# Your first beta test > Join the beta, run the next release a week before everyone else, and report what breaks. Source: https://contributors.home-assistant.io/releases/first-contribution/ Every month, a beta of the next release comes out a week before the release itself. Every bug found in that week is a bug that does not hit everyone else's home. Testing the beta is one of the most valuable things you can do, and you only need a Home Assistant installation to do it. ## 1. Know what you are signing up for A beta is almost done, but not quite. Most of the time it works fine. Sometimes something breaks. Before you join: - Test on an installation where a problem is an annoyance, not a disaster. If your heating or your alarm depends on Home Assistant, think twice, or test on a second installation. - Make sure you have a recent backup. Home Assistant OS makes one before every update, if you let it. - Expect several betas in one week. Fixes come in as they are found. ## 2. Join the beta channel On Home Assistant OS: 1. Go to **Settings** > **System** > **Updates**. 2. In the top-right corner, open the three dots menu. 3. Select **Join beta channel**. 4. Install the update that shows up. If it does not show up, select **Check for updates** in the same menu. You can also do it from the command line: ```bash ha supervisor options --channel beta ha supervisor reload ha core update --backup ``` Running Home Assistant Container? Use the `beta` tag of the image, and recreate the container: ```bash docker pull ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:beta ``` ## 3. Read the beta release notes The [beta release notes](https://rc.home-assistant.io/latest-release-notes/) explain what is new, and list the backward-incompatible changes. Read the backward-incompatible changes first: they tell you what might need a change on your side. Then try out the new features you care about. ## 4. Report what breaks Found a problem? Before you report it: - Check that it is new. Did it work in the current stable release? - Search the issue tracker. Someone may have reported it already. If so, add what you know to that issue, instead of opening a new one. Then open an issue in the right repository: - Integrations, automations, and the core: [core issues](https://github.com/home-assistant/core/issues). - The interface, dashboards, and cards: [frontend issues](https://github.com/home-assistant/frontend/issues). - The documentation and release notes: [home-assistant.io issues](https://github.com/home-assistant/home-assistant.io/issues). You need a free GitHub account to open an issue. New to GitHub? See [Use GitHub, without being a developer](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/start/github/). Fill in the issue template completely. Mention the beta version you run, like `2026.11.0b2`, what you expected, what happened instead, and the relevant log messages. In core, link the documentation page of the integration and attach its diagnostics file if it has one: the template asks for both. A clear report gets fixed faster. ### What happens after you report - **Labels and integration owners.** In core, the Home Assistant bot adds an `integration:` label based on the integration you named, and mentions the [integration owners](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/glossary/integration-owner/) of that integration, so the people who know it best get a notification. - **Duplicate check.** Once an integration label is on the issue, a workflow in core looks for similar open issues. If it finds any, it links them in a comment and adds the `potential-duplicate` label. Have a look: if one of them is your problem, continue there. - **Questions.** An integration owner or maintainer may ask for more details, like logs or diagnostics, or label the issue `needs-more-information`. Answer when you can, and keep testing the next betas. - **The fix.** A fix starts as a normal pull request. During the beta week, it lands in one of the next betas. After the release, it goes into a patch release. See [Get a fix into a patch release](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/releases/guides/patch-releases/). An issue in core or the frontend without any activity for 90 days is marked `stale`, and closed 7 days later if nothing happens. A comment is enough to keep it open. > [!TIP] > Not sure if something is a bug, or how to report it? Ask in the [**#beta**](https://discord.com/channels/330944238910963714/427516175237382144) channel on the [Home Assistant Discord server](https://www.home-assistant.io/join-chat). Other testers and developers are there during the beta week. ## 5. Stay or leave When the release comes out, you get it as a normal update. You can stay on the beta channel for the next month, or leave it with **Leave beta channel** in the same menu. Leaving does not downgrade you automatically: you get the next stable release when it is newer than what you run. ## What is next - Read [How releases work](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/releases/how-it-works/), so you know what happens when. - Found a typo or something unclear in the beta release notes? That is worth fixing too. See [Release notes and the release party](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/releases/guides/release-notes/).