this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2026

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1026

Windows 11 just lost 5% market share in two months despite Windows 10 losing support. (www.windowscentral.com)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by ekZepp@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

201 comments fedilink hide all child comments

According to Statcounter, Windows 11 held a 55.18% market share in October 2025. That share dropped to 53.7% in November and dropped again in December. Now, Windows 11 holds a 50.73% market share.

https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide

Many are rollback to Windows 10, but Linux is increasing as well.

https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide

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[–] bus_factor@lemmy.world 159 points 1 month ago (12 children)

I imagine this is why MS is finally backtracking a bit on the aggressive pushing of AI in every app. They're doing Clippy all over again, but OS-wide this time.

Just impressive how hard they managed to screw the pooch here. Have they forgotten that every other Windows release is universally hated? They had a good thing going until they discontinued Windows 10 before Windows 12 was out. Now they'll probably need to rush out another version, because the name Windows 11 is forever tainted.

[–] kboos1@lemmy.world 138 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (14 children)

The thing that's driving me away from windows is how pushy it's gotten. Forced updates, ads, AI, OneDrive, and subscriptions. I just want to be able to turn on MY computer and do what I want or need without having my guard up that I can't trust my home PC with my privacy.

Windows 11 is ok, but is frustrating to use and I can't trust it not to screw with settings and there seems to be something annoying added instead of something useful with every update. I also hate the Settings menu, it's like an unhelpful layer between you and Control Panel the eventually will take you to the same place but took 5 more clicks and searching through drop downs for a link to what you needed.

[–] Takapapatapaka@tarte.nuage-libre.fr 67 points 1 month ago (1 children)

+1. I ragequit windows when it reinstalled Teams during an OS update, just after i uninstalled it.

[–] bus_factor@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I discovered that there's a separate application which just reinstalls Teams all the time. I don't remember the name, but it had Teams in the name. After I uninstalled that it finally stopped popping up.

[–] techt@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/answers/questions/5605606/how-to-stop-ms-teams-launching-at-startup-and-rein

Apparently:

This behavior is usually caused by two things:

A background installer from Microsoft Office called the Teams Machine-Wide Installer, which automatically reinstalls Teams for each user.
Windows 11’s built-in Chat feature, which is powered by Teams and may reinstall the app during updates or restarts.

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[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 30 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Win10 LTSC IOT has support until like 2032, and doesn't have any of that pushy bullshit. It's free to pirate btw.

[–] sturmblast@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is the way

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 26 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Eh, if you're not able to make the jump to linux ig.

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[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I finally kicked Windows after 30 years because I have to use windows 11 for work, and it fails at almost everything an operating system should be. Search doesn't work right. Applications don't work right. Basic UI is buggy and inconsistent. It's the most expensive piece of software I use. Using 2 cores and 7GB of RAM at idle is unacceptable for an operating system. It's the equivalent of running Skyrim all the time in the background. It actively tries to undermine my privacy, and instead of using that data to enhance my UX, it spams targeted ads at me in my fucking taskbar. Windows 11 is basically a SmartTV in terms of privacy and functionality at this point. It actively gets in the way of you using the hardware, and to no tangible benefit. Worse, it's become clear that Microsoft recognizes this, and is actively pursuing and expanding the capabilities, with no intent to make a good OS in the future.

I'm out.

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[–] Tetsuo@jlai.lu 18 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

That's probably my main issue with Windows : Its ability to change settings on its own.

I feel like I have almost not control over my OS. It's not a tool that helps me do stuff, it's a dumb assistant that thinks he understands what I'm trying to achieve.

"Oh you plugged a PS5 Dual Sense controller I see, let me switch your microphone to the controller even though you are actively already using another one".

"Oh you put your computer in sleep before going to bed? Let me switch it on In the middle of the night to update, we will call that a mandatory maintenance because you can't disable that feature".

I really need to spend more time on my Linux boot rather than this shitty W10 setup".

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[–] hddsx@lemmy.ca 21 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I liked Clippy. I hate AI

[–] Randynippletwist@lemmynsfw.com 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

📎I see you are nostalgic for your youth and how programs were tools and not spyware to track and target you. Maybe I can help with that 👮‍♀️👮‍♀️👮🏽👮🏽🚓🚓🚁🚁

[–] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 25 points 1 month ago (1 children)

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[–] RedstoneValley@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Do you have a source for that backtracking about AI? I think they did not mention that explicitly. Instead they were talking about unrelated improvements. The CEO is still in denial about AI bloat. He seems unable to comprehend that people don't like to be force fed AI everywhere across the OS.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 14 points 1 month ago (4 children)

They're not in denial. They know no one wants it. They all do. They just don't care because pretending like they do is extremely profitable in the fucked up modern economy we live in.

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[–] Damage@feddit.it 12 points 1 month ago (5 children)

It's not just AI, W11 is slow and unfriendly in general

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[–] Decq@lemmy.world 109 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Why write this article in January when it's main source shows an increase of 12% again in that month?? If anything this article should be about how statscounter is a very unreliable metric. Honest journalism really is dead huh.

[–] Imhotep@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

That’s why I liked the "misleading?" tag mods can add to Reddit posts, it’s a good anti clickbait tool.

[–] darkdemize@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Because a ton of people got new devices for Christmas with Win 11 pre-loaded. Prior to that, Win 11 adoption rates were declining. It's highly likely that future results will show Win 11 adoption continues to slide.

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[–] rmuk@feddit.uk 83 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Clickbait bullshit.

The source shows that Windows 11 usage has been steadily climbing for a long time, including in January - the latest data available - but presumably that didn't fit their narrative so they ignored all the data except the data single point that they liked which corresponds to the month where every business shuts down for a week.

Statcounter shows that not only is Windows use increasing, but also that Windows 11's share is too.

I don't expect anyone here to be happy about these things - I certainly can't say I am - but pretending the Windows is in the middle of an epic downfall when it actually appears to be doing fine won't help anyone except Microsoft.

[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

How do they measure these stats?

They aren't reaching into my PC so they're only checking when I [X].

So it isn't it always just measuring "Os percent from user who [X]"

E.g. Steam only check people with Steam. Slash Dot can only going to measure PCs who go to Slashdot. AOL.com is only checking Boomers.

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[–] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 73 points 1 month ago (1 children)

People upgrading to Windows 11 be like:

[–] RamRabbit@lemmy.world 43 points 1 month ago

This was me. Hit the update to 11 button because I have always liked new things. About a week later went back to 10, then about a year ago saw the writing on the wall and jumped ship to Mint. Shoulda done it earlier!

[–] AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip 44 points 1 month ago

Its the first time my peers are actually asking me about switching to linux. Sweden is an extremely techbro country, which i say because they have all the newest gadgets and then cant open a file for fucks sake.

[–] ClassyHatter@sopuli.xyz 35 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (5 children)

Windows 11 market share went from 55% on October 2025 to 62% on January 2026. That's an increase of 7 percentage units, not a drop of 5 percentage units.

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[–] lautan@lemmy.ca 32 points 1 month ago (18 children)

I been switching everyone to Linux, specifically Mint. It's good enough now for whatever.

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[–] Pollo_Jack@lemmy.world 31 points 1 month ago (18 children)

Just switched to Linux. Convinced sis in law to try linux as she was having driver issues. Wife is about to try it on our laptop. Linux has reached a point of, it just works. It can play windows games better than windows, so no reason not to.

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[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 28 points 1 month ago

Brand new windows measurably losing ground to it's prior unsupported edition and Linux is fucking wild.

[–] Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world 28 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I switched to linux at the end of last year too! I am part of that increase and i like it.

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[–] jpablo68@infosec.pub 25 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I won't update my perfectly usable computer just because microslop refuses to support it.

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[–] aliser@lemmy.world 25 points 1 month ago

glad I switched to Linux, Microslop's current state is a disaster. yes it randomly implodes sometimes, mainly by my fault, but at least I can rollback! no more headache of forced updates.

[–] GodofLies@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 month ago (15 children)

Swapped to Linux Mint over the weekend. No major issues. Steam works, LLMs work, web browser stuff all transferred over...it wasn't perfect but pretty easy to figure it out with a few online searches. The best part - it actually runs better. No more f*cked up bluetooth and audio as well.

A lot of customization can be done on it, but I think for most people, Linux is fine for the vast majority of users already out of the box. Some criticism is that I think the UX can be improved and a more layman-friendly streamlined partition mounting + file security management.

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[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 18 points 1 month ago (2 children)

It's finally the year of Desktop Linux, about fifteen (or more) years after people thought it would happen. I'm happy for all the nerds who are finally vindicated. (I like Linux, but I'm an Apple guy.)

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[–] ErmahgherdDavid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Love to see it

screenshot of msft share price showing 14% drop in the last 5 days

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[–] Bwaz@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm sure it has nothing to do with forcefeeding AI or copying the user's screen content.

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[–] anticurrent@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Please Stop using statcounter as a reliable source. Their numbers are absolutely wack.

Look at the recent surge in win7 pcs, that no economical data can back up, if you look at win7 stats of some countries you will find some weird spikes that died out this last month. why go from an os that has lost security updates to an older os that today's software can't run on anymore

https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/argentina

https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/tunisia

https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/ethiopia

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[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Been using Linux for a while. The only thing I miss is League of Legends, but other than that we're chilling.

[–] Breezy@sopuli.xyz 13 points 1 month ago

I view that as a pro. Switching to Linux made it easy to quit that addiction lol.

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[–] Mrkawfee@feddit.uk 14 points 1 month ago

Linux Mint for desktop. Bazzite for handheld.

Bye Microsoft

[–] herseycokguzelolacak@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 month ago

Statcounter data has a lot of shortterm noise. Longterm trends are meaningful, but do not get too excited about short term fluctuations.

At the same time Windows has been slowly losing market share over the years.

[–] bfg9k@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Really hope windows market share has peaked and it's all downhill from here. Totally done with their BS.

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