enrollment, which is part of the conditions for receiving free extended security updates.
Microsoft says they’re doing this to prevent exploitation. They claiim that some users might attempt to enroll in ESU with their Microsoft account and then switch back to a local account to avoid being tied to the Microsoft ecosystem. The 60-day check-in prevents this by associating the license with the Microsoft account used during the enrollment process. If you do not sign in with your MSA for 60 days, ESU updates will be discontinued. You would then need to re-enroll by signing in with the same MSA.
But if you paid for ESU, you don’t have to sign into your Microsoft account periodically. If you chose (or choose) the paid ESU option. A one-time purchase of $30 allows you to receive security updates for the year without requiring you to constantly sign in with a Microsoft account after the initial purchase.