What does the end of support from Microsoft imply?

[Hereserendipiti]

Hi! I only learned yesterday that Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 Mobile, and I wondered what this would imply. Can anyone explain it to me? How long will these phones still be usable after December 10th?
I'm interested to understand it, because I have a Lumia 640 LTE with W10M, which I've been using as a secondary phone for a long time, but it's a gift and I really don't want to throw it away.

 

[ven07]

Perhaps the most important of all; patches and security updates will no longer be available. Which means that if anything isn't working from a software pov, MS won't be there to fix it. This also leaves the devices vulnerable to hacking/malware.

The backend servers will shutdown, so all the pretty MS tiles will probably stop updating. Unless it's a uwp app in which case, I think, you'll still be able to use them until MS scrubs the W10M code from its servers? Not sure about this one, but tiles will stop updating.

Developers will most likely pull their apps, or just let them exist, but they wouldn't have any reason to keep them alive. It costs time, money and effort.

Lastly, if your phone breaks, you won't be able to just waltz into a MS store and ask to have it fixed or replaced etc You would have to do this on your own by buying the parts on eBay, if there are any available.

Might not be an accurate depiction of what is coming, but I think you get the point :asleep:

 

[T Moore]

Since we never really received security updates or patches this really makes no difference. Don't know if there will be anymore system updates.
MS stores haven't done anything for customer phones in a long time, can't think of any that are still under manufacturers warranty.
Your phone will be useable until the battery will no longer charge.
MS end of support FAQ
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4485197/windows-10-mobile-end-of-support-faq