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Improving your Windows Insider experience
Hello Windows Insiders,
Last month, Pavan shared our commitment to improving Windows quality, with a focus on performance, reliability and craft, including changes to make the Windows Insider Program simpler and more transparent. Today, we are sharing what those changes are.
Over the past several months, we’ve been engaging directly with the Windows Insider community: at our first in-person meetup, through Feedback Hub, on social media, and in one-on-one conversations with many of you. Two things came through loud and clear.
First, the channel structure has gotten confusing. It was not clear what channel to pick based on what you wanted to get out of the program.
Second, you read about a new feature in our blog, update your PC, and it’s not there. That experience, where features are announced but only some of you receive them due to how we gradually roll things out, is the single biggest frustration we hear.
Here’s what we’re doing about it.
Newly updated Windows Insider Settings screen showing the new Experimental and Beta channels[/caption]
For most Insiders, picking the Beta or Experimental channel will be all you need to get set up, but for those who want to go further, we are adding an advanced option to pick your Windows core version compatible with your hardware. Most users will see these options as 25H2 or 26H1 builds.
The Experimental channel will also contain a further Future Platforms option which is our earliest preview build for Windows and is not aligned to a retail version of Windows. This is aimed at users who are looking to be at the forefront of platform development. Insiders looking for the earliest access to features should remain on a version aligned to a retail build.
[caption id="attachment_178876" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Advanced settings showing the ability to pick Windows core version[/caption]
Release Preview will continue to be an advanced option aimed at commercial customers and Insiders who want early access to production builds in the days leading up to broad release. To select Release Preview, you will need to enable it in the ‘Advanced Options’ but the content remains unchanged. We're actively talking with our commercial Insiders about how to make it better, and we want to hear from you.
The new Feature flags screen in Settings[/caption]
Clearer channel definitions
To simplify your Insider experience, we’re moving to two primary channels, with the advanced option to pick specific Windows core versions within those. The new channels are Experimental and Beta. Experimental replaces what were previously the Dev and Canary channels. The name is deliberate: you're getting early access to features under active development, with the understanding that what you see may change, get delayed, or not ship at all. We’ve heard your feedback that you want to access and contribute to features early in development and this is the channel to do that. Beta is a refresh of the previous Beta Channel and previews what we plan to ship in the coming weeks. The big change: we're ending gradual feature rollouts in Beta. When we announce a feature in a Beta update and you take that update, you will have that feature. You may occasionally see small differences within a feature as we test variations, but the feature itself will always be on your device. If you're not sure which to pick: Experimental is where new features generally show up first and where your feedback has the most direct impact on what we build. Beta is the better fit if you want a more stable experience with features closer to shipping. [caption id="attachment_178861" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Newly updated Windows Insider Settings screen showing the new Experimental and Beta channels[/caption]
For most Insiders, picking the Beta or Experimental channel will be all you need to get set up, but for those who want to go further, we are adding an advanced option to pick your Windows core version compatible with your hardware. Most users will see these options as 25H2 or 26H1 builds.
The Experimental channel will also contain a further Future Platforms option which is our earliest preview build for Windows and is not aligned to a retail version of Windows. This is aimed at users who are looking to be at the forefront of platform development. Insiders looking for the earliest access to features should remain on a version aligned to a retail build.
[caption id="attachment_178876" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Advanced settings showing the ability to pick Windows core version[/caption]
Release Preview will continue to be an advanced option aimed at commercial customers and Insiders who want early access to production builds in the days leading up to broad release. To select Release Preview, you will need to enable it in the ‘Advanced Options’ but the content remains unchanged. We're actively talking with our commercial Insiders about how to make it better, and we want to hear from you.
Providing more control over gradual rollouts
One of the most common questions we receive from Insiders is “why don’t I have access to a feature that’s been announced in a WIP blog?” This is usually due to a technology called Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR), a gradual process of rolling out new features to ensure quality before releasing to wider audiences. These gradual rollouts are an industry standard that help us measure impact before releasing more broadly. But they also make your experience unpredictable and often mean you don't get the new features that motivated many of you to join the Insider program to begin with. To address this, in addition to ending gradual rollout of features for Beta, Insiders in the Experimental channel will have a new ability to enable or disable specific features via the new Feature flags page on the Windows Insider Program settings page. We will start by enabling Feature flags for visible new features announced in WIP. This means less visible changes announced in WIP, like bug fixes and system improvements, may not be present in Feature flags. Please provide feedback on the types of new features you would like to see be made available on the Feature flags page as we roll out this functionality. [caption id="attachment_178877" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The new Feature flags screen in Settings[/caption]
Easier movement between channels and leaving WIP
Depending on your channel today, leaving the Windows Insider Program or even moving between channels can sometimes require wiping your device and doing a clean install of Windows. That can be a barrier both for people considering the program and for Insiders who want to leave. To make this a more streamlined and consistent experience, we’re making some behind the scenes changes to enable Insider builds to use an in-place upgrade (IPU) to hop between versions. This will allow in most cases Insiders to move between Experimental, Beta, and Release Preview on the same Windows core version, or leave the program without a clean install. An IPU takes a bit more time than your normal update but migrates your apps, settings, and data in-place. As Experimental Future Platforms is our earliest preview build option and does not align to a retail production build of Windows, moving to a different channel or out of the WIP program will still require a clean install. Lastly, we’ve also re-engineered the Windows Insider Program settings page so it loads significantly faster, with a cleaner layout designed to make your choices clear with fewer reboots and extra steps.What does this mean for you?
We are excited to begin rolling out these changes in the coming weeks, starting with you, our Insiders. At release, all Insiders (excluding Release Preview) will be moved to either the new Beta or Experimental channel. This will only move which channel you belong to, not your Windows version. For the majority of Insiders, those who are in the Beta and Dev channels today, the transition to the new channels will take place as follows:- Beta Channel > Beta
- Dev Channel > Experimental
- Canary Channel 29500 series builds > Experimental (Future Platforms)
- Canary Channel 28000 series builds > Experimental (26H1)
A photo taken during our Seattle Insiders meetup[/caption]
Last month, we took our first step by hosting an Insider meetup in Seattle. It was an opportunity to connect the community directly with members of the Windows product team, get hands‑on with new experiences, share what’s working well, and be candid about what we can do better.
Now, we’re taking that experience on the road, bringing it to five more cities over the next few months. At each stop, I’ll be there alongside members of the Insider team and our Windows product makers, sharing where the Windows Insider Program is headed and, just as importantly, listening to how we can keep making it better for you.
Our first stops include New York, Hyderabad, Taipei, San Francisco, and London, with more to come.
