WSL 2: "sudo apt-get update" gives "Temporary failure resolving ..." error

PMM 11

Installed WSL 2 (Debian, but previously tried Ubuntu with same issues). Installation went smoothly, but when I tried the following:

wsl2-prompt> sudo apt-get update

I get the following output to the terminal:

Err:1 http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'security.debian.org'
Err:2 http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'deb.debian.org'
Err:3 http://ftp.debian.org/debian bullseye-backports InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'ftp.debian.org'
Err:4 http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'deb.debian.org'
Reading package lists... Done
W: Failed to fetch http://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/bullseye/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'deb.debian.org'
W: Failed to fetch http://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/bullseye-updates/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'deb.debian.org'
W: Failed to fetch http://security.debian.org/debian-security/dists/bullseye-security/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'security.debian.org'
W: Failed to fetch http://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/bullseye-backports/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'ftp.debian.org'
W: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.

I am aware that there are networking issues with WSL 2 and have spent 4 days trying to sort out my issues. Unfortunately, there are many "try this, try that" suggestions out there with no clear answer (and certainly no clear reason for why there is this problem to begin with). Many of the suggestions actually contradict each other, which is not helpful (e.g., "change /etc/wsl.conf to have 'generateResolvConf=false' versus just putting 'generateResolvConf' per the learn.microsoft.com troubleshooting guides)

I do have Cisco AnyConnect but the problem I am experiencing (see above) occurs independent of whether VPN is working or not, so the underlying issue does not seem to be related to the "Cisco AnyConnect" problem for which I have also seen suggestions posted.

For the record, I have successfully installed WSL1 and have full "apt-get upgrade" capability. The problem is inherent with WSL2.

I have tried a hundred different combinations of things, like changing the contents of /etc/resolv.conf, /etc/wsl.conf, ~/.wslconfig, etc as suggested by several resources including including https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/troubleshooting, https://gist.github.com/coltenkrauter/608cfe02319ce60facd76373249b8ca6, https://janovesk.com/wsl/2022/01/21/wsl2-and-vpn-routing.html

Summary: what do I need to do, step-by-step, to get "sudo apt-get update" to work without a "Temporary failure resolving ..." error in my WSL2/Debian installation?

Peter Farley 1 Reputation point

2022-05-20T06:09:51.34+00:00

I have a similar problem but I have no VPN. What I do have is Oracle VirtualBox installed, and the VIrtualBox software sets up its own virtual ethernet adapter with nameservers specified like this:

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1

Somehow when you convert a WSL2 distribution (like Ubuntu-20.04 or Debian) to WSL2, the Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapter set up by WSL2 gets these VirtualBox nameservrers instead of the one my REAL ethernet adapter has, which is just 10.0.0.1, the address of the router behind which my PC is located. The router attaches to a cable modem from the cable company who supplies my internet access.

I tried the resolv.conf and wsl.conf solution, using 10.0.0.1 for the resolv.conf nameserver value, but it did not help - still could not use sudo apt update and had to revert the instance back to WSL1.

If anyone else solves this non-VPN problem I would appreciate hearing about it. p j farley 3 at yahoo dot com will reach me privately if you prefer.

Peter
Wayne Dawson 5 Reputation points

2023-04-12T14:12:46.4333333+00:00

In my case it appears our patching team tried to "update" a vulnerability in one package by deleting it from wsl. (Our endpoints have a Nessus agent running on them). I thought I was going to have to delete my apt lists directory content, but simply restarting WSL worked.
Shen, Chang 0 Reputation points

2024-09-18T14:39:37.43+00:00

I added 8.8.8.8, not working. I even added vpn dns as well. not working

6 answers

gia fitano 0 Reputation points

2024-09-20T15:43:52.9833333+00:00

How about we not use this until Microsoft fixes their sh*t. After messing with this for several weeks, I uninstalled WSL and use VMWare Workstation instead. It works without issues.

Come on, Microsoft, don't put the onus to fix your stuff on your users. That is extremely unprofessional.
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WSL 2: "sudo apt-get update" gives "Temporary failure resolving ..." error

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