check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1

Donny

@stephenw10 Ok I will explain step by step today.

Donny

@stephenw10 Hello Stephenw10, This is the actual issue that occurred with pfSense 2.8 after upgrading from version 2.7.2:

When the notification bell appears in the upper right corner of the Dashboard, I click on it. The notification message displayed is:
Upgrade
check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1 @ 2025-06-02 10:02:41
A pop-up window appears with two options: X Close and Mark All as Read.
I click Mark All as Read, and then the notification bell disappears.
Next, let's say I want to configure the DHCP Server. I go to Services > DHCP Server (it doesn't have to be under Services—any other menu works too). If I enter any other menu like System, Interfaces, Firewall, VPN, Status, or Diagnostics and choose any configuration option, the notification bell does not reappear, and I can configure everything normally within those menus.
Then, I tested by rebooting the system and logging back into the pfSense Dashboard. The notification bell did not appear at the top right corner of the Dashboard.
However, once I go into any menu and click a configuration item—for example, VPN > IPsec to configure VPN—the notification bell immediately reappears in the top right corner of the Dashboard.
And whenever the notification bell reappears, I repeat steps 1–3.

My Installed packages:
acme 0.9_1
freeradius3 0.15.14
openvpn-client-export 1.9.5
pfBlockerNG-devel 3.2.8
System_Patches 2.2.20_2

stephenw10

Ah OK. That sounds more like it simply hasn't had time to fail the check the first time you login and display the dashboard. As soon as you go to some other page the check has failed and it displays the alert.

If you can try just refreshing the dashboard. I expect the alert to be shown then too.

But importantly this only happens once after rebooting and not again until the next reboot?

Donny

@stephenw10 In the case where the notification bell is already visible at the top right corner of the Dashboard, and I refresh the Dashboard, the bell remains visible as it was.

However, if I click 'Mark All as Read' on the notification bell, the notification disappears. After that, when I refresh the Dashboard, the bell does not reappear.

Yes, this behavior only occurs once after a reboot and does not happen again until the next reboot.

mad_4u

same here but only after reboot.

stephenw10

Hmm, this "feels" like a race condition during boot that only some systems hit. What hardware are you running?

mad_4u

@stephenw10
i am runing pfsense on proxmox vm

Donny

@stephenw10 This is the hardware I used for testing with pfSense 2.7.2, and I have never encountered this issue before.
Asrock QC 5000 ITX/PH CPU on board
Type AMD A4-5000 APU with Radeon(TM) HD Graphics
4 CPUs : 1 package(s) x 4 core(s)
AES-NI CPU Crypto: Yes (active)
QAT Crypto: No
Hardware crypto: AES-CBC, AES-CCM, AES-GCM, AES-ICM, AES-XTS
Intel network card 4 ports (39Y6138)
Kington SSD now 300V 60 GB

stephenw10

@mad_4u said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

i am runing pfsense on proxmox vm

What specs on the VM?

I also test in proxmox extensively on various sized VMs and haven't yet been able to replicate. I'll keep trying...

mad_4u

@stephenw10

i am running proxmox on PowerEdge T620 2 X CPU 256 GB RAM
CPU Type QEMU Virtual CPU version 2.5+
16 CPUs : 4 package(s) x 4 core(s)
AES-NI CPU Crypto: Yes (inactive)
QAT Crypto: No
RAM: 8GB
HD: 10GB

on 2.7.2 never had this issue but only apears after upgrading.
it's only apearing after reboot otherwise no conflect or issue on any functions

stephenw10

Hmm, OK not an under resource issue then. Perhaps something hit y booting much faster in fact....

mad_4u

@stephenw10

I did factory defaults and reset everyting the error still shows and even after restoring my configuration it keeps coming back
then i reinstall all packages and reboot.
no more errors

stephenw10

Are you redirecting DNS? Routing over a VPN?

I can't hit this on anything here, fast or slow...

mad_4u

@stephenw10
yes dns on adguard-home, Guest vlan on wireguard vpn.
after reinstalling everything no more erros i suspect the issue was acme package

stephenw10

Hmm, curious...

rpsmith

Same problem here:

PC Engines APU2 Platform ("apu4" model)
Netgate Device ID: 97372676272a13e1bf6f

Everything else seems to be working OK. This system has no packages installed and the WAN is using 100 megabit PPPoE.

RPSmith...

rpsmith

Also, if I set "Disable the dashboard auto-update check", the error does not appear again even after a reboot and I can manually check for an update and still no error so It might be a timing issue during boot-up.

RPSmith...

stephenw10

Yes, it certainly seems like a race condition with the initial upgrade check. But there must be something additional in play to trigger it. I still can't replicate it here....

rpsmith

@stephenw10 ~ I think it will start again if I re-enable "dashboard auto-update check" and I could give you access to the firewall if that would help your troubleshooting.

RPSmith...

stephenw10

I think we're going to need to replicate it locally but if I can't that could be helpful.