How to check early versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11

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Before Microsoft can add new features to Windows, it relies on people to test these new features through the Windows Insider Program. This free program allows you to install preview builds of Windows before they are released to the general user base and be among the first to play with great new features and offer feedback.

In recent years, the program has naturally focused on updates and new versions for Windows 10. However, now that Windows 11 has been unveiled, Microsoft is also offering a preview build for this next generation of Windows. Whether you want to stick with Windows 10 or want to use Windows 11 for a test drive, the registration process is the same.

Sign up for the Windows Insider Program

To participate in the Windows Insider Program, you must first have a Microsoft account. If you don’t already have one, go to the Microsoft account page and click Create a Microsoft account. Follow the steps to set up your account. You can use an existing email address from Google, Yahoo, Outlook, or another mail service, or create a new account using outlook.com or hotmail.com.

After you’ve created your Microsoft account, go to the Windows Insider page. Click the Register button and sign in with your Microsoft account.

Prepare the test environment

Whether you want to preview builds of Windows 10 or Windows 11, you’ll need a licensed version of Windows 10. It can be downloaded from Microsoft’s Windows 10 Downloads page. However, since this is essentially a beta version of the operating system, you probably don’t want to wipe out your current Windows 10 environment.

Instead, we recommend running the insider build on a spare PC, within a dual-boot environment, or on a virtual machine. I use the free VMWare Workstation Player and Oracle VM VirtualBox programs to host Windows test builds and have enlisted them to run the Windows 11 insider build.

Once this environment is configured, install Windows 10 by clicking the Download Tool Now button in the Create Windows 10 installation media section. Save and run the file called MediaCreationTool.exe, then choose the installation media to install Windows 10 from: a USB drive, DVD or ISO file.

Follow the steps to install Windows 10. Next, make sure the installation is licensed with a product key or virtual license associated with your account.

Set up the Insider Program

Start Windows 10 on your computer or test environment and go to Settings> Update & Security> Windows Insider Program. In the right pane under the section titled Get Build Insider Preview, click the Get Started button.

Click Link an account in the pop-up window and confirm the Microsoft account you want to use to access the insider builds. Click Continue.

The next screen asks you to choose between three different types of Insider settings: Dev channel, Beta channel, or Release Preview Channel. If you want preview builds for Windows 10, choose Release Preview Channel.

If you want to build for Windows 11, select Dev Channel or Beta Channel. The Dev channel will contain the latest features and updates for Windows 11, but may have more bugs, while the Beta channel will contain features and updates that have already been refined by Microsoft and are more stable.

Select your favorite channel and click Confirm. The next screen explains the pre-release software you will receive and offers links to read the Microsoft Insider Privacy Statement and Microsoft Insider Program Agreement. Click Confirm to proceed, then click Restart Now to restart your computer.

Once your computer restarts, log back in and go back to Settings> Update & Security> Windows Insider Program. Confirm that the program is activated and that it points to the channel you have chosen.

Install the preview build for Windows 10 or 11

Now go to Settings> Update & Security> Windows Update and click on the Check for Updates button. You should see the latest Insider Preview updates for the version of Windows you have selected. Allow download and installation of updates. After downloading the updates, click the Restart Now button to restart your computer.

Your PC restarts and installs updates. Log into Windows and spend some time working and playing in the new environment to see what you like or dislike.

Share feedback with Microsoft

After using the internal build for a while, you may want to share feedback with Microsoft about what you like, what you don’t like, and what you want to see changed. To do this, click the Start button and open Feedback Hub from your PC.

For more information, you can also first go back to the Windows Insider webpage and scroll down to click the About Feedback link. Read the resulting page to learn more about how, where and why to give feedback. When you’re ready to share your comment, click Provide Feedback to open the Feedback Hub.

In the Feedback Hub, you can read Microsoft’s posts and provide feedback on your Windows experience. Click the Feedback category to view feedback from other Windows insiders. If you agree with specific feedback, click the Upvote icon to share your approval.

You can take action on existing feedback by clicking the Add Comment link. Type your comment and then click Post Comment to post it.

To provide your feedback, click Provide new feedback. Type your feedback, then click Next and choose a category and subcategory for your feedback. Click Next and then Next again. When done, click Submit and close the Feedback Hub.

Unenroll from the Windows Insider Program

If you no longer want to be a part of the Windows Insider Program, go to Settings> Update & Security> Windows Insider Program in Windows 10 and Settings> Windows Update> Windows Insider Program in Windows 11.

Click Stop receiving preview builds. Depending on your current settings, you can change channels, deregister the device when the next version of Windows is released, or deregister the device immediately.

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