How to leave Windows 11 dev channel without data loss?

Question

I am currently using Windows 11 on the windows insider dev-channel.

I'm on Windows 11 Insider Preview 22468.1000 (rs_prerelease)

I would like to get away from dev to beta, pre-release or just the normal channel when Windows 11 is released, but currently it's not possible to switch with a complete reinstall and losing data. I seem to have overlooked a warning.

This Microsoft page says:

"Occasionally it may become possible to switch a device from the Dev Channel to another channel. To determine which process is needed to switch from the Dev Channel, you first need to find your current build number and compare it to the current build number in the channel you wish to switch to."

Do anybody have a clue when such an occation might happen? When Windows 11 is released?

Alternatively, is it possible to backup data and programs, make a fresh Windows 11, and restore data and programs? I've got plenty of space on a disk which is not the system disk. There are two active users/logins on the machine.

Answer 1

would like to get away from dev to beta, prerelease or just the normal channel when Windows 11 is released, but currently it's not possible to switch with a complete reinstall and losing data.

What you want is impossible. It is not possible to downgrade the build you are running without reinstalling Windows. You will have to wait until the build you are running is promoted to the Beta channel. This might never happen, since there is no specific version being tested, associated with the Developer channel. There is no guarantee that 22468.1000 will ever be promoted to the Beta channel. Given how early it is in the development cycle of the next version of Windows 11, there is a good chance it won't be.

When Windows 11 is released?

October 5th 2021

Do anybody have a clue when such an occasion might happen?

The chances that 22468.1000 will appear in the Beta channel are next to zero. The next build in the Beta channel will be what Microsoft intends to become Windows 11 22H2. My recommendation is to make the channel switch today, so once you are running a build that is lower than the current Beta build, you can upgrade to that build. If you don't switch from Developer to Beta you will never have an opportunity to withdraw from Insider Preview builds.

Alternatively, is it possible to backup data and programs, make a fresh Windows 11, and restore data and programs? I've got plenty of space on a disk which is not the system disk.

How you backup personal files have not changed with Windows 11. There isn't a simple process to backup installed applications. Since you are unable to install a Windows build that is lower than your current build, without selecting the "keep nothing" option, you would have to reinstall your installed applications.

While I cannot specifically predict if 22468.1000 will appear in the Beta channel, I don't expect it to be released to that channel, since the Beta build typically isn't used for a few months after the next version of Windows is released. Given that Windows 11 is now on a yearly version released, I don't expect a new version to appear in that channel, for at least 6 months. The Development builds are not directly associated with a specific future version of Windows 11, so at some point unannounced more than likely, two versions will be tested (i.e. 22H2 and 23H2). These versions are known today since Microsoft has already indicated they will only be releasing 1 feature update each year.

Given 22468.1000 does not expire until 9/15/2022 I would expect the Beta channel to begin testing of 22H2 before that date. There is a good chance that a build higher than 22468.1000 in the Beta channel will exist before 9/15/2022 but that require NOT installing any updates until that actually happens sometime in the future.

Answer 2

I did change from Dev channel to Beta (by editing windows registry Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsSelfHost\UI\Selection UIBranch from Dev -> Beta) and then was able to click the check box from Windows Insider options, which says that "Unenroll this device when the next version of Windows releases".

When I did the change I was in the build "Windows 11, version 22H2 Insider Preview 10.0.22567.200 (ni_release)", so hopefully I get completely unenrolled after 2022H2 release comes out.

EDIT: Also looks like now also the official window opened for changing the channel, which of dev channel people should be notified by email https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/03/23/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22581/

Still no idea why this answer got downvote, since it did seem to work after all ‍♂️

Answer 3

I might have just found a solution if someone accidentally switched from a stable version to a newer dev build and wants to go back without losing any data, but I guess I got very lucky.

Thankfully, right before installing the newest dev build, my Windows 11 installed its usual stable update 21H2 - this is the latest stable Windows 11 update as of the time I am writing this. Later I made the mistake of activating the dev channel and installing the latest dev build - if I recall correctly it was the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25188 on the Dev Channel.

To my knowledge there are two possible methods to go back to the stable version, the first one being just downloading the Windows 11 ISO file (disk image) from the Microsoft website (link here) and when opening the setup you should check if you can reinstall Windows 11 while keeping all of your data. This doesn't work in most cases I've seen online, because reinstalling the stable version on a dev build needs a complete format of the storage and a complete clean install. If it somehow miraculously works for you then just install the stable version and see where that leads you. If you still keep receiving Insider Preview Builds in Windows Update you can try skipping to Step 3 of the second method.

Going into the second method that actually worked for me, keep in mind that it might not work for you if you have installed multiple dev build updates on your Windows, as your Windows will probably roll back just the newest dev update and take you to an older dev version, not the stable one! (this doesn't mean that you can't try it out, since no one else has confirmed if it works or not). If you're like me, and you just installed this one dev update and want to immediately roll back to the stable version without losing your data and apps, you might be in luck, just follow the steps:

1. Desperate for a solution I was exploring different methods and was able to go back to that earlier version of stable Windows 11 by using the Recovery Options, the Go Back method to be precise.

   Important: Keep in mind that you might lose anything you have worked on, downloaded or installed after the latest update, so just to make sure you should make a backup of those files on an external drive or on the internet.

   Here is how you can access the Go Back option: Settings > Windows Update > Update History > Recovery Options > Go Back

   Like that I waited for Windows 11 to roll back to the previous stable version right before I installed the dev build, and when it was done and I went to Windows Update it said that the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25188 installation had failed.

   

   I finally managed to get my stable version of Windows 11 back in the same state it was before installing the dev update.

2. Just to make sure, I downloaded the Windows 11 ISO from the Microsoft website (link here) - make sure you download the ISO file (disk image) - and was able to reinstall the Windows 11 stable release version while keeping all of my files & apps.

3. I waited for the installation to finish, and when Windows booted up I went to Windows Update and the dev build was still there waiting to be installed, (see image below)

   

   So what I did next was I left the program (you can find the link to it in Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program > Leaving the Insider Program) image here - and entered again from here. When you enter again it will automatically open the Settings and Windows Update for you.

   To my pleasant surprise now I had all three channels available to choose from inside the Windows Insider Program (see image) Select anything else other than the Dev Channel and you should be able to immediately activate Stop getting preview builds > Unenroll this device when the next version comes out.

4. Just leave the Insider Program like you did before, this time for good.

5. After you are done with all of the previous steps, just check for new updates in Windows Update and hopefully there won't be any Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds in there, as we had installed the ISO of the stable release version of Windows 11 there should be newer stable updates waiting to be installed, so just install them and you should stop receiving insider updates just like before accessing it. After doing all of this, when you go to the Insider Program the image below is what you should see. It means that you have successfully disabled the Insider Program.

   

If none of these two methods work for you I am afraid there is no other possible solution except for backing up all of your data and doing a complete clean install of a stable release version of Windows 11, or just wait hoping that your Dev build gets fully tested and promoted to one of the channels below, either the Beta Channel or the Release Preview Channel so that way you can access the Stop getting preview builds > Unenroll this device when the next version comes out. There is no possible way to know for sure when and if this ever happens.