---
title: Disabling Ubuntu Unattended Upgrades on Zixi Broadcaster Hosts
slug: troubleshooting/disabling-ubuntu-unattended-upgrades-on-zixi-broadcaster-hosts
createdAt: 2026-07-29T21:24:29.593Z
---

:::hint{type="warning"}
**Disclaimer: **

Whether unattended upgrades should remain enabled is a decision for your network and IT security teams, not a Zixi recommendation. Automatic security patching reduces exposure to unpatched vulnerabilities, but as this ticket shows, it can also restart the Broadcaster process (or the host itself) without warning and interrupt live outgoing streams. The steps below let you keep OS security updates flowing while controlling when the restart happens please make sure to review them against your own security policy before applying.
:::

Broadcaster instances running on customer-managed Ubuntu hosts can restart unexpectedly when the OS applies an unattended (automatic) security update that includes a kernel or systemd package update requiring a reboot, or that triggers a service restart via needrestart. This is an OS-level behavior, separate from Zixi. 

**There is no Zixi-side auto update mechanism - Broadcaster software upgrades only occur when explicitly initiated through ZEN Master’s Install Version screen or manually on the box, and every such event is logged.**

This guide covers how to convert unattended-upgrades from a surprise reboot into planned maintenance, on Ubuntu hosts you manage yourself (AWS, on prem or otherwise). 

:::hint{type="info"}
**Root cause: **

Ubuntu's unattended upgrades package runs its scheduled apt-daily-upgrade.service, installs an update and triggers an automatic reboot / service restart. This in turn restarts the zixibc service (and the host machine if a reboot required package was involved) and interrupts streams.
:::

# Resolution

There are two independent settings to change. You can apply either one on its own but applying both is a good option.

**Option A: **Stop unattended-upgrades from automatically rebooting the host.

**Option B: **Tell needrestart not to restart the zixibc service when packages are updated, even without a reboot.

Applying both means package security updates can still install in the background (recommended: don’t fully disable security patching) but neither the host or the Zixi service can then restart without your confirmation. You can then restart the service yourself during a planned maintenance window.

## Step by Step: 

### Step 1: Disable Automatic Reboot

First check: whether unattended-upgrades is configured to reboot the host automatically after installing updates.

- Edit the unattended-upgrades config file and set Automatic-Reboot to false.

| sudo nano /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades |
| --------------------------------------------------- |

- **Find** or **add** the following line and set it to *"false"*:

| Unattended-Upgrade\::Automatic-Reboot "false"; |
| ---------------------------------------------- |

- **Save and exit. **

This stops the automatic reboot from occurring. The host will flag that a reboot is pending (visible via /var/run/reboot-required) instead of rebooting itself, so you can schedule it at a convenient time.

### Step 2: Ubuntu Configuration

Check if needrestart is configured to automatically restart the zixibc service when its dependent packages are updated. This can restart the Broadcaster even without a host reboot.

- **Edit** the needrestart config and add an override so zixibc is left unaffected.

| sudo nano /etc/needrestart/needrestart.conf |
| ------------------------------------------- |

- Under the $nrconf{override\_rc} section, **add:**

| # Zixi Service — exclude from automatic restart<br />    qr(^zixibc\\.service$) => 0, |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

- **Save and exit.**

### Step 3: (Optional - not recommended) Fully disable unattended upgrades

**Check with your IT and Security teams before taking these steps&#x20;**&#x74;o confirm if they would prefer to control all OS patching manually rather than let security updates install automatically in the background.

- Reconfigure the package outright.

| sudo dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades |
| ----------------------------------------------- |

- Select “No” when prompted. Note this stops automatic security patching entirely. You will need a separate process to keep the host patched. Most customers prefer Steps 1 and 2 over this option, since it keeps security updates flowing while removing the disruptive restart.

### Step 4: Verify the change

- Verify the settings are in place after editing both files:

| grep Automatic-Reboot /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades<br />grep -A2 override\_rc /etc/needrestart/needrestart.conf |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

- Check the first command returns false.&#x20;
- Check the second command shows the zixibc.service exclusion line inside the override\_rc block.

## Quick reference

| **File**                                  | **Setting**                                     | **Effect**                                          |
| ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades | Unattended-Upgrade\::Automatic-Reboot "false";  | Host no longer reboots itself after updates         |
| /etc/needrestart/needrestart.conf         | qr(^zixibc\\.service$) => 0, under override\_rc | zixibc service is not auto-restarted by needrestart |
| N/A (package-level)                       | dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades → No | Unattended-upgrades disabled entirely (optional)    |
|                                           |                                                 |                                                     |

## Decision Tree

If the Broadcaster restarts continue after applying the fix, work through this before opening a new support ticket:

Restart correlates with apt-daily-upgrade.service in syslog? -> YES -> Recheck Steps 1 & 2 were saved correctlyl confirm with the verification commands in Section 4

No apt-daily-upgrade entry, but restart still occurs on a schedule? -> YES -> Check for AWS-side events (ie. schedule maintenance, instance retirement, auto scaling) via CloudTrail / the EC2 console for the affected instance ID

No OS level or AWS level event found? -> Escalate to Zixi support using the checklist below.

## Escalation Checklist

When escalating to Zixi Support, include the following:

- Broadcaster instance name(s) affected (e.g. zb-distrib-aws-ire1)
- Exact restart timestamp(s), in UTC
- Confirmation of whether Steps 1–2 (Section 3) have already been applied
- Syslog excerpt covering the restart window (look for apt-daily-upgrade.service entries)
- AWS instance ID and region, plus CloudTrail/EC2 console findings if checked
- Broadcaster version involved
- Whether the restart caused an outgoing stream interruption and for how long