Visual Studio 2026 Switch Installation Channel from Insider to Stable

Question

JeeShen Lee 5

I have installed Visual Studio 2026 Insider, how do I switch from the Insider to the Stable release channel?

I tried to change the Update Settings, but I get only the "Insider" option in the list.

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1 answer

Answer 1

Surya Amrutha Vaishnavi Lanka (INFOSYS LIMITED) 1,120 Microsoft External Staff

Thanks for reaching out! Here’s how you can do that:

Open the Visual Studio Installer: Start by launching the Visual Studio Installer on your machine.
Select Your Instance: In the installer, find the instance of Visual Studio 2026 Insider that you want to modify. Click on the More button (it usually looks like three dots).
Change Update Settings: Select the Update settings option from the menu. This will open a dialog where you can modify your update preferences.
Choose the Stable Channel: In the Update channel dropdown, you should see an option for the Stable channel. If the only option available is "Insider," it might be due to your current installation or settings managed by your IT department.
Confirm Changes: Once you have made your selection, confirm the changes and exit the installer.

You can install both Channels side-by-side, and changes in the update channel settings will apply to future updates of that instance only.

JeeShen Lee 5 Reputation points

2025-11-27T23:18:05.2366667+00:00

I followed your guide. But, I don't see the "Stable" channel in the dropdown. It shows only "Insider".

Thanks for your reply.
Surya Amrutha Vaishnavi Lanka (INFOSYS LIMITED) 1,120 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-12-01T11:32:56.2166667+00:00
Thanks for your explanation! Since your current installation is Visual Studio 2026 Insider, the Stable channel does not appear in the dropdown because Insider builds are designed to only receive updates from the Insider channel and cannot be switched to Stable directly.

for alternative solution follow the below

Keep Insider installed if you still want early preview updates.

Install the Stable release separately using the Visual Studio Installer.

Both versions can run side-by-side without affecting each other.

At the moment, the only way to use the Stable release is to install it as a new instance, not by changing the update channel of the Insider build.
Surya Amrutha Vaishnavi Lanka (INFOSYS LIMITED) 1,120 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-12-02T12:24:42.3133333+00:00

Hope you’re doing well! Please let us know if the issue persists or resolved. If the answer is helpful, please click “Accept Answer” and kindly approve it. If we didn’t get any response from your side. we will proceed to close the thread by 4th December