Here's How Microsoft's New Windows Insider Channels Work

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a number of changes coming to its Windows Insider program—in fact, one could call it an overhaul. Despite being a beta program for Windows users interested in testing cutting-edge features, Microsoft is actually simplifying and streamlining the experience. Now, as highlighted by Bleeping Computer, the company is rolling out that updated experience—whether you're new to the Insider program, or you've been test-driving Windows this way for years.

Microsoft is making Insider channels easier to understand

The Windows Insider program is changing in three key ways. First, Microsoft is making the "channels" easier to understand. For the uninitiated, a channel in the Insider program lets you choose how early on you trial new versions of Windows, and what level of risk you assume in doing so.

The Dev channel, for example, was the bleeding edge here, as Microsoft seeded the earliest versions of its upcoming updates to this channel. It was mainly designed for software developers to test their apps and services on upcoming versions of Windows (hence the name), though anyone could enroll and try new features that might not even make it to the finished product. But because this channel was the earliest, it was the riskiest: since the software had so little trialing at that time, the risk of bugs, glitches, and general instability was greater.

For users who still wanted to try features on the early side but wanted to mitigate some risk, there was the Canary channel: Users had to wait a bit longer for the updates, but that meant that Dev channel users caught the biggest bugs, reducing the risk of anything that might seriously interrupt their use of their PC. Finally, there was the Beta channel, which was the recommended choice for most users looking to try out new software. You might not get some of Microsoft's most experimental features, but you did get to try the features that were planned to ship in the coming weeks, with the lowest risk of instability—at least in the Insider program.

This, of course, is a bit confusing. To a newcomer, which channel do you pick? Dev? Canary? Beta? Other than the assumption that "Dev" stands for "developer," unless you're an experienced software tester, you might not know what you're signing up for. As such, here's the new lineup:

• Experimental: This channel combines Dev and Canary, and is intended for anyone who wants to try the latest features, even if they never make it to the official build. There may be less stability here than you're used to. There's even a "Future Platforms" for Experimental users that Microsoft says offers the "forefront of platform development," not tied to a retail release.

• Beta: A refresh of the old Beta channel. The core principle is still the same (trialing features planning to ship in a near update), but Microsoft says the big change here is that they are ending gradual feature rollouts in Beta. That means that once they announce a feature, and you take the Beta update, you have it.

• Release Preview: This is as risk-free as it gets. This preview allows you to try out a new update in the days leading up to its rollout.

You now have more control over the features you trial

The other big change here deals with new features and their availability. That includes the Beta channel doing away with gradual rollouts: Now, all Beta users get the same features at the same time, so you no longer have to wonder why some users have new features in their Beta updates, but you do not.

But Experimental users also have new controls. Microsoft says that anyone enrolled in the Experimental channel can enable or disable specific features in their current build. That way, if a particular feature is acting up, or you don't care for it, you can disable it without having to unenroll entirely. Microsoft added these controls to a new "Feature flags" page in the Windows Insider Program settings page.

It's now easier to move between channels

Previously, moving channels was a pain, as is the case with most beta programs. If you were in the Beta channel, and wanted to test out more new features, you'd have to wipe your PC to enroll in Dev or Canary. Likewise, you'd have to start from scratch if those latter channels were too much, or if you wanted to leave the program altogether.

That's now changing. Microsoft says that it has made changes "behind the scenes" that make switching channels much more seamless. The company says, in most cases, you should be able to move between Experimental, Beta, and Release Preview channels without having to perform a clean install of Windows on your PC. That's huge, as it takes a lot of the risk out of running unfinished software on your computer. The only catch here is if you enroll in Experimental Future Platforms: Since this isn't tied to specific retail versions of Windows, you will need to wipe your PC to leave this channel.

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