My GitHub Copilot is no longer providing the AIs from the Pro model

[Neeryy]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Copilot in GitHub

Body

My GitHub Copilot is no longer providing the AIs from the Pro model for me to use. I have the GitHub Pro for students; does anyone know how to fix this?

I already opened a ticket but haven't received a response yet.

[syedsafeer]

@Neeryy
The fastest fix is to Sign Out from the Accounts icon (bottom left) and Sign In again to refresh your 'Pro' token. Also, make sure you're using the Pre-release version of the Copilot extension, as new models often land there first. It’s a 2-minute sync issue, not a license bug!

(Mark as answer if this wakes up your models!)

[Neeryy]

I did that, but it's still the same. When I log in and out, a window pops up saying there's an extension conflict. I accept the changes, it synchronizes, but even so, the templates I could use before are blocked for me, as if I have to pay or add a payment method to unlock access to them.

[syedsafeer]

"The 'extension conflict' means you have multiple versions of Copilot fighting for control.
Do this to fix it:

1. Uninstall all GitHub Copilot extensions from VS Code.
2. Delete the cache: Go to your VS Code globalStorage folder and delete the github.copilot folder (this wipes the broken tokens).
3. Reinstall only the main 'GitHub Copilot' extension.

Once you have a clean install, your Student license will sync perfectly.

[Neeryy]

It seems like GitHub Copilot is testing me, lol. Nothing works... I deleted the folder, logged out of the account, uninstalled the extension, and nothing.

Here's a screenshot of the models that are available to me, even though UNTIL LAST MONTH ON THE 24TH I WAS ABLE TO USE OPUS AND SONNET WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.

[syedsafeer]

Check the 'Adicionar Modelos...' (Add Models) button in the top right of the popup you screenshotted.
In the latest 2026 update, GitHub hides high-resource models like Opus/Sonnet behind that 'Add' menu to prevent students from accidentally burning through their request quota on basic tasks. If they are still available for your tier, you’ll find them there to toggle back on.

If they aren't in that list either, it's likely a tier rotation GitHub sometimes swaps 'Opus' for the newer Claude 4.5 Haiku or Gemini 3.1 (which are already in your list) for student accounts

[dipak-wagh]

This is actually happening to a lot of people right now, so you’re not alone.

From what I understand, it’s not a bug, but a recent change in how GitHub handles Copilot for student (Pro) accounts. Even if you have GitHub Pro through the Student Pack, it doesn’t guarantee access to all the “Pro-level” AI models anymore.

A few things you can check first:

Go to Settings → Copilot → Models and see which models are currently available to you
Try using Copilot in both VS Code and GitHub web, sometimes availability differs
Make sure your Copilot extension and VS Code are updated
Sign out and sign back in (this sometimes refreshes entitlements)

If everything looks correct but models are still missing, then it’s most likely due to plan limitations after recent updates, not something broken on your side.

From recent discussions, GitHub seems to be:

Limiting access to certain advanced models for student plans
Moving toward a more restricted or auto-selected model system

[Neeryy]

In other words, does this mean that even if I have the PRO version, I won't be able to use the features that come with it anymore?

[RajatMantri]

Hi, this usually happens due to plan syncing or entitlement issues rather than anything you did wrong. Even if you have GitHub Pro through the Student Developer Pack, access to Copilot “Pro” or advanced models can sometimes get temporarily disabled if your student verification expired, your benefits didn’t fully activate, or there’s a delay in GitHub syncing your subscription with Copilot. The first thing you should do is check whether your student pack is still active and not expired, then go to your billing and Copilot settings to confirm that Copilot is actually enabled for your account. If it shows active but you still don’t see the Pro models, try logging out and back in, or disabling and re-enabling Copilot in your editor (like VS Code), as this often refreshes permissions. Also make sure you’re signed into the correct GitHub account inside your IDE, because sometimes it silently switches accounts and loses access. If everything looks correct and it’s still not working, then it’s likely a backend issue on GitHub’s side, and in that case your best move is to wait for the support ticket response since they need to manually fix the entitlement.

[zkoymen]

I encountered the same problem, and I found this on the internet. I think they added some restrictions to student plans. Even though they show up like you have normal Copilot Pro in GitHub settings, you actually can't reach out to last models.
For example, I can only see ChatGPT 5.3 codex with all of its thinking layers like high, x-high, moderate, etc., but others are totally gone.

As of March 12, 2026, GitHub implemented a significant, non-bug change in how Copilot access is handled for students.

Verified students with the Student Developer Pack are transitioning from a previous "Pro-level" access model to a new, specialized "GitHub Copilot Student" plan. While Copilot remains free, it does not include the full, unrestricted features of the paid Copilot Pro subscription.

Here are the key details of this change:
Removal of Top-Tier Models: Students lost the ability to manually select high-end models, such as Claude Opus, Claude Sonnet, or the latest GPT-5.4 variations.
"Auto Mode" Restriction: Students are now largely restricted to "Auto mode," where GitHub's system determines the model, favoring those that are more cost-effective to run.
Sustainability Focus: GitHub stated this change is to maintain a "long-term, sustainable" free service for millions of students.

[zkoymen]

I recommend getting ChatGPT pro subscription. If you buy it on your mobile phone it is less expensive, and inside the vscode you can reach to all GPT versions. there was a free trial for 1 month I think.