Odds are that, at some point, you are going to want to update pfSense, whther it's to take advantage of bug fixes, security patches, or new features. In this recipe, we will demonstrate how to update pfSense.
- Navigate to System | Update.
- Click on the Update Settings tab.
- In the Branch drop-down menu, select the correct branch (choices are Latest development snapshots and Latest stable version):
- If you want to disable the dashboard auto-check, uncheck the Dashboard check checkbox.
- Click on the Save button when you are done making changes.
- Click on the System Update tab.
- Take note of the current base system and the latest base system, as shown in the following screenshot, and then click on the Confirm button to update the system:
- The output will resemble the following, informing you of the updates being made to the system:
- When the update is complete, pfSense will reboot.
An internet-connected pfSense system is capable of finding out when updates are available. Once we determine updates for our current branch are available, the process of updating pfSense is relatively easy.
By default, the pfSense dashboard provides us with information about the latest updates. This is presented in the System Information widget, in a section called Version:
As it turns out, we can begin the installation from the dashboard. To do so, click on the update link on the dashboard (look for a cloud with a down arrow inside it). This will redirect you to System | Update.
- The pfSense Upgrade Guide: https://www.netgate.com/docs/pfsense/install/upgrade-guide.html
- The Netgate blog, where updates to pfSense are announced: https://www.netgate.com/blog/