diff --git a/sn-manager/internal/updater/updater.go b/sn-manager/internal/updater/updater.go
index b15cad05..69be8dfb 100644
--- a/sn-manager/internal/updater/updater.go
+++ b/sn-manager/internal/updater/updater.go
@@ -109,6 +109,14 @@ func (u *AutoUpdater) ShouldUpdate(current, latest string) bool {
 	current = strings.TrimPrefix(current, "v")
 	latest = strings.TrimPrefix(latest, "v")
 
+	// Allow testnet-tagged releases (e.g., v1.2.3-testnet.1).
+	if utils.IsTestnetReleaseTag(latest) {
+		if !utils.SameMajor(current, latest) {
+			return false
+		}
+		return utils.CompareVersions(current, latest) < 0
+	}
+
 	// Skip pre-release targets (beta, alpha, rc, etc.)
 	if strings.Contains(latest, "-") {
 		return false
@@ -192,8 +200,10 @@ func (u *AutoUpdater) ForceSyncToLatest(_ context.Context) {
 // If force is true, bypass gateway idleness and version policy checks.
 func (u *AutoUpdater) checkAndUpdateCombined(force bool) {
 
-	// Fetch latest stable release once
-	release, err := u.githubClient.GetLatestStableRelease()
+	chainID, _ := utils.ReadSupernodeChainID()
+
+	// Fetch latest release once (testnet prefers "-testnet" tags, otherwise stable)
+	release, err := utils.LatestReleaseForChainID(u.githubClient, chainID)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("Failed to check releases: %v", err)
 		return
diff --git a/sn-manager/internal/utils/network.go b/sn-manager/internal/utils/network.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..01c443ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sn-manager/internal/utils/network.go
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+package utils
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/LumeraProtocol/supernode/v2/pkg/github"
+	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
+)
+
+const testnetTagMarker = "-testnet"
+
+// SupernodeConfigPath returns the expected path for the SuperNode config file
+// based on the current process HOME/user.
+func SupernodeConfigPath() string {
+	home, _ := os.UserHomeDir()
+	if home == "" {
+		home = os.Getenv("HOME")
+	}
+	return filepath.Join(home, ".supernode", "config.yml")
+}
+
+// ReadSupernodeChainID reads lumera.chain_id from the SuperNode config file.
+func ReadSupernodeChainID() (string, error) {
+	path := SupernodeConfigPath()
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	var cfg struct {
+		Lumera struct {
+			ChainID string `yaml:"chain_id"`
+		} `yaml:"lumera"`
+	}
+	if err := yaml.Unmarshal(data, &cfg); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to parse supernode config %s: %w", path, err)
+	}
+
+	chainID := strings.TrimSpace(cfg.Lumera.ChainID)
+	if chainID == "" {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("chain_id not set in %s", path)
+	}
+	return chainID, nil
+}
+
+func IsTestnetChainID(chainID string) bool {
+	return strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(chainID), "testnet")
+}
+
+func IsTestnetReleaseTag(tag string) bool {
+	return strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(tag), testnetTagMarker)
+}
+
+// LatestTestnetRelease returns the most recent non-draft release whose tag
+// contains "-testnet". Release ordering is taken from the GitHub API response.
+func LatestTestnetRelease(client github.GithubClient) (*github.Release, error) {
+	releases, err := client.ListReleases()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	for _, r := range releases {
+		if r == nil || r.Draft {
+			continue
+		}
+		if IsTestnetReleaseTag(r.TagName) {
+			return r, nil
+		}
+	}
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("no testnet releases found")
+}
+
+// LatestReleaseForChainID selects the appropriate "latest" release based on the
+// chain ID. Testnet chains prefer "-testnet" tagged releases; otherwise it
+// falls back to the latest stable release.
+func LatestReleaseForChainID(client github.GithubClient, chainID string) (*github.Release, error) {
+	if IsTestnetChainID(chainID) {
+		if r, err := LatestTestnetRelease(client); err == nil {
+			return r, nil
+		}
+	}
+	return client.GetLatestStableRelease()
+}