How to update Blender to version 4.0 without losing settings?

You don't need to update if your current version is working fine for your projects. But Blender 4.1 does have some nice improvements that might be worth it.

To update:

1. Go to Blender.org and download the latest version
2. Run the installer
3. When you first launch 4.1, you'll see a splash screen with an option to import your settings from previous versions
4. You can choose to keep or uninstall your old version

I usually keep my previous version installed for a few weeks just in case I run into compatibility issues with ongoing projects.

Steam handles this automatically if you installed through there. Worth considering for future updates.

Just download 9 different versions like me and never uninstall anything. Problem solved! 😎

I always uninstall the old version through Add/Remove Programs first, then download and install the new one. Never had issues with this approach. Just make sure to export your important settings first if you're worried.

There's actually a tool called Blender Launcher that can help manage different versions. While it's no longer officially supported, you can find older versions of it that still work with the newest Blender builds. Makes switching between versions much easier.

You can find it with a quick search, though I'd recommend getting an older build (like 1.6.0) as it seems to work better with the latest versions.

Thanks everyone for the advice! I decided to download from the official site and keep my old version just in case. The settings transfer worked great - it asked me during the first launch if I wanted to import my previous setup.

Mac user here - the update usually just replaces the old app in the Applications folder for me. No need to manually uninstall anything.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I just clicked the update button in the splash screen and it worked fine.

Wait, there's no update button? Then what did I click? 🤔