@ewuewu In addition to all the above advice, there is this:
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/troubleshooting/upgrades.html#upgrade-not-offered-library-errors

...but I have seen Netgate post more than once that they suggest reinstalling and restoring the config from backup if it is several versions old. If you really do try upgrading, (and get pfSense to see updates), at a minimum I'd try to upgrade to "previous stable version" first instead of trying the latest, then upgrading again. But, plan on/prep for a reinstall and then you won't be disappointed if the upgrade goes haywire and the router is offline.

sorry to revive old post but I would like to reply for a specific use case no one brought up. As a journalist I need a higher level of security when accessing specific content. I use pfSense as a VPN gateway configure with FDE and zero-logging. It's a lot easier than having to setup vpn after every reboot on my boot-only USB OS.

@rcoleman-netgate It seems sorted out right now...

I did the above command, but then I got messages that packages were updating in the background, and to wait two hours. It never cleared, so I did some reinstalling packages manually, same message.

Reboots had some services not starting, etc...

Finally, I did the "reinstall all packages" options and restored a backup from the 2.6 version and it seems like everything is back to normal, except I'm on pfSense+ now. It wasn't a clean upgrade, but I seem to have force-fed the update in.

I have noticed some issues I had with CE aren't happening now, so that's good.

@visseroth You already can.
Google it. You just add a config folder on the flash drive.

Agreed, it makes sense to allow install of Plus and then to activate/register or whatever process it's called during the first time it goes online. No harm in at least letting it be installed, pretty big oversight imo.

@billl said in Reinstalling confusion re: 'Tip':

Looks like a SG-1100 may not be one of those devices :)

It definitely is in that list. If your cable is not connected snugly it could be spotty and have issues.

The only firewall I've had an issue with, and it was spotty, was the 5100.

@stephenw10
Results: Reinstallation of 2.6.0 on this hardware went smoothly with packages removed beforehand. Restore of prior config from 2.3.5 - no problems detected so far. Backup imaging of the drive was a pain though, took 6 hours with an old version of Clonezilla. Thank you for your inputs.

@rcoleman-netgate Submitted. Thank you.

@rcoleman-netgate Yay! :)

@rcoleman-netgate thanks everyone for the replies.

Upgrading would use the same mechanism as installing packages so if you can't install packages then upgrading probably won't work either.

Zabbix 6.x is not and will not be available for 2.4.x, even pfSense CE 2.5.x only has Zabbix 5. To get Zabbix 6 you'll need to be on at least pfSense CE 2.6.0 or Plus 22.05.

Trying to get newer packages on an older system is not going to work, as it will lead to a mismatch between the packages and base OS and is likely to break things.

That said, because updates and packages use the same underlying mechanism, you can use the upgrade troubleshooting information to help narrow down why you can't load packages:

https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/troubleshooting/upgrades.html

@rpv2000 said in Upgrade from 2.7.0 to Plus needed for NIC support:

I have a Plus subscription for my PFSense PC based router, but an issue I have is the intel 2.5Gbe NICs that I am using are only supported in 2.7.0. When I try to upgrade to plus the router no longer works because 22.01 doesn't support my intel i225 NICs. From what I have read I would need 22.05 or maybe the beta 23.01, but it doesn't appear that there is an upgrade path from 2.7.0 directly to these newer plus versions.
Is there any way I can upgrade to a plus version that supports the intel i225 NIC?

This might be the only time I suggest a USB-based NIC just to make the steps.

2.7->23.01 upgrade path I believe is being tested, but it's not on my list of things to be testing at this time so I'm not 100% certain.

I re-installed pfSense on a different Lab system so that I could have more NICs.
Problem is now that it took my restore perfectly and I was up and running quick, I can't use my old token to upgrade to pfSense PLUS.

I can't paste the token into the Activation box. I get...

Your device does not require registration, we recognize it already. You may have already registered, or it may be a pre-registered Netgate appliance.
Register pfSense

Guessing there is a simple solution but kinda stuck here.

Try this first:

If the box is up, then do a controlled shutdown using the option under the DIAGNOSTICS menu, or even better, using the CLI console menu option instead. You can access the console menu via an SSH session or by connecting with the USB serial console cable. Wait for the box to completely finish the shutdown sequence. This is easier seen if you are monitoring the firewall console. The box will not "power off" on its own, but will let you know when OS shutdown is completed. Once you have verified the box is ready for power off, remove the power source to totally shutdown the box. Wait about 30 seconds, and then apply the power again and let it boot.

The crypto chip inside some of the Netgate appliances can get "stuck" in condition that can cause the error you are seeing when trying to upgrade. A reboot does not clear the condition. Only a complete removal of power will reset the crypto chip.

If the above fails to clear the issue, then you can open a request with Netgate Support for a download link to a fresh copy of the 22.05 install image here: https://www.netgate.com/tac-support-request. You can install the update and import your existing configuration during the installation process.

@rcoleman-netgate
I found the solutions... I did multiple things but now it's working.

I deleted a gateway (because it's a raspberry pie with openmptcprouter on it [multi path tcp]) and it can cause issue that is difficult for me to troubleshoots now
I deleted dns from this raspberry pi too because there were delay to answer to dns lookup.
Without it, dns lookup was faster than before so i retry this :
pfsense-upgrade -4
and it works :) All repositories up to date and 7 packages processed.... and i have package list to install available (what i wanted to have to install FRR routing)
Thanks for your help !

@stephenw10 If I leave the USB boot priority below the sdd, and I install by one-time using the boot menu to get to the pfsense installer then immediately after choosing that partition it reboots and goes to my older sdd boot.

If I set the USB to be the first partition then it boot loops a handful of times and then gets to some wonky bootloader screen. I will have to try again.

@gertjan said in -SOLVED-Can't check updates, can't install packages.:

Ok to test the " Latest development snapshot" but to get back to 2.6.0 (FreeBSD 12.3) you need to re install

Also if the config is from a system running a newer release than what it's being installed to it will likely throw errors or not work at all

@jdeloach said in pfsense 2.4.5:

You might contact Netgate customer service and request a copy and give reason why you need such an old version.

They might but we aren't likely to send it - it is not something we have easy access to and it has a high number of bugs that were fixed in 2.5-RELEASE and further.

OP is better suited trying to fix their issues with 2.6 than run unsupported, unpatched software.

@michaellacroix said in i cant activated plus:

Does anyone know if you can re-use a pfsense activation token on the same hardware after its been restored?

Tokens are one-time.

If you haven't changed your NICs (added, removed, or swapped) your NDI should not be changing and you should be able to migrate to Plus without issue. Just skip the token part.

https://frafiles.netgate.com/mirror/downloads/

-Rico