V4 updates

DeepSeek V4 status: latest news & release notes

Daily updates from February 15, 2026 through April 24, 2026. The timeline blends official-channel checks, release-note status, media reports, and community signals so teams can track momentum without chasing noise.

This timeline spans two phases: an extended pre-release rumor and analysis cycle, then April 23-24 rollout reporting centered on V4 availability. We still separate official checks from media interpretation so teams can distinguish confirmed signals from secondary commentary.

Use this log to plan around likely windows, not to time a release. The safest posture is to keep pipelines flexible with V3.1, R1, Math-7B, Janus-Pro-7B, and VL2, then expand V4 usage as rollout stability and pricing signals mature.

Each card is a compact daily brief. "Official" summarizes what is visible in public docs, official blog posts, API logs, and product pages that day. "Media" captures coverage, analyst notes, and community signals. This split is intentional so teams can separate confirmed status from external commentary.

Recurring themes from late February through early April show up across the log: the 1M-context upgrade, speculation about a short launch note followed by a longer technical report, and hints about a phased rollout. We include those threads only when they shaped the daily conversation.

April 9 through April 24 is fully logged in this timeline, including the shift from release-window speculation to active rollout.

Official status

As of April 24, 2026, reporting has moved into V4 rollout and integration tracking. Use release-notes and official-sources pages for source-specific confirmation.

Official sources monitored
We only treat updates as official when they appear in these sources.
deepseek.com official blog and product news
platform.deepseek.com API docs and product updates
@deepseek_ai official announcements
2026-04-24
Release
Preview availability and ecosystem access become the core narrative
Official

Coverage on April 24 converged around DeepSeek V4 preview availability, API access, and dual-variant positioning, marking a clear shift from rumor tracking to release-stage monitoring.

Media

Reuters followed up with reports on the V4 preview and Huawei Ascend supernode support, while Sina Finance and CNBC framed the day as a major public milestone. Reporting emphasized that V4 was now discussed as usable and deployable rather than speculative.

2026-04-23
Release
V4 preview launch and open-source rollout reported across outlets
Official

Public reporting indicated that DeepSeek V4 preview went live with synchronized open-source distribution, shifting timeline coverage into a concrete rollout phase.

Media

Sina Finance and Tencent Cloud developer coverage highlighted million-context usability claims and launch-day market reaction. Reuters and CNBC framed the preview in the broader global AI competition context, and vLLM published support notes for DeepSeek-V4-Pro and DeepSeek-V4-Flash.

2026-04-22
Leak
Leaked full-spec claims dominate discussion before launch-day reporting
Official

No official V4 release page was widely cited yet, but pre-launch specification chatter accelerated significantly.

Media

MyDrivers and Sina Finance relayed reports of a leaked full V4 spec sheet, including 1.6T-parameter and 1M-context claims. The day was driven by exposure-style reporting rather than confirmed primary release documentation.

2026-04-21
Analysis
Delay thesis competes with “coming weeks” narrative
Official

No new official disclosure was broadly visible in public channels.

Media

Tokenmix argued V4 timing might slip to May or June due to Ascend-chip dependency and training bottlenecks, while Reuters-linked “coming weeks” expectations remained the dominant mainstream baseline. The day reflected analysis divergence rather than consensus.

2026-04-20
Market
Company-strategy reporting moves alongside product-watch coverage
Official

No new official V4 artifact was surfaced in routine public checks.

Media

InfoQ Chinese reporting focused on broader corporate moves, including financing context around Liang Wenfeng. Coverage increasingly interpreted V4 as part of a larger strategy stack, not only a standalone model release event.

2026-04-19
Media
Spec-scale narratives expand in third-party commentary
Official

Official channels still showed no new formal release statement that day.

Media

Remio.ai pushed high-specificity claims around 1T parameters, 1M context, and open-source weights, then linked those assumptions to AI competition and chip-policy implications. Discussion intensity rose, but the claims remained second-hand and unconfirmed by primary official notes.

2026-04-18
Analysis
Technical pre-launch consensus solidifies despite no fresh official post
Official

No new official V4 page or changelog entry was widely cited on April 18.

Media

EvoLink.AI and similar technical commentary sources kept extrapolating release timing, architecture direction, and use-case fit from existing public signals. The day's narrative centered on million-context and efficiency expectations with growing market consensus.

2026-04-17
Media
Reuters tracking keeps V4 in mainstream visibility
Official

No formal standalone V4 launch note was highlighted from official channels that day.

Media

Reuters DeepSeek coverage continued to update on training and chip context, reinforcing DeepSeek's strategic role in Chinese AI. Although not a direct V4 release note, the reporting sustained high confidence that launch-stage movement was near.

2026-04-16
Media
Reuters Apr 3 line is repeatedly recycled across outlets
Official

No new official V4 disclosure appeared in public-facing release channels.

Media

Most coverage still leaned on Reuters' April 3 line that V4 would launch in the coming weeks and run on Huawei chips. Chinese and English reporting continued integrating hardware compatibility into the core V4 narrative instead of treating it as a side topic.

2026-04-15
Community
OSINT community thread becomes a reference point
Official

No new official update was widely visible in docs, product pages, or social announcements.

Media

A Reddit r/DeepSeek OSINT thread concentrated discussion on release timing, training bottlenecks, and architecture adjustments. Community confidence rose, but the evidence base remained inferential rather than official.

2026-04-14
Analysis
Pre-launch discussion pivots toward architecture and context limits
Official

No new official public announcement was cited for April 14.

Media

EvoLink.AI and related technical commentary shifted focus to context length, model architecture direction, and training cadence. Mention frequency for MoE, million-scale context, and domestic-chip adaptation increased noticeably.

2026-04-13
Media
Late-April window messaging is reinforced
Official

Official channels still did not publish a definitive V4 release artifact that day.

Media

Taibo coverage reiterated a late-April release expectation, reinforcing timelines already circulating from prior days. Most daily discussion repeated and strengthened existing launch-window expectations rather than introducing new first-hand evidence.

2026-04-12
Media
Finance media treats late-April V4 timing as a market watch item
Official

No newly published official V4 statement was broadly referenced on April 12.

Media

Caixin's morning brief explicitly wrote that V4 was expected in late April, signaling that timing expectations had moved from niche rumor channels into mainstream business coverage. The day emphasized schedule confidence more than technical disclosure.

2026-04-11
Media
Narrative expands from product upgrade to strategic competition
Official

No official new V4 post was publicly highlighted that day.

Media

Alibaba Cloud Developer Community discussed potential technical and industry impact, while Taipei Times framed DeepSeek's upcoming model as part of a broader geopolitical AI contest. Coverage positioned V4 as a strategic event, not just a routine version bump.

2026-04-10
Media
Gizchina consolidates late-April launch expectations
Official

No fresh official announcement was published in public channels.

Media

Gizchina published a long-form summary saying V4 was expected in late April with larger scale and stronger context capability. The piece mostly synthesized Reuters-linked signals rather than introducing new primary disclosures.

2026-04-09
Media
AASTOCKS and Sina-linked reports anchor the late-April timeline
Official

No official V4 release notice was publicly posted on April 9.

Media

AASTOCKS, citing Sina Tech language, said founder Liang Wenfeng had internally indicated a late-April V4 launch window. Reports also repeated claims that major Chinese tech firms had stocked next-gen AI chips ahead of rollout, increasing market confidence without official confirmation.

2026-04-08
Product
Silent UI update adds Fast and Expert modes
Official

Official channels remained silent, but the web UI quietly surfaced Fast and Expert modes, prompting widespread speculation that a V4-era rollout is near.

Media

This silent tiering update made the capability gap visible in everyday use, spiking community excitement and driving a surge of X discussion. It also signaled a shift from "universal access with no tiers" toward refined operations and compute scheduling.

2026-04-07
Status
Quiet day as Reuters coverage lingers
Official

No official updates appeared on the website, API logs, Hugging Face, or the X account. V3.2 stayed the latest model.

Media

No new long-form reporting surfaced; discussion mostly repeated the April 3 Reuters/The Information claims about Huawei Ascend deployment. Community chatter mentioned brief service instability rumors but offered no evidence, and overall attention stayed muted.

2026-04-06
Community
Speculation spikes, official silence holds
Official

No official updates appeared on the website, API logs, Hugging Face, or the X account. V3.2 remained the latest model.

Media

X threads clustered around April launch guesses and repeated rumor specs (1T MoE, 1M+ context, multimodal, low pricing) alongside talk of Ascend 950PR adaptation. No new mainstream reporting surfaced beyond continued Reuters-driven chatter and prediction-market odds.

2026-04-05
Media
Reuters aftershocks dominate coverage
Official

Official channels stayed silent with no V4 artifacts, release notes, or new model IDs.

Media

No new exclusives appeared. Tech outlets such as EET-China amplified the Reuters chip story, while X/Reddit debated earlier Ascend 910B training issues and claimed optimization was complete.

2026-04-04
Media
Regional outlets echo the Huawei-chip narrative
Official

Still no official updates across documentation, product pages, or social channels.

Media

Zaobao and other regional press reposted Reuters, framing V4 as fully on Huawei Ascend hardware. Community chatter spiked around a “Huawei edition” and hardware-compatibility delays.

2026-04-03
Media
Reuters: V4 fully on Huawei Ascend, launch in “coming weeks”
Official

No official release note, model card, or API update appeared.

Media

Reuters, citing The Information, said V4 runs entirely on Huawei-designed chips and that large domestic orders were placed ahead of launch. The report claimed DeepSeek delayed the release to rewrite low-level code for domestic-chip compatibility and pointed to a launch in the coming weeks; Huawei and DeepSeek declined to comment.

2026-04-02
Status
Quiet day as April expectations persist
Official

No official updates appeared; V3.2 remained the latest flagship.

Media

Coverage stayed light and repeated late-March “April window” talk, while community threads urged waiting for official confirmation.

2026-04-01
Status
April begins without new signals
Official

No changes surfaced on official pages, API docs, or repositories.

Media

Little new coverage arrived; scattered X/Reddit mentions said V4 was “soon” but added no evidence. Developers continued testing V3.2 agent performance.

2026-03-31
Status
No new disclosures as rumor cycle plateaus
Official

Official channels remained unchanged with no V4 identifiers or release artifacts.

Media

Community talk stayed steady but thin, reiterating April timing without new leaks or benchmarks.

2026-03-30
Status
Rumor fatigue, V3.2 testing continues
Official

No official announcements or documentation updates appeared.

Media

Media coverage was quiet, and community threads kept to “waiting for confirmation” while comparing V3.2 agent behavior.

2026-03-29
Community
Outage rumors spark fresh V4 speculation
Official

Official sites, API docs, and the X account stayed silent with no V4 release notes or model IDs.

Media

X posts claimed service access issues and subtle output shifts, fueling “V4 is coming” chatter. Rumors of a timed launch spread without verification, while community threads repeated that MiMo-V2-Pro was not V4.

2026-03-28
Analysis
OSINT report cites training bottlenecks, April odds rise
Official

No official updates appeared across public documentation or product pages.

Media

A Reddit OSINT report suggested hardware bottlenecks, a partial shift from Huawei Ascend to Nvidia optimization, and raised April launch odds to ~75%. The report spread in community circles but drew no mainstream follow-up.

2026-03-27
Status
Rumor recycling as developers focus on V3.2
Official

Official channels remained unchanged with no V4 mentions or release artifacts.

Media

Coverage was mostly reprints of earlier reports about coding-first, long-context, and multimodal claims. Community attention softened as developers shifted to V3.2 agent testing and waited for confirmation.

2026-03-26
Community
April chatter lingers without new evidence
Official

No updates appeared on the website, API logs, or the official X account. V3.2 stayed the latest model.

Media

No new mainstream reports surfaced. Community threads revisited the March 9 “V4 Lite” trace and noted all earlier windows had expired. X posts repeated “see you in April” with no fresh data.

2026-03-25
Community
Insider hints and chip-access chatter rekindle speculation
Official

Official pages, API docs, and the X account remained silent, with no V4 release note or model listing.

Media

X posts cited an alleged insider hint about a much larger new base model and claimed DeepSeek prioritized domestic chip partners over Nvidia/AMD early access; Polymarket odds for a March launch ticked up while Reuters' Xiaomi clarification continued to circulate.

2026-03-24
Community
Quiet day as April timing talk lingers
Official

No official updates appeared in public documentation, product pages, or repositories.

Media

Coverage stayed light; scattered X posts speculated V4 was imminent but offered no new evidence beyond prior reports.

2026-03-23
Analysis
Release-date recap reiterates no launch
Official

Official channels still showed no V4 model IDs, release notes, or roadmap updates.

Media

An EvoLink.AI release-date recap said every earlier window had slipped, reiterated Reuters' Xiaomi attribution for Hunter Alpha, and kept April as the most cited possibility. It summarized expected V4 themes (coding focus, long-code prompts, Engram memory, 1M context) while noting API limits remained at 128K.

2026-03-22
Status
Rumor threads stabilize as testing shifts to V3.2
Official

No changes appeared on official sites or API logs.

Media

Discussion continued to orbit April timing and multimodal/1M-context rumors, with some posts revisiting the brief "V4 Lite" site update from March 9. No new leaks or benchmarks surfaced.

2026-03-21
Status
Reuters aftershocks taper
Official

Official pages and the X account remained quiet.

Media

Most mentions were reprints of the March 18 Reuters clarification. Community threads focused on architecture speculation rather than new signals.

2026-03-20
Status
Slow news cycle, no fresh disclosures
Official

No official updates appeared in public docs or API changelogs.

Media

Coverage was sparse and largely recycled earlier reporting, with community discussion centered on an April window and rumored multimodal support.

2026-03-19
Media
MiMo follow-up coverage expands
Official

Official channels stayed unchanged with no V4 references.

Media

Follow-up reports said Xiaomi's MiMo-V2-Pro would pilot with multiple agent frameworks and offer a brief free-access window. Luo Fuli described the reveal as a "quiet ambush" on X, while outlets such as Times of India and Independent emphasized that V4 remained unreleased. Developers kept testing the model on OpenRouter and comparing it with V3.2.

2026-03-18
Media
Reuters: stealth model traced to Xiaomi
Official

No official updates appeared; public pages still highlighted V3.2 as the flagship.

Media

Reuters reported that the OpenRouter "Hunter Alpha" stealth model was Xiaomi's MiMo-V2-Pro internal test, not DeepSeek V4. The report reiterated that V4 had not launched and that April was the earliest rumor window, shifting community discussion away from stealth-model speculation.

2026-03-17
Media
Delay chatter spreads across platforms
Official

Official pages, API docs, and the X account remained silent, with no release note, model card, or new endpoint.

Media

X (Twitter) threads predicted a "next weekend" or April launch and repeated claims about 1T parameters, native multimodality, and domestic-chip optimization. A Medium analysis framed the delay around leaked benchmarks and geopolitics, while LinkedIn users again claimed access to the OpenRouter stealth models. Cybernews-style roundups highlighted expected coding and reasoning gains alongside lower API pricing rumors.

2026-03-16
Media
April timeline reiterated by leak coverage
Official

No official updates appeared in public documentation, product pages, or repositories.

Media

Dataconomy summarized Whale Lab leak claims: multimodal V4, SWE-bench Verified scores around 83.7%, a brief V4 Lite appearance on March 9, and the continued presence of Hunter Alpha and Healer Alpha as unclaimed stealth tests. Reports converged on an April launch delay, while LinkedIn and tech blogs echoed the low-cost, open-source positioning.

2026-03-15
Media
Countdown story resurfaces without proof
Official

Official channels still showed no V4 references, model names, or changelog entries.

Media

A Sohu article claimed V4 entered a "countdown" to a late-March release and listed 1M-token context, native multimodality, mHC/Engram efficiency gains, and domestic-chip support. The report cited no official links, so community threads treated it as unverified while comparing the claims with the OpenRouter stealth models.

2026-03-14
Media
April window repeats in coverage
Official

No official announcements or documentation changes appeared.

Media

KuCoin news cited Whale Lab reporting that V4 would land in April with stronger coding and long-memory performance plus multimodal support. A YouTube recap repeated the same claims and emphasized domestic chip alignment. Community testing chatter around Hunter Alpha and Healer Alpha continued, but none of it linked to official sources.

2026-03-13
Community
Stealth models spark a new rumor wave
Official

Official websites, API docs, and the X account showed no V4 release note or model listing.

Media

OpenRouter surfaced two anonymous "stealth" models labeled Hunter Alpha (1T parameters, 1M context, agentic workflows) and Healer Alpha (multimodal reasoning across vision/audio/text). YouTube creators framed the listings as a surprise V4 launch, while mobileproxy.space and community forums amplified unverified claims about coding and long-context performance. Most discussion still cautioned that the models were not officially confirmed.

2026-03-12
Media
Anonymous model listings ignite speculation
Official

Official channels still showed no V4 release note, model card, or API change log entry. Public pages continued to highlight V3.2 as the flagship.

Media

Coverage focused on OpenRouter listing anonymous models dubbed “Hunter Alpha??and “Healer Alpha,??plus a Hugging Face upload labeled “DeepSeek-V4-INT8.??Community threads treated these as potential V4 testing signals while reiterating that none of it was officially confirmed.

2026-03-11
Community
Leak chatter grows without confirmation
Official

No official updates appeared in public documentation, blogs, or repositories. V4 still did not show up in any official release artifacts.

Media

Rumor roundups consolidated claims about anonymized OpenRouter models and possible INT8 preparation, but none linked to primary documentation. Discussions emphasized that timing and model naming remained speculative.

2026-03-10
Media
Countdown coverage leans on screenshots
Official

Official pages and API logs remained unchanged, with no V4 identifiers, release notes, or downloadable weights.

Media

Market and tech outlets cited alleged model-weight screenshots and anonymous-model sightings on OpenRouter, predicting a near-term release window. Most reports framed the signals as unverified and urged caution.

2026-03-09
Community
Site update fuels “V4 Lite??testing buzz
Official

No announcement or changelog update appeared. The public lineup still pointed to V3.2 as the latest official flagship.

Media

Chinese tech outlets and community testers reported a site-side update they labeled “V4 Lite,??citing a jump to million-token context and stronger long-document and coding performance. The naming and release status remained community-driven rather than official.

2026-03-08
Status
Week closes without launch
Official

Official pages continued to list V3.2 as the flagship model. API changelogs and public repositories showed no V4 release notes, weights, or new model identifiers. Product and pricing pages remained unchanged, with no new endpoints or version flags.

Media

Tracking sites reiterated that V4 had not launched by March 8. Commentary shifted from concrete dates to readiness discussions, with most voices pointing to the first or second week of March as the next realistic window.

2026-03-07
Community
Midnight-release guesses circulate
Official

No official statement appeared on the website, API docs, or GitHub. Public channels remained unchanged from earlier in the week.

Media

Investor and community boards floated midnight-release theories tied to partner schedules. Posts were clearly marked as speculation and did not include official links or changelog proof.

2026-03-06
Tracking
Delay analysis deepens
Official

The public API log still stopped at the prior V3.2 update. No V4 model names or configuration flags were visible in official documentation.

Media

News trackers summarized the missed windows and emphasized that V4 had not launched as of March 6. Analysts revisited Engram, mHC, and MODEL1 references as possible architecture hints, but none were verified by official sources. Several posts tied the 1M-context test to a late-stage infrastructure shakedown rather than a public release.

2026-03-05
Market
Potential market impact debated
Official

No changes appeared in official product pages. Release status remained unconfirmed.

Media

Market commentary focused on potential volatility if V4 launched in March, recalling prior swings around R1. Reports centered on macro impact rather than verifiable technical disclosures.

2026-03-04
Analysis
Geopolitical framing intensifies
Official

Official channels stayed quiet with no new model listings or API updates. V3.2 remained the public flagship.

Media

With policy meetings underway, analysis framed V4 as a strategic milestone tied to domestic hardware alignment. Articles cited prior reports but did not add new official evidence. Coverage focused more on market impact and supply-chain readiness than on verifiable technical disclosures.

2026-03-03
Community
Predicted launch day passes
Official

No release announcement, blog post, or API update arrived on the anticipated launch day. Public assets remained unchanged.

Media

Community posts peaked around the Lantern Festival prediction, sharing unverified comparisons and labeling them as rumor. The absence of official confirmation became the dominant signal.

2026-03-02
Media
Unverified "released" claims appear
Official

Official documentation still showed no V4 model identifiers. API changelogs remained at the previous version update.

Media

Some blogs used "released" language without official confirmation. Investor Q&A responses suggested no formal pre-test access for certain partners, reinforcing that a public launch had not yet occurred. Spec sheets circulated with multimodal and long-context claims, but none linked to primary documentation.

2026-03-01
Media
"Next week" revalidated
Official

Website and API logs continued to list V3.2 as the newest flagship. No V4 entries or release notes appeared.

Media

Coverage leaned on end-February reports, repeating the "next week" release line and emphasizing multimodal support, million-token context, and domestic chip alignment. Several outlets repeated the idea of a short launch note followed by a longer technical report later.

2026-02-28
Consensus
Window shifts to early March
Official

Official channels still lacked any V4 naming, model endpoint, or change log entry. Public repositories showed no new release artifact.

Media

The media narrative coalesced around an early-March window. Reports noted that official confirmation had not arrived despite widening coverage.

2026-02-27
Media
Cross-region coverage echoes the same window
Official

No official statements or API updates were published. V3.2 remained the visible flagship.

Media

Regional outlets aligned on "this week/next week" expectations, highlighting multimodal capability and domestic chip compatibility. Service stability concerns appeared alongside the hype.

2026-02-26
Media
"Next week" release narrative solidifies
Official

Official pages stayed unchanged, with no V4 release notes or public API identifiers.

Media

Multiple outlets reported a next-week release and suggested a Lite-first rollout. Training scale and schedule slip explanations appeared in parallel. Posts also highlighted a brief technical note at launch followed by a longer report later, but no formal schedule was published.

2026-02-25
Leak
V4 Lite rumors intensify
Official

No official confirmation appeared in the API log or product pages. The only confirmed infrastructure signal remained the earlier 1M context test.

Media

Reports referenced a "sealion-lite" internal test with native multimodal capability and million-token context. Additional coverage emphasized optimization focus on domestic chip stacks.

2026-02-24
Infrastructure
Early March becomes the consensus
Official

Official channels still showed no V4 mention. API logs and public repos remained unchanged.

Media

Infrastructure providers and trackers pointed to early March, citing the 1M context upgrade and steady leak chatter as supporting signals.

2026-02-23
Media
Repackaged coverage dominates
Official

No new public documentation or model entries appeared.

Media

Most reporting reused earlier claims without new evidence. The lack of an official release note was repeatedly highlighted. Several posts recycled the same timing window and architecture talking points without adding primary sources.

2026-02-22
Commentary
Hype cools, March window hinted
Official

The official stance remained silent, with no V4 release artifacts.

Media

Opinion pieces suggested a March window and framed the delay as product-readiness or strategy, rather than cancellation. Coverage remained speculative.

2026-02-21
Tracking
Quiet day, signals unchanged
Official

Public documentation continued to list V3.2 as the newest release. No V4 references surfaced.

Media

Trackers noted a quiet day with no new primary sources. The 1M context test remained the only persistent signal. Commentary focused on readiness checklists rather than fresh disclosures.

2026-02-20
Community
Release fatigue grows
Official

No official schedule or roadmap was published.

Media

Community threads expressed impatience with shifting windows, landing on March as the new expectation while acknowledging the absence of formal confirmation.

2026-02-19
Market
Market-share questions surface
Official

There were no official updates or new release notes.

Media

Analysts debated whether V4 could reverse perceived market-share erosion. The focus shifted from spec claims to execution, stability, and commercialization.

2026-02-18
Media
Delay explanations enter the mainstream
Official

Official channels stayed quiet on release timing.

Media

Coverage highlighted MoE upgrades, memory mechanisms, and dual-track releases as delay drivers. Late February or early March became the most cited window. Commentary also pointed to rollout sequencing and infrastructure hardening as likely causes.

2026-02-17
Sentiment
Mid-Feb window slips
Official

No release or documentation update appeared on the expected date.

Media

Podcasts and commentary reframed the slip as a strategic pause, shifting expectations toward March and emphasizing the need for readiness over hype.

2026-02-16
Analysis
Architecture deep-dives gain attention
Official

Official materials remained unchanged, with no V4 naming or API updates.

Media

Technical blogs focused on Engram-style memory, mHC, and sparse attention as prerequisites for million-token context. The narrative moved toward feasibility analysis.

2026-02-15
Media
Benchmark leak chatter returns
Official

No official V4 release note, API change, or model identifier appeared. Public pages continued to list V3.2 as flagship.

Media

Coverage recycled benchmark-leak claims and connected them to the 1M context upgrade. The day set the tone for a rumor-heavy two-week stretch. Several summaries urged teams to wait for official model cards before treating any spec sheet as final.

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