Troubleshooting a Check for Updates Failed Error

You may encounter a Check for Updates Failed error in Configuration > System Logs (Utilities > Logs > Activity Log prior to WHMCS 8.0) during the daily automation tasks.

The message will be accompanied by further details. The resolution to common errors are detailed below:

 

Unable to connect to the WHMCS Update Server
Check for Updates Failed: Unable to connect to the WHMCS Update Server. Please try again later or contact support.
Click to copy

Set a Temporary Update Path

Begin by navigating to Utilities > Update WHMCS.

Utilities > Update WHMCS

The following warning will appear:

Warning You do not currently have a path configured for temporary storage of files during updates. You will not be able to perform an update until one is set.

Click Configure Update Settings in the top-right corner.

Configure Update Settings

In the box that appears, use Temporary Path to specify a writeable directory that WHMCS can use for temporary auto-update files:

If a suitable directory does not exist already, you will need to create one.

Next, click Save Changes.The warning message will disappear, indicating that the problem is resolved.

For more information and further troubleshooting steps, see Setting a Temporary Update Path.

Check Network Connectivity

If the issue persists after setting a valid temporary update path directory, ensure that your server is able to connect to the WHMCS update mirrors.

Using your Server's SSH Command Line, run the following two commands:


curl -v https://releases.whmcs.com/v2/packages.json

curl -v https://pki.whmcs.com/
Click to copy


The expected return is a StatusCode: 200. If any other results is returned please work with your server admin or hosting provider to investigate the connectivity problem between your server and the WHMCS update server.


Error code meanings are explained in the libcurl error codes documentation. An explanation of select error codes is provided below:

Curl 77 Error

CURL77 errors may manifest as the following in the tblupdatelog table: 


[WHMCS\Installer\Composer\ComposerUpdateException] Failed to get certificate metadata from keyserver.
Error: Unable to download file from URL:
Message cURL error 77: Problem with the SSL CA cert (path? access rights?)
update [--prefer-source] [--prefer-dist] [--dry-run] [--dev] [--no-dev] [--lock] [--no-plugins] [--no-custom-installers] [--no-autoloader] [--no-scripts] [--no-progress] [--with-dependencies] [-v|vv|vvv|--verbose] [-o|--optimize-autoloader] [-a|--classmap-authoritative] [--ignore-platform-reqs] [--prefer-stable] [--prefer-lowest] [-i|--interactive] [--root-reqs] [--] []...
Click to copy


This error indicates that the server was unable to connect to the WHMCS update server because the security of the connection could not be verified. The connection is secured using SSL certificates and to verify the certificate your server needs up-to-date root certificates to know which to trust.

Please work with your server administrator or hosting provider to ensure the root CA bundles are fully updated on your server. 

Failed to retrieve latest version
Check for Updates Failed: Failed to retrieve latest version: [ErrorException] Trying to access array offset on value of type null update
Click to copy


This error is experienced when operating WHMCS in an environment with a PHP version that is too high (for example, attempting to operate WHMCS 7.10 in a PHP 7.4 environment).


Refer to the PHP compatibility matrix and select a PHP version compatible with your current version of the WHMCS software.


Once the software update can be performed successfully, a compatible higher PHP version can be selected.