Failed to start restore. Unknown error

madbrain · February 22, 2025, 5:55am

I am trying to temporarily migrate my HAOS install from a VMWare VM under Win11 to a Raspberry Pi 4B / 8 GB.

I just took a full TAR backup in the VM, and copied it to my Windows host using the Samba add-on. This is roughly a 1GB backup.

I did not use the “Download” function in HA to retrieve the TAR file, because download is broken in Firefox .

github.com/home-assistant/frontend

Supervisor backup download aborts when using Firefox

opened 09:35PM - 07 Oct 20 UTC

agners

Supervisor Bug

## Checklist - [ ] I have updated to the latest available Home Assistant vers…ion. - [ ] I have cleared the cache of my browser. - [x] I have tried a different browser to see if it is related to my browser. ## The problem When using Firefox, the download aborts after ~400MB (the snapshot is 1GB). I tried 4 times, and 4 times the download aborted about the same time (~400MB, or pretty much exactly 30 second into the download). The same snapshot downloads fine on Chromium every time. I also noticed that on Firefox the filename is just `download`, whereas its has the complete name in Chromium (maybe related to the abort? This issue has been previously reported in #6088) ## Expected behavior Download works fine on Firefox. ## Steps to reproduce Use Firefox to download a snapshot >500MB/which takes longer than 30s... ## Environment - Home Assistant release with the issue: 0.115.5 - Last working Home Assistant release (if known): - Browser and browser version: Firefox 81.0.1 - Operating system: ArchLinux ## State of relevant entities ```yaml ``` ## Problem-relevant configuration ```yaml ``` ## Javascript errors shown in your browser console/inspector ```txt ``` ## Additional information

I downloaded the HAOS 14.2 image using the Raspberry Pi imager, and flashed it onto a SATA SSD.
I then booted the Pi4 with the SSD, and waited about 15 mins for the initial screen to show up.
I connected to the Pi4 on port 8123, clicked “Restore from backup” and selected the TAR
I selected HAOS and all the add-ons.
I received the error “Failed to start restore. Unknown error.”

Any idea why, and how to get past this ?

I do have local console access to the Pi 4 as it’s on a KVM switch. There is no error displayed on the monitor.

ShadowFist · February 22, 2025, 12:02pm

Few questions:

How did you take the backup in the VM? Was it via HA, or via VMware?
If via HA, is the backup encrypted? You will probably need an unencrypted backup to restore on onboarding.
Your screenshot seems to show the properties of an entity named “After barn liquor cabinet switch” after HA was loaded successfully. Does this mean that your new install is showing restored entities?

baltbena · February 22, 2025, 12:19pm

I have exactly the same error today. I’m using a Raspberry PI 4 4GB.

I tried the latest version 14.2 and other versions 14.0 and 13.2.
I also tried 32 and 64 bit versions.
I tried using a backup with and without encryption a week old and several months old.
I have also tried Full Backup and Partial Backup.

Always the result was the same.

Need help.

ShadowFist · February 22, 2025, 1:22pm

Go through the onboarding process with a dummy user, then restore from backup from the settings screen once that’s complete.

Mau101 · February 22, 2025, 4:11pm

I have the same problem since yesterday 2025-02-21 afternoon.

Custom backup 2025.2.5
Failed to start restore. Unknown error.

I have done several restores from a BackUp from HA Green to a HA VM successfully all morning of 2025-02-21 and at a certain point after accepting some updates to HA to version 2025.2.5 the Restore no longer works.
I note that the system no longer asks for the Encryption Key!
Why?
I tried to change the Encryption Key hoping to reset the error, but the system continues not to ask for it as it did before.
With 2025 it is not possible to do Backup without Encryption Key and now it no longer asks for it from Version 2025.2.5.
Can anyone help us?

ShadowFist · February 22, 2025, 4:25pm

With 2025.2.x it is entirely possible to backup without an encryption key. Even with 2025.1.x it was possible, though you had to do it via a service call in dev tools, not via UI.

Either way, if you create an unencrypted backup while on 2025.2.x, you can restore without any encryption complications.

PS- do not change the encryption key. That makes things worse because you won’t know which key was valid at the time of backup.

CurtisUK · February 22, 2025, 6:10pm

I have the same issue. I have tried twice today.

I’ve tried several different flash drives.

I’ve tried restoring from backups I know have worked in the past.

I created the new image using Raspberry Pi imager (v1.8.5).

I have a Raspberry Pi 4b 4gb.

I restored from a backup last week without issues.

CurtisUK · February 22, 2025, 6:47pm

I have found a solution that worked for me.

Rather than restoring using the RESTORE FROM BACKUP button on the first screen. I clicked CREATE MY SMART HOME, entered new user and location details, went to the backup section, uploaded and restored from there and it has worked.

topesa77 · February 22, 2025, 7:42pm

I had same error today when trying to migrate Home Assistant from Raspberry Pi 3 to a Raspberry Pi 5 - unknown error and restore did not start at all.

Then I created new user in RPI5 Home Assistant and got it working. After logging in, I went to Settings → System → Backups and uploaded my latest backup (without encryption) and restored from there.

This method worked perfectly, and now my entire setup, including all devices, integrations, and automations are running as expected.

ShadowFist · February 22, 2025, 7:46pm

You mean like I suggested doing 4 posts up?

@topesa77 this applies to you too

CurtisUK · February 22, 2025, 8:02pm

haha yeah, sorry I missed that but yes!

madbrain · February 22, 2025, 8:03pm

via HA
unencrypted . Well, at least I thought it was. See below.
that was just the name of my manual back. I had just included a new Z-wave switch

madbrain · February 22, 2025, 8:16pm

Could you please explain how ? I’m using 2025.2.5 .

I created a dummy user on my Raspberry Pi. Then, I was asked for the encryption key when restoring the backup, which truly baffles me since I never turned on encryption on the manual backup.

I went back to the VM and tried to do another manual backup. I was not prompted to enable or disable encryption.

Somehow, my nightly backups from the Samba backup add-on are not encrypted. But the manual backups are. How can I stop this ?

I went to “configure backup settings”, and I see that there is an encryption key and a way to change it, but nowhere to turn off the encryption.

madbrain · February 22, 2025, 9:08pm

So, I went to download the same backup using Chrome. It took many attempts, but finally I was able to download the TAR file. Last night, I had copied the TAR file using the Samba add-on .

The files are the same size. But the content is not the same.

02/21/2025  21:49     1,075,814,400 After_bar_liquor_cabinet_switch_2025-02-21_21.47_09007452.tar
02/22/2025  12:44     1,075,814,400 after_bar_liquor_cabinet_switch.tar
              10 File(s)  2,267,431,218 bytes
               1 Dir(s)  1,020,034,281,472 bytes free

D:\Downloads>comp after_bar_liquor_cabinet_switch.tar After_bar_liquor_cabinet_switch_2025-02-21_21.47_09007452.tar
Comparing after_bar_liquor_cabinet_switch.tar and After_bar_liquor_cabinet_switch_2025-02-21_21.47_09007452.tar...
Compare error at OFFSET 484
file1 = 34
file2 = 35
Compare error at OFFSET 485
file1 = 35
file2 = 34
Compare error at OFFSET 486
file1 = 36
file2 = 30
Compare error at OFFSET 498
file1 = 37
file2 = 36
Compare error at OFFSET 499
file1 = 33
file2 = 35
Compare error at OFFSET 600
file1 = 1F
file2 = 53
Compare error at OFFSET 601
file1 = 8B
file2 = 65
Compare error at OFFSET 602
file1 = 8
file2 = 63
Compare error at OFFSET 603
file1 = 8
file2 = 75
Compare error at OFFSET 604
file1 = DD
file2 = 72
10 mismatches - ending compare

Compare more files (Y/N) ?

It appears that using the download function in HA decrypts the backup. But when using the Samba add-on to copy the file over, the backup is actually encrypted.

I did not use the download function originally, because it is broken in Firefox. See my edited OP with a reference to the HA bug.

I see a lot of room for improvement with the backup experience. In no particular order, here are my suggestions :

when restoring an encrypted snapshot to a new system, there should be a more informative message than “failed to start restore. Unknown error”, and probably a prompt to input the the encryption key at that point.
encryption should be opt-in when performing local backups, not opt-out. Anything else is asking for trouble. If one isn’t even aware that the backup is encrypted, they will not know of the need to backup the corresponding encryption key.
the backup UI should clearly denote which backups are encrypted and unencrypted in the backup list
the backup TAR file should be the same when downloading it through the download function in the UI, or copying it over through the Samba share add-on. It is extremely confusing that they are not.
the bugs with the backup download function should be fixed. It is completely broken in Firefox, but even Chrome requires many tries to download the backup.

Mau101 · February 23, 2025, 9:15am

Many thanks for your reply.
You are right about the possibility of making backups without an encryption key!
I discovered it only today, thanks to you, with a lot of effort because it is not easy to see it and I learned it from the change log. Thanks again!
Thanks for the suggestion not to change the Encryption Key, but I am not so naive because I always keep the log of changes made with date and time.
But in any case, even without an encryption key, the restore from RESTORE FROM BACKUP no longer works!
It was useful to go through the creation of a new instance with CREATE MY SMART HOME and with a dummy user and then use the backup section as per your suggestion and I thank you very much.
This method works! Thanks ShadowFist! , but it would be better to also restore the canonical method that worked until 2025-02-21.

ShadowFist · February 23, 2025, 11:06am

I still haven’t updated to 2024.2, but the only place where you cannot disable encryption is if you’re saving the backup to nabu casa.

The UI should let you make an unencrypted backup if you’re saving it manually. Try clearing your browser cache if you don’t get this option.

Otherwise just run a ~~backup_create (or something named similarly)~~ (see edit below) action from dev tools page and don’t populate the encryption field.

EDIT: Went in and checked. It’s called hassio.backup_full:

action: hassio.backup_full
data:
  compressed: true
  homeassistant_exclude_database: false

The above is the yaml for it, but you can simply to to Developer Tools > Actions and type in “backup” to do it in the UI. One of the options will be “Home Assistant Supervisor: Create a full backup.”

EDIT2: Got curious and updated to 2025.2.5. It’s pretty simple to disable encryption of local backups by default. Just go to Backup Settings > Location and switch off Encryption from the cog icon

Mau101 · February 23, 2025, 11:32am

As I learned from ShadowFist’s suggestions, I went to Settings-> System-> Backups-Backup Settings-> Locations and then choose the location you want to avoid encryption and click on the settings wheel.
I, thanks to ShadowFist’s suggestion, found the instructions on:
Settings-> About-> Changelog !
Good luck and thanks to ShadowFist, always ready to follow us!

shamasis · February 24, 2025, 7:07am

Help. Same issue. Backup not restoring. I have a fairly heavy HA setup.

Update: Did not work from fresh install screen. At least starting to backup now after dummy login and using restore from settings.

andrew5 · February 24, 2025, 5:47pm

Yeah i get exactly the same error with the same resolution attempts…and same outcomes

madbrain · February 24, 2025, 8:53pm

Yes, I found that is the case, also. The “restore backup” option available immediately after imaging 14.2 on Pi4 just does not work, whether I upload an encrypted or unencrypted TAR backup.