This article applies to a small subset of Alta Control systems that may not upgrade automatically. Most systems upgrade normally and do not require any action.

You may be affected if your Control system is running an older image (for example 1.0d or 1.0e), or does not have regular Internet access.

APT repository key update (limited impact)

Special Notes

The Alta Labs apt repository (used for Control software distribution) key has expired on January 10, 2026, necessitating a key extension for all Control devices, hardware and software. Nearly all keys have already been extended automatically, so most users do not require any further action. However, if your controller does not generally have Internet access, it may require a manual update of the apt key, using this command as the root user:

curl -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/apt.alta.inc.gpg https://dl.alta.inc/do-not-distribute/apt.alta.inc.gpg

This issue affects a very small number of systems, including some offline deployments and limited existing inventory. If your system upgrades normally, no action is required.

Upgrade not appearing or stuck on 1.0d / 1.0e

If a new release is available but does not appear when checking for updates, or if the system remains on version 1.0d or 1.0e, follow the applicable recovery option below based on your deployment type.

Recovery option: SSH (dpkg --configure -a)

On systems running older images (such as 1.0d or 1.0e), backup and restore functionality is not available. If SSH access is available, this is the required recovery step to complete the upgrade.

• Create an SSH key if you do not already have one

• Add your public SSH key as an administrator SSH key on the controller

• SSH into the system as the root user and run:
  dpkg --configure -a

After this completes, you can either:

• Run apt update && apt upgrade -y, or

• Use the Settings → System → Check for Update option in Alta Control

For hardware Alta Control appliances, Power-on-Reset (PoR) is an alternative recovery option if SSH access is not available.

For SSH setup guidance, see:
https://help.alta.inc/hc/en-us/articles/26753020799131-How-To-Use-SSH-Keys-For-Management

Recovery option: Power-on-Reset (hardware Alta Control only)

Power-on-Reset (PoR) is an advanced recovery process available on hardware Alta Control devices. It can be used to upgrade a device from 1.0d to 1.1n, which includes the updated repository key and resolves certain upgrade state issues.

This option can be used if SSH access is not available or if upgrade recovery fails using other methods. PoR is not available for container-based deployments.

For details, see:
https://help.alta.inc/hc/en-us/articles/41370872297371-Firmware-Bootstrapping-A-K-A-Power-on-Reset

Recovery option: Docker or LXD

For users of the Docker and/or LXD containers, and if SSH access is not available or is unfamiliar, recreating the container from version 1.1n or higher will also integrate the updated apt key automatically.

Be sure to perform a backup from within the Control UI, as well as potentially keeping your old container, until the upgrade/migration is successful.

Recovery option: Backup and restore (key-related issues)

Backup and restore is recommended only for cases where the repository key issue cannot be resolved directly, or when resetting a system is acceptable and backup functionality is available.

Backup and restore functionality is not available on versions 1.0d or 1.0e.

General steps include:

• Creating or confirming an existing backup (if available)

• Resetting the Control system

• Upgrading directly to a current release

• Restoring configuration from backup

Why this occurs

Early Alta Control images and legacy container deployments used older upgrade paths and repository keys. Most systems have already been updated automatically, but systems running older images or operating offline may miss that process.

Current provisioning workflows upgrade systems automatically, which is why this issue affects only a small subset of deployments.