Browser-laptop: Update sometimes fails on macOS

[luixxiul]

Test plan

1. Install Brave 0.22.666 on macOS (first binary which has the fix)
2. Use menu to check for updates (Brave > Check for Updates...)
3. Do upgrade
4. Repeat steps 1-3 a few times (maybe 5 times); ensure you don't get a prompt

Original issue description

From support, 2 issues

on latest mac os el Capitan, and i was told this bug was fixed, I hit update now and then relaunch, but same thing, update not applied,

When “update” button is pressed, browser closes
When browser relaunches it is still at the previous version
tried logging on as administrator and performing the steps above
same result, however, it asked me to authenticate for permission to install a helper app

Would anyone please confirm this?

[bbondy]

dupe of https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/issues/2085 ?

[luixxiul]

I think they say update itself fails.

[bbondy]

I've seen this on my wife's computer and had to do this to fix,
https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/wiki/End-User-FAQ#updates-are-available-but-applying-them-doesnt-work-on-macos

Could you ask if that helps?

[luixxiul]

OK, I see.

[ibukanov]

I see the same issue on el Capitan with brave 0.11.0. That with non-administrative account from which I installed brave. After I click the Update button in the update bar brave restarts with the same old version.

I tried to log in as administrator and run brave Check Updates there, then I was prompted for the account password to install new autoupdate tool. After I entered the password, brave suggested to restart the browser. I did that, brave disappeared and never came back. When I started brave manually, it restarted with the old version again. I then logged in back again as a normal user, and the same non-behaviour continues there.

[alexwykoff]

+1 from support https://linkbubble.zendesk.com/agent/tickets/5191

[osgav]

Hey @bbondy I'm also encountering this problem - I have tried following the steps listed on the FAQ you linked in this thread but found that I didn't have the com.electron.brave.ShipItreferenced. Instead I found a ~/Library/Application Support/brave directory, so I winged it and rm -rf'd that folder (I'm not as familiar with macOS as I could be, so hoped I wasn't destroying the entire installation in the process... running 10.12.1 btw) then restarted Brave to see once again the current/old version load up... have issues with updating on macOS been noticed / "raised" anywhere beyond this thread? Thank you, osgav.

@luixxiul - I'm curious to know if you're still unable to update as described in this issue - are you able to update ok now (this was opened almost 6 months ago now) / which version of macOS / OS X are you running?

(additionally there is something that stands out from "the log file" available via View Log/Details button while Brave downloads the update (that fails) - a date reference that always shows up as epoch 0 back in 1970 - I will reproduce and copy/paste here if you would like more context for this)

Thanks,
osgav

[bbondy]

Thanks for the information, yes the log file would help, please post it here. Thanks!

[osgav]

Hey @bbondy

Fri 30th Dec

The Update Now/Later banner pops up again

I try the update today

Brave closes, does not reopen after waiting for a few minutes...

I open Brave. Still version 0.12.9

Brave menu --> Check for updates

Starts downloading update, I click View Log on the banner that pops up

Update appears to have downloaded, same banner as before now "Hello! A Brave update was just released. Requires a quick relaunch... Details|Later|Update"

Clicked Update

Brave closes...

Refreshed the log in the console and added extra lines to brave-log.txt
(first new line in log at this point was: 2016-12-30T13:27:06.758Z - Already checking for updates...)

Brave hasn't reopened itself, so I open it --> once again still version 0.12.9

2016-12-30T10:53:12.945Z - Already checking for updates...
2016-12-30T10:53:12.953Z - lastCheckYMD = 2016-12-29
2016-12-30T10:53:12.957Z - lastCheckWOY = 52
2016-12-30T10:53:12.961Z - lastCheckMonth = 12
2016-12-30T10:53:12.965Z - firstCheckMade = true
2016-12-30T10:53:12.966Z - https://brave-laptop-updates.global.ssl.fastly.net/1/releases/dev/0.12.9/osx?daily=true&weekly=false&monthly=false&first=false
2016-12-30T11:53:12.256Z - Already checking for updates...
2016-12-30T11:53:12.264Z - lastCheckYMD = 2016-12-30
2016-12-30T11:53:12.269Z - lastCheckWOY = 52
2016-12-30T11:53:12.273Z - lastCheckMonth = 12
2016-12-30T11:53:12.278Z - firstCheckMade = true
2016-12-30T11:53:12.278Z - https://brave-laptop-updates.global.ssl.fastly.net/1/releases/dev/0.12.9/osx?daily=false&weekly=false&monthly=false&first=false
2016-12-30T13:18:38.824Z - platformBaseUrl = https://brave-laptop-updates.global.ssl.fastly.net/1/releases/dev/0.12.9/osx
2016-12-30T13:18:38.825Z - updateUrl = https://brave-laptop-updates.global.ssl.fastly.net/1/releases/dev/0.12.9/osx
2016-12-30T13:20:38.833Z - checkForUpdates
2016-12-30T13:20:38.852Z - lastCheckYMD = 2016-12-30
2016-12-30T13:20:38.870Z - lastCheckWOY = 52
2016-12-30T13:20:38.883Z - lastCheckMonth = 12
2016-12-30T13:20:38.901Z - firstCheckMade = true
2016-12-30T13:20:38.905Z - https://brave-laptop-updates.global.ssl.fastly.net/1/releases/dev/0.12.9/osx?daily=false&weekly=false&monthly=false&first=false
2016-12-30T13:20:39.556Z - Metadata: {"version":"0.12.15","name":"Brave 0.12.15","pub_date":"2016-12-14T19:34:17.844Z","notes":"Join community.brave.com for help and feature requests. Added Yandex, Qwant, and Semantic Scholar search engines. Various fixes and updates. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.15dev\n\nHotfix to address a certificate expiration issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.14dev\n\nHotfix to address URL bar usability issues and security update. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.13dev\n\nHotfix to address a security issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.12dev\n\nHotfix to address a security issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.11dev\n\nAdded dropdown menu with options for new tab. Fixed various issues for the new tab page, Brave Payments, and UI fixes. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.10dev","url":"https://brave-download.global.ssl.fastly.net/multi-channel/releases/dev/0.12.15/osx/Brave-0.12.15.zip"}
2016-12-30T13:20:40.346Z - update downloading
2016-12-30T13:23:33.562Z - update downloaded
2016-12-30T13:23:33.563Z - Release notes : Join community.brave.com for help and feature requests. Added Yandex, Qwant, and Semantic Scholar search engines. Various fixes and updates. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.15dev

Hotfix to address a certificate expiration issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.14dev

Hotfix to address URL bar usability issues and security update. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.13dev

Hotfix to address a security issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.12dev

Hotfix to address a security issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.11dev

Added dropdown menu with options for new tab. Fixed various issues for the new tab page, Brave Payments, and UI fixes. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.10dev
2016-12-30T13:23:33.564Z - Release date: Brave 0.12.15
2016-12-30T13:23:33.564Z - Update URL: Thu Jan 01 1970 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (BST)
2016-12-30T13:25:06.749Z - platformBaseUrl = https://brave-laptop-updates.global.ssl.fastly.net/1/releases/dev/0.12.9/osx
2016-12-30T13:25:06.750Z - updateUrl = https://brave-laptop-updates.global.ssl.fastly.net/1/releases/dev/0.12.9/osx
2016-12-30T13:25:22.831Z - checkForUpdates
2016-12-30T13:25:22.835Z - lastCheckYMD = 2016-12-30
2016-12-30T13:25:22.838Z - lastCheckWOY = 52
2016-12-30T13:25:22.840Z - lastCheckMonth = 12
2016-12-30T13:25:22.843Z - firstCheckMade = true
2016-12-30T13:25:22.844Z - https://brave-laptop-updates.global.ssl.fastly.net/1/releases/dev/0.12.9/osx?daily=false&weekly=false&monthly=false&first=false
2016-12-30T13:25:23.595Z - Metadata: {"version":"0.12.15","name":"Brave 0.12.15","pub_date":"2016-12-14T19:34:17.844Z","notes":"Join community.brave.com for help and feature requests. Added Yandex, Qwant, and Semantic Scholar search engines. Various fixes and updates. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.15dev\n\nHotfix to address a certificate expiration issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.14dev\n\nHotfix to address URL bar usability issues and security update. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.13dev\n\nHotfix to address a security issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.12dev\n\nHotfix to address a security issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.11dev\n\nAdded dropdown menu with options for new tab. Fixed various issues for the new tab page, Brave Payments, and UI fixes. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.10dev","url":"https://brave-download.global.ssl.fastly.net/multi-channel/releases/dev/0.12.15/osx/Brave-0.12.15.zip"}
2016-12-30T13:25:24.305Z - update downloading
2016-12-30T13:27:06.758Z - Already checking for updates...
2016-12-30T13:27:06.768Z - lastCheckYMD = 2016-12-30
2016-12-30T13:27:06.775Z - lastCheckWOY = 52
2016-12-30T13:27:06.780Z - lastCheckMonth = 12
2016-12-30T13:27:06.786Z - firstCheckMade = true
2016-12-30T13:27:06.786Z - https://brave-laptop-updates.global.ssl.fastly.net/1/releases/dev/0.12.9/osx?daily=false&weekly=false&monthly=false&first=false
2016-12-30T13:27:47.920Z - update downloaded
2016-12-30T13:27:47.920Z - Release notes : Join community.brave.com for help and feature requests. Added Yandex, Qwant, and Semantic Scholar search engines. Various fixes and updates. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.15dev

Hotfix to address a certificate expiration issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.14dev

Hotfix to address URL bar usability issues and security update. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.13dev

Hotfix to address a security issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.12dev

Hotfix to address a security issue. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.11dev

Added dropdown menu with options for new tab. Fixed various issues for the new tab page, Brave Payments, and UI fixes. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.12.10dev
2016-12-30T13:27:47.920Z - Release date: Brave 0.12.15
2016-12-30T13:27:47.920Z - Update URL: Thu Jan 01 1970 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (BST)

[bbondy]

Could you try installing .12.15 on top and then report back if it happens again after that or not? Thanks.

[cndouglas]

+1 from #8029

[osgav]

I'm still experiencing the same problem. Now on version 0.13.4 and failing to upgrade to 0.14.1 (similar to recent report #8029)

updatelog.Log output is the same but with newer version numbers - "Update URL" with the same 1970 date in it.

[javenschuetz]

same for me: non-administrator account, update loop that never updates. I'll try the FAQ solution a bit later

[cndouglas]

+1 from #9383

[alexwykoff]

+1 from community : https://community.brave.com/t/browser-update-bug/3751/3

[eljuno]

+1 from community

[brianduguid]

I have always had this issue and I am currently on 0.18.14. I have lost track on how many updates I have manually performed. Four or five maybe? I have to download the latest version, close Brave, and do a replace install. When I attempt the update from the popup message, the browser will close, reopen, and show that I need to update.

I do not have any folders referencing brave in my Application Support folder. I use a standard account and a separate admin account for installs for permissions to install, etc.. Updates pushed by other browsers work as expected.

[michaeldavie]

I have the exact same experience as @brianduguid.

[alexwykoff]

@michaeldavie @brianduguid do either of you have both 'Admin' and 'standard' user accounts on your machine?

[michaeldavie]

Yes, I do. I'm seeing the failure on the normal account, I haven't tried it
from the admin one.

On 22 August 2017 at 11:45, Alex Wykoff [e-mail] wrote:

@michaeldavie https://github.com/michaeldavie @brianduguid
https://github.com/brianduguid do either of you have both 'Admin' and
'standard' user accounts on your machine?

—
You are receiving this because you were mentioned.
Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub
https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/issues/2184#issuecomment-324067903,
or mute the thread
https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APRGCm46VbPzm1w8srK379z3fWXUtSbkks5savePgaJpZM4I1Svl
.

[brianduguid]

I use a non-admin account as my normal account and authenticate with my admin account when I need those privileges, i.e. installs into the Application folder.

[mcarlson]

Same here, same issue. I'm manually downloading and installing 18.23 now...

[alexwykoff]

@michaeldavie @brianduguid @mcarlson if you try with the admin account, does the update work properly?

[michaeldavie]

I just tried installing 18.29 while logged in as the admin account. I was prompted to install a helper, which I did, but the update still failed.

[jonjpd]

My update consistently fails even when using an admin account:
Sierra 10.12.6 (16G29). Currently trying to update to 18.90.

I have always had to do a manual install (3 or 4 times by now) to get it to work. The console logs don't show anything interesting but if any data is needed just let me know and I will post it.

[luixxiul]

Did you happen to try this step?

https://community.brave.com/t/updates-are-available-but-applying-them-doesnt-work-on-macos/9996?u=suguru

On the community there is a lot of discussions on the community, and you would be able to find solutions for other issues you might experience :+1: Thanks!

[jonjpd]

Hi luixxiul,

Thanks for the tip, so I rebooted and went to look for the folder and could not find it existing. I tried the update anyway and it worked! In the future I will reboot and retry if the update gets stuck again. Cheers!

[luixxiul]

@jonjpd thanks for checking out! You are always welcome to our community 😄

[LaurenWags]

+1 from community while attempting to update to 0.19.139 - https://community.brave.com/t/upgrade-0-19-134-0-19-139-stuck-in-upgrade-loop-upgrade-does-not-bump-version-number/14525/3
When attempting to update without Admin rights, user should be notified.

[Timo-Soren]

This is a continuing issue.

Two macs: One:running El Capitan (laptop)
second : running latest Sierra version allowed on an imac.

Both when prompted (like on a bookmark level) Update available: with details, later, update.
I have watched the log and it downloads. BUT they never relaunch.

So right now on my laptop.

Brave Version: 20.29
update available is reported:20.30

[Timo-Soren]

So here is the log
2018-02-07T00:47:48.005Z - lastCheckWOY = 33
2018-02-07T00:48:51.383Z - update downloaded
2018-02-07T00:48:51.383Z - Release notes : Fixed restoring tabs at startup causing slow performance. More details: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/releases/tag/v0.20.30dev
2018-02-07T00:48:51.384Z - Release date: Brave 0.20.30
2018-02-07T00:48:51.384Z - Update URL: Wed Dec 31 1969 18:00:00 GMT-0600 (CST)
But it never relaunches.......
So under about brave. . . still 0.20.29

[bsclifton]

Related: https://github.com/brave/browser-laptop/issues/5865

Usually the Helper is always shown... but even after putting PW and clicking button to upgrade/relaunch Brave, it stays on the same version

[petemill]

Perhaps the logs in ~/Library/Caches/com.electron.brave.ShipIt would help shed some light on this issue

[petemill]

Could be the issue reported at https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Mac/issues/151

[petemill]

ShipIt_stderr.log output was:

2018-04-16 09:18:16.609 ShipIt[72071:3096892] Installation error: Error Domain=SQRLShipItRequestErrorDomain Code=2 "Could not read update request" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Could not read update request, NSUnderlyingError=0x7ffd89c006a0 {Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 "The file “ShipItState.plist” couldn’t be opened because there is no such file." UserInfo={NSFilePath=/var/root/Library/Caches/com.electron.brave.ShipIt/ShipItState.plist, NSUnderlyingError=0x7ffd89c08480 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}}}
2018-04-16 09:18:16.615 ShipIt[72071:3096892] ShipIt quitting
2018-04-16 09:18:18.652 ShipIt[72072:3096929] Installation error: Error Domain=SQRLShipItRequestErrorDomain Code=2 "Could not read update request" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Could not read update request, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fa9c9613bc0 {Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 "The file “ShipItState.plist” couldn’t be opened because there is no such file." UserInfo={NSFilePath=/var/root/Library/Caches/com.electron.brave.ShipIt/ShipItState.plist, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fa9c9615280 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}}}
2018-04-16 09:18:18.652 ShipIt[72072:3096929] ShipIt quitting
2018-04-16 09:18:20.690 ShipIt[72073:3096943] Installation error: Error Domain=SQRLShipItRequestErrorDomain Code=2 "Could not read update request" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Could not read update request, NSUnderlyingError=0x7f8b4f202c80 {Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 "The file “ShipItState.plist” couldn’t be opened because there is no such file." UserInfo={NSFilePath=/var/root/Library/Caches/com.electron.brave.ShipIt/ShipItState.plist, NSUnderlyingError=0x7f8b4f202ea0 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}}}
2018-04-16 09:18:20.691 ShipIt[72073:3096943] ShipIt quitting
2018-04-16 09:18:22.725 ShipIt[72074:3097022] Installation error: Error Domain=SQRLShipItRequestErrorDomain Code=2 "Could not read update request" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Could not read update request, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fbe85705bc0 {Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 "The file “ShipItState.plist” couldn’t be opened because there is no such file." UserInfo={NSFilePath=/var/root/Library/Caches/com.electron.brave.ShipIt/ShipItState.plist, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fbe85704e70 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}}}
2018-04-16 09:18:22.726 ShipIt[72074:3097022] ShipIt quitting
2018-04-16 09:18:24.761 ShipIt[72075:3097034] Installation error: Error Domain=SQRLShipItRequestErrorDomain Code=2 "Could not read update request" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Could not read update request, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fcafe801e60 {Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 "The file “ShipItState.plist” couldn’t be opened because there is no such file." UserInfo={NSFilePath=/var/root/Library/Caches/com.electron.brave.ShipIt/ShipItState.plist, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fcafe803b20 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}}}
2018-04-16 09:18:24.762 ShipIt[72075:3097034] ShipIt quitting
2018-04-16 09:18:26.796 ShipIt[72076:3097050] Installation error: Error Domain=SQRLShipItRequestErrorDomain Code=2 "Could not read update request" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Could not read update request, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fcaa870f140 {Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 "The file “ShipItState.plist” couldn’t be opened because there is no such file." UserInfo={NSFilePath=/var/root/Library/Caches/com.electron.brave.ShipIt/ShipItState.plist, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fcaa87110e0 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}}}
2018-04-16 09:18:26.796 ShipIt[72076:3097050] ShipIt quitting

Looks like it may have been fixed in Squirrel.Mac with https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Mac/pull/207 (+ maybe other PRs) and subsequently in electron 1.7.9 with https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/10071 and https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/10298

[LaurenWags]

@petemill - thoughts on a test plan for this one (other than checking updates work via BRAVE_UPDATE_VERSION and BRAVE_ENABLE_PREVIEW_UPDATES env variables)?

[LaurenWags]

ran through the test plan multiple times with macOS - all were as expected 👍

[kjozwiak]

Also ran through the above test case 10 times on macOS 10.13.3 without receiving any prompts.