Mission Critical
By Richard Rost
7 hours ago
Protect Your PC Before The Next Office Update In this video, we will discuss why stability is critical when your business depends on Microsoft Access, focusing on recent issues caused by Office updates and how Microsoft's update channels work. We will cover the different update channels, why some users unintentionally become part of Microsoft's production validation, and which channel is safest for mission critical Access databases. I will explain how to check and change your update channel, how to manage Office updates manually, and best practices to maintain reliability in production environments. Links
Keywords TechHelp Access, update channels, Office 365 current channel, monthly enterprise channel, Access Forever, channel change registry, Office update control, mission critical database, release candidate build, production validation, disabling automatic updates, backup strategy
Intro In this video, we will discuss why stability is critical when your business depends on Microsoft Access, focusing on recent issues caused by Office updates and how Microsoft's update channels work. We will cover the different update channels, why some users unintentionally become part of Microsoft's production validation, and which channel is safest for mission critical Access databases. I will explain how to check and change your update channel, how to manage Office updates manually, and best practices to maintain reliability in production environments.Transcript When your business depends on Microsoft Access, stability is more important than shiny new features.
Welcome to another TechHelp video brought to you by Access Learning Zone. I am your instructor, Richard Rost.
If your Microsoft Access database runs your business, manages your customers, tracks your inventory, or does anything else you simply cannot afford to have break in the middle of the workday, then your PC is mission critical.
Today we are going to talk about a recent Office update that caught a lot of Access developers by surprise, why it happened, and how you can decide which update channel is right for your production machines.
I read an article this morning that I thought was not only important enough to share with everybody but to actually make a video about, and full credit for bringing this to everyone's attention goes to Carl and the whole team over at Access Forever.
And if you are serious about Microsoft Access, Access Forever is one of those websites you should absolutely have bookmarked. And you should definitely subscribe to their email updates. I do.
Between Access Forever and the official Microsoft Access blog, those are the first places I go whenever there is important Access news.
Carl just published an article called Guinea Pigs in the Current Channel and then you can look at the cute little guinea pigs there. I love that.
Anyways, it sheds light on something that a lot of us in the Access community either did not know or at least did not fully appreciate. I will put a link to this down below.
You should take a few minutes and read this, but in a nutshell, if you develop Microsoft Access databases or your business depends on Access running reliably every day, this is definitely something you should know.
So let's talk about what happened.
Earlier this month, users started reporting that Microsoft Access had suddenly become painfully slow. VBA code that normally ran instantly was taking several seconds.
When you are used to a button running instantly and now it is taking a few seconds, something is not right.
Forms are opening slowly. Applications that have worked perfectly for years suddenly felt sluggish. All the reports pointed to Microsoft 365 version 2506 and there is the build number 18925.20138.
At first, everyone assumed this only affected Microsoft's insider preview channels and that makes perfect sense. The beta channel exists specifically for testing new features. I did a video on this a little while ago. If you want to play with the new features before they are fully released, you can install the beta channel.
There is also a current channel preview that exists for testing release candidates before they are released to everyone else.
The Access team responded quickly, identified the problem, and released a fix. Problem solved. Or so everyone thought.
Then people started posting comments that did not make sense. They said they were on the regular current channel, not running preview, and they had the exact same build number.
Naturally, most of us assumed they had accidentally joined one of the preview channels. But according to Carl's article, after discussions with Microsoft, they learned something surprising.
Microsoft intentionally sends release candidate builds to a small percentage of users on the regular current channel as part of their production validation process. This is not the beta channel. This is not even the current channel preview. This is Microsoft's regular production current channel, in other words, the one most people are using.
From Microsoft's point of view, this makes a lot of sense. Before rolling out an update to millions of Office users around the world, they want to validate those release candidates across a huge variety of real-world hardware, drivers, Windows versions, antivirus software, add-ins, printers, all that stuff. Every weird combination of software people manage to install on their computers, and I have seen a lot of weird stuff.
There is simply no lab in the world that can reproduce all those combinations. So validating a release candidate with a small percentage of production users helps Microsoft catch issues that might otherwise slip through the cracks. That is honestly a reasonable engineering decision.
I do not think there is anything sneaky or malicious about it. I just do not think many Access developers realized it was happening. I certainly did not. And I can understand why some businesses would rather not have their production computers participating in that validation process.
Apparently, some of us have been volunteering for Guinea Pig Duty without ever filling out the application.
Why does this matter? If your business depends on Microsoft Access every day, if your accounting system runs in Access, your inventory system runs in Access, your customer management system runs in Access, or if you are running a small business and recording Access training videos like I am, you probably value stability more than getting new features the day they come out.
If your Access database goes down and all your people in your front office and in your warehouse are all sitting around twiddling their thumbs because they cannot get into the system, you are losing money.
Personally, I do not mind Microsoft testing upcoming releases. Somebody has to. I would just rather those tests happen on a machine that I have designated for testing, not necessarily the production computer my business depends on every day.
That is exactly why Microsoft offers multiple update channels. So let's take a look at those.
First, we have the current channel. This is the default for most Microsoft 365 users. We receive new features as soon as Microsoft releases them. Updates can happen several times each month.
It is still Microsoft's production channel, so it is perfectly safe for most users. But, as we have now learned, Microsoft may temporarily use a small percentage of current channel systems to validate release candidates before a wider rollout.
Then we have the current channel preview. This is for people who intentionally want early access to upcoming releases. You will receive updates sooner, but you will also encounter more bugs. It is great for testing but not something I would recommend on your primary production machines.
Next, we have the beta channel. Again, I have done a video on this one earlier. This is the bleeding edge, the brand new features, the brand new bugs, sometimes features that never make it into production. Unless you are actively testing Office and you want to play with those new features, I would stay away from beta.
Finally, we have the monthly enterprise channel. This is the one that I would seriously recommend for most businesses running production Access applications. Updates arrive once each month, normally on the second Tuesday, better known as Patch Tuesday. They have had a little more time to mature before reaching your computer.
According to Microsoft's documentation, this channel is not used for the same production validation process. So, if your database runs your business, if downtime costs you money, or if your database is going up to the International Space Station and is absolutely mission critical, then the monthly enterprise is probably what you want to have installed.
Personally, I would even wait another day or two after Patch Tuesday before clicking update, just to give the community time to discover anything else that might be bad. My philosophy is let someone else discover the bugs.
There used to be another one called the semi-annual enterprise. Microsoft is retiring that option, so there is really no reason to talk about that today. Monthly enterprise has become the long-term stable choice. Semi-annual was the one I used to recommend for absolutely mission critical machines.
So what is my recommendation?
If you only remember one thing from today's video, remember this: If your livelihood depends on Microsoft Access running reliably every day, seriously consider putting your production machines on the monthly enterprise channel.
If you have a second computer, like an older laptop or even a virtual machine you can spin up, leave that one in the current channel or the current channel preview or the beta channel if you want to play around with new features. That is what I have, a laptop specifically for testing the new Office builds before I let them anywhere near my production machines.
It is also a very common IT strategy to keep one machine slightly ahead of everyone else so you can spot problems before they affect the computer the rest of the business runs on. If you have an IT guy in the office, let him get the new version first and he can tell you if there are any problems with it.
As always, make sure you back up first. Back up, back up, and back up again. I harp on backups all the time. It is very rare for an Office update to actually do anything to your database file itself, but I have seen weird things happen. Make sure you have a nightly backup if anything else.
Here is one thing that I personally do. I do not let Office install updates automatically on my production machines. I turn off Office updates, the automatic Office updates. I install them manually when it is convenient for me, usually on a weekend when I am not in the middle of recording videos or doing customer service or need my database.
This way you do not walk into the office on a Monday morning only to discover that Office decided to update itself at six o'clock that morning and now your mission critical database is acting strange before you have even had your first sip of coffee.
Instead, I choose when to update. I make a backup first, finish whatever project I am working on, and then I install the update on my schedule, not Microsoft's. If everything looks good, great. If not, I am dealing with it when I have time to deal with it, not in the middle of a busy workday.
Even if you decide for manual updates, I would still recommend putting your production machines on the monthly enterprise channel. That way, when you are ready, you click update now and you get the stability benefits of monthly enterprise while still staying in control of when those updates are installed.
Always write down the last known build number that you know was good. I always do that. You come into File, you go to Account and right here is your version and your build number. If you click on About Access, you will see it right up here too.
If you install an update and it is not working right and you have to roll back to your previous Office version, it is easier to do if you know what the old build number was. If you do have to roll back, which I have had to do a few times, go watch this video and I explain how to do it.
I also do something similar with Windows Update. Yes, it is possible to completely stop Windows from installing updates automatically. It is not as simple as changing a setting anymore. It takes some more advanced configuration, including some registry changes. It is really a topic all by itself and I will cover exactly how to do that in a future video. For Office updates, all you have to do is come in here and go to Office Updates and go disable updates. Then you get to pick when they install.
As far as clicking stuff, while you are at it, go ahead and click that like button for me. It helps other Access developers find my video and it lets you database geeks deserve a little love too. So click it and make sure that you are subscribed.
How do you change channels? Again, Access Forever has a great page on how to do this. They talk about all the different channels. If you scroll down a bit, there are the insider channels.
How to join a specific channel. They go through it all right here. I am going to link to their page so you can go here and you can read this and you can walk through it step by step.
Method one: If you have a personal or family Microsoft 365 subscription, Office includes an insider button right there, a little insider button that lets you join the preview channels. Most business users will not have this.
Method two: They provide a registry file that adds an update channel button directly inside of Office. Personally, I really like this method. You just download this and run it and then you get an update channel button and you can pick your channel. If you want to change it later, it is easy to do. For most individual users, this is probably the method I would recommend. It is super easy to do. You just grab this file off their website and you get this cool little menu.
Method three: There is also a registry command. There it is. You can put that in your registry if you are comfortable doing that. If you break something, do not talk to me. Sorry, I do not know anything about it. This method is best if you are scripting deployments. If you know how to do that, then there you go.
There is also an Office Deployment Tool where you can set up a little XML file. This is Microsoft's official deployment method and it is especially useful for IT administrators deploying Office across multiple computers. For most home and small business users, this is probably more work than necessary. They have explanations of all the different parameters here, the current ID channels to use, a long list of product IDs.
If you are managing dozens or hundreds of PCs, Microsoft also supports changing update channels through Group Policy. Again, the Access Forever guys got some links here.
There is also one more method I found. Open an elevated Command Prompt and then navigate to the Click-to-Run folder. CD to the Click-to-Run folder. It is usually that. It could be different on your system. Then there are two commands that you run. The officec2rclient.exe. The first command changes to the monthly enterprise. The second command checks for updates immediately. You do not have to wait for Office to notice the change later. I thought that was a neat little trick worth sharing.
Some final thoughts.
This video is not meant as a criticism of the Microsoft Access team. Quite the opposite. When the slowdown bug appeared, they responded quickly, identified the problem, and released a fix. So they are doing great work.
Another important takeaway is not that the current channel is unsafe. It is understanding how Microsoft's release process actually works so you can decide which update channel best fits your environment.
If your Access database is mission critical, stability is usually more important than getting the newest features on day one. Check which update channel you are using. Check your version and build number and decide whether current channel or monthly enterprise is the better fit for your production machines.
This is also another reminder that Microsoft Access is alive and well. In fact, just a few minutes before I recorded this video, I received an email that the latest beta channel build adds support for linking child and master fields in combo boxes and list boxes. That is going to be an awesome feature.
That means we are getting built-in cascading controls, even on continuous forms, without writing VBA code. They demoed this at Access Day and at the MVP Summit, and I am super excited for it. I will definitely do a future TechHelp video on it once it is out of beta.
So the A Team is doing some great work. We have form zooming, we have large form support, we are getting cascading combo boxes. So 2026 is a good year for Access so far.
Thanks again to Carl and everyone over at Access Forever for digging into this and sharing it with the Access community so quickly. Be sure to check out their articles. I have linked to them down below.
If you would like to learn more about Microsoft Access, visit my website where you will find hundreds of free lessons covering everything from beginner topics all the way through advanced VBA, SQL Server integration, and professional application development.
Before we wrap up, remember this: If your Microsoft Access Database is mission critical, consider putting your production machine on the monthly enterprise channel. Keep a second PC for testing new releases and install Office updates on your schedule after making a backup. That gives you the best balance between stability and staying current.
If you found today's video helpful, post a comment down below and let me know which update channel you are using and whether you think that you are going to switch after watching this video. I know I am.
That is going to be your TechHelp video for today brought to you by Access Learning Zone. I hope you learned something. Live long and prosper, my friends. I will see you next time.Quiz Q1. Why is stability more important than new features for businesses that depend on Microsoft Access?
A. Because interruptions or bugs can disrupt critical business operations
B. Because new features are always more secure
C. Because stable software is less expensive
D. Because stable software is faster to install
Q2. What recent issue did Access developers encounter with an Office update?
A. Forms and VBA code running significantly slower than normal
B. Missing data after an update
C. New features disappearing from the interface
D. Inability to save database files
Q3. What surprised many Access developers about Microsoft's update process?
A. Release candidate builds are sent to some users in the current channel for validation
B. All new features are released exclusively in the beta channel
C. Updates are only tested internally at Microsoft before release
D. The current channel never receives updates
Q4. If your business relies on Access for mission critical operations, which Office update channel is recommended?
A. Monthly enterprise channel
B. Beta channel
C. Current channel preview
D. Any channel, it does not matter
Q5. What is the main purpose of the current channel in Microsoft Office updates?
A. To provide new features to users as soon as they are available
B. To only deliver security updates
C. To install features once a year
D. To maintain the oldest possible version
Q6. How can you prevent unexpected Office updates on your production computer?
A. Turn off automatic Office updates and install them manually
B. Uninstall Office and reinstall every time
C. Only use the beta channel
D. Disable all Windows updates
Q7. Why does Microsoft validate release candidate builds with a percentage of current channel users?
A. To test updates on real-world combinations of hardware and software
B. To punish users with unstable software
C. To save development costs
D. Because not enough people use the beta channel
Q8. What is a key strategy to minimize the risk of Office updates affecting your Access production environment?
A. Maintain a separate test computer or virtual machine for new builds
B. Only use one computer for everything
C. Install all updates on Monday mornings
D. Never back up your database
Q9. What should you always do before installing Office updates?
A. Make a backup
B. Disable your antivirus
C. Uninstall Office
D. Disconnect from the internet
Q10. According to the video, what additional resources are recommended for staying informed about Microsoft Access news?
A. Access Forever website and the official Microsoft Access blog
B. Only Microsoft Word tutorials
C. Generic tech news blogs
D. Online shopping sites
Q11. How can individual users most easily change their Office update channel, as recommended in the video?
A. Use the registry file provided by Access Forever to add an update channel button
B. Purchase a new license key
C. Contact Microsoft support over the phone
D. Edit the database file directly
Q12. Which update channel is best for home or small business users who prioritize stability?
A. Monthly enterprise channel
B. Beta channel
C. Current channel preview
D. Developer channel
Q13. What is a good practice when recording your Office version and build number?
A. Write it down before updating so you can roll back if necessary
B. Ignore it, as it is not important
C. Only check after a problem has occurred
D. Use it only for Windows, not Office
Q14. What should you do if your business must minimize downtime caused by Office updates?
A. Wait a day or two after Patch Tuesday before installing updates
B. Install all updates immediately
C. Never update your system
D. Install updates during peak business hours
Q15. How did the Access team respond to the slowdown bug caused by a recent update?
A. They quickly identified and released a fix
B. They ignored user complaints
C. They rolled back all updates
D. They discontinued support for Access
Answers: 1-A; 2-A; 3-A; 4-A; 5-A; 6-A; 7-A; 8-A; 9-A; 10-A; 11-A; 12-A; 13-A; 14-A; 15-A
DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.Summary Today's video from Access Learning Zone is focused on a vital topic for anyone whose business depends on Microsoft Access: ensuring the stability of your Access environment, especially when it comes to updates.
If your business relies on Microsoft Access to manage customers, track inventory, or anything else mission critical, you simply cannot afford for your system to become unavailable during the workday. The computer running your Access database is truly mission critical.
Recently, there was an Office update that caught many Access developers off guard. I want to explain what happened, why it happened, and help you figure out which Office update channel you should use for your production computers.
This all came to my attention thanks to Carl and the team at Access Forever. If you work regularly with Access, you need to know about Access Forever and consider subscribing to their email updates. They, along with the official Microsoft Access blog, are my go-to sources for the latest Access news.
Carl recently published an article called "Guinea Pigs in the Current Channel," and it brought to light something a lot of people in the Access community didn't fully understand. I'll summarize it here, but it's well worth reading the full article yourself.
To recap: earlier this month, many users noticed that Access was suddenly running much more slowly. Routines that used to execute instantly now took several seconds. Forms were slow to open, and applications that had performed flawlessly for years suddenly felt sluggish. The affected users all had version 2506 of Microsoft 365, with build number 18925.20138.
Initially, people assumed this was limited to those using Microsoft's insider preview channels. That's logical because the beta channel is meant for testing new features. There is also a "current channel preview" for users who want to test release candidates before final rollout. The Access team moved quickly, identified the issue, and released a fix.
However, some users reported experiencing the problem even though they were not using any preview channels; they were in the regular current channel and had the same build number. At first, many assumed these users had switched to a preview channel by mistake. It turned out that was not the case.
According to Carl's article, after some investigation, he found that Microsoft does, in fact, distribute release candidate builds to a small percentage of users on the regular current channel as part of their validation process. This is not the beta channel or the current channel preview, but the regular production channel that most people use for everyday work.
From Microsoft's perspective, this makes sense. Before rolling out changes to millions of users, they want to test on a wide range of real-world systems and configurations, catching potential issues that might not appear in a test lab. This approach helps Microsoft avoid deploying problematic updates at scale. There's nothing shady going on, but I think most Access developers (myself included) weren't aware this was happening.
The catch is that some of us unexpectedly became part of this validation process. As a result, some mission critical machines were impacted by an unstable update.
If your Access database is essential to your business, you want stability above all else. If your system goes down, your entire team might be stuck, unable to do their jobs, and your business loses money.
Personally, I don't mind helping Microsoft test updates, but I want those tests to happen on a system I choose, not my primary production machine.
This is the reason Microsoft offers several update channels, and it's important to understand what each offers.
First, the Current Channel is the default channel for most Microsoft 365 users. It provides new features as soon as Microsoft releases them, and updates arrive several times a month. While intended for most users, the current channel may be used to test release candidates with a small subset of users, as we have now learned.
Then there's the Current Channel Preview designed specifically for users who want early access and are willing to tolerate more bugs for the benefit of trying out upcoming features. This is not recommended for production systems.
The Beta Channel is even further ahead, offering features still in development, some of which may never reach general release. This one is strictly for testers and experimental purposes.
Most important for business users is the Monthly Enterprise Channel. This provides updates once a month, usually on Patch Tuesday, giving updates extra time to mature and stabilize away from early bugs. According to Microsoft documentation, machines in this channel are not used for release candidate validation, so they are less likely to encounter unexpected problems.
If Access is mission critical for your operation, the Monthly Enterprise Channel is usually the best choice. I even suggest waiting a day or two after Patch Tuesday before updating, just in case any last-minute problems emerge in the community reports. It pays to be cautious and conservative with production systems.
Microsoft used to offer a Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel, but that is being phased out. Monthly Enterprise Channel now serves as the best long-term stable option.
So what should you do? If you remember one thing from this discussion, it's this: if your business relies on Microsoft Access every day, you should strongly consider moving your production computers to the Monthly Enterprise Channel.
It's also smart to have a separate computer or virtual machine for running Access in one of the earlier channels - current or even beta - so you can test and get familiar with new features before they are introduced to the rest of your business.
A common IT policy is to let one computer stay ahead on updates to act as an early warning system. If you have an IT manager or tech support, let them update first and check for issues before updating everyone else.
Always back up your database files before applying updates. I can't stress this enough. It's extremely unlikely that an Office update will corrupt your database, but odd things do sometimes happen. A nightly backup is a must for any mission critical system.
Personally, I disable automatic Office updates on my production machines and install them manually on a schedule that works for me, usually on weekends or another low-traffic time. This prevents the unpleasant surprise of finding that an Office update broke something first thing Monday morning.
By controlling when you update, you can make backups, finish important projects, and ensure that any issues are handled on your own schedule. Even if you prefer manual updates, I still recommend using the Monthly Enterprise Channel for maximum stability.
Make a note of your last known good build number and version, as this can make it much easier to roll back to a stable state if needed. You can find your version and build number in the File menu under Account and also in About Access.
Rolling back to a previous Office version is possible and sometimes necessary after a problematic update, and I have a guide on my site explaining how to do it.
It's also possible to pause or control Windows Updates on your machines, but that requires more advanced configuration and isn't as straightforward as managing Office updates. For Office, it's as simple as disabling automatic updates and then manually checking for new releases when you are ready.
As for changing your update channel, Access Forever has a clear guide for this, explaining each of the available methods. For individual or small business users, they offer a registry file that adds an update channel button inside Office, making it particularly easy to manage which channel you use. There are also more technical options, like using registry edits, scripting with deployment tools, or Group Policy for larger organizations, though those are more suitable for IT administrators.
Another convenient method is running a simple command in an elevated Command Prompt to change your channel and force an immediate update.
Let me emphasize, my aim is not to criticize the Microsoft Access team. They responded quickly to the recent slowdown issue and worked hard to produce a fix. The key lesson here is to understand Microsoft's update process so you can make informed choices about which channel works best for your environment.
Ultimately, for businesses where Access is mission critical, it's usually better to prioritize stability over having the latest features right away. Decide whether the Current Channel or Monthly Enterprise Channel best fits your needs, check your version and build, and make the change if needed.
On a positive note, this also shows that Access is still actively developed. In fact, brand new features are arriving, such as native cascading controls in combo boxes and list boxes, which will make advanced forms much more manageable. The Access team continues to improve the product, and I am excited to record future lessons on these upgrades as they become generally available.
Thanks again to Carl and the Access Forever team for their in-depth reporting and support for the Access community. Their articles are a great resource and well worth your time.
To sum up, if Access is central to your business, put your production PCs on the Monthly Enterprise Channel, keep a second machine for testing, and always update Office on your schedule after making a backup. That way you keep your database stable without missing out on new features when you are ready.
A complete step-by-step video tutorial covering everything we have discussed here is available on my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends.Topic List Importance of stability for business-critical Access databases
Issues caused by recent Office updates affecting Access
Understanding Office update channels
How Microsoft uses release candidate builds in production
Differences between current channel and monthly enterprise channel
Best channel for production Access environments
Disabling automatic Office updates
Performing manual Office updates safely
Locating and noting your Office build number
Rolling back to a previous Office version if needed
Methods for changing Office update channels
Using registry files to change Office update channels
Deploying update channels via Office Deployment Tool
Recommendations for IT strategy with Access updates
Backing up before applying updatesArticle When your business relies on Microsoft Access, the most important thing is stability, not having the latest features as soon as they are released. Many businesses use Access for critical operations like managing customers, tracking inventory, or running accounting systems. If Access stops working properly in the middle of a busy workday, it can bring everything to a halt and cost you money.
Recently, there was an incident where a Microsoft Office update caused Access to slow down significantly. Routines that normally ran instantly started taking several seconds, and forms that used to open quickly became sluggish. It turned out that a new Office update was pushed to some users before it had been fully released to everyone. Many people assumed this type of early update only happened to users who enrolled in special preview programs or beta testing. However, it became clear that Microsoft sometimes sends release candidate builds to a small group of regular users as part of their process to make sure the update works in the real world.
Microsoft has several update channels for Office, and each one controls how quickly you receive new features and bug fixes. The default channel for most users is called the current channel. In this channel, you get updates as soon as Microsoft is ready to send them out. Sometimes, as part of a final check, Microsoft deploys release candidate versions to a few regular users on the current channel. This way, they can see how the update performs on all sorts of unique computer setups, including different hardware, software, antivirus programs, and other things nobody could possibly test for in one lab.
If your business depends on Access, you probably do not want your primary computers to be used for this type of testing. You want updates only after they have been thoroughly tested elsewhere. Fortunately, you have choices. Microsoft offers different update channels, and you can pick the one that best fits your needs.
Besides the current channel, there are other options. There is the current channel preview, which lets you try updates earlier and is more likely to have issues since it is meant for testing. There is also the beta channel, which is for the earliest, most experimental builds. Most users should stay away from this unless they specifically want to test new features and are ready to deal with potential problems.
The option I recommend for any business whose database is important is the monthly enterprise channel. This channel receives updates just once a month, usually after they have been tested in the other channels. In Microsoft's documentation, this is not the channel used for early production testing. It is designed for stability and predictability. If Access is mission critical for you, monthly enterprise is usually the safest bet.
It is also a good idea to control when updates are installed. Rather than let Office update automatically, set your copy of Office to install updates manually. That way, you can back up your important files before updating. If a problem does arise, you can restore your backup and roll back to a previous version of Office, provided you kept note of what build you were on before updating. To check your build, just open Access, go to File, select Account, and you will see the information listed there.
The most practical arrangement is to have your main work machines on the monthly enterprise channel and keep a second machine available for testing early updates. This could be an old laptop or a virtual machine. You can set this testing computer to use the current channel or even the preview channels if you want to experiment with new features before they reach your main systems. Many IT departments will keep one computer ahead of the rest so they can spot problems before rolling out updates organization-wide.
Changing your Office update channel is straightforward, but the steps depend on your type of Microsoft 365 subscription. Personal and family versions sometimes have an "Insider" button in Account settings where you can select your channel. For most business users, you can change the update channel by applying a registry edit, or by using tools like the Office Deployment Tool or Group Policy if you are managing many machines.
One particularly easy method is to use a registry file offered by community sites such as Access Forever, where you can download and run the file to add an update channel option directly into your Office application. If you are comfortable with the registry, you can also execute a command to change the channel from a Command Prompt. System administrators usually prefer this or the Office Deployment Tool for large-scale management.
Always remember to back up your database before applying any change to Office. While Office updates rarely damage database files, unusual things can happen, and having a nightly backup is always good practice.
It is important not to assume that Microsoft is doing anything wrong by testing their software in the real world before sending updates out to everyone. However, as a business owner or Access developer, you should be aware of how these processes work and set up your systems so that your business does not get caught off guard by an unexpected change.
Whenever you are ready to update, do it at a time that works for you, when you have time to deal with any issues that might come up, rather than letting it happen automatically in the middle of a busy day. Write down the build number you had before the update so that you can roll back if necessary. This small step can save you a lot of time in an emergency.
Finally, remember that Access is still under active development, and new features continue to arrive. If you want to stay up to date safely, use the monthly enterprise channel for production databases and a separate testing machine for preview channels. This approach gives you the best balance between stability and access to new features, while avoiding unnecessary risk to your business. Keep regular backups, check your update channel, and decide which update plan gives you peace of mind for your business needs. |
