Back to the Insiders Program

I have been so impressed with 11 since I ironed out all the things I didn't like with various tweaks. I have decided to go back in the Insiders Program but I am still unsure of beta or dev. I got my first version of 11 from the Insiders quite a few builds ago, and yes, there was a lot I didn't like but I certainly never any problems other than the known issues MS published and I only had one of those, that was the start menu search which soon MS had a fix for

Stay with Dev as its more stable.

FreeBooter said:

Stay with Dev as its more stable.

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That is the opposite of what Microsoft says about it:

"The Dev Channel is perfect for highly technical users who love to be the first to see the latest features and updates for all things Windows. These aren't always stable builds, and sometimes you will see issues that block key activities or require workarounds while flighting in this channel. Your feedback will help our engineers with major fixes and changes to the latest code.

You'll be seeing builds directly from the active development branch in the Dev Channel, so they aren't matched to a specific release. This means that these builds may simply be the latest work-in-progress code from our engineers."

NavyLCDR said:

That is the opposite of what Microsoft says about it:

"The Dev Channel is perfect for highly technical users who love to be the first to see the latest features and updates for all things Windows. These aren't always stable builds, and sometimes you will see issues that block key activities or require workarounds while flighting in this channel. Your feedback will help our engineers with major fixes and changes to the latest code.

You'll be seeing builds directly from the active development branch in the Dev Channel, so they aren't matched to a specific release. This means that these builds may simply be the latest work-in-progress code from our engineers."

Windows Insider

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Isn't Dev better than Beta channel?

FreeBooter said:

Stay with Dev as its more stable.

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@FreeBooter I think you mean Beta is more stable :)

FreeBooter said:

Isn't Dev better than Beta channel?

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Dev is newer things, beta is after some feedback to put it simply, MS do a lot more "behind the scene" stuff as well

The-Hive said:

@FreeBooter I think you mean Beta is more stable :)

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Tell you the true none of the channels is stable i said use Dev channel because i had no problems.

@FreeBooter I have found the opposite, I have been in both dev and beta even when win 11 was fairly new and long before public release, I had no problems at all. I did find the dev versions less polished but never had any crashes or freezes etc.

Dev seem to be getting more updates. So, if that's what you're looking for, you might go there. However, I like the safer Beta channel. I think I had one recurring green screen error when I was on the Dev Channel. Once I restored from a stabler backup, I immediately switched to the Beta channel. I guess it depends on how adventurous you are.

Beta is more stable ..... waiting patiently for updates !!
Chuck

@flashh4 @jvickers As I have one machine perfect on release build I will probably opt for dev and if I do get problems restore and back to beta ....God bless Macrium

The-Hive said:

I have been so impressed with 11 since I ironed out all the things I didn't like with various tweaks. I have decided to go back in the Insiders Program but I am still unsure of beta or dev. I got my first version of 11 from the Insiders quite a few builds ago, and yes, there was a lot I didn't like but I certainly never any problems other than the known issues MS published and I only had one of those, that was the start menu search which soon MS had a fix for

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I swear, there's a song for any situation....

Ghot ..... i was thinking "Blue Bayou" !

flashh4 said:

Ghot ..... i was thinking "Blue Bayou" !

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I thought of that too. But that's more like going back to Windows 10. :)


Blue Bayou is like going "back", to something familiar and friendly.
Back in the Saddle is like going "back" to that... edgy place... again. :)



I just can't imagine Linda Ronstadt running either DEV or Beta...

I get so annoyed at inaccurate responses.

First thing to understand is the Dev channel is leading edge and potentially more bug ridden. MS make it clear you should not use Dev versions as your main OS.

The second and really crucial point which people forget to tell you is that the Dev channel is ahead of the NEXT release version.

Also updates are much more frequent, which can be a nuisance, and risk of upgrades crapping out is higher.

This means it could take 1 year before you can leave the Insider Programme without clean installing, and even then you need to switch to Beta or RP ring before next official release.

With the Beta channel, updates are less frequent but less bug prone. Also you can move to release version more easily at next official version release.

If you really want to use Dev versions do it either as dual boot or in a virtual machine.

In the end, if you want to be leading edge, that is fine PROVIDED you understand the risks. As always, the best plan is to make image backups BEFORE attempting and upgrades (+ or -)

Ghot said:

I thought of that too. But that's more like going back to Windows 10. :)


Blue Bayou is like going "back", to something familiar and friendly.
Back in the Saddle is like going "back" to that... edgy place... again. :)



I just can't imagine Linda Ronstadt running either DEV or Beta...


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I love that you reference Linda Ronstadt!

@cereberus Quite right in what you say, it was a matter of timing when I left the insiders, just before the public release.
I know everything you said but my initial though/ question was which to go for dev or beta purely based on if I want more updates and try new things which may lead to problems or just a quieter life with less updates but still getting builds ahead of public release. The other thing is I often use my second machine to install updates/software to check it out before putting it on my main machine

flashh4 said:

Beta is more stable ..... waiting patiently for updates !!
Chuck

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I agree Beta seems to be ignored. Either Dev or nothing.

@rickhd I think the reason for that is because many new features appear in dev builds but beta is when there are a lot of them together in an update before they go to pre release ( I hope that makes sense )

You could also select the (latest) Windows 11 v 21H2 Release Preview (Build 22000.282)