Troubleshooting Unified CM upgrade failures

See also

Sources

1. 1
   When a cluster or single-node upgrade cannot be retried, cancel it from the CLI with 'utils system upgrade cluster cancel' for a cluster upgrade or 'utils system upgrade cancel' on the publisher for a single-node upgrade.

   Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Troubleshooting Simplified Upgrade Issues > Unable to retry cluster or single-node upgrade · Checked 2026-10-02
2. 2
   If the checksum of the upgrade file does not match the value on Cisco.com, download a fresh copy and retry; the checksums must match to confirm the file is authentic and intact.

   Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Upgrade File Checksum Values Do Not Match · Checked 2026-10-02
3. 3
   The common (logging) partition, mounted at /common, holds the enabled log and trace files and temporarily stores the upgrade ISO during an upgrade.

   Troubleshoot Full Common Partition in CUCM · Background Information; Troubleshoot (show tech runtime disk) · Checked 2026-10-02
4. 4
   An upgrade needs at least 25 GB free in the common partition, and possibly more if the node holds large TFTP data, music-on-hold files or locale files.

   Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Upgrade Fails with Insufficient Disk Space · Checked 2026-10-02
5. 5
   Migrations to Release 15 from 10.5, 11.0, 11.5 or 12.0 need the COP file ciscocm.CSCwi52160_15-direct-migration_v1.0.k4.cop.sha512.

   Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Supported Upgrade and Migration Paths with COP Files (10.5/11.x/12.0 rows) · Checked 2026-10-02
6. 6
   A 12.5.x Unified CM source older than 12.5.1.14900-63 needs the COP file ciscocm.enable-sha512sum-2021-signing-key-v1.0.cop.sgn before upgrading to Release 15.

   Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Supported Upgrade and Migration Paths with COP Files (12.5.x row) · Checked 2026-10-02
7. 7
   Database replication should finish on its own after the upgrade and switch version, and subscriber core services do not start while it runs; if 'utils dbreplication runtimestate' is still not 2 after several hours, run 'utils dbreplication reset all' on the publisher.

   Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Database Replication Did Not Complete · Checked 2026-10-02
8. 8
   If the virtual environment has spare space, the vDisk can be expanded with the COP file ciscocm.vmware-disk-size-reallocation-<latest_version>.cop.sgn after reading its ReadMe.

   Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Upgrade Fails with Insufficient Disk Space (disk expansion COP) · Checked 2026-10-02
9. 9
   Before upgrading, make sure the partition has no expired certificates, including trust certificates in the chain; delete expired trust certificates or regenerate expired identity certificates.

   Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Pre-Upgrade Tasks (Manual Process) · Pre-Upgrade Tasks (Manual Process) > Check certificate expiry task · Checked 2026-10-02
10. 10
    If FIPS mode is enabled and IPsec policies use ESP with 3DES encryption, the upgrade to Unified CM Release 15 is blocked.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Upgrade Considerations with FIPS Mode · Checked 2026-10-02
11. 11
    Cisco says to disable firewall intrusion-detection and brute-force-attack features during the upgrade, because they are known to make upgrades and installations fail.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Network Requirements > Firewall Requirements · Checked 2026-10-02
12. 12
    The Free Common Space COP (ciscocm.free_common_space_v<latest_version>.cop.sgn) frees space by removing the inactive side of the common partition, with no system rebuild.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Upgrade Fails with Insufficient Disk Space (Free Common Space COP) · Checked 2026-10-02
13. 13
    Installing the Free Common Space COP removes the inactive version, so the node can no longer switch back to that version.

    Troubleshoot Full Common Partition in CUCM · Solution > Free Common Space COP file · Checked 2026-10-02
14. 14
    Running the Free Common Space COP after an upgrade, while the old release sits on the inactive partition, would remove the switch-back path to that release, so it belongs before the upgrade or after the new release is accepted.inferred

    Troubleshoot Full Common Partition in CUCM · Solution > Free Common Space COP file; combined with Upgrade Tasks > Switch Version · Checked 2026-10-02
15. 15
    Take a fresh DRS backup before upgrading; Cisco warns that with an outdated backup you may lose data or be unable to restore the system.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Pre-Upgrade Tasks (Manual Process) · Pre-Upgrade Tasks (Manual Process) > Take a Fresh Backup · Checked 2026-10-02
16. 16
    For an IM and Presence upgrade that fails because the common partition is full, Cisco points to the COP file ciscocm.free_common_cup_space_v<latest_version>.cop.sgn.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Common Partition Full Upgrade Failure · Checked 2026-10-02
17. 17
    If an IM and Presence database publisher upgrade fails after the version switch, Cisco's recovery is to switch back the Unified CM publisher, then the Unified CM subscribers, then the IM and Presence database publisher, and to redo the Unified CM upgrades and switches before upgrading the IM and Presence publisher again.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting IM and Presence Upgrades > Upgrade Failure of IM and Presence Database Publisher Node · Checked 2026-10-02
18. 18
    The IM and Presence error 'The directory was located and searched but no valid options or upgrades were available' can appear even with a valid file and path when IM and Presence cannot reach Unified CM; check connectivity with the IM and Presence System Troubleshooter.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Directory Was Located and Searched but No Valid Options or Upgrades Were Available · Checked 2026-10-02
19. 19
    Before switching versions on IM and Presence nodes, the Unified CM nodes must be switched first, publisher then subscribers; otherwise the Restart/Switch-Version Cluster, Cluster Software Location and Software Installation and Upgrade Cluster pages do not display or work for IM and Presence nodes.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Supported Upgrade and Migration Paths with COP Files (sequence note) · Checked 2026-10-02
20. 20
    An IM and Presence database publisher's version must match the first two numbers of the Unified CM publisher's version, and IM and Presence subscribers must match all five numbers of the IM and Presence database publisher; breaking this produces 'version does not match' and switch-version mismatch errors.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Version Errors (Version Does Not Match Active or Inactive Version; Switch Version on Cisco IM and Presence Node Fails) · Checked 2026-10-02
21. 21
    For migrations to Release 15 from 10.x to 12.0, there is no partition switch-back, so the practical fallback is the source cluster, kept intact until the new cluster is accepted.inferred

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Upgrade Tasks · Upgrade Tasks > Switch to Previous Version (limitations); combined with Planning the Upgrade path table · Checked 2026-10-02
22. 22
    Once the upgrade starts, no configuration changes should be made until the upgrade and all post-upgrade tasks are complete; changes made during the window, including user phone settings such as call forwarding, can be overwritten by the post-upgrade database sync.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements · Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements (configuration change restriction) · Checked 2026-10-02
23. 23
    Cisco recommends running the PostUpgradeCheck COP after the upgrade and repeating it a few times, because services and phones can take time to come back.

    Upgrade Readiness Checks on CUCM and IMPS COP File · Post-Upgrade Checks · Checked 2026-10-02
24. 24
    If a node fails after a successful cluster upgrade, restore it from a DRS backup; without a backup, a failed publisher means reinstalling the whole cluster including IM and Presence nodes, while a failed subscriber can be upgraded again.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Post-Upgrade Failure of Unified Communications Manager Publisher Node; Post-Upgrade Failure of Unified Communications Manager Subscriber Nodes · Checked 2026-10-02
25. 25
    If the publisher is rebooted or power-cycled during a cluster upgrade, the upgrade processes it controls are killed and status is lost; the guide's fix is to log in to each node and cancel the upgrade.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Troubleshooting Simplified Upgrade Issues > Publisher rebooted during cluster upgrade · Checked 2026-10-02
26. 26
    The Unified CM publisher must be the first node upgraded; subscriber upgrades can start once the publisher holds the new software as its inactive version.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements · Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements > Sequencing Rules · Checked 2026-10-02
27. 27
    For an 80 GB vDisk deployment, Cisco's path to Release 15 is a PCD Migration or a Fresh Install with Data Import onto a new node built from the Release 15 OVA template.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Requirements and Limitations > Virtual Machine Configuration · Checked 2026-10-02
28. 28
    A direct upgrade to Unified CM and IM and Presence Release 15 fails on every single 80 GB vDisk deployment, even if the disk was manually resized to 110 GB.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Requirements and Limitations > Virtual Machine Configuration · Checked 2026-10-02
29. 29
    Direct Standard upgrades to Release 15 are supported from 12.5.x and from 14.x and its SUs, through Unified OS Admin or CLI or through the PCD 15 Upgrade Task.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Supported Upgrade and Migration Paths with COP Files (path table) · Checked 2026-10-02
30. 30
    No Direct Refresh upgrade path is supported to Unified CM and IM and Presence Service Release 15 or later.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Upgrade Methods · Checked 2026-10-02
31. 31
    From source releases 10.0, 10.5, 11.0, 11.5 and 12.0, a direct upgrade to Release 15 is not supported; the move needs a PCD Migration or a Fresh Install with Data Import.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Supported Upgrade and Migration Paths with COP Files (path table) · Checked 2026-10-02
32. 32
    Release 15 on VMware ESXi requires updated virtual machine settings, including a higher virtual hardware version and a different Guest OS type.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Upgrade Methods (VMware note) · Checked 2026-10-02
33. 33
    For upgrades to Release 15, Cisco does not make the Upgrade Readiness COP file mandatory but strongly recommends running it before the upgrade to maximize upgrade success.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Planning the Upgrade · Planning the Upgrade > Supported Upgrade and Migration Paths with COP Files · Checked 2026-10-02
34. 34
    The pre-upgrade readiness COP marks the Cluster Database Status check as FAIL when the database replication state of a node is not 2.

    Upgrade Readiness Checks on CUCM and IMPS COP File · Pre-Upgrade Checks > Cluster Database Status · Checked 2026-10-02
35. 35
    The readiness COP's disk space check shows FAIL if free space is not enough to upgrade to any of the higher releases, and WARNING if it is enough for at least one but not all of them.

    Upgrade Readiness Checks on CUCM and IMPS COP File · Pre-Upgrade Checks > Disk Space Check · Checked 2026-10-02
36. 36
    The pre-upgrade check result can be read with the CLI command 'file view install PreUpgradeReport.txt' and downloaded with 'file get install PreUpgradeReport.txt'; the post-upgrade COP writes PostUpgradeReport.txt.

    Upgrade Readiness Checks on CUCM and IMPS COP File · Configure > How to Use; Troubleshoot · Checked 2026-10-02
37. 37
    Cisco's readiness technote says to install and run the latest PreUpgradeCheck COP before upgrading and to resolve every FAIL and WARNING result it reports.

    Upgrade Readiness Checks on CUCM and IMPS COP File · Configure > How to Use · Checked 2026-10-02
38. 38
    After any upgrade succeeds, fails or is cancelled at any stage, the node must be rebooted before another upgrade is attempted.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Upgrade Failure (reboot required scenarios); Cancelled or Failed Upgrade · Checked 2026-10-02
39. 39
    If a switch version fails, reboot the node before taking any further action.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Upgrade Failure (reboot required scenarios) · Checked 2026-10-02
40. 40
    To resume a failed upgrade without downloading again: cancel the upgrade (a fully downloaded ISO is kept), fix the issue, then run 'utils system upgrade initiate' and choose the Local Image option.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Resuming a Failed Upgrade · Checked 2026-10-02
41. 41
    To retry a failed cluster upgrade, first cancel the cluster upgrade and reboot the nodes, then retry.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Troubleshooting Simplified Upgrade Issues > Retrying after failed cluster upgrade · Checked 2026-10-02
42. 42
    When you switch back to the previous version, any configuration changes made after the upgrade or before the switch are lost.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Upgrade Tasks · Upgrade Tasks > Switch to Previous Version · Checked 2026-10-02
43. 43
    To revert a cluster to the previous version, switch back the publisher first, then all backup subscribers, then all primary subscribers.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Upgrade Tasks · Upgrade Tasks > Switch to Previous Version · Checked 2026-10-02
44. 44
    After reverting a cluster to an older release, run 'utils dbreplication reset all' on the publisher to restore database replication.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Upgrade Tasks · Upgrade Tasks > Switch to Previous Version (reset database replication) · Checked 2026-10-02
45. 45
    To back out of an upgrade, the system can be restarted into the inactive partition that still holds the older software version.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements · Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements (back-out note) · Checked 2026-10-02
46. 46
    Switching back to the previous version is possible after direct standard (and refresh) upgrades but not after a direct migration.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Upgrade Tasks · Upgrade Tasks > Switch to Previous Version (limitations) · Checked 2026-10-02
47. 47
    When an upgrade fails and the node cannot provide logs, Cisco's procedure attaches an empty file to the VM's serial port, dumps the logs to it from the console, downloads it from the datastore, and opens it with 7-Zip.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Dump a Log File After an Upgrade Failure · Checked 2026-10-02
48. 48
    If a subscriber upgrade fails after the publisher has upgraded, Cisco says to fix the cause (network connectivity, reboot, excess memory or CPU) and retry, or to fresh-install the subscriber at the same version as the publisher's active partition after deleting and re-adding the server in Unified CM Administration.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Upgrade Failure of Unified Communications Manager Subscriber · Checked 2026-10-02
49. 49
    In a simplified cluster upgrade, clearing the 'Use download credentials from Publisher' option on a subscriber can make the cluster upgrade fail; select it on each subscriber that should use the publisher's credentials.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Troubleshooting Simplified Upgrade Issues > Download failure in some cluster nodes · Checked 2026-10-02
50. 50
    The Unified CM publisher must be switched to the new version and rebooted before the version is switched on any subscriber.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements · Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements > Sequencing Rules · Checked 2026-10-02
51. 51
    A manual switch version is run in OS Administration under Settings > Version > Switch Versions, or with the CLI command 'utils system switch-version'; you can also tick 'Switch-version server after upgrade' to switch automatically.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Upgrade Tasks · Upgrade Tasks > Switch the Software Version · Checked 2026-10-02
52. 52
    Switch version swaps the active and inactive software partitions and reboots the node into the newly active version.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Upgrade Tasks · Upgrade Tasks > Switch the Software Version · Checked 2026-10-02
53. 53
    For upgrade failures TAC asks for the error messages and the full version string, output of show version active/inactive, utils diagnose test, utils dbreplication runtimestate and utils system upgrade status, and the install logs collected with 'file get install *'.

    CUCM Install Upgrade Failure Issues · Upgrade Failed Logs/Details · Checked 2026-10-02
54. 54
    Space can also be freed by removing outdated or unused phone firmware from the TFTP directory, through OS Administration TFTP File Management or the CLI commands 'file list tftp' and 'file delete tftp'.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Upgrade Fails with Insufficient Disk Space (manual firmware removal) · Checked 2026-10-02
55. 55
    Cisco's estimates for ideal conditions: 2 to 4 hours to upgrade the publisher to an inactive version, 1 to 2 hours per subscriber, about 30 minutes per node to switch and reboot, and 30 minutes to 2 hours for database replication depending on cluster size.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements · Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements > Time Requirements · Checked 2026-10-02
56. 56
    After switching version and rebooting a group of subscribers, wait for database replication to finish on every subscriber before installing COP files or changing configuration.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements · Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements > Sequencing Rules · Checked 2026-10-02
57. 57
    To free common-partition space for an upgrade, Cisco suggests temporarily setting the Log Partition Monitoring low and high watermarks to 30 and 40, then restoring the defaults (low 80, high 85) after the upgrade.

    Upgrade and Migration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the IM and Presence Service, Release 15 and SUs - Troubleshooting · Troubleshooting > Upgrade Fails with Insufficient Disk Space (Log Partition Monitoring Tool) · Checked 2026-10-02

Documents

Cite this page

WarmTransfer. (2026, October 2). Troubleshooting Unified CM upgrade failures. WarmTransfer. https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/cucm-upgrade-failures

@misc{warmtransfer-cucm-upgrade-failures,
  title  = {Troubleshooting Unified CM upgrade failures},
  author = {{WarmTransfer}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/cucm-upgrade-failures},
  note   = {Verified 2026-10-02}
}