diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Build/2022-09-11-14-23-49.gh-issue-96729.W4uBWL.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Build/2022-09-11-14-23-49.gh-issue-96729.W4uBWL.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b67cd200e2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Build/2022-09-11-14-23-49.gh-issue-96729.W4uBWL.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Ensure that Windows releases built with ``Tools\msi\buildrelease.bat`` are
+upgradable to and from official Python releases.
diff --git a/Tools/msi/buildrelease.bat b/Tools/msi/buildrelease.bat
index ccec4da12c4..839f6204d9e 100644
--- a/Tools/msi/buildrelease.bat
+++ b/Tools/msi/buildrelease.bat
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@ rem
 rem The following substitutions will be applied to the release URI:
 rem     Variable        Description         Example
 rem     {arch}          architecture        amd64, win32
-set RELEASE_URI=https://www.python.org/{arch}
+rem Do not change the scheme to https. Otherwise, releases built with this
+rem script will not be upgradable to/from official releases of Python.
+set RELEASE_URI=http://www.python.org/{arch}
 
 rem This is the URL that will be used to download installation files.
 rem The files available from the default URL *will* conflict with your