Update Manager reports APT install failure although AptKit finishes transaction #1098

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1. velocity64-cmd

   added

   BUG

   on Oct 1, 2026
2. velocity64-cmd commented on Oct 1, 2026

   

   velocity64-cmd

   on Oct 1, 2026

   Author

   More actions

   Follow-up: manual apt upgrade also fails with 404

   After submitting this report, I tested the upgrade from the command line with:

   sudo apt upgrade

   The command-line upgrade also failed, with 404 errors for the same Firefox version that Update Manager had attempted to install:

   Err:1 http://packages.linuxmint.com zena/upstream amd64 firefox amd64 156.0.1+linuxmint1
     404  Not Found [IP: 208.77.20.11 80]
   
   Err:2 http://packages.linuxmint.com zena/upstream amd64 firefox-locale-en amd64 156.0.1+linuxmint1
     404  Not Found [IP: 208.77.20.11 80]
   
   E: Failed to fetch http://packages.linuxmint.com/pool/upstream/f/firefox/firefox_156.0.1%2blinuxmint1_amd64.deb  404  Not Found [IP: 208.77.20.11 80]
   
   E: Failed to fetch http://packages.linuxmint.com/pool/upstream/f/firefox/firefox-locale-en_156.0.1%2blinuxmint1_amd64.deb  404  Not Found [IP: 208.77.20.11 80]
   
   E: Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-get update or try with --fix-missing?
   

   apt list --upgradable still reports Firefox 156.0.1+linuxmint1 as the available version.

   This appears to be the same type of stale package/mirror problem I encountered approximately 18 days ago, when Update Manager also attempted to retrieve package versions that returned 404 errors.

   I have not yet cleared the APT package lists or run apt update, so the current state is preserved for troubleshooting.
3. velocity64-cmd commented on Oct 9, 2026

   

   velocity64-cmd

   on Oct 9, 2026

   Author

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   Workaround: Update using APT directly

   I created a small Bash script to work around the Update Manager installation failure on my Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon system (mintupdate 7.1.4).

   The script:

   • Refreshes package lists with sudo apt update before upgrading.
   • Runs sudo apt upgrade directly, bypassing the Mint Update Manager.
   • Reports packages that remain pending, including phased updates.
   • Checks for a reboot requirement and leaves rebooting to the user.

   Test results: On October 9, 2026, the script successfully installed 107 upgrades and 8 new packages. Firefox downloaded and installed successfully, resolving the previous 404 errors in that run. Nine Samba-related updates remained deferred due to phasing. I rebooted afterward and confirmed that kernel 7.0.0-38-generic was running.

   This is a workaround, not a fix for the underlying Update Manager issue. The script has been tested on my system only.

   Attribution: I developed and tested this workaround on my Linux Mint system with assistance from ChatGPT (OpenAI). The script and test results are my own responsibility; this is not an official Linux Mint solution.

   #!/bin/bash
   
   # Linux Mint update script
   # Uses APT directly instead of the Mint Update Manager.
   
   echo "========================================"
   echo "       Linux Mint System Update"
   echo "========================================"
   echo
   
   # Remember the currently running kernel.
   OLD_KERNEL=$(uname -r)
   
   # Step 1: Refresh package lists.
   echo "Step 1: Refreshing package lists..."
   
   if ! sudo apt update; then
       echo
       echo "UPDATE FAILED: Could not refresh package lists."
       echo "No upgrade was attempted."
       read -r -p "Press Enter to close..."
       exit 1
   fi
   
   echo
   echo "Package lists refreshed successfully."
   echo
   
   # Step 2: Install available updates.
   echo "Step 2: Installing available updates..."
   echo "Review the proposed changes before confirming."
   echo
   
   if sudo apt upgrade; then
       UPGRADE_OK=1
   else
       UPGRADE_OK=0
   fi
   
   # Step 3: Check for remaining updates.
   echo
   echo "========================================"
   echo "             UPDATE REPORT"
   echo "========================================"
   echo
   echo "Checking for remaining updates..."
   
   PENDING_FILE=$(mktemp)
   
   if apt list --upgradable 2>/dev/null |
       sed '1d; /^$/d' > "$PENDING_FILE"; then
   
       if [ -s "$PENDING_FILE" ]; then
           echo
           echo "UPDATES STILL PENDING:"
           cat "$PENDING_FILE"
           echo
           echo "These updates may be phased, held back,"
           echo "or otherwise pending."
           echo "This list alone does not explain why."
       else
           echo "No pending updates were reported."
       fi
   else
       echo "WARNING: Could not check pending updates."
   fi
   
   rm -f "$PENDING_FILE"
   
   # Step 4: Check whether a newer kernel is installed.
   NEWEST_KERNEL=$(
       ls -1 /boot/vmlinuz-* 2>/dev/null |
       sed 's|.*/vmlinuz-||' |
       sort -V |
       tail -n 1
   )
   
   echo
   
   if [ -n "$NEWEST_KERNEL" ] &&
      [ "$NEWEST_KERNEL" != "$OLD_KERNEL" ]; then
   
       echo "REBOOT RECOMMENDED:"
       echo "Running kernel: $OLD_KERNEL"
       echo "Newest installed kernel: $NEWEST_KERNEL"
       echo "Restart to use the newer kernel."
   
   elif [ -f /var/run/reboot-required ]; then
   
       echo "REBOOT REQUIRED to complete updates."
   
   else
       echo "No reboot requirement was detected."
   fi
   
   # Step 5: Final status.
   echo
   
   if [ "$UPGRADE_OK" -eq 1 ]; then
       echo "APT UPGRADE COMMAND COMPLETED."
       echo "Review the pending-update list above."
       echo "Some updates may have been deferred."
   else
       echo "UPDATE FAILED OR INCOMPLETE."
       echo "Review the errors above."
       echo "Some packages may have installed before failure."
   fi
   
   echo
   echo "No automatic reboot will be performed."
   echo "========================================"
   echo
   read -r -p "Press Enter to close..."