[BUG] DISABLE_TELEMETRY silently disables Opus 4.6 1M model on eligible plans (Max, Team, or Enterprise)

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Users on Max, Team, or Enterprise plans who have DISABLE_TELEMETRY or CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC set in their settings do not get Opus 4.6 1M context as their default model, despite being on an eligible plan. The feature silently disappears with no error or explanation.

In Claude Code, telemetry is off by default. Some users have explicitly added DISABLE_TELEMETRY=true to their config, but the mere presence of that setting (even though it's doing nothing), is blocking the GrowthBook feature flag check that determines whether your account gets the Opus 4.6 1M context model.

So users find themselves locked out of a paid plan feature with no explanation.

To compound the confusion, if they switch DISABLE_TELEMETRY to false, the model will appear because this action refreshes the cache that ungates the model.

This also occurs if CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC is present in the config.

What Should Happen?

Feature entitlements ideally should not be affected by telemetry configuration at all.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Be on a Max, Team, or Enterprise plan
2. Have DISABLE_TELEMETRY=true explicitly set in your config
3. Launch Claude Code and Opus 4.6 1M context will not appear
4. Remove the line or toggle telemetry on and 1M context will appear.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

It's not a regression as this is a new model for these plans in 2.1.75, and therefore has never worked correctly under these conditions

Last Working Version

N/A

Claude Code Version

Claude Code 2.1.75

Platform

claude.ai (Max, Team, or Enterprise)

Operating System

Cross-Platform

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

The immediate workaround for most users is to remove the DISABLE_TELEMETRY or CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC line from their config entirely, which restores the feature flag check and the 1M default.

However this is not a satisfactory/long-term fix for users who have a legitimate need to disable telemetry, etc., and for some users they potentially cannot have telemetry enabled at all (corporate policy, privacy requirements, etc.). For those users there is no workaround: they are permanently locked out of a paid plan feature simply for exercising an opt-out that Claude Code explicitly supports.

The underlying problem is that feature entitlements and telemetry opt-out share the same kill switch in the code (fW()), meaning any user who disables telemetry for any reason cannot receive feature flag updates from Anthropic's GrowthBook instance. There are other examples of features delivered via GrowthBook that have incurred the same issue.

The fix should decouple feature entitlement checks from the nonessential traffic kill switch entirely. Account entitlements should be determined at login and persisted independently of telemetry preferences.