Technical Tip: FortiSwitch health status displayed as 'Unknown' under managed FortiSwitches

When managing FortiSwitches from a FortiGate device under the Managed FortiSwitches section in WiFi & Switch Controller, users can view various details such as Health Status, Status, Model, Firmware Version, and more.

In FortiOS version 7.6.1, the Health Status of the Managed FortiSwitches may appear as 'Unknown' instead of the actual health status of the device. This issue is triggered only when the FortiSwitch name differs from its serial number. In such cases, the GUI fails to retrieve and display the correct health status.


To resolve this temporarily, rename the switch to match its serial number, which is the default naming convention. This allows the health status to be displayed correctly in the GUI.

config switch-controller managed-switch
    rename <OLD-NAME> to <SERIAL-NUMBER>
end

Note: Renaming the managed-switch will make the switch offline and online momentarily; therefore, it should be performed during a maintenance window to avoid disruption during production hours.

This issue has been resolved in FortiOS versions.

• v7.6.4 (already available in the support portal).
• v8.0.0 (scheduled to be released in late February 2026).

This timeline for firmware release is an estimate and may be subject to change.