Hi, I’m running pretty outdated HA OS(9.5) and Core(2024.4.4), I would like to start catching up to the latest OS and Core. My main HA instance is running on RPI4 and I have sandbox HA VM setup in my PC.
My plan is to get HA VM in my PC to run with the same version as my RPI4, then start doing the update within the HA VM and fix all the errors first. Once everything is running fine (at least no error message in logs) in HA VM, then I’ll transfer the latest image to the RPI4 by restoring it.
Question: Will the image in HA VM running with Windows be compatible with RPi4?
Any other suggestion to update my HA OS and Core to the latest version is greatly appreciated.
I wouldn’t bother with the VM. Just update one major version at a time on the pi using the CLI.
ha core update --version x.y.z
Confirm all is working well then move on to the next major version. You can always downgrade the same way if you need to - as long as there wasn’t a database schema update. In that case you would need to restore a backup to go back. So make one before you start and every time you have a confirmed working system.
Hi @tom_l , thanks for the prompt response. Using the CLI to update, should I update HA OS and HA Core first?
For the HA OS, can it be updated through CLI as well?
They should be independent so it does not matter which one you update first. Sometimes the core will be blocked from updating until the supervisor is updated first. The commands are similar:
Do your updates on one platform only. Once you have successfully completed each update, backup so you can rollback. Do the next until you are completely up to date
Do a full backup.
Full restarts between with a normal power down, not an abrupt power interruption, so shutdown procedures and startup procedures complete cleanly.
Make sure each of these backups are named so you can find them if needed.
On your new platform do a full install. Make sure all the updates are complete.
Do a full backup of that virgin install.
Transfer the last full backup from the old environment and restore on the new. Your data and settings should hopefully have come across transparently.
Backup in full again.
You now have many checkpoints you can roll back to if you discover there has been a problem instead of data loss and wasted time.
As a bonus, you will have excellent disaster recovery skills. Consider implementing a robust, verified backup regime to external media. One day you will need it.
Keep your old data and equipment for a while, in case you discover discrepancies after the next update, usually when things go awkward if the migration didn’t go as desired. How long is determined by how long it will take you to restore back to a known working condition - how much can you afford to lose?
Did I say backup?
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