Winter 25

The Salesforce Winter ’25 release is coming soon. Use your sandbox to get early access to new features and test your configurations before the production upgrade. Here’s how:

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The Winter ’25 sandbox preview window is scheduled to begin August 30, 2024. You must have an active sandbox on a preview instance before August 29, 2024 to take advantage of the Winter ’25 preview. In most cases, you don’t need to do anything because your sandbox is already on a preview instance.
Read the Winter ’25 Sandbox Preview Instructions and use the Sandbox Preview Guide to see whether to take action. The Sandbox Preview Guide simplifies how you plan if and when you need to trigger a refresh for your existing Sandbox orgs. Type in your Sandbox instance (CSx) to get started.

If you still have questions about your sandbox options for Winter ’25, open a support case via Salesforce Help.

The sandbox preview window for Winter ’25 begins August 30, 2024. You must have an active sandbox on a preview instance by August 29, 2024 (the day before sandbox preview) to take advantage of the preview.

Here’s how… First, decide whether you want to:

Keep one or more of your sandboxes on the current Summer ’24 release version, or,
Try the next major release, Winter ’25 version, in your sandbox(es).

After you decide:

Check if the Release Type of the sandbox is preview (upgrade) or non-preview (no upgrade), and
Determine if you need to refresh and when, based on the cutoff date of August 29, 2024.

Usually, no action is required because your sandbox is already on a preview instance.

How Does The Sandbox Preview Work?

The sandbox preview is a 6-week window ahead of a major Salesforce release when all preview sandboxes are upgraded to the next major Salesforce release. It’s your first chance to test your configurations on the new release.

Sandboxes are updated in groups based on the instance where they’re located. All sandboxes on a preview instance get upgraded together, and all sandboxes on non-preview instances remain on the current release. The only way to change the upgrade status of a sandbox is to move it to another instance by refreshing it. If you want to move it to a preview instance, you must do so before the cutoff date.

Between now and August 29, 2024, we route all sandbox requests to preview instances. If your sandbox request is complete in time, we upgrade it to Winter ’25.

On August 30, 2024, we reset all incomplete sandbox requests to a non-preview instance. All pending and new sandbox requests are routed to non-preview instances until your production instance is upgraded to Winter ’25. We can create sandboxes only on the same major release version of Salesforce as production.

For the Winter ’25 Release, we upgrade the preview instances to Winter ’25 on August 30 and August 31, 2024, and non-preview instances to Winter ’25 on October 11 and October 12, 2024.

Follow the basic process below if you want your sandbox to participate in the Winter ’25 preview.

1. Find your sandbox details.
In production, from Setup, in the Quick Find box, enter Sandbox, and then select Sandbox. Use the Release Type column to determine if your sandbox is on a preview or non-preview instance.

You can also use the Sandbox Preview Guide to determine if each of your sandboxes is on a preview or non-preview instance. Enter your sandbox instance name(s). The guide tells you if it’s preview or non-preview and what to do to either move to the next release (Winter ’25) or stay on the current release (Summer ’24). You can also check multiple sandboxes and view the full list of preview and non-preview instances.

2. Understand the cutoff date.

Every release, we give you a cutoff date for sandbox refresh completions, and usually, it’s the day before the preview starts. For Winter ’25, the cutoff date is August 29, 2024. Any sandbox created after the cutoff isn’t a preview sandbox. If you have a sandbox on a preview instance and refresh it after the cutoff, your sandbox is routed to a non-preview instance and reverts to Summer ’24.

Resolution

Should I Refresh my Sandbox?

Here are the most common scenarios:

It’s important to plan ahead. The popularity of the sandbox preview program often means backlogs in sandbox create and refresh requests, especially closer to the cutoff date. Remember, if it’s a full sandbox it can take some time to copy.

All incomplete sandboxes are reset to a non-preview instance before the sandbox preview starts on August 30, 2024, so we recommend that you request your sandbox at least a week before the deadline to improve your chances of getting a completed sandbox on a preview instance.

We aim to process each request on time, but we can’t guarantee the completion of your sandbox before the deadline.

I Want to Create a New Sandbox — What Are My Options?

Create a new sandbox that goes to a preview instance and gets the Winter ’25 preview	Create a new sandbox that goes to a non-preview instance and stays on Summer ’24
Submit your sandbox request well ahead of the 6:00 PM PT cutoff on August 29, 2024 (01:00 UTC on August 30, 2024) so that the sandbox copy is completed before the sandbox release. Plan ahead. If you submit your request too close to the deadline and the copy isn’t completed, or if your request is after the deadline, your Sandbox is built on a non-preview instance.	Wait to submit your request to create a sandbox until after 6:00 PM PT on August 29, 2024 (01:00 UTC on August 30, 2024). If you submit your request before then, your Sandbox can be built on a Preview Instance.

I Have a Sandbox — What Are My Options?

If the Release Type of your sandbox is:	You want to try Winer ’25 in your sandbox	You want the sandbox on Summer ’24
Preview	No action needed. Your sandbox is already on a preview instance and gets upgraded to Winter ’25 on August 30, 2024. If you must refresh your sandbox for other reasons, do so well in advance of 6:00 PM PT on August 29, 2024 (01:00 UTC on August 30, 2024) to make sure that your sandbox is completed before the cutoff date. If you refresh your sandbox after the deadline or your sandbox isn’t completed in time, it is built on a non-preview instance.	Refresh to a non-preview instance after the cutoff date to keep your sandbox on Summer ’24. To do so, wait to refresh after 6:00 PM PT on August 29, 2024 (01:00 UTC on August 30, 2024). If you refresh your sandbox sooner, it can be built on a Preview Instance. Refreshing a sandbox deletes it and recreates it as a new copy of production. Be sure to save any configurations or data unique to the sandbox elsewhere before refreshing it.
Non-Preview	Your sandbox is on a non-preview instance. Refresh it between now and 6:00 PM PT on August 29, 2024 (01:00 UTC on August 30, 2024) to try out Winter ’25. If you refresh your sandbox after the deadline or your Sandbox isn’t completed in time, it is built on a non-preview instance.	No action is needed because your sandbox is on a non-preview instance and stays on Summer ’24. If you must refresh your sandbox for other reasons, wait to refresh it after 6:00 PM PT on August 29, 2024 (01:00 UTC on August 30, 2024) to remain on a non-preview instance.

Note: If you decide to keep your sandbox on the current Summer ’24 release, your sandbox isn’t upgraded to Winter ’25 until October 11, 2024.

I Have a Sandbox That I Want to Clone – What Are My Options?

Before the sandbox preview window	Sandbox clone requests are routed to a preview instance until 6:00 PM PT on August 29, 2024 (01:00 UTC August 30, 2024)
During the sandbox preview window	From 6:00 PM PT on August 29, 2024 (01:00 UTC August 30, 2024) through October 11, 2024, we process sandbox clone requests on the same release version of Salesforce as the sandbox being cloned.

AppExchange Preview Instructions

Use this chart if you plan to upload or install one or more AppExchange packages using your sandboxes during the sandbox preview window.

	You can upload AppExchange Packages:	You can install AppExchange Packages:	You can’t install AppExchange Packages
Before the sandbox preview windowAnytime until sandbox preview starts on August 30, 2024	From your Summer ’24 production or sandbox instance	To any Summer ’24 production or sandbox instance
During the sandbox preview window From August 30, 2024 through October 11, 2024	From your Summer ’24 production or sandbox instance	To any Summer ’24 production or sandbox instance
	From your Winter ’25 sandbox instance	To any Winter ’25 production or sandbox instance	To any Summer ’24 production or sandbox instance
After the sandbox preview window Any time after October 12, 2024	From your Winter ’25 production or sandbox instance	To any Winter ’25 production or sandbox instance