Auto update - how to turn off

General Feedback & Requests
1

Hello,
I run a computer lab using 27" iMacs OSX 10.9.3. I’ve installed Unreal but when opening the launcher app it tries to update automatically… which would be okay if this was an individual computer but this is a lab with 70+ computers where each computer is locked using Deep Freeze. So students can’t update the app because of the locked drive… is there a way to turn this auto update feature off? I’ve posted in another forum… answer hub? and got no response except to turn off the internet… which is not the solution… Most apps have the auto update feature as a selection that the user can turn on or off. Is that available in Unreal? If not, How can I stop the auto updates…
Thank You,
dmichael

2

Hi dmichael, the launcher supports a “-noselfupdate” flag that can be used to disable self-updates. On Windows, just add -noselfupdate to the shortcut. On a Mac, you’ll need to try something like the instructions here: macos - How do I pass command line arguments to Dock items? - Super User

Right now, our application definitely works best for individual machines that can be updated. We have some work to do in order to better support lab computers installations and make it easier for schools to setup labs. Let me know if you have any questions. We appreciate the feedback so if there are any specific requirements or cases you think we should better handle, let us know so we can take them into account for the future.

3

Hi dmichael,

My apologies for the delay in getting this back to you. We have a write up below on the current option to disable launcher patching at start-up. While this solution will help you get past the launcher updates it is important the admins of the computer labs or school computers update the launcher on a regular cadence as there is the possibility of missing both new functionality and a breaking change that would render an older version of the launcher unusable

Secondly, when working with projects or content, it is important to save your projects to a student drive, usb, or other location to ensure those projects are not lost due to a machine wipe or reset.

Here is a brief explanation of the -noselfupdate command, as well as instructions on how to use it:

Adding the -noselfupdate command to the Launcher will prevent it from detecting and trying to download updates. It should be noted that this will prevent the Launcher from ever detecting updates in the future, which may cause users to miss critical updates to functionality.

To add -noselfupdate on Windows:

  1. Locate the “Unreal Engine” shortcut on the Windows desktop
  2. Right-click this icon and select Properties
  3. In the Target line of the Properties window, add “-noselfupdate” (minus quotation marks) after the Launcher path

Example:“C:\Program Files\Unreal Engine\Launcher\Engine\Binaries\Win64\UnrealEngineLauncher.exe” -noselfupdate

  1. Click OK to save the changes

To add -noselfupdate on Mac:

  1. From the Finder, click Go > Utilities
  2. Locate and launch the Terminal app
  3. Type “open” without the quotation marks
  4. Locate the installed Unreal Engine Launcher application and drag it to the Terminal window. The terminal window should then display something similar to the following: “open /Applications/Unreal\ Engine.app”
  5. Place a space after “app” and then type in “-args -noselfupdate” (minus quotation marks). It should then look something like this (minus quotation marks): “open /Applications/Unreal\ Engine.app --args -noselfupdate”
  6. Press Enter
    Please note that the Windows shortcut will only need to be changed once to launch with a commandline, whereas the Mac process will need to be followed every time a user wishes to launch with this command.

Thanks,
Adam

4

permission denied on osx… and what is worth all that since it has to be done at all times? Can we hold a key or something when starting maybe? All the best, PG

5

Dude, this is a 4 year old thread.

6

Any way now for Windows?