San Francisco, April 9, 2026, 08:07 PDT
Google is pushing ChromeOS Flex as a way to revive aging Windows PCs and Macs, pairing its free-download operating system with a roughly $3 USB installer kit sold through refurbished electronics marketplace Back Market. The company says the kit is meant to make installation simpler for users trying to keep older machines secure after Microsoft’s Windows 10 support cutoff. 1
The timing matters because Windows 10 stopped receiving free security updates on Oct. 14, 2025. Microsoft says PCs can keep running, but they no longer get technical support, software updates or security fixes unless users move to Windows 11 or enroll in Extended Security Updates, or ESU, which keeps critical patches coming for a limited period. 2
The pool of stranded machines is big enough to matter. Dell COO Jeffrey Clarke said in November that roughly 500 million PCs in the installed base can run Windows 11 but have not upgraded, and another 500 million are too old to run it, a gap that still feeds a replacement cycle for PC makers while giving Google an opening. 3
Google’s route is cheaper than buying new hardware, but it is not the only escape hatch. Microsoft says consumers can keep eligible Windows 10 PCs on security updates until Oct. 13, 2026 by enrolling in ESU, either at no extra cost if they sync PC settings, by redeeming 1,000 Rewards points or through a $30 purchase, while Google says existing PCs and Macs can be converted to ChromeOS Flex at no cost. 4
Google and Back Market have sold the tie-up partly as a sustainability play. “Millions of laptops are approaching the end of their supported operating systems, even though the hardware is still perfectly fine and works,” Alexander Kuscher, a senior director at Google, said in a March 4 release, while Back Market CEO Thibaud Hug de Larauze said extending device life is “one of the most immediate ways to reduce e-waste.” 5
There are catches. Google says ChromeOS Flex is designed for many PCs and Macs from the last 10 years, but only certified models are officially supported, and not every device has a supported Trusted Platform Module, or TPM, the security chip that protects encryption keys. On some hardware, Google says data can still be encrypted but may be more exposed to attack. 6
But ChromeOS Flex is not a drop-in Windows substitute. Google says it does not support Google Play or Android apps, does not support dual booting with another operating system, and wipes existing files, settings and programs during installation, limits that could keep some home users and small businesses on Windows a while longer. 7
For companies, the numbers look different again. Microsoft’s commercial ESU program starts at $61 per device for the first year and can run for up to three years after Windows 10’s end of support, giving IT departments more time to phase out old hardware instead of switching operating systems midstream. 8
ChromeOS Flex itself is not new. Google launched the free-download software in 2022 for schools and businesses that wanted to repurpose aging PCs and Macs, and the current push lands when the Windows 11 migration is still running behind the pace of the last major Windows transition. 9
