Windows Insider

 ()Windows Insider is an open software testing program by Microsoft that allows users who own a valid license of Windows 10[1][2] or Windows Server 2016[3][4] to register for pre-release builds of the operating system previously only accessible to software developers.[5]

Microsoft launched Windows Insider for developers, enterprise testers and the "technically able" to test new developer features on pre-release software & builds, not given publicly released, to gather low level diagnostics feedback in order to identify, investigate, mitigate & improve the Windows 10 OS, with the help, support and guidance of the Insider Program Participants, in direct communication with Microsoft Engineers via a proprietary communication & diagnostic channel.

It was announced on September 30, 2014 along with Windows 10.[6] By September 2015, over 7 million people took part in the Windows Insider Program.[7] On February 12, 2015, Microsoft started to test out previews of Windows 10 Mobile.[8] Microsoft announced that the Windows Insider program would continue beyond the official release of Windows 10 for future updates.

Gabriel Aul and Dona Sarkar[9] were both previously the head of the Windows Insider Program. The current head of the Windows Insider program is Amanda Langowski.[10] Similar to the Windows Insider program, the Microsoft Office, Bing, Xbox and Visual Studio Code teams have set up their own Insider programs.

History
See also: Windows 10 version history

Microsoft originally launched Windows Insider for enterprise testers and the "technically able" to test out new developer features and to gather feedback to improve the features built into Windows 10.[11] By the time of the official launch of Windows 10 for PCs, a total of 5 million volunteers were registered on both Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. They were also among the first people to receive the official update to Windows 10.[12]

With the release of Windows 10, the Windows Insider app was merged with the Settings app. This made the ability to install Windows Insider preview builds an optional feature which could be accessed directly from within Windows 10.[13][14]

In May 2017, Microsoft announced that the program would extend to Windows Server 2016. The first Insider build for this operating system was released on 13 July 2017.[3][4]

Channels

Windows 10 Insider Preview updates are delivered to testers in different channels (previously "rings") or logical categories:[15][16] Windows Insiders in Dev Channel (previously Fast Ring) receive updates prior to Windows Insiders in Beta Channel (previously Slow Ring) but might experience more bugs and other issues.[17][18] Release Preview Channel (previously Release Preview Ring) was introduced in February 2016.[19]

As of November 5, 2019, Microsoft has completely abandoned the Skip Ahead ring from the Windows Insider Program, stating "Our goal is to provide everyone in the Fast ring the freshest builds at the same time".[20]

As of June 15, 2020, Microsoft has introduced "channels" model to its Windows Insider Program, succeeding its "rings" model.[16]

Channel Available Description
Canary Internal In this channel, builds that have only passed basic automated tests would be tested and validated. These builds are in early development cycles with the newest code and released daily, but relatively unstable and buggy.
Selfhost In this channel, builds that Insiders in Dev Channel will receive would be validated. These builds are more stable than Canary Channel.
Dev External In this channel, Insiders will have access to builds that are being tested and validated in Canary and Selfhost Channels. These builds are more stable than Canary and Selfhost Channels, but still with rough edges and some instability.
Microsoft Internal In this channel, Insider-validated builds are rolled out company-wide for validation and bug fixes before it makes into Beta Channel. These builds are more stable than Dev Channel.
Beta External In this channel, Insiders will have access to builds that are tied to a specific upcoming release, and will be reliable with updates validated by Microsoft.
Release Preview In this channel, Insiders will have access to the upcoming release of Windows 10 prior to it being released to the world, with advanced quality updates and certain key features.

Supported devices

Supported processors

On July 17, 2017, reports began to come that Windows 10 Creators Update refused to install on PCs and tablets sporting Intel Atom "Clover Trail" processors.[21][22] At first, it appeared as though this might have been a temporary block as Microsoft and hardware partners work to fix the issues preventing the operating system to run well.[23] However, Microsoft later confirmed that devices running the "Clover Trail" Intel Atom processors would not be receiving the Creators Update, as the processors are no longer supported by Intel and does not have the appropriate firmware to properly run versions of Windows 10 newer than the Anniversary Update.[24][25]

The following processors are no longer supported and will remain on Windows 10 Anniversary Update:[26]

  • Atom Z2760
  • Atom Z2520
  • Atom Z2560
  • Atom Z2580

Because PCs with unsupported processors could not receive new features updates, Microsoft agreed to extend support for these PCs with the bug fixes and security updates for the latest compatible version of Windows 10.[27][26]

Versions of Windows 10 that were released before a Microprocessor was released is also not supported and installations for those operating systems may be actively blocked. For example, Windows 10 Version 1507 LTSB will not install on Kaby Lake processors.[28]

Supported smartphones

Microsoft initially launched Windows 10 Technical Preview for certain third-generation (x30 series) phones from their Lumia family and subsequently released it to second-generation (x20 series) devices throughout the testing phase. Some hacked their non-Lumia phones (which were not supported at the time) to download the preview builds. Microsoft responded by blocking all unsupported models.[29] To roll back the installed technical preview back to Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft launched Windows Device Recovery Tool that removes Windows 10 and recovers the latest officially released software and firmware.[30]

Preview build 10080, released on May 14, 2015, was the first to support a non-Lumia device, the HTC One M8 for Windows. This was followed up by Xiaomi who, in partnership with Microsoft, released a ROM port of Windows 10 to its flagship Mi 4 handset on June 1, 2015. At that time, it was limited to certain registered users in China.[31][32] Build 10080 and its follow-up build 10166 also added support for fourth-generation Lumia (x40 series) devices. As a result, all compatible Windows Phone 8 or later Lumia phones now support the preview.

In August 2015, Microsoft stated that while all Windows Phone devices, including those from Microsoft's new hardware partners announced the previous year, would receive the final version of Windows 10 Mobile, not all would receive preview builds through the Insider program. However, the company did not provide any information at the time on whether new devices would be added to the preview program. Microsoft instead focused on promoting new devices that come with Windows 10 Mobile, including their Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL flagships, and the low-cost Lumia 550 and Lumia 650. Since their release, these new Windows 10 devices became eligible to receive future updates in advance via the Insider program, beginning with build 10586 on December 4, 2015. The Windows-based LG Lancet also received this version but has not been upgraded since.

On February 19, 2016, Microsoft released the first Windows 10 Mobile "Redstone" preview, build 14267. Starting with this build, future preview versions became exclusively available for devices that were already running a non-Insider preview of the OS, except for the Mi4 ROM version.[33] This was followed by build 14291, released for existing Windows 10 devices on March 17, 2016 in conjunction with the official RTM release of Windows 10 Mobile to third and fourth-generation Lumias. The following week, it became available to the newly upgraded older Lumias in addition to several other devices already on Windows 10 Mobile at the time.[34]

All supported devices subsequently received Insider preview builds as far as build 15063, the "Creators Update", released on March 20, 2017. This included the official release of build 14393, the "Anniversary Update", on August 2, 2016.[35] However, it was announced in April 2017 that many devices, including all third-generation Lumias, would not receive the RTM version of the Creators Update and further "Redstone" development builds, following feedback from users.[36] Of the devices that remain supported, nearly all, except the Lumia 640 and its XL variant, had originally come with Windows 10 Mobile instead of Windows Phone 8.1.

Supported smartphones
Manufacturer Device Threshold
(RTM)
[37][38][39][40][41][42]		 Redstone 1
(Anniversary Update)
[43]		 Redstone 2
(Creators Update)
First release[44] Second release[45][46]
Windows 10 Mobile devices
Acer Liquid Jade Primo No 14393 Yes No
Alcatel Fierce XL No Yes Yes Preview
Idol 4s No Yes Yes Preview
HP Elite x3 No 14291 Yes Preview
MCJ Madosma Q501 No 14291 Yes No
Madosma Q601 No No 15063 Preview
Microsoft Mobile Lumia 550 10586 14291 Yes Maybe
Lumia 650 10586 Yes Yes Preview
Lumia 950 10586 Yes Yes Preview
Lumia 950 XL 10586 Yes Yes Preview
SoftBank 503LV No No 15063 Preview
Trinity NuAns Neo No No 15063 Preview
Vaio VPB051 No No 15063 No
Phone Biz No No 15063 Preview
Windows Phone 8.1 devices
BLU Win HD W510U No 14291 Yes No
Win HD LTE X150Q No 14267 Yes No
HTC One M8 10080 No No No
LG Lancet 10586 No No No
Nokia/Microsoft Mobile Lumia 430-series
Includes 430 and 435		 10051 14291 Yes No
Lumia 520-series
Includes 520, 521, 525 and 526		 10051 No No No
Lumia 530 10051 No No No
Lumia 532 10051 14291 Yes No
Lumia 535 10051 14291 Yes No
Lumia 540 10080 14291 Yes No
Lumia 620 10051 No No No
Lumia 625 10051 No No No
Lumia 630-series
Includes 630, 635, 636 and 638		 Yes 14291
Except 512 MB		 Yes
Except 512 MB		 No
Lumia 640 10586 14291 Yes Preview
Lumia 640 XL 10080 14291 Yes Preview
Lumia 720 10051 No No No
Lumia 730 9941 14291 Yes No
Lumia 735 10051 14291 Yes No
Lumia 810 10051 No No No
Lumia 820 10051 No No No
Lumia 822 10051 No No No
Lumia 830 Yes 14291 Yes No
Lumia 920 10051 No No No
Lumia 925 10051 No No No
Lumia 928 10051 No No No
Lumia Icon 10051 14332 Yes No
Lumia 930 10080 14291 Yes No
Lumia 1020 10051 No No No
Lumia 1320 10051 No No No
Lumia 1520 10051 14291 Yes No
ROMs for MIUI devices
Xiaomi Mi4 10080 Yes Yes No
gollark: And most non-messaging/social media stuff isn't subject to the same network effects.
gollark: I mean, not *really*, people will often say "well, if you buy [PRODUCT] from [COMPANY WHICH DOES [BAD THINGS]], you're supporting [BAD THINGS] to some extent".
gollark: Say I want to use Signal, which is better for privacy than WhatsApp, but my friends refuse to use Signal too because they don't care. I'm now forced to use WhatsApp and compromise privacy somewhat.
gollark: Well, if people *want* to interact with you for whatever reason, they have to use Facebook or whatever else you're on.
gollark: If you use, say, Facebook, and won't use non-Facebook stuff which is better for privacy, you are giving Facebook money and making people use Facebook to communicate with you.

See also

References
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  2. "Activation in Windows 10". Support. Microsoft. 1 September 2016.
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  9. Preece, Caroline (2 June 2016). "Microsoft makes Dona Sarkar head of Windows 10 Insider Program". IT Pro. Dennis Publishing.
  10. "Announcing the new lead for the Windows Insider Program". Windows Experience Blog. 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
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