Hi @Mark P,
- The latest version of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is 22, not 21.
https://sqlserverbuilds.blogspot.com/2018/01/sql-server-management-studio-ssms.html
Just give it a shot. - IMHO, the most stable version in the past was SSMS 17.9
Most recent usable version of SSMS
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(300.8, 4%, 39%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EMP%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Mark P
20
Reputation points
We're currently trying to use SSMS 21, however it crashes too often to be usable. In particular any network change in the background will cause it to lock up, for example disconnection and reconnection to a VPN will make SSMS crash.
We have no need of AI or Azure specific features.
I recall that we upgraded to this because the diagramming feature in SSMS was broken for years. Prior to that the last good version worked perfectly. From memory I think that's SSMS 16, can anyone confirm? Thanks.
SQL Server | Other
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Viorel 125.6K Reputation points2025-12-01T13:07:32.6166667+00:00 So, version 22 still doesn't work?
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Mark P 20 Reputation points
2025-12-01T13:25:17.55+00:00 I didn't try version 22. It's too new to risk. I know the old version worked fine and it does everything we need, and we need to make progress ASAP.
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![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(96, 26%, 19%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EYK%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Yitzhak Khabinsky 27,091 Reputation points2025-12-01T12:28:51.2433333+00:00
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Q&A Assist2025-12-01T10:18:57.53+00:00 AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn moreThe most recent version of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is 21. It has introduced various features and enhancements but has also been reported to have stability issues, including crashes related to network changes. If you are experiencing frequent crashes with SSMS 21, you might want to consider using an earlier version that is known to be more stable for your needs.
SSMS 16 is indeed an older version that some users have found to be more reliable, especially for basic functionalities without the newer features that may not be necessary for your use case. However, it's important to note that SSMS 16 is not the latest version and may lack support for newer SQL Server features.
If you decide to downgrade, ensure that you back up your settings and configurations to avoid any loss of work.
References:
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Mark P 20 Reputation points
2025-12-01T12:34:27.66+00:00 Thank you. 17.9 seems to be the last known good version. Download link is here, for anyone who wants it: