VMware Remote Console software update fails with "Could not connect to update server. Check internet settings or contact your system administrator."

Products

• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

• Unable to download software updates directly through the VMware Remote Console application. When clicking "Check for Updates," the following error message is displayed:

Could not connect to update server. Check internet settings or contact your system administrator.

Environment

• VMware Remote Console 13.1 and later
• VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1

Cause

Broadcom has transitioned to authenticated public repositories. Public-facing repository URLs now require a unique customer-specific Download Token for authentication. As a result, the default legacy URLs are no longer active and must be manually reconfigured

Resolution

To restore update functionality, you must configure VMRC to use your specific Broadcom download token.

1. Obtain your Download Token from Broadcom Support Portal

• Follow the steps in VCF Authenticated downloads Configuration Update Instructions to generate and retrieve your token from the Broadcom Support Portal.

2. Update the download server URL configuration in config file

• Close the VMware Remote Console application entirely.
• Open the configuration file for your operating system in a text editor with administrative privileges:

Windows: %PROGRAMDATA%\VMware\VMware Remote Console\config.ini
Linux: /etc/vmware/config

• Locate the componentDownload.server parameter and update it with the following format:
  

  componentDownload.server = "https://dl.broadcom.com/<Download Token>/PROD/COMP/VMRC/cds-<x.y.z>-<build number>/"
  
  Example:
  componentDownload.server = "https://dl.broadcom.com/######WQRbuZrOwYwVXCwVVaBdU#####/PROD/COMP/VMRC/cds-13.1.0-25236164/"

  Note: Replace <Download Token> with the actual token string obtained from the portal.

• Save the file and restart VMware Remote Console to verify update connectivity.