diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0fb73b3c75..ed8f5e3a43 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@
 
 ### Features
 
+- Enable `ThreadLocalAccessor` for Spring Boot 3 WebFlux by default ([#4023](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-java/pull/4023))
+
+## 8.0.0-rc.3
+
+### Features
+
 - Add `sentry-opentelemetry-agentless-spring` module ([#4000](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-java/pull/4000))
   - This module can be added as a dependency when using Sentry with OpenTelemetry and Spring Boot but don't want to use our Agent. It takes care of configuring OpenTelemetry for use with Sentry.
   - You may want to set `OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=none;OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=none;OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER=none` env vars to not have the log flooded with error messages regarding OpenTelemetry features we don't use.
@@ -35,7 +41,7 @@
 - Close backpressure monitor on SDK shutdown ([#3998](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-java/pull/3998))
   - Due to the backpressure monitor rescheduling a task to run every 10s, it very likely caused shutdown to wait the full `shutdownTimeoutMillis` (defaulting to 2s) instead of being able to terminate immediately
 - Improve ignored check performance ([#3992](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-java/pull/3992))
-  - Checking if a span origin, a transaction or a checkIn should be ignored is now faster 
+  - Checking if a span origin, a transaction or a checkIn should be ignored is now faster
 
 ## 8.0.0-rc.2
 
diff --git a/gradle.properties b/gradle.properties
index a0ed1ace96..8764c2cdf9 100644
--- a/gradle.properties
+++ b/gradle.properties
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ android.useAndroidX=true
 android.defaults.buildfeatures.buildconfig=true
 
 # Release information
-versionName=8.0.0-rc.2
+versionName=8.0.0-rc.3
 
 # Override the SDK name on native crashes on Android
 sentryAndroidSdkName=sentry.native.android
diff --git a/sentry-opentelemetry/README.md b/sentry-opentelemetry/README.md
index fcd352d52e..6391fd32ca 100644
--- a/sentry-opentelemetry/README.md
+++ b/sentry-opentelemetry/README.md
@@ -38,11 +38,14 @@ you also need this module as a dependency.
 Contains `SentrySpanProcessor` and `SentryPropagator` which are used by our Java Agent but can also
 be used when manually instrumenting using OpenTelemetry. If you want to use OpenTelemetry without
 the agent but still want some configuration convenience, you should rather use the
-`sentry-opentelemetry-agentless` module.
+`sentry-opentelemetry-agentless` module or the `sentry-opentelemetry-agentless-spring` module if you are using Spring Boot.
 
 ### `sentry-opentelemetry-agentless`
 Combines all modules and dependencies needed to use Sentry with OpenTelemetry without the agent.
 
+### `sentry-opentelemetry-agentless-spring`
+Combines all modules and dependencies needed to use Sentry with OpenTelemetry in SpringBoot without an agent.
+
 ## Running without an Agent
 If you want to use Sentry with OpenTelemetry without an agent, you can do so by adding the `sentry-opentelemetry-agentless` module as dependencies to your project. 
 
diff --git a/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agent/README.md b/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agent/README.md
index 321f1b2696..55646f3b16 100644
--- a/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agent/README.md
+++ b/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agent/README.md
@@ -21,8 +21,14 @@ For more details on configuring Sentry via `sentry.properties` please see the
 [docs page](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/java/configuration/).
 
 As an alternative to the `SENTRY_PROPERTIES_FILE` environment variable you can provide individual
-settings as environment variables (e.g. `SENTRY_DSN=...`) or you may initialize `Sentry` inside
-your target application:
+settings as environment variables (e.g. `SENTRY_DSN=...`).
+
+## Controlling auto initialization of Sentry
+
+By default, if you pass either `SENTRY_DSN` or `SENTRY_PROPERTIES_FILE` as environment variable,
+Sentry will automatically be initialized by this agent. To disable this behaviour, you can set
+`SENTRY_AUTO_INIT=false` as environment variable. You will then have to initialize Sentry inside
+the target application:
 
 ```
 Sentry.init(
@@ -33,13 +39,6 @@ Sentry.init(
 )
 ```
 
-## Controlling auto initialization of Sentry
-
-By default if you pass either `SENTRY_DSN` or `SENTRY_PROPERTIES_FILE` as environment variable,
-Sentry will automatically be initialized by this agent. To disable this behaviour, you can set
-`SENTRY_AUTO_INIT=false` as environment variable. You will then have to initialize Sentry inside
-the target application.
-
 ## Debugging
 
 To enable debug logging for Sentry, please provide `SENTRY_DEBUG=true` as environment variable or
@@ -57,6 +56,7 @@ Example log message:
 ```
 ERROR io.opentelemetry.exporter.internal.grpc.OkHttpGrpcExporter - Failed to export spans. The request could not be executed. Full error message: Failed to connect to localhost/[0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1]:4317
 ERROR io.opentelemetry.exporter.internal.grpc.OkHttpGrpcExporter - Failed to export metrics. The request could not be executed. Full error message: Failed to connect to localhost/[0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1]:4317
+ERROR io.opentelemetry.exporter.internal.http.HttpExporter - Failed to export logs. The request could not be executed. Full error message: Failed to connect to localhost/[0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1]:4318
 ```
 
 ### Traces
@@ -68,3 +68,8 @@ see [OpenTelemetry GitHub](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java/
 
 To turn off exporting of metrics you can set `OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=none`
 see [OpenTelemetry GitHub](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java/tree/main/sdk-extensions/autoconfigure#otlp-exporter-span-metric-and-log-exporters)
+
+### Logs
+
+To turn off log exporting, set `OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=none` 
+see [OpenTelemetry GitHub](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java/tree/main/sdk-extensions/autoconfigure#otlp-exporter-span-metric-and-log-exporters).
diff --git a/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agentless-spring/README.md b/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agentless-spring/README.md
index b808195c90..7fda913fac 100644
--- a/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agentless-spring/README.md
+++ b/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agentless-spring/README.md
@@ -2,53 +2,21 @@
 
 *NOTE: Our OpenTelemetry modules are still experimental. Any feedback is welcome.*
 
+This module allows the use of Sentry with OpenTelemetry in SpringBoot without an agent by using the OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter.
+For guidance on when to use this module instead of the agent, please have a look at the [OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter documentation](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/zero-code/java/spring-boot-starter/).
+
 ## How to use it
 
-Add the latest `sentry-opentelemetry-agentless-spring` module as a dependency and add a `sentry.properties` 
-configuration file to your project that could look like this:
+Add the latest `sentry-opentelemetry-agentless-spring` module as a dependency to your Sentry enabled [SpringBoot](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/java/guides/spring-boot/) application and add the following to your `application.properties`:
 
 ```properties
-# NOTE: Replace the test DSN below with YOUR OWN DSN to see the events from this app in your Sentry project/dashboard
-dsn=https://502f25099c204a2fbf4cb16edc5975d1@o447951.ingest.sentry.io/5428563
-traces-sample-rate=1.0
+# OTEL configuration
+otel.propagators=tracecontext,baggage,sentry
+otel.logs.exporter=none
+otel.metrics.exporter=none
+otel.traces.exporter=none
 ```
 
-For more details on configuring Sentry via `sentry.properties` please see the
-[docs page](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/java/configuration/).
-
-As an alternative to the `SENTRY_PROPERTIES_FILE` environment variable you can provide individual
-settings as environment variables (e.g. `SENTRY_DSN=...`) or you may initialize `Sentry` inside
-your target application. If you do so, please make sure to apply OpenTelemetry specific options, e.g.
-like this:
-
-```
-Sentry.init(
-        options -> {
-          options.setDsn("...");
-          ...
-          OpenTelemetryUtil.applyOpenTelemetryOptions(options, false);
-        }
-)
-```
-
-## Getting rid of exporter error messages
-
-In case you are using this module without needing to use any OpenTelemetry exporters you can add
-the following environment variables to turn off exporters and stop seeing error messages about 
-servers not being reachable in the logs.
-
-Example log message:
-```
-ERROR io.opentelemetry.exporter.internal.grpc.OkHttpGrpcExporter - Failed to export spans. The request could not be executed. Full error message: Failed to connect to localhost/[0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1]:4317
-ERROR io.opentelemetry.exporter.internal.grpc.OkHttpGrpcExporter - Failed to export metrics. The request could not be executed. Full error message: Failed to connect to localhost/[0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1]:4317
-```
-
-### Traces
-
-To turn off exporting of traces you can set `OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER=none`
-see [OpenTelemetry GitHub](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java/tree/main/sdk-extensions/autoconfigure#otlp-exporter-span-metric-and-log-exporters)
-
-### Metrics
+This module will automatically configure OpenTelemetry and Sentry for you.
 
-To turn off exporting of metrics you can set `OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=none`
-see [OpenTelemetry GitHub](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java/tree/main/sdk-extensions/autoconfigure#otlp-exporter-span-metric-and-log-exporters)
+With the dependency and configuration in place, just run your SpringBoot application as usual.
diff --git a/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agentless/README.md b/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agentless/README.md
index 9ce3319bae..7fd9ee156b 100644
--- a/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agentless/README.md
+++ b/sentry-opentelemetry/sentry-opentelemetry-agentless/README.md
@@ -17,38 +17,42 @@ For more details on configuring Sentry via `sentry.properties` please see the
 [docs page](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/java/configuration/).
 
 As an alternative to the `SENTRY_PROPERTIES_FILE` environment variable you can provide individual
-settings as environment variables (e.g. `SENTRY_DSN=...`) or you may initialize `Sentry` inside
-your target application. If you do so, please make sure to apply OpenTelemetry specific options, e.g.
-like this:
+settings as environment variables (e.g. `SENTRY_DSN=...`).
 
+Run your application with the following JVM arguments:
 ```
-Sentry.init(
-        options -> {
-          options.setDsn("...");
-          ...
-          OpenTelemetryUtil.applyOpenTelemetryOptions(options, false);
-        }
-)
+-Dotel.java.global-autoconfigure.enabled=true
 ```
 
-## Getting rid of exporter error messages
-
-In case you are using this module without needing to use any OpenTelemetry exporters you can add
-the following environment variables to turn off exporters and stop seeing error messages about 
-servers not being reachable in the logs.
-
-Example log message:
-```
-ERROR io.opentelemetry.exporter.internal.grpc.OkHttpGrpcExporter - Failed to export spans. The request could not be executed. Full error message: Failed to connect to localhost/[0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1]:4317
-ERROR io.opentelemetry.exporter.internal.grpc.OkHttpGrpcExporter - Failed to export metrics. The request could not be executed. Full error message: Failed to connect to localhost/[0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1]:4317
+You may also want to set the following environment variables to if you do not use OTEL exporters:
+`OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=none;OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=none;OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER=none`
+
+Alternatively you can initialize OpenTelemetry programmatically like this:
+
+```java
+// Initialize OpenTelemetry by using the AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdk which automatically
+// registers the `SentrySpanProcessor` and `SentryPropagator` and others.
+// Also, you need to disable the OTEL exporters if you do not use them.
+AutoConfiguredOpenTelemetrySdk.builder()
+  .setResultAsGlobal()
+  .addPropertiesSupplier(() -> {
+final Map<String, String> properties = new HashMap<>();
+    properties.put("otel.logs.exporter", "none");
+    properties.put("otel.metrics.exporter", "none");
+    properties.put("otel.traces.exporter", "none");
+    return properties;
+  })
+  .build();
 ```
 
-### Traces
+If you're not using `sentry.properties` or environment variables you can then initialize Sentry programmatically as usual:
 
-To turn off exporting of traces you can set `OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER=none`
-see [OpenTelemetry GitHub](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java/tree/main/sdk-extensions/autoconfigure#otlp-exporter-span-metric-and-log-exporters)
-
-### Metrics
-
-To turn off exporting of metrics you can set `OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=none`
-see [OpenTelemetry GitHub](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java/tree/main/sdk-extensions/autoconfigure#otlp-exporter-span-metric-and-log-exporters)
+```java
+// Initialize Sentry
+Sentry.init(
+    options -> {
+    options.setDsn("...");
+      ...
+  }
+)
+```
diff --git a/sentry-samples/sentry-samples-spring-boot-jakarta-opentelemetry-noagent/README.md b/sentry-samples/sentry-samples-spring-boot-jakarta-opentelemetry-noagent/README.md
index 89a8e603a3..4a5f2a7739 100644
--- a/sentry-samples/sentry-samples-spring-boot-jakarta-opentelemetry-noagent/README.md
+++ b/sentry-samples/sentry-samples-spring-boot-jakarta-opentelemetry-noagent/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Sentry Sample Spring Boot 3.0+
 
-Sample application showing how to use Sentry with [Spring boot](http://spring.io/projects/spring-boot) from version `3.0` onwards integrated with the [OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/zero-code/java/spring-boot-starter/).
+Sample application showing how to use Sentry with [Spring boot](http://spring.io/projects/spring-boot) from version `3.0` onwards integrated with the [OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/zero-code/java/spring-boot-starter/) without an agent.
 
 ## How to run? 
 
diff --git a/sentry-spring-boot-jakarta/src/main/java/io/sentry/spring/boot/jakarta/SentryWebfluxAutoConfiguration.java b/sentry-spring-boot-jakarta/src/main/java/io/sentry/spring/boot/jakarta/SentryWebfluxAutoConfiguration.java
index 2bc8bc87ed..468f4b8107 100644
--- a/sentry-spring-boot-jakarta/src/main/java/io/sentry/spring/boot/jakarta/SentryWebfluxAutoConfiguration.java
+++ b/sentry-spring-boot-jakarta/src/main/java/io/sentry/spring/boot/jakarta/SentryWebfluxAutoConfiguration.java
@@ -91,8 +91,7 @@ public SentryLegacyFilterConfigurationCondition() {
 
     @ConditionalOnProperty(
         name = "sentry.reactive.thread-local-accessor-enabled",
-        havingValue = "false",
-        matchIfMissing = true)
+        havingValue = "false")
     @SuppressWarnings("UnusedNestedClass")
     private static class SentryDisableThreadLocalAccessorCondition {}
 
@@ -109,7 +108,8 @@ public SentryThreadLocalAccessorCondition() {
 
     @ConditionalOnProperty(
         name = "sentry.reactive.thread-local-accessor-enabled",
-        havingValue = "true")
+        havingValue = "true",
+        matchIfMissing = true)
     @SuppressWarnings("UnusedNestedClass")
     private static class SentryEnableThreadLocalAccessorCondition {}
 
diff --git a/sentry-spring-boot-jakarta/src/test/kotlin/io/sentry/spring/boot/jakarta/SentryWebfluxAutoConfigurationTest.kt b/sentry-spring-boot-jakarta/src/test/kotlin/io/sentry/spring/boot/jakarta/SentryWebfluxAutoConfigurationTest.kt
index f65cc3e108..b4cbaf8631 100644
--- a/sentry-spring-boot-jakarta/src/test/kotlin/io/sentry/spring/boot/jakarta/SentryWebfluxAutoConfigurationTest.kt
+++ b/sentry-spring-boot-jakarta/src/test/kotlin/io/sentry/spring/boot/jakarta/SentryWebfluxAutoConfigurationTest.kt
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ class SentryWebfluxAutoConfigurationTest {
     fun `configures sentryWebFilter`() {
         contextRunner.withPropertyValues("sentry.dsn=http://key@localhost/proj")
             .run {
-                assertThat(it).hasSingleBean(SentryWebFilter::class.java)
-                assertThat(it).doesNotHaveBean(SentryWebFilterWithThreadLocalAccessor::class.java)
+                assertThat(it).hasSingleBean(SentryWebFilterWithThreadLocalAccessor::class.java)
+                assertThat(it).doesNotHaveBean(SentryWebFilter::class.java)
             }
     }
 
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ class SentryWebfluxAutoConfigurationTest {
             )
             .run {
                 assertThat(it).hasSingleBean(SentryWebFilterWithThreadLocalAccessor::class.java)
+                assertThat(it).doesNotHaveBean(SentryWebFilter::class.java)
             }
     }
 
@@ -75,6 +76,7 @@ class SentryWebfluxAutoConfigurationTest {
             )
             .run {
                 assertThat(it).doesNotHaveBean(SentryWebFilterWithThreadLocalAccessor::class.java)
+                assertThat(it).hasSingleBean(SentryWebFilter::class.java)
             }
     }