First, an apology. If you tried to update from inside Valence and it didn’t install, that’s on us. Here’s exactly what happened and how to fix it in about two minutes.
What went wrong
Valence 1.0.2 (and earlier) had a bug in its in-app updater. When you clicked Update, it downloaded the new version correctly — but then couldn’t hand the file off to the Windows installer, so the install failed with “the installation package could not be opened.”
To be clear: your data was never at risk. Conversations, profiles, memory, and settings were untouched — the update simply couldn’t finish.
We’ve fixed it in 1.0.3.
The catch — and why this is a one-time thing
The bug lives in the old version’s updater, which means the broken updater can’t deliver its own fix. So just this once, please install 1.0.3 by hand:
- Download Valence 1.0.3 — or use the Download button on helixailabs.com.
- Run it. It’s an in-place upgrade: your conversations, profiles, memory, and settings all carry over.
Windows may warn that the publisher is unknown (it’s an indie app) — click More info → Run anyway.
Once you’re on 1.0.3, in-app updates work normally. You won’t have to do this again.
Since you’re updating anyway
1.0.3 is a big one:
- Local AI now runs on AMD and Intel GPUs, not just NVIDIA — Valence detects your hardware and picks the right acceleration (CUDA / Vulkan / CPU), and tells you which it’s using.
- Buy in one click, right from the app.
- A clearer, front-and-center “update available” prompt going forward.
- Smarter defaults, an auto-selected model after setup, and a batch of fixes.
Sorry again for the hiccup, and thank you for bearing with us. Any trouble at all, email help@helixailabs.com — same inbox, same human.