[BUG] unexpected character `<', when running in Zorin Upgrader

anglaro · January 12, 2026, 7:56pm

Today when I launched zorin upgrader, i got this error

I tried re launching it again but nothing works...
Uppon launching zorin upgrader through the terminal, i get

andronikos@satellite-l50-b:~$ /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/zorin-os-upgrader/zorin-os-upgrader
Gtk-Message: 21:36:40.827: Failed to load module "xapp-gtk3-module"

** (zorin-os-upgrader:7449): WARNING **: 21:36:47.048: CheckingForUpgrades.vala:106: 
<data>:1:1: Parse error: unexpected character `<', expected value

I also tried to do:

rm -rf ~/.cache/zorin-os-upgrader
rm -rf ~/.config/zorin-os-upgrader
rm -rf ~/.local/share/zorin-os-upgrader
sudo apt purge zorin-os-upgrader update-manager
$ sudo apt autoremove
sudo apt install zorin-os-upgrader update-manager

but nothing worked...any things i should try to fix this?

Ponce-De-Leon · January 12, 2026, 9:25pm

Does Your System run in Wayland or X11? You can check that with the Terminal Command echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

anglaro · January 12, 2026, 9:26pm

I always use xorg, I disabled wayland from gdm

Aravisian · January 12, 2026, 10:56pm

Have you tried switching to Main Server?

That error shows that the HTTP request returned a html page, rather than the direct to pacakges.
This also can happen if you are using a monitored network, like at work (corporate) or public wifi, like at coffee shops.

anglaro · January 12, 2026, 11:05pm

Im in my own house using my router, I dont work

Aravisian · January 12, 2026, 11:50pm

This? ^

anglaro · January 12, 2026, 11:56pm

Im already at the main server

Aravisian · January 13, 2026, 12:08am

What is your terminal output for:

cat /etc/apt/sources.list

ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d

Ponce-De-Leon · January 13, 2026, 11:03am

Only to be sure, we understand the right Thing here: In Software & Updates the first Tab offers to set up ''Main Server'' as the Source:

anglaro · January 13, 2026, 11:28am

Yes ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

anglaro · January 13, 2026, 8:16pm

@Ponce-De-Leon @Aravisian It was bassically the change I made in Name="" in /etc/os-release cause I wanted to make it feel more mine

Is there a way to keep custom name and not affect zorin upgrader?

Also is there a way to remove or hide the "Upgrade Zorin OS" option from the about section of gnome settings?

As a personal preference I only want to open it from the shortcut not have it as an option in settings

Aravisian · January 13, 2026, 8:44pm

When you change something in Root, you are changing critical system files.
You can have a custom name somewhere non-critical, but you must keep lsb release as default. So the displayed name in fastfetch or About - will be default, too.

Try adding this line: Hidden=true in /usr/share/applications/zorin-os-upgrader.desktop file, save the file - reboot and test.

anglaro · January 13, 2026, 9:32pm

I did set Hidden=true but it had no affect on the about page in gnome settings...As a matter of fact even temporarly uninstalling zorin upgrader to make a test, the option stays there and when clicked goes to the zorin site. I think its baked in

Aravisian · January 13, 2026, 9:36pm

It was worth trying, but you may be right.
Zorin OS is a product, with the Pro version, so they developers may intentionally inject it into gnome control center, without a user toggle.

Forpli · January 14, 2026, 6:52am

If you use other apps or terminal to show your system informations you can hide the whole "About" tab in gnome settings.
Elevate to root and right-click on the file
/usr/share/applications/gnome-info-overview-panel.desktop
Then click on properties > permissions
and set the access for others to no access.

anglaro · January 14, 2026, 6:27pm

@Aravisian @Ponce-De-Leon Hey guys i found a way to get through this problem. Since zorin os 17.3 is based off of ubuntu 22.04 I used apt to replace the control center with the ubuntu one of the same version and now i dont have the zorin upgrader option...

sudo apt install gnome-control-center=1:41.7-0ubuntu0.22.04.9

And then

andronikos@satellite-l50-b:~$ cd /usr/bin
andronikos@satellite-l50-b:/usr/bin$ mv software-properties-gtk software-config
andronikos@satellite-l50-b:/usr/bin$ sudo \cp update-manager software-properties-gtk

so system updates option opens the software updater
Am i safe in future updates or upgrades from breakage?

Aravisian · January 14, 2026, 7:10pm

Should Zorin OS release an upgrade on the gnome control center package, you may need to repeat the command to reinstall your preferred version.