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    No available packages or branches - 23.09.1

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
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    • M Offline
      madbrain
      last edited by madbrain

      The list in
      System / Package manager / Available packages
      is empty.

      I'm running pfSense + 23.09.1 .

      I searched the forums and found a few commands that were suggested, but they did not work. Also references to IPv6 . The ISP I am using at the moment only supports IPv4.

      I see a notice that "Package reinstall process was ABORTED due to lack of internet connectivity" . But that is not the case. I'm typing this on a wired PC connected to the Internet through pfSense.

      I also cannot see any branches in the "branch" drop-down list at
      System / Update / System Update

      How can I refresh the package list ? Or see branches ?

      S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • S Offline
        SteveITS Rebel Alliance @madbrain
        last edited by

        @madbrain is your Plus license still active?

        Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
        When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, and device or disk speed.
        Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

        M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • M Offline
          madbrain @SteveITS
          last edited by

          @SteveITS does it expire? How would I check ? I upgraded from pfSense to + last year for free.

          M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • M Offline
            madbrain @madbrain
            last edited by

            @madbrain I found the activation token in my email from last year. Registered again. It's working fine now.
            It is quite a surprise to see that there is no longer a free version of pfSense +.

            S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • S Offline
              SteveITS Rebel Alliance @madbrain
              last edited by

              @madbrain fyi https://www.netgate.com/blog/addressing-changes-to-pfsense-plus-homelab

              Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
              When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, and device or disk speed.
              Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

              M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • M Offline
                madbrain @SteveITS
                last edited by

                @SteveITS yes, I just read that. Disappointing. I guess my license got unregistered when I restored my settings from backup.
                I'm using pfSense at home. What is the downgrade path from Plus to CE ?

                S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • S Offline
                  SteveITS Rebel Alliance @madbrain
                  last edited by

                  @madbrain I don’t know if there’s a way to downgrade yet without installing CE.

                  https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/backup/restore-different-version.html

                  Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                  When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, and device or disk speed.
                  Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • stephenw10S Offline
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    Hmm, you just re-registered using the existing token? Interesting. That shouldn't ever be required if it had previously been registered.

                    M 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • M Offline
                      madbrain @stephenw10
                      last edited by

                      @stephenw10 Yes, that's what I did. No idea why I had to, but it was required to fix my issue.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • M Offline
                        madbrain @stephenw10
                        last edited by

                        @stephenw10 said in No available packages or branches - 23.09.1:

                        Hmm, you just re-registered using the existing token? Interesting. That shouldn't ever be required if it had previously been registered.

                        I think I know what happened. Before installing pfSense, I disabled the motherboard 1Gbe NIC in the UEFI. I only needed 2 NICs and those needs were served by an Intel X550-T2.
                        Earlier this week, I experimented with dual WAN. This required a third NIC. So, I enabled the motherboard NIC in the UEFI.

                        It's pretty lame if a BIOS setting change can invalidate the license ...

                        GertjanG S 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • GertjanG Offline
                          Gertjan @madbrain
                          last edited by

                          @madbrain said in No available packages or branches - 23.09.1:

                          It's pretty lame if a BIOS setting change can invalidate the license ...

                          Microsoft can invalide a Windows license when you change hardware of your device ...

                          No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                          Edit : and where are the logs ??

                          M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • S Offline
                            SteveITS Rebel Alliance @madbrain
                            last edited by

                            @madbrain the NDI is calculated at least partly by the NICs, and the license is tied to the NDI.

                            Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                            When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, and device or disk speed.
                            Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

                            M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • M Offline
                              madbrain @Gertjan
                              last edited by

                              @Gertjan Yes, they can, but I have only seen it happen when the CPU / motherboard changes. Not adding or removing a NIC through a BIOS setting.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • M Offline
                                madbrain @SteveITS
                                last edited by

                                @SteveITS I see. Today, I added a 4th NIC, a PCI-E I-225V (B3). The NIC works great. However, my Plus license has been invalidated again. And unlike the last time 12 days ago when I added a NIC with a BIOS setting change, using the activation token I got a year ago did not work, unfortunately.

                                Is there anything that can be done to fix ? My understanding was that existing users of pfSense Plus Home+Lab would be able to continue using the software. Not being able to update or install packages is a pretty big problem.

                                S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • S Offline
                                  SteveITS Rebel Alliance @madbrain
                                  last edited by

                                  @madbrain You can reach out to Netgate TAC and ask but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. If you expect to be changing hardware I would just use CE and avoid this problem.

                                  Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                                  When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, and device or disk speed.
                                  Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • stephenw10S Offline
                                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                    last edited by

                                    Send me the order number and NDI in chat and I can check it.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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