pfSense CE to pfSense Plus Upgrade Guide

Mary Maher
pfSense CE to pfSense Plus Upgrade Guide

Netgate now provides a migration path for users running pfSense® Community Edition (CE) to upgrade to pfSense Plus software. This allows pfSense CE installations running on virtual machines or compatible third-party hardware to take advantage of the additional features and capabilities offered by pfSense Plus.

Requirements

Before migrating from pfSense CE to pfSense Plus, make sure your firewall meets the following requirements:

  • pfSense CE 2.6.0 or later must be installed. If your firewall is running an older version, you will need to either:
    • Perform a fresh installation of pfSense CE 2.6.0 or later
    • Upgrade your existing pfSense CE installation to version 2.6.0 or later.
  • An active Internet connection is required. The firewall must be able to access the Internet throughout the migration process.
Warning
The migration process retains the existing filesystem type, so make sure the firewall is configured with your preferred filesystem before upgrading. For example, if you want to use ZFS with pfSense Plus, install pfSense CE using ZFS before beginning the migration.

Obtain an Activation Token

To obtain a token, follow these steps:

After completing the checkout process we will send an activation token by  e-mail to the address on the Telappliant Store account.

Tip
If you do not receive the activation email within 24 hours, check your spam or junk mail folder, as it may have been filtered by your email provider.
Warning
Activation tokens can only be used once. Before starting the migration, make sure your pfSense CE installation is fully operational and configured as intended.

Register and Migrate

  • Navigate to System > Register in the pfSense CE software GUI

  • Paste the Activation Token into the text area on the page

  • Click Register

    The page will display a message indicating the registration results. If the registration was successful, continue. If registration failed, please contact us.

  • Navigate to System > Update

    The page will contain a message announcing the pfSense Plus software migration branch.

  • Set Branch to "pfSense Plus Upgrade"

  • Wait for the firewall to complete the update check

  • Click Confirm to confirm and start the migration process