"Unable to contact update server"

[coyote2]

For a few weeks utorrent on both my Windows (7, 8.1) computers get the error message "Unable to contact update server".

Other than that I don't have any connectivity issues.

[mike20021969]

Update server could be offline, or a host entry could be blocking it.

[coyote2]

On 8/17/2018 at 7:40 AM, mike20021969 said:

Update server could be offline, or a host entry could be blocking it.

Since it's been happening for weeks, could the update server really be offline?  (The first time it happened utorrent DID update on one PC, but not on the other).

My c:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts file contains no lines that aren't commented out.  (I'm unsure what to make of this.)

[mike20021969]

52 minutes ago, coyote2 said:

could the update server really be offline?

Even with hosts disabled, I too can not contact update server.

So yes it could be offline.

But most of the time it's unreliable anyway as more often than not it doesn't detect an update even when there is one(!)

The best way to be notified of an update is to follow/subscribe to THIS thread

[coyote2]

Thank you very much, Mike.  (Actually I use a utility that tells me when new software versions come out.)

When I d/l a newer utorrent version over the web, can I hope it will retain the settings of my existing version?

[mike20021969]

If the file is downloaded from an official link or trusted source, you should be OK. A good idea is to check the file's properties to make sure it's digital signature is intact (i.e. the file hasn't been tampered with).