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Allow auto-refresh timespan to be greater than session length #795
Description
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Problem is that if the session length is shorter than the auto-refresh length, the update manager will never check for updates.
For example, I have set my auto-refresh to check for updates every 5 days, since I don't want to check in every session. But I shut my computer down every night. The result is that I have to check manually for updates since the auto-refresh never runs.
Describe the solution you'd like
Mintupdate should be able to keep track of when (date/time) the last update was run, regardless of whether the user has logged off or the computer is shut off. Once a new session is started, mintupdate can check to compare the last update time with the current time, and if it's greater than the auto-refresh timespan, then check for updates.
Having this will allow people to check every n days or every week for updates even if they shut their computers down in between. This approach will be more user-friendly as frequent updates can become tedious and annoying for some users.
Describe alternatives you've considered
I attempted multiple variations and combinations of settings in Auto-Refresh without success.
I have asked in multiple support forums to find out if this was just a configuration issue on my part. It was confirmed that the timespan set in the Auto-refresh setting has to be within a single session or it will not work.
Additional context
This is still an issue as of Mint 21.1
Activity
github-actions commentedon Mar 2, 2026
This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had
any activity in over 2 years.
If this issue is still relevant:
If no activity occurs in the next 30 days, this issue will be
automatically closed. Issues can be reopened if needed.
random-pixels commentedon Mar 2, 2026
Yes, it is still an issue. But my issue never got worked on because it was never assigned to anyone. Hopefully one day soon, someone will look into it.
Current system:
Kernel: 5.15.0-171-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 11.4.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 6.0.4
tk: GTK 3.24.33 wm: muffin vt: 7 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia
base: Ubuntu 22.04 jammy
Mintupdate version 6.0.9
My workaround is to create a service to check for updates on my desired schedule, since Mintupdate cannot do this properly. It would be much better to be able to handle this within the UI so it could be changed easily. Thanks!
karpych1717 commentedon Oct 22, 2026
Indeed, on a desktop that gets shut down every day, the refresh interval settings either trigger a refresh on every boot or result in refreshes never happening at all.
Because the timer counts session time rather than real time, these settings simply don't make sense on a desktop.
I think the request can be put more precisely: the auto-refresh interval should be measured in real (wall-clock) time since the last refresh, not in session time.
Additional context
This is still an issue as of Mint 22.3