MikroTik RouterOS Upgrade Commands

Checking for Updates

/system/package/update/check-for-updates

This checks MikroTik’s update servers against your currently selected channel (see below) and reports whether a newer version is available, without installing anything.

Downloading and Installing

/system/package/update/download

Downloads the update package and installs it, rebooting the router automatically to complete the upgrade. There’s no separate “install” step to run — download triggers the full process once the package is retrieved.

Update Channels

/system/package/update/set channel=stable
/system/package/update/print

RouterOS offers several update channels — stable for production use, long-term for maximum stability with slower feature updates, and testing/development for early access to new features on non-production devices. Production ISP/WISP routers should stay on stable or long-term unless you have a specific reason to run a testing build.

Practical Example: a Safe Upgrade

1. Back up first

   Always, no exceptions — see our Backup & Export reference.

2. Confirm the channel

   /system/package/update/print shows the currently selected channel and installed version.

3. Check for updates

   /system/package/update/check-for-updates — review what version is available before proceeding.

4. Download and install

   /system/package/update/download — the router reboots automatically once the package is applied.

5. Verify after reboot

   /system/resource/print to confirm the new version, then check your critical services.

Troubleshooting

• “no updates available” but you expect one — check the selected channel; a device on long-term won’t see a stable-channel-only release, and vice versa.
• Router didn’t come back after upgrade — wait the full reboot cycle (a minute or two is normal); if it genuinely doesn’t return, Netinstall is the recovery path — see our Netinstall Guide.
• Services broken after a major version jump — compare your configuration against your pre-upgrade export; a v6→v7 jump in particular can require manual reconfiguration in BGP, OSPF, and User Manager.

RouterOS v6/v7 Differences

The upgrade commands themselves are unchanged between v6 and v7 — the same check-for-updates/download pattern applies whether you’re doing a routine v6 minor update or the major v6-to-v7 jump. What differs is what happens after the package installs: a v6→v7 upgrade triggers RouterOS’s one-time configuration conversion, covered in detail in our v7 Upgrade Guide.