Before you begin
- The Administrator role (only administrators can change the update channel or install updates)
- A deployment that updates itself from within Atlas AVD (container-image deployments are updated by deploying a new container image instead)
Before you opt in
- Beta builds are early access. They are tested before release, but they reach you before Stable customers have run them, so expect the occasional rough edge.
- The channel is deployment-wide. If you manage several customer tenants from one deployment, all of them move to Beta together.
- Installing any update restarts Atlas AVD briefly. Pick a quiet time for your first Beta install.
- Many teams run Beta on a test or pilot deployment and keep production on Stable.
Switch to the Beta channel
- In the sidebar, open Administration → Updates.
- Find the environment strip below the update progress panel. Update Channel shows Stable.
- Under Beta Program, open the drop-down and choose Beta.
- A Switched to Beta channel message confirms the change. Update Channel now shows Beta.
Switching the channel does not install anything by itself. It changes which releases Atlas AVD looks for from the next update check onward.
Install your first Beta build
Click Check for updates at the top of the Updates page. When a Beta build is newer than the version you run, Update Available appears with its version number. Click View Release Notes to see what is in it, then click Start Update. Atlas AVD installs the build and restarts, and the page shows Updated to v<version> when it is back. After that, new Beta builds are offered the same way as Stable updates always were.
Switch from the Configuration Matrix
The same setting is also a row in the Configuration Matrix (Settings → Configuration Matrix), in the Security & Compliance category. Search for Release Channel and set it to Beta or Stable. It is the same switch as the one on the Updates page, so a change in either place shows in both.
Return to Stable
- Open Administration → Updates.
- Under Beta Program, click Return to Stable.
- Confirm. Atlas AVD switches to the Stable channel, reinstalls the current Stable release, and restarts.
Use Return to Stable rather than only changing the drop-down back. Updates only move forward, so a deployment that is already running a Beta build newer than Stable would otherwise stay on that build until Stable catches up. If you are already on the current Stable release, Return to Stable just switches the channel and skips the restart.
If the channel cannot be changed
If Beta Program shows Pinned by environment, the channel has been fixed for this deployment by an application setting on its Azure App Service, and it cannot be changed from inside Atlas AVD. This is common on locked-down and sovereign-cloud installs. To change it, someone with access to the Atlas resource group edits the RELEASE_CHANNEL application setting on the App Service (stable or beta), or removes it to manage the channel from Atlas AVD again. If you are not an administrator, Beta Program shows Enrolled or Not enrolled instead of the drop-down.
If a Beta update causes a problem
Click Return to Stable to go back to the current Stable release. If the app will not load at all, Recovery Mode reinstalls the running version on the next restart (see the Recovery Mode guide). Either way, please tell us what you saw through Email Support so we can fix it before the release reaches Stable.