Power Platform Developer environments face deletion
Ronan Vico Technologies explains the planned shutdown of unmanaged Developer environments and the steps makers can take to preserve their work.
Key insights
- New unmanaged Developer environments are due to stop being created on November 15, 2026.
- Existing unmanaged Developer environments are due to be locked starting December 15, 2026.
- Deletion of affected environments is scheduled to start on January 15, 2027.
- Options discussed include enabling Managed Environments or moving solutions to a Sandbox environment.
- Managed Environments can have Premium licensing implications, according to the video description.
Ronan Vico Technologies recently published a video about Microsoft’s planned changes to unmanaged Power Platform Developer environments. The video describes a November 15 change to environment creation, followed by a period in which existing environments are locked and then deleted. The practical takeaway for makers and administrators is to identify affected environments and move or preserve important work before access is lost.
What's new
The change concerns unmanaged environments with the Developer environment type, including environments associated with the Power Apps Developer Plan. According to the video description and the accompanying research notes, new unmanaged Developer environments are due to stop being created on November 15, 2026. Existing unmanaged Developer environments are scheduled to be locked starting December 15, 2026, with deletion beginning January 15, 2027.
The environment may contain apps, Power Automate flows, Dataverse data, solutions and other environment objects. The notes also identify Copilot Studio agents and Power Pages developer websites as potential contents. A lock is consequential because the material says the apps, flows, agents, websites and data in affected environments will no longer be available after that stage begins.
The planned shutdown is separate from the existing inactivity cleanup process. The video description calls out a 30-day inactivity deletion rule as a separate topic; the research notes explain that inactivity-related cleanup has its own process. In other words, the announced dates for unmanaged Developer environments should not be treated as an inactivity threshold.
Why it matters
For makers, the main risk is losing access to work that exists only in a personal or unmanaged Developer environment. A prototype might be useful for learning or testing, but if it contains work that needs to continue, its owner should decide where that work will live next. The notes recommend checking not only apps and flows but also Dataverse data and related environment resources.
For Power Platform administrators, this is an inventory and governance task. The notes describe Managed Environments as offering additional administrative controls and identify the Power Platform admin center as the place to check environment status and enable managed status. They also say existing managed Developer environments are not part of this specific shutdown.
Licensing needs attention before choosing that route. The video description warns that Managed Environments can require Premium licensing and that the relevant rights are not automatically included with the Power Apps Developer Plan. The provided material does not specify which exact licenses are required for each scenario, so organizations should verify their own entitlements rather than assume a Developer Plan covers managed status.
The change also matters to teams that use a Sandbox environment as part of development and testing. Moving solutions to a suitable Sandbox or other development environment can separate ongoing work from a personal Developer environment. That approach may fit an existing application lifecycle management process, but the notes do not claim that moving a solution alone transfers every item of data or configuration.
How it works
The video description presents two main options: convert an existing environment to a Managed Environment, or move solutions to a Sandbox environment. Which one makes sense depends on whether the environment itself should continue to be used and whether the organization has the required licensing. The research notes also recommend reviewing the contents before taking either path.
- Identify unmanaged Developer environments. Administrators can review environments in the Power Platform admin center. Check which ones are unmanaged and identify owners and important contents.
- Inventory what needs to be kept. Review apps, flows, solutions, Dataverse data, agents, websites, connections and environment variables where relevant. The notes caution that exporting a solution does not automatically provide a complete backup of Dataverse data or all configuration.
- Choose a destination. If the existing environment should remain in use, an administrator can enable Managed Environments, subject to the relevant licensing. Alternatively, export solutions and import them into an appropriate Sandbox or development environment.
- Complete the work before the lock date. The notes recommend exporting solutions before December 15, 2026, the scheduled start of locking. Validate any migrated components and consider data or settings separately rather than treating a solution export as a full environment copy.
The video description also mentions the 30-day inactivity deletion rule. That is a distinct process, so teams should not rely on activity in an environment as a way to avoid the announced shutdown of unmanaged Developer environments. The material does not give detailed migration instructions or a full backup procedure.
Limitations and open questions
The video description summarizes the policy and says the video explains conversion, migration and licensing implications, but the supplied transcript contains no detailed walkthrough of those steps. The dates and process here come from the accompanying research notes as well as the description. Readers should confirm the applicable notices and environment status in their own tenant before making changes.
The provided material does not spell out the exact Premium license requirements, what every license permits, or how particular connections and data structures behave during a move. It also does not establish that the same action is needed for managed Developer environments, Sandbox environments or production environments; the notes explicitly distinguish existing managed Developer environments from the unmanaged environments targeted by this change. The video’s reference to inactivity cleanup is not a substitute for checking the separate policy details.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Which environments are affected?
The change described targets unmanaged Power Platform Developer environments. The research notes say existing managed Developer environments are not affected by this specific shutdown.
What are the key dates?
New unmanaged Developer environments are scheduled to stop being created on November 15, 2026. Existing environments are due to be locked starting December 15, 2026, with deletion beginning January 15, 2027.
Can I keep using my existing environment?
The material describes enabling Managed Environments as one option, subject to licensing. Moving solutions to a Sandbox environment is another option; the notes warn that a solution export does not itself back up all Dataverse data or configuration.
Does the 30-day inactivity rule explain this deletion?
No. The notes distinguish the scheduled shutdown of unmanaged Developer environments from the separate inactivity cleanup process. The announced shutdown is not described as depending on whether an environment is active.