Regarding an email received from forticloud: FortiGate Cloud FortiGate Firmware Upgrade Policy Chang

[MORAMADAN]

Recently I have recieved this email from forticloud:

-------------Start-----------------

Dear Customer,
We are reaching out to inform you about an important update regarding FortiGates provisioned to FortiGate Cloud without active subscriptions.
To ensure robust security posture of your devices, starting Feb 28, 2025 FortiGate devices without an active FortiGate Cloud subscription will be required to upgrade to the latest firmware patch within 7 days of patch GA release.
This change ensures enhanced security, reliability, and compliance with the latest features and updates provided by FortiGate Cloud. FortiGate Cloud will provide notification and prompts for upgrade when new patches are available on the web portal and the option to configure the upgrade time/day window of choice within 7-day schedule for convenience. Please note that cloud access and log upload to FortiGate Cloud can be restricted if not upgraded for devices without subscription.

What does this mean for you:
1. To maintain uninterrupted service, make sure to apply firmware updates promptly within the 7-day window for devices without subscription. FortiOS auto-patch upgrade feature can be used to stay on the latest firmware patches.
2. For all devices, review your FortiGate Cloud subscription status and firmware upgrade settings to ensure devices are up to date with the latest firmware patch versions. Reminding feature is available for devices with active FortiGate Cloud subscription only.

-----------END----------

We are using this fortigate cloud for only the free logging on the cloud and nothig else.

so, from this email will I have to follow the latest fortios software version too, or I am not subjected to this email ? 

TIA

[Thonno]

+1

[funkylicious]

You should not have to worry about it if you are only using it for sending logs as per my understading of how FGT Cloud works.

[Thonno]

"starting Feb 28, 2025 FortiGate devices without an active FortiGate Cloud subscription will be required to upgrade to the latest firmware patch within 7 days of patch GA release."

It sounds like if you are using the free subscription and don't upgrade to the latest firmware patch within 7 days of its release, you won't be able to upload logs to FortiGate Cloud.

I may have misunderstood.

[Toshi_Esumi]

You have "subscriptions" like FortiCare, Firmware Updates, AntiVirus, Web Filtering, etc. So you wouldn't lose the cloud logging.
And, if you haven't changed the default setting 7.2.x or above, your FGT would be upgraded to the latest release of the major version automatically.

Toshi

[MORAMADAN]

Thank you all so much, We have opened ticket with TAC. and will let you know the findings.

[Matt_B · Accepted solution]

Not monitoring this post, but dropping "word of TAC" here in since I'm seeing it's unclear.

This February 28 2025 FortiGate Cloud change applies for devices without a FortiGate Cloud subscription, either per-device or at the account level. It is different from but easily confused with the November 1 2024 change that enforced patch-level upgrade for devices without such a subscription.

Going forward, FortiGate Cloud upgrading FortiGate automatically using the latest-patch firmware profile will no longer be mandatory, nor available for "no subscription" devices.

Instead, access to FortiGate Cloud services like logging will be paused for "no FortiGate Cloud subscription" devices unless they are running the latest patch in their Minor Version release. This pause doesn't affect FortiGate functions that don't depend on FortiGate Cloud, like UTM signature updates or firmware updates.

One more thing, "patch-level" upgrade is upgrade to latest GA release in current branch, for example 7.4 FortiGate should be running latest v7.4.X release to be in compliance, no need to upgrade to v7.6. The exception is once a branch is passed the EOS date, the device must be upgraded to an in-support branch. Since v7.0 is EOS on 2025-09-30, a v7.0 FortiGate would need to upgrade to v7.2 at that time to continue using FortiGate Cloud logging.

Hope that clears things up a bit.