ESXi Host Remediation Fails with Error: "This host is not live patch eligible because it requires Maintenance mode or reboot to remediate"
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ESXi Host Remediation Fails with Error: "This host is not live patch eligible because it requires Maintenance mode or reboot to remediate"

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Article ID: 449407

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

  • When attempting to apply a patch or update to an ESXi host using vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) without disruption, the live patching process is halted.

  • The system displays the following error message during the remediation process:

         "This host is not live patch eligible because it requires Maintenance mode or reboot to remediate."

Environment

ESXI 

Cause

This is expected behavior. Live patching is exclusively supported for specific, minor security and bug-fix updates that do not require structural changes to the hypervisor.

The current patch or update being applied requires deeper, structural changes to the hypervisor that cannot be executed dynamically. As a result, the update is ineligible for live patching and requires a full system reboot to be applied safely.

Resolution

To apply the pending update, you must bypass the live patch process and perform a standard remediation by manually placing the affected host into Maintenance Mode.

Steps to remediate:

  1. Migrate or power off all active Virtual Machines (VMs) currently running on the affected host.

  2. In the vSphere Client, right-click the host and navigate to Maintenance Mode > Enter Maintenance Mode.

  3. Once the host has successfully entered Maintenance Mode, run the Remediate task in vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM).

  4. Allow the update to apply and the host to reboot.

  5. After the host is back online and fully updated, right-click the host and select Maintenance Mode > Exit Maintenance Mode.

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