Hello, I just updated to the latest (26.9.27) version via Windows full installer, even run as admin from the start to see if it would change anything, but once installed I get this error both on app load and when trying to look for updates manually. Latest Win10 x64.
(sidenote but, if this gets seen by staff, may as well also report that I’m running it in Italian and the fourth tab in the top right menu is misspelled as Riporduttore instead of Riproduttore)
Not going to fix. It cannot establish a secure HTTP connection on Windows 10 for whatever reason, and I had to remove the fallback to allow an unsecure connection. Read the security notice on the release notes . Also, the developers do not make translations, and the Italian translators are unlikely read your post. See Shotcut - How to Contribute
I just tested the new version on Windows 10, and the update check works for me. From View > Application Log:
[Info ] <MainWindow::showStatusMessage> "Checking for upgrade..."
[Debug ] <MainWindow::onUpgradeCheckFinished> response: "{\n \"version_number\": 26927,\n \"version_string\": \"26.9.27\",\n \"url\": \"https://shotcut.org/blog/new-release-26.9.27/\"\n}\n"
[Info ] <MainWindow::showStatusMessage> "You are running the latest version of Shotcut."
| Edition | Windows 10 Home |
|---|---|
| Version | 22H2 |
| Installed on | 4/18/2024 |
| OS Build | 19045.6466 |
Any further info I can provide that can help identify why it does over there but not over here?
Norton is installed but the app is allowed through by default and the issue is there with it turned off as well.
My log just shows
[Info ] <MainWindow::showStatusMessage> "Checking for upgrade..."
[Debug ] <MainWindow::open> "C:/Users/me/AppData/Local/Meltytech/Shotcut/__untitled__.mlt"
[Debug ] <MltXmlChecker::check> begin
[Debug ] <MltXmlChecker::check> ""
[Debug ] <MltXmlChecker::check> end ""
[Warning] <MainWindow::onUpgradeCheckFinished> "TLS initialization failed"
I also get “Failed to read version.json” every time I open Shotcut. I had never once seen this error message before 26.9.27.
PC running Windows 10.
I just noticed I also have this error, both on Win10 desktop and Windows 11 laptop.
This is the output from laptop (2nd upgrade check was manually Help->Upgrade…)
[Info ] <MainWindow::showStatusMessage> "Checking for upgrade..."
[Debug ] <MainWindow::open> "C:/Users/Daniel/AppData/Local/Meltytech/Shotcut/__untitled__.mlt"
[Debug ] <MltXmlChecker::check> begin
[Debug ] <MltXmlChecker::check> ""
[Debug ] <MltXmlChecker::check> end ""
[Warning] <MainWindow::onUpgradeCheckFinished> "TLS initialization failed"
[Debug ] <AudioLoudnessScopeWidget::resetQview> begin isSceneGraphInitialized false
[Info ] <MainWindow::showStatusMessage> "Checking for upgrade..."
[Warning] <MainWindow::onUpgradeCheckFinished> "TLS initialization failed"
Shotcut relies upon Windows Certificate Store to handle TLS (SSL) handshakes.
Schannel uses the cipher suites enabled in the Windows Registry.
If a Windows 10/11 system has restricted cipher suites, disabled TLS 1.2 / TLS 1.3, or strict Group Policy settings enforced (common on managed PCs or systems modified by privacy/hardening tools), Schannel will fail to negotiate a handshake with the remote web server.
Qt fails immediately with TLS initialization failed if Schannel cannot find a mutually agreeable cipher suite or protocol version.
The server hosting check.shotcut.org uses modern SSL certificates (e.g., Let’s Encrypt or similar automated CAS).
Windows updates root CA certificates dynamically in the background via Windows Update (crypt32.dll).
If a user’s machine has disabled automatic root certificate updates, or is behind a strict network policy, Schannel may not recognize the root CA certificate used by the server, causing initialization to abort before completing the connection.
Antivirus programs (like Norton, Kaspersky, or Bitdefender) or local proxy/VPN tools often use HTTPS/SSL Inspection (TLS interception).
They insert a custom, locally-generated root certificate into the system or intercept Schannel API hooks directly.
While web browsers frequently handle these intercepted certificates fine (or maintain their own certificate stores), Qt’s Schannel plugin will throw a TLS initialization failed warning if it detects an unexpected certificate chain structure or an untrusted local proxy certificate.
The certificate for [https://check.shotcut.org/version.json](https://check.shotcut.org/version.json) itself is valid, but using Schannel shifts all cryptographic responsibility onto the local Windows installation. Systems fail if they are missing required TLS 1.2/1.3 ciphers, have outdated root certificates, run SSL-inspecting security software, or fail to load Qt’s native qschannelbackend plugin.
I did some investigation of the issue on my pc, with the help of Claude.
Application Log shows: MainWindow::onUpgradeCheckFinished "TLS initialization failed"
Windows Schannel is fine: Invoke-WebRequest https://check.shotcut.org/version.json in Windows PowerShell returns 200 OK.
Renaming lib\qt6\tls\qopensslbackend.dll to .bak makes the error go away, so Qt seems to prefer the OpenSSL backend over Schannel and then fail to initialize it.
No OpenSSL DLLs on PATH (where libssl-3-x64.dll libcrypto-3-x64.dll finds nothing), so it’s not a conflicting OpenSSL from another app.
In the install folder, libcrypto-3-x64.dll is present but libssl-3-x64.dll is missing, so the OpenSSL backend can’t initialize.
This happens when you upgrade over an existing install. Those DLLs you mentioned are no longer included in new installs. To fix it, uninstall and reinstall.
OK, I renamed programs/Shotcut and did a fresh install, and the error message is gone.
My guess is that the deprecated DLLs are probably the issue for most people with the error message.
Maybe worth running a cleanup of all deprecated DLLs in a future shotcut-version.exe?
This worked for me too.
I updated the installer to remove the previous version by default when doing an upgrade.
