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title: Test and Prepare for Major Releases
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portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/xcloud/264-0-0/availability_test_and_prepare_for_major_releases.md
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description: Familiarize yourself with release notes and use a sandbox to test your org's compatibility with a Salesforce major release before it's live in production.
products:
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Test and Prepare for Major Releases

Familiarize yourself with release notes and use a sandbox to test your org's compatibility with a Salesforce major release before it's live in production.

Salesforce has three major releases a year that includes quality-of-life updates, new features, and security enhancements. At Salesforce, we test these releases rigorously to ensure backward compatibility. Salesforce staggers releases by instance so in the event of an issue, it doesn’t impact every org.

However, every org is unique, and while rare, sometimes orgs don't work well with specific changes introduced. To minimize these risks, test your critical use cases against Salesforce major releases in a sandbox before it’s released globally.

Here are some specific recommendations to consider before a major release is deployed to your org.

- Plan ahead. Salesforce publishes major release dates on [Salesforce Trust](http://www.trust.salesforce.com) about a year in advance.
- Review release notes. Release notes are the authoritative source listing changes, new features, and critical updates. While the amount of information can be intimidating, look at [How to Use the Release Notes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=release-notes.rn_included_release_notes.htm&type=5&release=242&language=en_US), and then identify which products and features your company uses. You can also view [Release Updates](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=release-notes.rn_feature_impact.htm&type=5&release=242&language=en_US) to find the most critical updates being enforced or automatically enabled.
- Use the Release Matrix to identify what new features and changes can impact your org and if any action is required. Check back in the [Release Readiness Trailblazers Community](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/trailblazer-community/groups/0F9300000001okuCAA?tab=discussion&sort=LAST_MODIFIED_DATE_DESC#discussion) for the latest release version, which is posted about a month before production release.
- Test! Major releases are first available in preview sandbox orgs approximately 4–6 weeks before it’s live so you have time to review new features and take them for a test drive. [Understand the sandbox preview process](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=000391927&type=1&language=en_US), and ensure that you align your testing against major releases. You can also learn more about the [Sandbox Preview](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/sf_releases/sf-releases-sandbox-preview) on Trailhead.

#### See Also

- [_Trailhead_: Prepare for Salesforce Releases](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/trails/sf_release_prep)
- [_Knowledge Article_: Salesforce Release Resources](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=000355149&type=1&language=en_US)