diff --git a/Tethering/Android.bp b/Tethering/Android.bp
index c30e251..ae35305 100644
--- a/Tethering/Android.bp
+++ b/Tethering/Android.bp
@@ -81,10 +81,6 @@
         "framework-tethering.impl",
     ],
     manifest: "AndroidManifestBase.xml",
-    lint: {
-        strict_updatability_linting: true,
-        error_checks: ["NewApi"],
-    },
 }
 
 // build tethering static library, used to compile both variants of the tethering.
@@ -102,9 +98,7 @@
     ],
     apex_available: ["com.android.tethering"],
     lint: {
-        strict_updatability_linting: true,
         baseline_filename: "lint-baseline.xml",
-
     },
 }
 
@@ -121,9 +115,7 @@
     ],
     apex_available: ["com.android.tethering"],
     lint: {
-        strict_updatability_linting: true,
         baseline_filename: "lint-baseline.xml",
-
     },
 }
 
@@ -197,9 +189,6 @@
     optimize: {
         proguard_flags_files: ["proguard.flags"],
     },
-    lint: {
-        strict_updatability_linting: true,
-    },
 }
 
 // Updatable tethering packaged for finalized API
@@ -215,10 +204,6 @@
     use_embedded_native_libs: true,
     privapp_allowlist: ":privapp_allowlist_com.android.tethering",
     apex_available: ["com.android.tethering"],
-    lint: {
-        strict_updatability_linting: true,
-
-    },
 }
 
 android_app {
@@ -235,9 +220,7 @@
     privapp_allowlist: ":privapp_allowlist_com.android.tethering",
     apex_available: ["com.android.tethering"],
     lint: {
-        strict_updatability_linting: true,
         error_checks: ["NewApi"],
-
     },
 }
 
diff --git a/Tethering/apex/Android.bp b/Tethering/apex/Android.bp
index 1006238..de9017a 100644
--- a/Tethering/apex/Android.bp
+++ b/Tethering/apex/Android.bp
@@ -22,23 +22,23 @@
 // different value depending on the branch.
 java_defaults {
     name: "ConnectivityNextEnableDefaults",
-    enabled: false,
+    enabled: true,
 }
 java_defaults {
     name: "NetworkStackApiShimSettingsForCurrentBranch",
     // API shims to include in the networking modules built from the branch. Branches that disable
     // the "next" targets must use stable shims (latest stable API level) instead of current shims
     // (X_current API level).
-    static_libs: ["NetworkStackApiStableShims"],
+    static_libs: ["NetworkStackApiCurrentShims"],
 }
 apex_defaults {
     name: "ConnectivityApexDefaults",
     // Tethering app to include in the AOSP apex. Branches that disable the "next" targets may use
     // a stable tethering app instead, but will generally override the AOSP apex to use updatable
     // package names and keys, so that apex will be unused anyway.
-    apps: ["Tethering"], // Replace to "Tethering" if ConnectivityNextEnableDefaults is false.
+    apps: ["TetheringNext"], // Replace to "Tethering" if ConnectivityNextEnableDefaults is false.
 }
-enable_tethering_next_apex = false
+enable_tethering_next_apex = true
 // This is a placeholder comment to avoid merge conflicts
 // as the above target may have different "enabled" values
 // depending on the branch
diff --git a/Tethering/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/Tethering.java b/Tethering/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/Tethering.java
index 552b105..873961a 100644
--- a/Tethering/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/Tethering.java
+++ b/Tethering/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/Tethering.java
@@ -368,6 +368,7 @@
 
         // Load tethering configuration.
         updateConfiguration();
+        mConfig.readEnableSyncSM(mContext);
         // It is OK for the configuration to be passed to the PrivateAddressCoordinator at
         // construction time because the only part of the configuration it uses is
         // shouldEnableWifiP2pDedicatedIp(), and currently do not support changing that.
diff --git a/Tethering/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/TetheringConfiguration.java b/Tethering/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/TetheringConfiguration.java
index 0678525..298940e 100644
--- a/Tethering/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/TetheringConfiguration.java
+++ b/Tethering/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/TetheringConfiguration.java
@@ -132,6 +132,9 @@
 
     public static final String TETHER_FORCE_RANDOM_PREFIX_BASE_SELECTION =
             "tether_force_random_prefix_base_selection";
+
+    public static final String TETHER_ENABLE_SYNC_SM = "tether_enable_sync_sm";
+
     /**
      * Default value that used to periodic polls tether offload stats from tethering offload HAL
      * to make the data warnings work.
@@ -139,7 +142,7 @@
     public static final int DEFAULT_TETHER_OFFLOAD_POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 5000;
 
     /** A flag for using synchronous or asynchronous state machine. */
-    public static final boolean USE_SYNC_SM = false;
+    public static boolean USE_SYNC_SM = false;
 
     public final String[] tetherableUsbRegexs;
     public final String[] tetherableWifiRegexs;
@@ -385,6 +388,16 @@
         return mRandomPrefixBase;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Check whether sync SM is enabled then set it to USE_SYNC_SM. This should be called once
+     * when tethering is created. Otherwise if the flag is pushed while tethering is enabled,
+     * then it's possible for some IpServer(s) running the new sync state machine while others
+     * use the async state machine.
+     */
+    public void readEnableSyncSM(final Context ctx) {
+        USE_SYNC_SM = mDeps.isFeatureEnabled(ctx, TETHER_ENABLE_SYNC_SM);
+    }
+
     /** Does the dumping.*/
     public void dump(PrintWriter pw) {
         pw.print("activeDataSubId: ");
@@ -438,6 +451,9 @@
 
         pw.print("mRandomPrefixBase: ");
         pw.println(mRandomPrefixBase);
+
+        pw.print("USE_SYNC_SM: ");
+        pw.println(USE_SYNC_SM);
     }
 
     /** Returns the string representation of this object.*/
diff --git a/Tethering/tests/unit/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/TetheringConfigurationTest.java b/Tethering/tests/unit/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/TetheringConfigurationTest.java
index aa322dc..dd51c7a 100644
--- a/Tethering/tests/unit/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/TetheringConfigurationTest.java
+++ b/Tethering/tests/unit/src/com/android/networkstack/tethering/TetheringConfigurationTest.java
@@ -754,4 +754,27 @@
                 new TetheringConfiguration(mMockContext, mLog, INVALID_SUBSCRIPTION_ID, mDeps);
         assertEquals(p2pLeasesSubnetPrefixLength, p2pCfg.getP2pLeasesSubnetPrefixLength());
     }
+
+    private void setTetherEnableSyncSMFlagEnabled(Boolean enabled) {
+        mDeps.setFeatureEnabled(TetheringConfiguration.TETHER_ENABLE_SYNC_SM, enabled);
+        new TetheringConfiguration(
+                mMockContext, mLog, INVALID_SUBSCRIPTION_ID, mDeps).readEnableSyncSM(mMockContext);
+    }
+
+    private void assertEnableSyncSM(boolean value) {
+        assertEquals(value, TetheringConfiguration.USE_SYNC_SM);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testEnableSyncSMFlag() throws Exception {
+        // Test default disabled
+        setTetherEnableSyncSMFlagEnabled(null);
+        assertEnableSyncSM(false);
+
+        setTetherEnableSyncSMFlagEnabled(true);
+        assertEnableSyncSM(true);
+
+        setTetherEnableSyncSMFlagEnabled(false);
+        assertEnableSyncSM(false);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/framework-t/Android.bp b/framework-t/Android.bp
index fa7b794..b90d99f 100644
--- a/framework-t/Android.bp
+++ b/framework-t/Android.bp
@@ -19,12 +19,12 @@
     default_applicable_licenses: ["Android-Apache-2.0"],
 }
 
-framework_remoteauth_srcs = [":framework-remoteauth-java-sources-udc-compat"]
-framework_remoteauth_api_srcs = [":framework-remoteauth-java-sources"]
+framework_remoteauth_srcs = [":framework-remoteauth-java-sources"]
+framework_remoteauth_api_srcs = []
 
 java_defaults {
     name: "enable-remoteauth-targets",
-    enabled: false,
+    enabled: true,
 }
 
 // Include build rules from Sources.bp
diff --git a/framework/Android.bp b/framework/Android.bp
index b7ff04f..a1d6a97 100644
--- a/framework/Android.bp
+++ b/framework/Android.bp
@@ -106,9 +106,6 @@
     apex_available: [
         "com.android.tethering",
     ],
-    lint: {
-        strict_updatability_linting: true,
-    },
 }
 
 java_library {
diff --git a/remoteauth/framework-udc-compat/Android.bp b/remoteauth/framework-udc-compat/Android.bp
deleted file mode 100644
index 799ffd0..0000000
--- a/remoteauth/framework-udc-compat/Android.bp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright (C) 2023 The Android Open Source Project
-//
-// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-// You may obtain a copy of the License at
-//
-//      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-//
-// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-// limitations under the License.
-
-package {
-    default_applicable_licenses: ["Android-Apache-2.0"],
-}
-
-// Sources included in the framework-connectivity jar for compatibility
-// builds in udc branches. They are only compatibility stubs to make
-// the module build, since remoteauth is not available on U.
-filegroup {
-    name: "framework-remoteauth-java-sources-udc-compat",
-    srcs: [
-        "java/**/*.java",
-    ],
-    path: "java",
-    visibility: [
-        "//packages/modules/Connectivity/framework-t:__subpackages__",
-    ],
-}
-
diff --git a/remoteauth/framework-udc-compat/java/README.md b/remoteauth/framework-udc-compat/java/README.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 7a01308..0000000
--- a/remoteauth/framework-udc-compat/java/README.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-# RemoteAuth udc compatibility framework files
-
-This directory is created to contain compatibility implementations of RemoteAuth classes for builds
-in udc branches.
diff --git a/remoteauth/service-udc-compat/Android.bp b/remoteauth/service-udc-compat/Android.bp
deleted file mode 100644
index 69c667d..0000000
--- a/remoteauth/service-udc-compat/Android.bp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright (C) 2023 The Android Open Source Project
-//
-// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-// You may obtain a copy of the License at
-//
-//      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-//
-// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-// limitations under the License.
-
-package {
-    default_applicable_licenses: ["Android-Apache-2.0"],
-}
-
-// Compatibility library included in the service-connectivity jar for
-// builds in udc branches. It only contains compatibility stubs to make
-// the module build, since remoteauth is not available on U.
-
-// Main lib for remoteauth services.
-java_library {
-    name: "service-remoteauth-pre-jarjar-udc-compat",
-    srcs: ["java/**/*.java"],
-
-    defaults: [
-        "framework-system-server-module-defaults"
-    ],
-    libs: [
-        "androidx.annotation_annotation",
-        "error_prone_annotations",
-    ],
-    sdk_version: "system_server_current",
-    // This is included in service-connectivity which is 30+
-    min_sdk_version: "30",
-
-    dex_preopt: {
-        enabled: false,
-        app_image: false,
-    },
-    visibility: [
-        "//packages/modules/Connectivity/service",
-        "//packages/modules/Connectivity/service-t",
-    ],
-    apex_available: [
-        "com.android.tethering",
-    ],
-}
-
diff --git a/remoteauth/service-udc-compat/java/com/android/server/remoteauth/RemoteAuthService.java b/remoteauth/service-udc-compat/java/com/android/server/remoteauth/RemoteAuthService.java
deleted file mode 100644
index ac4fde1..0000000
--- a/remoteauth/service-udc-compat/java/com/android/server/remoteauth/RemoteAuthService.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2023 The Android Open Source Project
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package com.android.server.remoteauth;
-
-import android.os.Binder;
-import android.content.Context;
-
-/** Compatibility stub for RemoteAuthService in udc branch builds. */
-public class RemoteAuthService extends Binder {
-    public static final String SERVICE_NAME = "remote_auth";
-    public RemoteAuthService(Context context) {
-        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("RemoteAuthService is not supported in this build");
-    }
-}
diff --git a/service-t/Android.bp b/service-t/Android.bp
index 8768787..78c7d35 100644
--- a/service-t/Android.bp
+++ b/service-t/Android.bp
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
     default_applicable_licenses: ["Android-Apache-2.0"],
 }
 
-service_remoteauth_pre_jarjar_lib = "service-remoteauth-pre-jarjar-udc-compat"
+service_remoteauth_pre_jarjar_lib = "service-remoteauth-pre-jarjar"
 
 // Include build rules from Sources.bp
 build = ["Sources.bp"]
diff --git a/service/Android.bp b/service/Android.bp
index 525bd02..ab85cc1 100644
--- a/service/Android.bp
+++ b/service/Android.bp
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
     default_applicable_licenses: ["Android-Apache-2.0"],
 }
 
-service_remoteauth_pre_jarjar_lib = "service-remoteauth-pre-jarjar-udc-compat"
+service_remoteauth_pre_jarjar_lib = "service-remoteauth-pre-jarjar"
 
 // The above variables may have different values
 // depending on the branch, and this comment helps
@@ -201,7 +201,6 @@
         "com.android.tethering",
     ],
     lint: {
-        strict_updatability_linting: true,
         baseline_filename: "lint-baseline.xml",
 
     },
@@ -273,9 +272,6 @@
     optimize: {
         proguard_flags_files: ["proguard.flags"],
     },
-    lint: {
-        strict_updatability_linting: true,
-    },
 }
 
 // A special library created strictly for use by the tests as they need the
diff --git a/tests/cts/hostside/Android.bp b/tests/cts/hostside/Android.bp
index 923f8e2..a0aafc6 100644
--- a/tests/cts/hostside/Android.bp
+++ b/tests/cts/hostside/Android.bp
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-next_app_data = []
+next_app_data = [ ":CtsHostsideNetworkTestsAppNext" ]
 
 // The above line is put in place to prevent any future automerger merge conflict between aosp,
 // downstream branches. The CtsHostsideNetworkTestsAppNext target will not exist in
diff --git a/thread/tests/cts/Android.bp b/thread/tests/cts/Android.bp
index 2f38bfd..38d2255 100644
--- a/thread/tests/cts/Android.bp
+++ b/thread/tests/cts/Android.bp
@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@
     default_applicable_licenses: ["Android-Apache-2.0"],
 }
 
+// TODO: add this test to the CTS test suite
 android_test {
     name: "CtsThreadNetworkTestCases",
-    defaults: ["cts_defaults"],
     min_sdk_version: "33",
     sdk_version: "test_current",
     manifest: "AndroidManifest.xml",
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@
         "src/**/*.java",
     ],
     test_suites: [
-        "cts",
         "general-tests",
         "mts-tethering",
     ],