Observability

SolarWinds upgrade fails with 'Offline Environment' Error due to missing DigiCert Root certificate

During a SolarWinds upgrade, the online installer or Centralized Upgrade feature failed to connect to the internet and displayed an 'Offline environment' error, despite the server having valid internet connectivity.

First published date

5/26/2025 3:19 PM

Last published date

11/19/2025 6:35 PM

Overview

During a SolarWinds upgrade using the online installer or Centralized Upgrade feature, the process fails with an error:

 

Unable to connect to the internet. A connection could not be opened to https://downloads.solarwinds.com or you are in an offline environment. To perform upgrade, please download the installer from the Customer Portal.

 

Upon investigation, it was identified that the root cause was the absence of the DigiCert Global Root G3 certificate in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store on the SolarWinds Platform server. This prevented the system from establishing a secure HTTPS connection to downloads.solarwinds.com.


Image_2025-05-23_18-18-18.png  

 

 

Product section

Hybrid Cloud Observability

Cause

This issue occurs because the SolarWinds installer was unable to establish a secure HTTPS connection to https://downloads.solarwinds.com due to the absence of the DigiCert Global Root G3 certificate in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store on the server. This certificate is required to validate the SSL/TLS certificate presented by the SolarWinds download server. Without it, the server treats the connection as untrusted and blocks it, resulting in the upgrade failure.

Resolution

Updated: July 2nd, 2025

To permanently resolve this, we moved away from DigiCert certificate to Let's Encrypt certificate issued by "SRG Root X1", a root certificate that is already included in supported operating systems. This eliminates the need for you to manually update or install the root certificate. If you need a copy of the root certificate, please refer to the following article. 

No action is required on your part, as the root certificate should already exist in the operating system. 

Note:

If the problem persists, please open a support case and reference this article.

 

Alternate Workaround (if the resolution above does not work):

If you are still encountering the issue, you may try the below steps to find the missing DigiCert Global Root G3 certificate and import it into the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store on the affected SolarWinds server.   

Follow the below steps:

Step 1: Validate if the Certificate is Missing

  1. On the affected SolarWinds server, open MMC (Microsoft Management Console):

    • Press Windows + R, type mmc, and press Enter.

  2. Go to File > Add/Remove Snap-in.

  3. Select Certificates, click Add, then select Computer account and click Next > Finish.

  4. Expand Certificates (Local Computer) > Trusted Root Certification Authorities > Certificates.

  5. Search for the certificate with:

    • Issued To: DigiCert Global Root G3

    • Issued By: DigiCert Global Root G3

    • If it is not listed, proceed with Step 2 and 3 to export and import the missing certificate.

Step 2: Export the Certificate from a Working System

Below is a copy of the DigiCert Global Root CA G3 in Base64 format:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----

  1. Copy the content above to a text file (including -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- and -----END CERTIFICATE-----)

  2. Save the file as DigiCertGlobalRootG3.cer

If the root certificate exists on a working machine, perform the following steps:

  1. On a working system (e.g., your lab environment), follow the same steps above to open the Certificates MMC.

  2. Locate DigiCert Global Root G3 under Trusted Root Certification Authorities > Certificates.

  3. Right-click on the required certificate > All Tasks > Export.

  4. In the Certificate Export Wizard:

    • Select DER encoded binary X.509 (.CER) format.

    • Save the file as DigiCertGlobalRootG3.cer and copy it to the affected server.

Step 3: Import the Certificate on the Affected Server

  1. On the affected SolarWinds server, return to Certificates MMC under Trusted Root Certification Authorities.

  2. Right-click Certificates under the Trusted Root CA folder > All Tasks > Import.

  3. Follow the wizard:

    • Select the exported .cer file.

    • Place the certificate in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store.

    • Complete the wizard.

  4. After import, verify that DigiCert Global Root G3 appears in the list.

After the certificate is successfully imported, re-run the SolarWinds online installer or centralized upgrade. It should now connect to https://downloads.solarwinds.com without issues and proceed with the upgrade.