PureOS Store will not do updates

Software PureOS
1

I just reflashed my Librem 5 to Crimson successfully after having used the beta for a while.

When I attempt to use the PureOS Store app to apply any system updates, I get a screen telling me that updates will not be applied while I am using a metered network (I use Mint Mobile). But I can run the updates using the terminal, so I don’t see the point of preventing me from using the Store if I can accomplish the same thing by using the terminal, other than to frustrate me by forcing me to take an extra manual step to get updates.

Is there a way around this Store roadblock? A setting somewhere that I missed?

2

I always forget about the store because of the deep habituation to SSHing in and getting stuff done with a nice big workstation screen and KB.

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo flatpak update -y

that should get done what you need without fooling around in a GUI.
Apt is old and well developed and the internet is covered with people fixing issues for like 30-35 years.

2 Likes
3

I ran into that and variations of it. Each time, it looks like there is some issue with either the repos or dpkg/apt and i had to delete the apt lists cache and update before restarting the upgrade.

The last issue resulted in this error provided by the OS upgrade app (for reference if anyone runs into this):

i use the puri.sm librem 5 phone and tried to do a system upgrade for the whole os. their upgrade manager errored out with this python error. what does this mean:

PackageKit task failed Traceback (most recent call last): File “/usr/share/pureos-upgrade/pureos_upgrade/packagekit.py”, line 13, in _task_finished finished_callback(client.generic_finish(result)) gi.repository.GLib.GError: pk-client-error-quark: E: https://repo.pureos.net/pureos byzantium-security/main Translation-en is not (yet) available (Error reading from server - read (5: Input/output error)

In order to resolve the issue, I had to:

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
sudo apt update

… and then restart the OS upgrade app to get it going.

I have been using Debian for 26+ years and I have NEVER seen an issue with either dpkg or apt. Not sure what is causing this but it feels like this should never happen regardless of circumstances.

Anyway, I hope that is helpful to you and anyone else running into upgrade issues.

4

Since PureOS is based on Debian, it will get those same bugs: https://forums.puri.sm/t/crimson-experience/22228/315. This bug existed in Debian and then PureOS.

Heh, there’s a bug in apt that can make it not notice some updates: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1078608

1 Like
5

It even still exists in byzantium, but it’s fixed in crimson, so it won’t cause troubles anymore after the upgrade.

2 Likes
6

Huh. I appreciate the heads up on that, v v interesting.

Thank you.

7

Thank you.

8

Persuade the system (completely independently of applying updates) that your connection is not metered? Whether that is viable depends on what your monthly download quota is / what the consequences of exceeding your quota are / whether you would normally care that the connection is metered.

9

I am using Mint Mobile (ie, T-Mobile) and I am nowhere near exceeding my data limit. If there is a way to configure the L5 to treat the cellular connection as not metered, I don’t know it. Of course I also have my WiFi active, so I would expect the phone to use that as the primary vector to retrieve the updates, only using the cellular connection when WiFi was not available. Am I missing something?

10

The software app references “metered connections” in the context of using automatic updates:

2026-06-01-093154
2026-06-01-093154720×1440 53.2 KB

I don’t enable automatic updates, so I just tested with my $3/month Ultra Mobile paygo SIM, without wifi enabled, obviously. (Ultra and Mint are both owned by T-mobile.)

I tapped the Updates tab to check for updates, and a warning about possible data charges was displayed. Then I proceeded to check for updates without problems. (I didn’t apply the update, though.)

Do you have automatic updates enabled? If so, maybe that’s where the block originates, based on the warning in the above screenshot.

And I guess the software app is just making a judgment call that all mobile data must be metered or expensive. Perhaps unreasonably.

1 Like
11

I think it’s the underlying operating system (/ whichever network manager is in use) that makes that judgement. I don’t know the heuristics that are used but I suppose that you can override it.

The internet says

nmcli -t -f GENERAL.DEVICE,GENERAL.METERED dev show

to see what network connections exist and whether they are metered.

I’m on a desktop at the moment (and it is using netplan) but the output looks like

GENERAL.DEVICE:wired1
GENERAL.METERED:no (guessed)

GENERAL.DEVICE:lo
GENERAL.METERED:no (guessed)

GENERAL.DEVICE:wired2
GENERAL.METERED:unknown

GENERAL.DEVICE:wifi
GENERAL.METERED:unknown

(Why loopback is “guessed” is beyond me and who ever heard of a metered loopback? :joy:)

So you / the OP would need to check or post that output. If the operating system is guessing “wrong” (i.e. not in accordance with your desires) then that would be the starting point. This really has very little to do with apt (although maybe there is a different incantation to leave the metered connection guessing alone and instead persuade apt not to care - apt has many many options).

I don’t know what is really even meant by metered these days. About all you can say is that a mobile data connection is likely to have a lower monthly limit, and if it incurs extra cost once it reaches that limit, it is likely to be a relatively high extra cost per GB.

I would think that the operating system has very little chance of guessing correctly. So best to override if it isn’t working the way you want.

1 Like