Bug 1090595 - suddenly receiving 'refreshing package cache' and 'getting updates' notification spam
Summary: suddenly receiving 'refreshing package cache' and 'getting updates' notificat...
Keywords:
Status: CLOSED ERRATA
Alias: None
Product: Fedora
Classification: Fedora
Component: apper
Version: 19
Hardware: Unspecified
OS: Unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Rex Dieter
QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance
URL:
Whiteboard:
: 1093951 (view as bug list)
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2014-04-23 17:05 UTC by long
Modified: 2015-04-12 18:10 UTC (History)
12 users (show)

Fixed In Version: apper-0.8.2-3.el7
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed: 2014-11-15 09:16:40 UTC
Type: Bug
Embargoed:


Attachments (Terms of Use)


Links
System ID Private Priority Status Summary Last Updated
KDE Software Compilation 318864 0 None None None Never

Description long 2014-04-23 17:05:50 UTC
Description of problem:
I have no idea if this was the right component to open this against but within the last few days my KDE System Tray notifications has started spewing  'refreshing package cache' and 'getting updates' notifications on a periodic basis.  Using the KDE System Settings Application and System Notifications I see no way to disable these.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
kde-baseapps-4.11.5-1.fc19.x86_64

How reproducible:
Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Login to KDE
2. wait
3.

Actual results:
Periodically get notifications saying  'refreshing package cache' and 'getting updates' 

Expected results:
No notifications for these useless notifications.

Additional info:

Comment 1 Rex Dieter 2014-04-23 17:19:56 UTC
This comes from apper, and it's update notification feature.  To disable, 

run apper, click wrench icon -> settings

set "Check for updates" to never

(there's also a possibility that PackageKit-yum-plugin is involved, but ^^ is the most likely explanation)

Comment 2 long 2014-04-23 19:34:12 UTC
apper was one of my first suspects so I uninstalled it.  Still get the messages.  Should I do the same with PackageKit-yum-plugin to test it?

Comment 3 long 2014-04-23 20:20:51 UTC
Removing PackageKit-yum-plugin did not fix it either.  I should probably mention that I'm  also running yum-updatesd in case that matters.  I tried starting it with "dbus_listener = no" but then it doesn't start (different bug).  Any way to tell where these messages are coming from?

Comment 4 long 2014-04-23 20:21:17 UTC
Guess I will shutoff yum-updatesd for a bit and see if it stops.

Comment 5 Rex Dieter 2014-04-23 21:21:58 UTC
Did you restart your session since uninstalling apper?

Comment 6 Rex Dieter 2014-04-23 21:27:12 UTC
You can also disable individual notifications (for kde applications at least), click the wrench in the notification when it appears.

Comment 7 long 2014-04-23 21:53:47 UTC
no I have not restarted my session since uninstalling various things.  I will try that next.  Thanks

When I click the wrench in the notification it basically opens up something useless, next time it happens I will provide a better description.

Comment 8 Rex Dieter 2014-04-24 20:42:46 UTC
I user on irc reported the same thing, but turns out it was simply apper reporting on activity initiated from PackageKit-yum-plugin

Turns out my comment #6 doesnt apply here, since this isn't your usual notification, and it comes from apper's kded module (so you can't disable it in the "usual" ways).

Comment 9 Paul Lipps 2014-04-30 14:04:51 UTC
I have apper set to check hourly for new updates. I can attach a screenshot of the new annoying notifications I receive each hour if that will help.

Comment 10 Paul Lipps 2014-04-30 14:08:07 UTC
Sorry for the extra noise, but I just noticed this bug was reported against F19. I am on F20 with KDE 4.12.4. I only receive updates from fedora and updates, I have no testing repos enabled.

Comment 11 Rex Dieter 2014-04-30 15:02:40 UTC
OK, after some study and discussion with upstream, I've reached some conclusions:

* these notifications are an intended feature.  it will notify you every time the PK metadata is refreshed (either via apper checking or when user runs yum and PK gets refreshed via PackageKit-yum-plugin).  I have a feeling that apper (or PackageKit) previously may have had a bug that prevented this metadata refresh from happening reliably (which is why we have the perception the notification frequency has increased).

* as these are progress notifications, they cannot be disabled in the conventional way other kde notifications are configured either.


Some options if these notifications annoy you enough to disable the PK metadata refreshing :

1.  apper -> wrench icon(configuration)->General settings->check for updates: never
2.  uninstall (or otherwise disable PackageKit-yum-plugin

(or big hammer approach of uninstalling apper altogether)

Comment 12 Paul Lipps 2014-04-30 15:15:15 UTC
Since no user interaction is required for these transactions in KDE, why would a user notification in KDE be necessary? Neither workaround seems sane. I'll be curious to see how long upstream will tolerate these unneeded notifications. Regardless, Thank You Rex.

Comment 13 Rex Dieter 2014-04-30 16:11:46 UTC
since upstream is responsible for the implementation of these notifications, I'm pretty sure their level of "tolerance" will be high.

I'm not yet privy to the design rationale behind these yet (I'll try to find out).  Offhand, I'd guess it may have been in response to user queries like:
* why is packagekitd currently holding a lock on the yum database?
* packagekitd is busy (cpu, network, disk) doing something in the background, what is it doing?

Comment 14 Rex Dieter 2014-05-04 02:31:26 UTC
*** Bug 1093951 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 15 Rex Dieter 2014-05-04 19:01:01 UTC
another option as workaround for those of you not wanting to see these... configure notifications widget settings.

right click notification widget in panel -> Notifications Settings ->
under "Which information to show", uncheck option labeled "File transfers and jobs"

Comment 16 long 2014-05-05 20:29:54 UTC
Just to follow up, I think that removing apper and restarting my KDE session did the trick for me as you previously suggested.  Thanks

Comment 17 Rex Dieter 2014-10-29 13:54:10 UTC
can't vouche for f19, but I'm not seeing these notifications on f20 anymore, after going into:

systemsettings->application&system notifications->Event Source: Apper notification

and unchecking "show message in a popup" for all events, except for those I wanted to keep... For me, that included:
* Updates finished installing
* A System restart is required
* Updates are being installed
* Updates are being downloaded
* New updates available

for *this* bug, the ones you want to disable probably include at least:
* Message from the software manager

I suspect one may need to restart your session after making changes here (arguably a bug in itself), which may explain why I didn't notice last time I tested this approach.

Comment 18 Rex Dieter 2014-10-29 13:55:51 UTC
Nevermind, I'd already disabled "file transfers and jobs" per comment #15, that is why I wasn't seeing them.

Comment 19 Rex Dieter 2014-11-05 14:44:40 UTC
Just noticed, 
https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/117990

today, testing it out.

Comment 20 Fedora Update System 2014-11-05 16:37:01 UTC
apper-0.8.2-2.fc20 has been submitted as an update for Fedora 20.
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/apper-0.8.2-2.fc20

Comment 21 Fedora Update System 2014-11-05 16:38:44 UTC
apper-0.8.2-2.fc19 has been submitted as an update for Fedora 19.
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/apper-0.8.2-2.fc19

Comment 22 Fedora Update System 2014-11-07 02:36:02 UTC
Package apper-0.8.2-2.fc20:
* should fix your issue,
* was pushed to the Fedora 20 testing repository,
* should be available at your local mirror within two days.
Update it with:
# su -c 'yum update --enablerepo=updates-testing apper-0.8.2-2.fc20'
as soon as you are able to, then reboot.
Please go to the following url:
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/FEDORA-2014-14396/apper-0.8.2-2.fc20
then log in and leave karma (feedback).

Comment 23 Fedora Update System 2014-11-15 09:16:40 UTC
apper-0.8.2-2.fc19 has been pushed to the Fedora 19 stable repository.  If problems still persist, please make note of it in this bug report.

Comment 24 Fedora Update System 2014-11-15 09:16:47 UTC
apper-0.8.2-2.fc20 has been pushed to the Fedora 20 stable repository.  If problems still persist, please make note of it in this bug report.

Comment 25 Fedora Update System 2015-03-26 03:12:26 UTC
apper-0.8.2-3.el7 has been submitted as an update for Fedora EPEL 7.
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/apper-0.8.2-3.el7

Comment 26 Fedora Update System 2015-04-12 18:10:24 UTC
apper-0.8.2-3.el7 has been pushed to the Fedora EPEL 7 stable repository.  If problems still persist, please make note of it in this bug report.


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