Microsoft offers all Windows users a preview of the next versions of Windows and its applications. However, you have to join Windows Insider, its dedicated program. Here’s how to do it.
To allow as many people as possible to preview the next versions of its software, but also to correct and improve its applications, Microsoft has set up its Insider program. All Windows users can join it for free to try out Windows previews, for example.
By joining Microsoft’s Insider program, you have the opportunity to try new features and versions of Windows before anyone else, but also new applications. To join, however, you must have a Microsoft account (a Hotmail, Outlook, etc.) and agree to report bugs and other instabilities that you detect using Microsoft’s software preview.
Microsoft offers three different channels to distribute pre-releases of Windows and its software:
- The Dev channel allows you to test very recent versions in the Windows development cycle. They can therefore be unstable and be subject to many bugs. The Dev channel, as its name suggests, is in principle reserved for an informed public.
- The Beta Channel, recommended by Microsoft, allows you to test pre-releases of Windows that are more advanced in Microsoft’s development cycle. More stable and generally containing fewer bugs, the Preview of the beta channel very close to the final product that Microsoft will offer to the general public.
- The Preview Channel allows for the testing of the next stable version of Windows before it is officially available and widely deployed to the general public.
Also to discover in video:
1. Open settings
Click on the Start menu and go to Windows Settings. Then enter the Update and security menu.
2. Link your account to the Windows Insider program
In the Update & Security menu column, select Windows Insider Program, and then click the Start button.
Now click on Link an account to connect your Microsoft account and validate your request.
If your Microsoft account is already signed in in Windows, select it, otherwise choose Microsoft account and press Continue.
3. Choose the update channel
After you’ve signed in your Microsoft account to join the Insider program, you’ll need to choose your update settings: Dev Channel, Beta Channel, and Preview Channel.
Select the channel that matches your needs and click Confirm.
As a member of the Insider program, Microsoft will collect certain data and information from your machine. Click Confirm to validate your request.
Finally, press the Restart now button to reboot your PC and save your preferences.
4. Update Windows
After restarting your computer, click the Start button, enter Windows Settings, then go to the Update & Security menu.
Make sure you have selected Windows update in the side column, then click the Check for updates button.
Windows will then immediately search for all Insider updates corresponding to the previously selected channel. Now all you have to do is download and install these updates, then restart your machine to apply them and enjoy the new Windows features first.