diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1f3baec5d..edd312fab 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@
     "fs-extra": "9.0.0",
     "glob": "10.3.10",
     "image-type": "^4.1.0",
-    "libsession_util_nodejs": "https://github.com/session-foundation/libsession-util-nodejs/releases/download/v0.4.15/libsession_util_nodejs-v0.4.15.tar.gz",
+    "libsession_util_nodejs": "https://github.com/session-foundation/libsession-util-nodejs/releases/download/v0.4.16/libsession_util_nodejs-v0.4.16.tar.gz",
     "libsodium-wrappers-sumo": "^0.7.9",
     "linkify-it": "^4.0.1",
     "lodash": "^4.17.21",
diff --git a/preload.js b/preload.js
index b22c7c8ec..d10341156 100644
--- a/preload.js
+++ b/preload.js
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ window.getUserKeys = async () => {
 window.sessionFeatureFlags = {
   useOnionRequests: true,
   useTestNet: isTestNet() || isTestIntegration(),
-  useClosedGroupV2: true, // TODO DO NOT MERGE Remove after QA
+  useClosedGroupV2: false, // TODO DO NOT MERGE Remove after QA
   forceLegacyGroupsDeprecated: false, // TODO DO NOT MERGE Remove after QA
   useClosedGroupV2QAButtons: true, // TODO DO NOT MERGE Remove after QA
   replaceLocalizedStringsWithKeys: false,
diff --git a/ts/components/conversation/SessionConversation.tsx b/ts/components/conversation/SessionConversation.tsx
index e0623aba2..17d72465b 100644
--- a/ts/components/conversation/SessionConversation.tsx
+++ b/ts/components/conversation/SessionConversation.tsx
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ import {
   useSelectedWeAreAdmin,
 } from '../../state/selectors/selectedConversation';
 import { useSelectedDisableLegacyGroupDeprecatedActions } from '../../hooks/useRefreshReleasedFeaturesTimestamp';
+import { useAreGroupsCreatedAsNewGroupsYet } from '../../state/selectors/releasedFeatures';
 
 const DEFAULT_JPEG_QUALITY = 0.85;
 
@@ -675,6 +676,8 @@ function OutdatedLegacyGroupBanner() {
   const isLegacyGroup =
     !isPrivate && !isPublic && selectedConversationKey && selectedConversationKey.startsWith('05');
 
+  const newGroupsCanBeCreated = useAreGroupsCreatedAsNewGroupsYet();
+
   // FIXME change the date here. Remove after QA
   const text = deprecatedLegacyGroups
     ? localize(
@@ -686,7 +689,7 @@ function OutdatedLegacyGroupBanner() {
         .withArgs({ date: '[Date]' })
         .toString();
 
-  return isLegacyGroup ? (
+  return isLegacyGroup && newGroupsCanBeCreated ? (
     <NoticeBanner
       text={text}
       onBannerClick={() => {
diff --git a/ts/components/conversation/header/ConversationHeader.tsx b/ts/components/conversation/header/ConversationHeader.tsx
index fe4433d39..935c8fdce 100644
--- a/ts/components/conversation/header/ConversationHeader.tsx
+++ b/ts/components/conversation/header/ConversationHeader.tsx
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import { groupInfoActions } from '../../../state/ducks/metaGroups';
 import { updateConfirmModal } from '../../../state/ducks/modalDialog';
 import { setLeftOverlayMode } from '../../../state/ducks/section';
 import { SessionButtonColor, SessionButton } from '../../basic/SessionButton';
+import { useAreGroupsCreatedAsNewGroupsYet } from '../../../state/selectors/releasedFeatures';
 
 export const ConversationHeaderWithDetails = () => {
   const isSelectionMode = useIsMessageSelectionMode();
@@ -121,8 +122,9 @@ function RecreateGroupButton() {
   const weAreAdmin = useSelectedWeAreAdmin();
 
   const showRecreateGroupModal = useShowRecreateModal();
+  const newGroupsCanBeCreated = useAreGroupsCreatedAsNewGroupsYet();
 
-  if (!isLegacyGroup || !weAreAdmin) {
+  if (!isLegacyGroup || !weAreAdmin || !newGroupsCanBeCreated) {
     return null;
   }
 
diff --git a/ts/components/leftpane/LeftPaneMessageSection.tsx b/ts/components/leftpane/LeftPaneMessageSection.tsx
index 249dcfb22..8381dd83f 100644
--- a/ts/components/leftpane/LeftPaneMessageSection.tsx
+++ b/ts/components/leftpane/LeftPaneMessageSection.tsx
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { OverlayInvite } from './overlay/OverlayInvite';
 import { OverlayMessage } from './overlay/OverlayMessage';
 import { OverlayMessageRequest } from './overlay/OverlayMessageRequest';
 import { OverlayChooseAction } from './overlay/choose-action/OverlayChooseAction';
+import { useAreGroupsCreatedAsNewGroupsYet } from '../../state/selectors/releasedFeatures';
 
 const StyledLeftPaneContent = styled.div`
   display: flex;
@@ -40,17 +41,15 @@ const StyledConversationListContent = styled.div`
 const ClosableOverlay = () => {
   const leftOverlayMode = useSelector(getLeftOverlayMode);
 
+  const shouldCreateNewGroups = useAreGroupsCreatedAsNewGroupsYet();
+
   switch (leftOverlayMode) {
     case 'choose-action':
       return <OverlayChooseAction />;
     case 'open-group':
       return <OverlayCommunity />;
     case 'closed-group':
-      return window.sessionFeatureFlags.useClosedGroupV2 ? (
-        <OverlayClosedGroupV2 />
-      ) : (
-        <OverlayLegacyClosedGroup />
-      );
+      return shouldCreateNewGroups ? <OverlayClosedGroupV2 /> : <OverlayLegacyClosedGroup />;
     case 'message':
       return <OverlayMessage />;
     case 'message-requests':
diff --git a/ts/components/leftpane/overlay/choose-action/OverlayChooseAction.tsx b/ts/components/leftpane/overlay/choose-action/OverlayChooseAction.tsx
index 6b6badd30..b589c4b5a 100644
--- a/ts/components/leftpane/overlay/choose-action/OverlayChooseAction.tsx
+++ b/ts/components/leftpane/overlay/choose-action/OverlayChooseAction.tsx
@@ -3,15 +3,19 @@ import { useCallback, useEffect } from 'react';
 import { isEmpty, isString } from 'lodash';
 import { useDispatch } from 'react-redux';
 import useKey from 'react-use/lib/useKey';
+import useUpdate from 'react-use/lib/useUpdate';
 import { resetLeftOverlayMode, setLeftOverlayMode } from '../../../../state/ducks/section';
 import { SpacerSM } from '../../../basic/Text';
 import { StyledLeftPaneOverlay } from '../OverlayMessage';
 import { ActionRow, StyledActionRowContainer } from './ActionRow';
 import { ContactsListWithBreaks } from './ContactsListWithBreaks';
 import { groupInfoActions } from '../../../../state/ducks/metaGroups';
+import { SessionToggle } from '../../../basic/SessionToggle';
 
 export const OverlayChooseAction = () => {
   const dispatch = useDispatch();
+  const forceRefresh = useUpdate();
+
   function closeOverlay() {
     dispatch(resetLeftOverlayMode());
   }
@@ -78,6 +82,19 @@ export const OverlayChooseAction = () => {
           onClick={openNewMessage}
           dataTestId="chooser-new-conversation-button"
         />
+        {window.sessionFeatureFlags.useClosedGroupV2QAButtons ? (
+          <span style={{ display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', alignSelf: 'center' }}>
+            Create group v2?{'  '}
+            <SessionToggle
+              active={window.sessionFeatureFlags.useClosedGroupV2}
+              onClick={() => {
+                window.sessionFeatureFlags.useClosedGroupV2 =
+                  !window.sessionFeatureFlags.useClosedGroupV2;
+                forceRefresh();
+              }}
+            />
+          </span>
+        ) : null}
         <ActionRow
           title={window.i18n('groupCreate')}
           ariaLabel={'Create a group button'}
diff --git a/ts/hooks/useRefreshReleasedFeaturesTimestamp.ts b/ts/hooks/useRefreshReleasedFeaturesTimestamp.ts
index 8ffc21135..6c516be7a 100644
--- a/ts/hooks/useRefreshReleasedFeaturesTimestamp.ts
+++ b/ts/hooks/useRefreshReleasedFeaturesTimestamp.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { DURATION } from '../session/constants';
 import { updateLegacyGroupDeprecationTimestampUpdatedAt } from '../state/ducks/releasedFeatures';
 import { NetworkTime } from '../util/NetworkTime';
 import { PubKey } from '../session/types';
-import { areLegacyGroupsDeprecatedYet } from '../state/selectors/releasedFeatures';
+import { areLegacyGroupsReadOnly } from '../state/selectors/releasedFeatures';
 import { useSelectedConversationKey } from '../state/selectors/selectedConversation';
 import type { StateType } from '../state/reducer';
 import { ConversationTypeEnum } from '../models/types';
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ export function getDisableLegacyGroupDeprecatedActions(state: StateType, convoId
   if (!selectedConvoIsGroup) {
     return false;
   }
-  const legacyGroupDeprecated = areLegacyGroupsDeprecatedYet();
+  const legacyGroupDeprecated = areLegacyGroupsReadOnly();
   // here we have
   // - a valid convoId
   // - that starts with 05
diff --git a/ts/session/apis/snode_api/swarmPolling.ts b/ts/session/apis/snode_api/swarmPolling.ts
index b483ba9c6..45c1ced91 100644
--- a/ts/session/apis/snode_api/swarmPolling.ts
+++ b/ts/session/apis/snode_api/swarmPolling.ts
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ import {
 } from './types';
 import { ConversationTypeEnum } from '../../../models/types';
 import { Snode } from '../../../data/types';
-import { areLegacyGroupsDeprecatedYetOutsideRedux } from '../../../state/selectors/releasedFeatures';
+import { areLegacyGroupsReadOnlyOutsideRedux } from '../../../state/selectors/releasedFeatures';
 
 const minMsgCountShouldRetry = 95;
 /**
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ export class SwarmPolling {
       .filter(m => !allGroupsInWrapper.some(w => w.pubkeyHex === m.pubkey.key))
       .map(entryToKey);
 
-    const legacyGroupDeprecatedDisabled = areLegacyGroupsDeprecatedYetOutsideRedux();
+    const legacyGroupDeprecatedDisabled = areLegacyGroupsReadOnlyOutsideRedux();
 
     const allLegacyGroupsTracked = legacyGroupDeprecatedDisabled
       ? []
diff --git a/ts/session/constants.ts b/ts/session/constants.ts
index 0ef7e7486..b7a2066b0 100644
--- a/ts/session/constants.ts
+++ b/ts/session/constants.ts
@@ -99,9 +99,24 @@ export const REACT_LIMIT = 6;
 
 export const UPDATER_INTERVAL_MS = 10 * DURATION.MINUTES;
 
+// update this to be when we ship desktop groups REMOVE AFTER QA
+const GROUP_DESKTOP_RELEASE = 1767225600000; // currently  1st Jan 2026
+
+/**
+ * 3+7 days after the release of groups (more or less), we force new groups to be created as new groups
+ */
+const START_CREATE_NEW_GROUP = GROUP_DESKTOP_RELEASE + DURATION.DAYS * 10;
+
+/**
+ * 2 weeks after `START_CREATE_NEW_GROUP`, we mark legacy groups readonly
+ */
+const LEGACY_GROUP_READONLY = START_CREATE_NEW_GROUP + DURATION.WEEKS * 2;
+
 export const FEATURE_RELEASE_TIMESTAMPS = {
   DISAPPEARING_MESSAGES_V2: 1710284400000, // 13/03/2024 10:00 Melbourne time
   USER_CONFIG: 1690761600000, // Monday July 31st at 10am Melbourne time
+  START_CREATE_NEW_GROUP,
+  LEGACY_GROUP_READONLY,
 };
 
 export const ONBOARDING_TIMES = {
diff --git a/ts/state/ducks/metaGroups.ts b/ts/state/ducks/metaGroups.ts
index ff8d3a482..bf6fcc97c 100644
--- a/ts/state/ducks/metaGroups.ts
+++ b/ts/state/ducks/metaGroups.ts
@@ -59,8 +59,6 @@ export type GroupState = {
   members: Record<GroupPubkeyType, Array<GroupMemberGet>>;
   memberChangesFromUIPending: boolean;
   nameChangesFromUIPending: boolean;
-  membersInviteSending: Record<GroupPubkeyType, Array<PubkeyType>>;
-  membersPromoteSending: Record<GroupPubkeyType, Array<PubkeyType>>;
 
   // those are group creation-related fields
   creationFromUIPending: boolean;
@@ -74,8 +72,6 @@ export const initialGroupState: GroupState = {
   creationFromUIPending: false,
   memberChangesFromUIPending: false,
   nameChangesFromUIPending: false,
-  membersInviteSending: {},
-  membersPromoteSending: {},
   creationMembersSelected: [],
   creationGroupName: '',
 };
@@ -406,6 +402,10 @@ const loadMetaDumpsFromDB = createAsyncThunk(
           metaDumped: data,
         });
 
+        // If we were sending to that member an invite/promote, we won't auto retry.
+        // We need to reset the sending state (on load from disk) so that the user can resend manually if needed
+        await MetaGroupWrapperActions.memberResetAllSendingState(groupPk);
+
         const infos = await MetaGroupWrapperActions.infoGet(groupPk);
         const members = await MetaGroupWrapperActions.memberGetAll(groupPk);
 
@@ -680,6 +680,9 @@ async function handleMemberAddedFromUI({
       updateMessagesToPush.push(groupChange);
     }
   }
+  await LibSessionUtil.saveDumpsToDb(groupPk);
+  refreshConvosModelProps([groupPk]);
+  window.inboxStore?.dispatch(refreshGroupDetailsFromWrapper({ groupPk }) as any);
 
   const extraStoreRequests = await StoreGroupRequestFactory.makeGroupMessageSubRequest(
     updateMessagesToPush,
@@ -1281,8 +1284,6 @@ const metaGroupSlice = createSlice({
     ) {
       delete state.infos[payload.groupPk];
       delete state.members[payload.groupPk];
-      delete state.membersInviteSending[payload.groupPk];
-      delete state.membersPromoteSending[payload.groupPk];
     },
     addSelectedGroupMember(
       state: GroupState,
diff --git a/ts/state/ducks/releasedFeatures.tsx b/ts/state/ducks/releasedFeatures.tsx
index 346ec31cb..a6e1ea138 100644
--- a/ts/state/ducks/releasedFeatures.tsx
+++ b/ts/state/ducks/releasedFeatures.tsx
@@ -1,15 +1,17 @@
 import { createSlice, type PayloadAction } from '@reduxjs/toolkit';
-import { DURATION } from '../../session/constants';
-
-// FIXME update this to the correct timestamp REMOVE AFTER QA
-export const LEGACY_GROUP_DEPRECATED_TIMESTAMP_MS = Date.now() + DURATION.WEEKS * 52;
+import { NetworkTime } from '../../util/NetworkTime';
+import { FEATURE_RELEASE_TIMESTAMPS } from '../../session/constants';
 
 export interface ReleasedFeaturesState {
   legacyGroupDeprecationTimestampRefreshAtMs: number;
+  canCreateGroupV2: boolean;
+  legacyGroupsReadOnly: boolean;
 }
 
 export const initialReleasedFeaturesState = {
   legacyGroupDeprecationTimestampRefreshAtMs: Date.now(),
+  canCreateGroupV2: Date.now() >= FEATURE_RELEASE_TIMESTAMPS.START_CREATE_NEW_GROUP,
+  legacyGroupsReadOnly: Date.now() >= FEATURE_RELEASE_TIMESTAMPS.LEGACY_GROUP_READONLY,
 };
 
 const releasedFeaturesSlice = createSlice({
@@ -18,6 +20,11 @@ const releasedFeaturesSlice = createSlice({
   reducers: {
     updateLegacyGroupDeprecationTimestampUpdatedAt: (state, action: PayloadAction<number>) => {
       state.legacyGroupDeprecationTimestampRefreshAtMs = action.payload;
+      state.canCreateGroupV2 =
+        NetworkTime.now() >= FEATURE_RELEASE_TIMESTAMPS.START_CREATE_NEW_GROUP;
+      state.legacyGroupsReadOnly =
+        NetworkTime.now() >= FEATURE_RELEASE_TIMESTAMPS.LEGACY_GROUP_READONLY;
+      return state;
     },
   },
 });
diff --git a/ts/state/selectors/releasedFeatures.ts b/ts/state/selectors/releasedFeatures.ts
index e10b14219..3d5ccf243 100644
--- a/ts/state/selectors/releasedFeatures.ts
+++ b/ts/state/selectors/releasedFeatures.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,29 @@
-import { NetworkTime } from '../../util/NetworkTime';
-import { LEGACY_GROUP_DEPRECATED_TIMESTAMP_MS } from '../ducks/releasedFeatures';
+import { useSelector } from 'react-redux';
+import type { StateType } from '../reducer';
 
-export const areLegacyGroupsDeprecatedYet = (): boolean => {
-  const theyAreDeprecated = NetworkTime.now() >= LEGACY_GROUP_DEPRECATED_TIMESTAMP_MS;
+const areGroupsCreatedAsNewGroupsYet = (): boolean => {
+  const shouldCreateNewGroups = !!window.inboxStore?.getState()?.releasedFeatures.canCreateGroupV2;
 
-  return window.sessionFeatureFlags.forceLegacyGroupsDeprecated || theyAreDeprecated;
+  return window.sessionFeatureFlags.useClosedGroupV2 || shouldCreateNewGroups;
 };
 
-export function areLegacyGroupsDeprecatedYetOutsideRedux() {
+export const areLegacyGroupsReadOnly = (): boolean => {
+  const theyAre = !!window.inboxStore?.getState()?.releasedFeatures.legacyGroupsReadOnly;
+
+  return window.sessionFeatureFlags.forceLegacyGroupsDeprecated || theyAre;
+};
+
+export function useAreGroupsCreatedAsNewGroupsYet() {
+  useSelector((state: StateType) => state.releasedFeatures.canCreateGroupV2);
+  return useSelector(areGroupsCreatedAsNewGroupsYet);
+}
+
+/**
+ * @returns true if legacy groups should not be polled anymore
+ */
+export function areLegacyGroupsReadOnlyOutsideRedux() {
   if (!window.inboxStore) {
     return false;
   }
-  return areLegacyGroupsDeprecatedYet();
+  return areLegacyGroupsReadOnly();
 }
diff --git a/ts/webworker/workers/browser/libsession_worker_interface.ts b/ts/webworker/workers/browser/libsession_worker_interface.ts
index b178ffc5c..1e74e350f 100644
--- a/ts/webworker/workers/browser/libsession_worker_interface.ts
+++ b/ts/webworker/workers/browser/libsession_worker_interface.ts
@@ -674,6 +674,10 @@ export const MetaGroupWrapperActions: MetaGroupWrapperActionsCalls = {
       pubkeyHex,
       profilePicture,
     ]) as Promise<ReturnType<MetaGroupWrapperActionsCalls['memberSetProfilePicture']>>,
+  memberResetAllSendingState: async (groupPk: GroupPubkeyType) =>
+    callLibSessionWorker([`MetaGroupConfig-${groupPk}`, 'memberResetAllSendingState']) as Promise<
+      ReturnType<MetaGroupWrapperActionsCalls['memberResetAllSendingState']>
+    >,
 
   /** GroupKeys wrapper specific actions */
   keyRekey: async (groupPk: GroupPubkeyType) =>
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 3d7426f0d..866292a61 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -4944,9 +4944,9 @@ levn@~0.3.0:
     prelude-ls "~1.1.2"
     type-check "~0.3.2"
 
-"libsession_util_nodejs@https://github.com/session-foundation/libsession-util-nodejs/releases/download/v0.4.15/libsession_util_nodejs-v0.4.15.tar.gz":
-  version "0.4.15"
-  resolved "https://github.com/session-foundation/libsession-util-nodejs/releases/download/v0.4.15/libsession_util_nodejs-v0.4.15.tar.gz#de0e90e14327e60d81d2a6941bcd0af33fcfed82"
+"libsession_util_nodejs@https://github.com/session-foundation/libsession-util-nodejs/releases/download/v0.4.16/libsession_util_nodejs-v0.4.16.tar.gz":
+  version "0.4.16"
+  resolved "https://github.com/session-foundation/libsession-util-nodejs/releases/download/v0.4.16/libsession_util_nodejs-v0.4.16.tar.gz#253d4d02388b5bfb41f24c88fae5061b137ca615"
   dependencies:
     cmake-js "7.2.1"
     node-addon-api "^6.1.0"