Last updated: September 14, 2017
In September 2017, we simplified the release cadence for Office 365 for business and changed the names of our existing update channels to be more descriptive. As part of this effort, the name of the Office Insider levels have changed. The Insider Fast level name is now called Insider and the Insider Slow level name is called Monthly Channel (Targeted).
Do I need to do anything?
No, you don't.
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If you were getting Fast or Slow level updates, you'll continue to receive these updates as usual, on the same schedule. The only change is to the name of the levels.
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If you're an Office 365 admin using the Office Deployment Tool to install Fast builds for yourself or your end users, you don't need to update your configuration.xml file to reflect the new names. The old InsiderSlow and InsiderFast values used by the Channel attribute (part of the Add value) will continue to work.
If you’re on the Fast level, you’ll now see the Insider name in the app.
If you’re on the Slow level, you'll now see Monthly Channel (Targeted).
New names for Office for Windows desktop update channels
Here's the full list of new names for the Office 365 update channels, starting with Insider, the first publicly available update.
|
New Name |
Old Name |
Purpose |
Applies to |
Release Frequency |
|
Insider |
Insider Fast |
Frequent updates containing features in development |
Office 365 for home Office 365 for business |
Weekly |
|
Monthly Channel (Targeted) |
Insider Slow (Office 365 for home) First Release for Current Channel (Office 365 for business) |
Preview of Monthly Channel update |
Office 365 for home Office 365 for business |
Monthly |
|
Monthly Channel |
Current Channel |
Monthly updates with the latest features |
Office 365 for home Office 365 for business |
Monthly |
|
Semi-annual Channel (Targeted) |
First Release for Deferred Channel |
Preview of Semi-annual Channel update |
Office 365 for business only |
Twice a year, in March and September |
|
Semi-annual Channel |
Deferred Channel |
Accumulation of features that have shipped in prior Monthly Channel updates |
Office 365 for business only |
Twice a year, in January and July |
Article revisions
The following table contains a list of significant changes made to this article.
|
Date |
Description |
|---|---|
|
September 14, 2017 |
Updated article to reflect that the level names have officially changed. |
|
August 13, 2017 |
Added confirmation that Office 365 admins who use a configuration.xml file to install Insider builds do not need to update that file. Existing names for the Channel attribute (part of the Add value) will not change. |
