topic Re: ArcGIS Server upgrade step 2 of 2 fails with error, "Refresh auto-deployed services during upgrade" in ArcGIS Enterprise Questions

ArcGIS Server upgrade step 2 of 2 fails with error, "Refresh auto-deployed services during upgrade"

MariuszZ_EPL — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:08:19 GMT

It’s quite funny, because last weekend I performed an upgrade from 11.3 to 11.5 and ran into a very similar issue—one that was later described in the article ArcGIS Server Upgrade Step 2 of 2 Fails with Error, "Refresh Auto-Deployed Services during, which was published after I had already fixed the problem on my own.

In my case, however, the issue affected the OfflinePackaging service rather than CachingTools.

In the ArcGIS logs I saw the message:

A JSONObject text must begin with '{' at character 1 of

while the upgrade process reported:

ArcGIS Server upgrade step 2 of 2 fails with error, "Refresh auto-deployed services during upgrade".

It turned out that the file:

arcgisserver\config-store\services\Utilities\OfflinePackaging.GPServer\esriinfo\lifecycleinfos.json

contained values NULL instead of the objects inside {}.

I replaced the content of lifecycleinfos.json with {} and, after saving the change, I re-ran the upgrade—this time it completed successfully.

I’m not sure whether installing the patch ArcGIS Server Security 2025 Update 2 Patch before the upgrade would have resolved my issue as well.

Good luck

Mariusz

www.linkedin.com/in/mariuszzarzeczny

Re: ArcGIS Server upgrade step 2 of 2 fails with error, "Refresh auto-deployed services during upgrade"

GlenterpriseUK — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 21:12:55 GMT

Hi @MariuszZ_EPL,

Thanks for sharing this information. It sounds like you solved the problem but I am curious to know if you had the same Patch installed at 11.3 before upgrading to 11.5?

Regards,

Glen

Re: ArcGIS Server upgrade step 2 of 2 fails with error, "Refresh auto-deployed services during upgrade"

MariuszZ_EPL — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 07:56:14 GMT

Yes, there was a patch for 11.3. 
I always install patches, but only about a 1-2 weeks after they're released. I wait for other users to test for potential bugs after installation ;)

Regards,
Mariusz
www.linkedin.com/in/mariuszzarzeczny