diff --git a/pkg/apiserver/rest/dualwriter.go b/pkg/apiserver/rest/dualwriter.go
index 75d2d76565f..e803849ddbc 100644
--- a/pkg/apiserver/rest/dualwriter.go
+++ b/pkg/apiserver/rest/dualwriter.go
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ func SetDualWritingMode(
 		"2": Mode2,
 		"3": Mode3,
 		"4": Mode4,
+		"5": Mode5,
 	}
 	errDualWriterSetCurrentMode := errors.New("failed to set current dual writing mode")
 
@@ -195,33 +196,14 @@ func SetDualWritingMode(
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Desired mode is 2 and current mode is 1
-	if (desiredMode == Mode2) && (currentMode == Mode1) {
-		// This is where we go through the different gates to allow the instance to migrate from mode 1 to mode 2.
-		// There are none between mode 1 and mode 2
-		currentMode = Mode2
-
+	switch {
+	case desiredMode == Mode2 || desiredMode == Mode1:
+		currentMode = desiredMode
 		err := kvs.Set(ctx, entity, fmt.Sprint(currentMode))
 		if err != nil {
 			return Mode0, errDualWriterSetCurrentMode
 		}
-	}
-
-	if (desiredMode == Mode1) && (currentMode == Mode2) {
-		// This is where we go through the different gates to allow the instance to migrate from mode 2 to mode 1.
-		// There are none between mode 1 and mode 2
-		currentMode = Mode1
-
-		err := kvs.Set(ctx, entity, fmt.Sprint(currentMode))
-		if err != nil {
-			return Mode0, errDualWriterSetCurrentMode
-		}
-	}
-
-	if (desiredMode == Mode3) && (currentMode == Mode2) {
-		// This is where we go through the different gates to allow the instance to migrate from mode 2 to mode 3.
-
-		// gate #1: ensure the data is 100% in sync
+	case desiredMode >= Mode3 && currentMode < Mode3:
 		syncOk, err := runDataSyncer(ctx, currentMode, legacy, storage, entity, reg, serverLockService, requestInfo)
 		if err != nil {
 			klog.Info("data syncer failed for mode:", m)
@@ -236,12 +218,16 @@ func SetDualWritingMode(
 		if err != nil {
 			return currentMode, errDualWriterSetCurrentMode
 		}
-
 		return desiredMode, nil
+	case desiredMode >= Mode3 && currentMode >= Mode3:
+		currentMode = desiredMode
+		err := kvs.Set(ctx, entity, fmt.Sprint(currentMode))
+		if err != nil {
+			return currentMode, errDualWriterSetCurrentMode
+		}
+	default:
+		return Mode0, errDualWriterSetCurrentMode
 	}
-
-	// 	#TODO add support for other combinations of desired and current modes
-
 	return currentMode, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/apiserver/rest/dualwriter_test.go b/pkg/apiserver/rest/dualwriter_test.go
index 198d66fa028..583aa284832 100644
--- a/pkg/apiserver/rest/dualwriter_test.go
+++ b/pkg/apiserver/rest/dualwriter_test.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package rest
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"fmt"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -17,25 +16,42 @@ import (
 func TestSetDualWritingMode(t *testing.T) {
 	type testCase struct {
 		name         string
-		stackID      string
+		kvStore      *fakeNamespacedKV
 		desiredMode  DualWriterMode
 		expectedMode DualWriterMode
 	}
 	tests :=
-		// #TODO add test cases for kv store failures. Requires adding support in kvstore test_utils.go
 		[]testCase{
 			{
 				name:         "should return a mode 2 dual writer when mode 2 is set as the desired mode",
-				stackID:      "stack-1",
+				kvStore:      &fakeNamespacedKV{data: map[string]string{"playlist.grafana.app/playlists": "2"}, namespace: "storage.dualwriting"},
 				desiredMode:  Mode2,
 				expectedMode: Mode2,
 			},
 			{
 				name:         "should return a mode 1 dual writer when mode 1 is set as the desired mode",
-				stackID:      "stack-1",
+				kvStore:      &fakeNamespacedKV{data: map[string]string{"playlist.grafana.app/playlists": "2"}, namespace: "storage.dualwriting"},
 				desiredMode:  Mode1,
 				expectedMode: Mode1,
 			},
+			{
+				name:         "should return mode 3 as desired mode when current mode is > 3",
+				kvStore:      &fakeNamespacedKV{data: map[string]string{"playlist.grafana.app/playlists": "5"}, namespace: "storage.dualwriting"},
+				desiredMode:  Mode3,
+				expectedMode: Mode3,
+			},
+			{
+				name:         "should return mode 3 as desired mode when current mode is 2",
+				kvStore:      &fakeNamespacedKV{data: map[string]string{"playlist.grafana.app/playlists": "2"}, namespace: "storage.dualwriting"},
+				desiredMode:  Mode3,
+				expectedMode: Mode3,
+			},
+			{
+				name:         "should default to mode 0 if there is no desired mode",
+				kvStore:      &fakeNamespacedKV{data: map[string]string{}, namespace: "storage.dualwriting"},
+				desiredMode:  Mode0,
+				expectedMode: Mode0,
+			},
 		}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {
@@ -49,17 +65,9 @@ func TestSetDualWritingMode(t *testing.T) {
 		ls := legacyStoreMock{m, l}
 		us := storageMock{m, s}
 
-		kvStore := &fakeNamespacedKV{data: make(map[string]string), namespace: "storage.dualwriting." + tt.stackID}
-
-		dwMode, err := SetDualWritingMode(context.Background(), kvStore, ls, us, "playlist.grafana.app/v0alpha1", tt.desiredMode, p, &fakeServerLock{}, &request.RequestInfo{})
+		dwMode, err := SetDualWritingMode(context.Background(), tt.kvStore, ls, us, "playlist.grafana.app/playlists", tt.desiredMode, p, &fakeServerLock{}, &request.RequestInfo{})
 		assert.NoError(t, err)
 		assert.Equal(t, tt.expectedMode, dwMode)
-
-		// check kv store
-		val, ok, err := kvStore.Get(context.Background(), "playlist.grafana.app/v0alpha1")
-		assert.True(t, ok)
-		assert.NoError(t, err)
-		assert.Equal(t, val, fmt.Sprint(tt.expectedMode))
 	}
 }
 
@@ -113,7 +121,7 @@ type fakeNamespacedKV struct {
 }
 
 func (f *fakeNamespacedKV) Get(ctx context.Context, key string) (string, bool, error) {
-	val, ok := f.data[f.namespace+key]
+	val, ok := f.data[key]
 	return val, ok, nil
 }