Very confusing free Copilot Pro upgrade flow

Type: Bug

Just had a pretty confusing time seeing if I could enable copilot. Here's what happened

1. I started with a github account but no copilot account

2. I then clicked on the model picker which showed me this

3. Clicking upgrade in here brought me to this page that says I could get coilot for free. :) I clicked on this

4. This took me back to the app and nothing seemed to happen. The model picker still listed upgrade everywhere even after I closed and reopened it :(

5. Back on github in my browser, I reloaded the page and then saw this popup telling me I was not eligible for the free plan :(

6. So I then went back to VS Code and clicked `upgrade` again in the model picker

7. This took me to an upgrade to Copilot pro+ page. At this stage it was still completely unclear if I had copilot at all. I was annoyed now tho because it looked like I was going to have to pay $40 a month after being told I could get it for free :(

8. So I browsed over to my github settings and discovered that I acutally did have Copilot Pro now for free! :)

9. However back in VS Code, nothing seemed to have changed still. I was still seeing the exact same UI in the model list as before :(

10. only after reloading the window did the plan upgrade actually seem to take effect

---

Overall this was pretty confusing and probably required me knowing too much about the product but I am glad it worked eventually. Hope you can smooth it out :)

VS Code version: Code - Insiders 1.136.0-insider (Universal) (d5ceefbe0b296c4d8fbbf3664aff8cad73cd1b5d, 2026-08-28T16:34:03Z)
OS version: Darwin arm64 25.5.0
Modes:

System Info

|Item|Value|
|---|---|
|CPUs|Apple M5 Max (18 x 2400)|
|GPU Status|2d_canvas: enabled
GPU0: VENDOR= 0x106b [Google Inc. (Apple)], DEVICE=0x0000 [ANGLE (Apple, ANGLE Metal Renderer: Apple M5 Max, Version 26.5.2 (Build 25F84))], DRIVER_VENDOR=Apple, DRIVER_VERSION=26.5.2 *ACTIVE*
Machine model name: Mac
Machine model version: 17.6
direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok
gpu_compositing: enabled
multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on
opengl: enabled_on
rasterization: enabled
raw_draw: disabled_off_ok
skia_graphite: enabled_on
trees_in_viz: disabled_off
video_decode: enabled
video_encode: enabled
webgl: enabled
webgpu: enabled
webnn: disabled_off|
|Load (avg)|3, 3, 4|
|Memory (System)|128.00GB (11.26GB free)|
|Process Argv|--crash-reporter-id 0a11e423-12d6-487c-8f58-c4bca32c2316|
|Screen Reader|no|
|VM|0%|
Extensions (71)

Name|Identifier|Author|Version
---|---|---|---
TypeScript + Webpack Problem Matchers|amodio.tsl-problem-matcher|amodio|0.6.2
Comment tagged templates|bierner.comment-tagged-templates|bierner|0.4.0
Docs View|bierner.docs-view|bierner|0.1.0
:emojisense:|bierner.emojisense|bierner|0.10.0
Folder source actions|bierner.folder-source-actions|bierner|0.2.1
Markdown Preview Mermaid Support|bierner.markdown-mermaid|bierner|1.32.1
Text to Speech|bierner.speech|bierner|0.1.1
esbuild Problem Matchers|connor4312.esbuild-problem-matchers|connor4312|0.0.3
ESLint|dbaeumer.vscode-eslint|dbaeumer|3.0.34
Node.js Notebooks (REPL)|donjayamanne.typescript-notebook|donjayamanne|2.0.6
Dprint Code Formatter|dprint.dprint|dprint|0.17.2
EditorConfig|editorconfig.editorconfig|EditorConfig|0.18.2
Prettier - Code formatter|esbenp.prettier-vscode|esbenp|12.4.0
GitHub Codespaces|github.codespaces|GitHub|1.18.16
GitHub Repositories|github.remotehub|GitHub|0.65.2026080601
GitHub Pull Requests|github.vscode-pull-request-github|GitHub|0.163.2026083104
Mocha Test Explorer|hbenl.vscode-mocha-test-adapter|hbenl|2.14.4
Test Explorer UI|hbenl.vscode-test-explorer|hbenl|2.22.1
Draw.io Integration|hediet.vscode-drawio|hediet|1.9.0
TS/JS postfix completion|ipatalas.vscode-postfix-ts|ipatalas|1.14.0
Search Editor: Apply Changes|jakearl.search-editor-apply-changes|jakearl|0.1.1
MemFS - a file system provider sample|jrieken.vscode-memfs|jrieken|0.0.3
vscode-tree-sitter-query|jrieken.vscode-tree-sitter-query|jrieken|0.0.6
vscode-position|jtr.vscode-position|jtr|1.1.2
Rainbow CSV|mechatroner.rainbow-csv|mechatroner|3.24.1
Template String Converter|meganrogge.template-string-converter|meganrogge|0.6.1
Azure Resources|ms-azuretools.vscode-azureresourcegroups|ms-azuretools|0.12.7
Docker|ms-azuretools.vscode-docker|ms-azuretools|2.0.0
German Language Pack for Visual Studio Code|ms-ceintl.vscode-language-pack-de|MS-CEINTL|1.131.2026082318
C# Dev Kit|ms-dotnettools.csdevkit|ms-dotnettools|3.20.199
.NET Install Tool|ms-dotnettools.vscode-dotnet-runtime|ms-dotnettools|3.1.0
autopep8|ms-python.autopep8|ms-python|2026.5.12371008
Black Formatter|ms-python.black-formatter|ms-python|2026.6.0
Python Debugger|ms-python.debugpy|ms-python|2026.7.12401009
isort|ms-python.isort|ms-python|2026.7.12371003
Python|ms-python.python|ms-python|2026.7.2026082601
Pylance|ms-python.vscode-pylance|ms-python|2026.3.101
Jupyter|ms-toolsai.jupyter|ms-toolsai|2026.6.2026071501
Jupyter Keymap|ms-toolsai.jupyter-keymap|ms-toolsai|1.1.2
Jupyter Notebook Renderers|ms-toolsai.jupyter-renderers|ms-toolsai|1.3.0
Jupyter Cell Tags|ms-toolsai.vscode-jupyter-cell-tags|ms-toolsai|0.1.9
Jupyter Slide Show|ms-toolsai.vscode-jupyter-slideshow|ms-toolsai|0.1.6
Dev Containers|ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers|ms-vscode-remote|0.467.0
Remote - SSH|ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh|ms-vscode-remote|0.129.2026082615
Remote - SSH: Editing Configuration Files|ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh-edit|ms-vscode-remote|0.87.0
Azure Repos|ms-vscode.azure-repos|ms-vscode|0.41.2026080601
C/C++|ms-vscode.cpptools|ms-vscode|1.34.1
Extension Test Runner|ms-vscode.extension-test-runner|ms-vscode|0.0.14
Hex Editor|ms-vscode.hexeditor|ms-vscode|1.11.1
JavaScript Debugger (Nightly)|ms-vscode.js-debug-nightly|ms-vscode|2026.8.2409
Live Preview|ms-vscode.live-server|ms-vscode|0.5.2026082601
PowerShell|ms-vscode.powershell|ms-vscode|2025.4.0
Remote Explorer|ms-vscode.remote-explorer|ms-vscode|0.6.2026031809
Remote Repositories|ms-vscode.remote-repositories|ms-vscode|0.43.2026080601
Remote - Tunnels|ms-vscode.remote-server|ms-vscode|1.6.2026072909
Test Adapter Converter|ms-vscode.test-adapter-converter|ms-vscode|0.2.1
GitHub Issue Notebooks|ms-vscode.vscode-github-issue-notebooks|ms-vscode|0.0.134
Flame Chart Visualizer for JavaScript Profiles|ms-vscode.vscode-js-profile-flame|ms-vscode|1.0.11
Browse Published Extensions|ms-vscode.vscode-marketplace-extension-browser|ms-vscode|0.0.7
JavaScript and TypeScript Nightly|ms-vscode.vscode-typescript-next|ms-vscode|6.0.20260416
WebAssembly DWARF Debugging|ms-vscode.wasm-dwarf-debugging|ms-vscode|1.0.1
Language Support for Java(TM) by Red Hat|redhat.java|redhat|1.55.0
YAML|redhat.vscode-yaml|redhat|1.24.0
Liquid|sissel.shopify-liquid|sissel|4.0.1
Code Spell Checker|streetsidesoftware.code-spell-checker|streetsidesoftware|4.7.3
Ayu|teabyii.ayu|teabyii|1.1.12
Sort lines|tyriar.sort-lines|Tyriar|1.12.0
Fast Arrow|vinliao.fast-arrow|vinliao|1.0.8
Project Manager for Java|vscjava.vscode-java-dependency|vscjava|0.27.6
Extension Pack for Java|vscjava.vscode-java-pack|vscjava|0.31.1
Maven for Java|vscjava.vscode-maven|vscjava|0.45.3

A/B Experiments

```
vsliv368:30146709
pythonvspyt551cf:31249598
nativeloc1:31118317
dwcopilot:31158714
dwoutputs:31242946
copilot_t_ci:31333650
g012b348:31231168
pythonrdcb7:31268811
pythonpcpt1:31399616
6518g693:31302842
82j33506:31327384
envsactivate1:31349248
editstats-enabled:31346256
cloudbuttont:31366566
3efgi100_wstrepl:31403338
839jf696:31457053
cp_cls_t_966_ss:31526232
4je02754:31565972
c3h7c220:31478652
cp_cls_t_1081:31454832
conptydll_true:31485575
e9c30283:31453065
46204921:31447328
capico_a_098a3278:31555650
ei9d7968:31462942
nes-extended-on:31455475
f860i809:31458078
89g7j272:31506658
hhf17803:31462392
i2gc6536:31472020
52612955:31508042
h08i8180:31475367
23c7c724:31520045
ddid_c:31478205
hmra_i5g22:31518061
bjc72774_agent_sandbox:31538428
7df3h592:31491241
cp_cls_t_1082:31535311
logging_enabled_new:31490725
jb_cp_cls_t_632:31543129
b1g4i769:31503653
ha629193:31508444
a1ije391_t:31533808
jbcp_cls_pctr_t:31531130
cp_intellij_t_nes:31548657
d7b18187:31526828
hide-eh-duplicates:31543293
replace-eh-with-ah:31545853
ihg5j128:31534457
f412h606:31543414
sandbox-ui-on-2:31543161
enable_editor_pane_layout:31551200
52258b4d:31547953
36h42362:31560305
c7c27ce7:31551212
6577i413_copy:31558653
1h923230:31564177
0dg73464:31554309
treatment-23-1:31555779
unuse_dynamic_mcp:31555281
0c1h4866:31562347
cch_brk_fls:31570145
5b8j3302:31564600
mangle-name-treatment:31568054
allow-signed-out:31574470
codex-agent-enabled:31566739
lunaclean:31570525
64a8d082:31573709
issue8950-e3349a92:31574958
39a5d156:31574988
permission_prompt_control:1332567
ccr_pr_nudge_adoption:1319471
vsc_wsm_c:1324224
eh853263:1355661
auto_mode_control:1359303
g03gg798:1358539

```