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Clarify update procedures
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eloquence committed Mar 11, 2024
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16 changes: 12 additions & 4 deletions docs/admin/maintenance/update_tails_usbs.rst
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Expand Up @@ -43,11 +43,11 @@ The process for manually updating a Tails USB is:
What you need
^^^^^^^^^^^^^

#. Your *Admin Workstation* computer
#. Your *Admin Workstation* computer to download the latest version of Tails
#. A *primary Tails USB* stick (you may still have one; it was used to create the *Admin Workstation*, *Secure Viewing Station*, and *Journalist Workstation* Tails USBs during the initial SecureDrop install process)
#. The Tails USB that you want to update
#. A Backup USB to back up the data on your existing Tails USBs
#. An airgapped computer, such as the computer used for the *Secure Viewing Station*.
#. An airgapped computer, such as the computer used for the *Secure Viewing Station*, to perform the update

.. _Step 1:

Expand All @@ -66,7 +66,8 @@ updating to supports automatic updates, boot into it on your *Admin Workstation*
computer and follow the graphical updater prompts that guide you through the
`update process`_.

Alternatively, you can also download and :ref:`install the newest version of Tails from scratch <setup_install_tails>` (as you did when you first installed SecureDrop). This may be faster if your *primary Tails USB* has not been updated in a while.
Alternatively, you can also download and :ref:`install the newest version of Tails from scratch <setup_install_tails>` (as you did when you first installed SecureDrop). This may be faster if your *primary Tails USB* has not been updated in a while,
and is necessary for Tails releases that do not support automatic updates.

.. _update process: https://tails.boum.org/doc/upgrade/index.en.html

Expand All @@ -86,7 +87,14 @@ In this step, use the up-to-date *primary Tails USB* to update your desired Tail

Plug your *primary Tails USB* into the airgapped computer and boot into Tails.

You can then perform the `manual update steps`_.
You can then perform the `manual update steps`_. In the Tails Cloner, do **not** click the checkbox
labeled "Clone the current persistent storage". This refers to the persistent storage of your
*primary Tails USB*. If you leave the checkbox unchecked, the persistent storage of the USB
drive you are updating will be preserved.

While writing to the USB disk, Tails may appear to be frozen, or a dialog may appear warning
that the application is unresponsive. In the latter case, click **Wait**
(repatedly if needed) until the operation is complete.

.. _manual update steps: https://tails.boum.org/upgrade/clone/index.en.html

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9 changes: 6 additions & 3 deletions docs/upgrade/2.7.0_to_2.8.0.rst
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Expand Up @@ -96,14 +96,16 @@ Follow our instructions to :ref:`update Tails manually <Update Tails Manually>`.

Step 3: Apply SecureDrop-specific configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boot up the updated workstation and run the following commands in a terminal: ::
Boot up the updated workstation, connect to the Tor network, and run the
following commands in a terminal: ::

cd ~/Persistent/securedrop
./securedrop-admin setup
./securedrop-admin tailsconfig

This will create a Python virtual environment compatible with Tails 6 and
re-apply the SecureDrop-specific configuration on your workstation.
You must run these commands on Tails 6 even if you have just run them on
Tails 5. This will create a Python virtual environment compatible with Tails 6
and re-apply the SecureDrop-specific configuration on your workstation.

Step 4: Verify that the workstation works as expected
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Expand All @@ -116,6 +118,7 @@ you are booting a *Journalist Workstation* or an *Admin Workstation*.
Confirm that all options work as expected.

.. note:: Support for desktop shortcuts has been removed in Tails 6.
Use the *Securedrop Menu* to access all SecureDrop-related features.

.. |The SecureDrop Menu| image:: ../images/securedrop_menu.png
:alt: The SecureDrop Menu, showing all available options.
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