During LHC LS2 the silicon LHCb Vertex Locator (VELO) has been
upgraded to a lightweight hybrid pixel detector capable of 40 MHz readout
at a luminosity of $2 \times 10^{33} cm^{-2}s^{-1}$. The upgraded VELO has
been installed in May 2022 in time for the start of LHC Run 3. It has since
successfully been operated and taking data under various LHC
configurations. Since the installation and first operations, a
considerable commissioning effort has improved the detector efficiency,
data quality and operational stability. Several aspects of this processs,
covering slow control calibration and monitoring, will be described. In
January 2023 an unfortunate cascade of system failured led to damage of
aluminium RF foil that separates the VELO from the LHC primary vacuum. The
consequences, careful damage assessment and recovery from this incident will be
covered.