After releasing Windows 11 to the Beta channel in the Insider Program, those that signed on for Windows 11 should check their rings.<\/b>
\nEarlier today, Microsoft released Windows 11 to the Beta channel of the Windows Insider Program. It\u2019s the next step in the development of the new OS, something that the firm promised to deliver by the end of July, and it delivered. Those in the Dev channel have been testing out Windows 11 for over a month now. Now, here\u2019s the deal. It\u2019s time to double-check what channel your PC is enrolled in and think about whether you still want to be in it. The Windows Insider Twitter account tweeted it earlier today, and if you\u2019ve got a machine on the Dev channel, it sent out emails to Insiders. This is important. As we noted in our explainer of the Windows Insider Program, the Dev channel is typically not tied to any specific release of Windows. It\u2019s meant for testing out new features, and at some point, something branches off to the Beta channel. What you find in the Beta channel is actually tied to a feature update. For the past month, we\u2019ve been seeing Windows 11 previews in the Dev channel, so for this period, it\u2019s been tied to a specific release. That\u2019s going to change. At some point \u2013 it could be next week, it could be in three months \u2013 Microsoft is going to start shipping prerelease builds again. Once that happens, you\u2019re kind of on your own. The reason that this is so important is because Windows 11 is such a hot item. It\u2019s been in the Dev channel for over a month now, and plenty of people have enrolled just to get their hands on it. But these are actually people that would normally be in the Beta channel, so now that Windows 11 is available there, those people should change their rings. Once the Dev channel in the Windows Insider Program starts getting prerelease builds again, switching to the Beta channel won\u2019t be so easy. Right now, we have this window where the Dev and Beta channels align, so you can seamlessly switch over. Once the Dev channel gets a full new prerelease build, you\u2019re going to have to blow away your PC and do a clean installation of Windows to get off of that train. This is what Microsoft is asking you to keep in mind right now. If you\u2019re not sure, the best option for you is probably the Beta channel. You\u2019ll still get to test out Windows 11, and if something really cool shows up in the Dev channel, you can always switch back.<\/p>\n