I have re-built the x86 combined image where the only difference is the added OpenSSH.
When trying to update via LuCI, I am presented with the following warning:
Image check failed:
Cannot open file '/etc/opkg/keys/991ec4dec961452b' for reading
upgrade: Image metadata not present
upgrade: Reading partition table from bootdisk...
upgrade: Extract boot sector from the image
upgrade: Reading partition table from image... Image check failed.
The uploaded image file does not contain a supported format. Make sure that you choose the generic image format for your platform.
I haven't specifically signed it, so the key verification error is expected. I am, however, concerned about the Reading partition table from image... Image check failed.
I am confident that the device was previously provisioned with the same openwrt-23.05.5-x86-64-generic-ext4-combined.img.gz as I am uploading now (sans the added OpenSSH).
Am I missing an important step or is this expected?
I have a similar issue trying to update my Protectli Vault FW2B from 23.05. What's the proper procedure please? Are we supposed to go with -F?
root@OpenWrt:~# sysupgrade /tmp/openwrt-24.10.1-x86-64-generic-ext4-combined.img.gz
Mon May 19 13:36:05 UTC 2025 upgrade: Image metadata not present
Mon May 19 13:36:05 UTC 2025 upgrade: Unable to determine upgrade device
Image check failed.
In Luci, the attended sysupgrade seems to spin forever saying "Searching for an available sysupgrade of 23.05.5 - r24106-10cc5fcd00..."
I just tried the upgrade procedure in VirtualBox, going from 23.05.5 to 24.10.1:
This is also the case for me.
I placed the downloaded image (same as yours) into /srv, this is a separate, large partition on the same disk where the LXC images are going to be stored. Then I just started sysupgrade openwrt-24.10.1-x86-64-generic-ext4-combined.img.gz and everything worked right out of the box. Installed packages were lost, but the configuration files were preserved and so was the separate partition.
Thanks @andyboeh, that is quite an interesting finding.
I'm not familiar with LXC and don't have another partition on that disk (I should have left some space) but I tried putting the openwrt-24.10.1-x86-64-generic-ext4-combined.img.gz file on a usb drive and got the same problem
(I would have thought it does not matter since anyway it gets copied to /tmp when not already in it and tmp is a tmpfs partition..)
Debugging this some more, it looks like the image signature is extracted using fwtool -i (after unzipping) but poking at random other images it seems only the ones with sysupgrade in the names are signed:
root@OpenWrt:~# cat openwrt-24.10.1-ipq806x-generic-linksys_ea8500-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin | fwtool -i blah - && cat blah
{ "metadata_version": "1.1", "compat_version": "2.1", "compat_message": "Config cannot be migrated from swconfig to DSA", "new_supported_devices": ["linksys,ea8500","ea8500"], "supported_devices": ["linksys,ea8500 ea8500 - Image version mismatch: image 2.1, device 1.0. Please wipe config during upgrade (force required) or reinstall. Reason: Config cannot be migrated from swconfig to DSA"], "version": { "dist": "OpenWrt", "version": "24.10.1", "revision": "r28597-0425664679", "target": "ipq806x/generic", "board": "ea8500" } }
root@OpenWrt:~# cat openwrt-24.10.1-ipq806x-generic-linksys_ea8500-squashfs-factory.bin | fwtool -i blah - && cat blah
Data not found
Mine:
root@OpenWrt:~# gunzip < openwrt-24.10.1-x86-64-generic-ext4-combined.img.gz | fwtool -i blah - && cat blah
Data not found
I guess the question then is, how are we supposed to upgrade a generic ext4 system for which I can't find a sysupgrade img?
I read somewhere on this forum that the approach described above only works if you haven't touched/resized the root partition.
I tried it again on a freshly installed 23.05.5 VM, this is the output I get:
root@OpenWrt:~# sysupgrade openwrt-24.10.1-x86-64-generic-ext4-combined.img.gz
Thu May 22 19:33:46 UTC 2025 upgrade: Image not in /tmp, copying...
Thu May 22 19:33:46 UTC 2025 upgrade: Image metadata not present
Thu May 22 19:33:46 UTC 2025 upgrade: Reading partition table from bootdisk...
Thu May 22 19:33:46 UTC 2025 upgrade: Extract boot sector from the image
Thu May 22 19:33:46 UTC 2025 upgrade: Reading partition table from image...
Thu May 22 19:33:46 UTC 2025 upgrade: Saving config files...
Thu May 22 19:33:46 UTC 2025 upgrade: Commencing upgrade. Closing all shell sessions.
Your error message originates from here:
So the system doesn't find your boot device or partition (or similar)?
