GitHub Actions "runner has not been able to update telemetry"
The runner could not send telemetry/heartbeat data to the control plane. On its own it is a connectivity warning, but it often precedes a lost-runner failure - the network between the runner and the service is degraded.
What this error means
The log shows The runner has not been able to update telemetry (sometimes repeatedly). The job may continue, or it may be followed by a lost-communication failure if connectivity does not recover. A retry on a healthy runner completes.
The runner has not been able to update telemetry.
# may be followed later by:
The runner has received a shutdown signal.Common causes
Degraded network between runner and control plane
Packet loss or congestion on the runner’s egress path stops telemetry/heartbeat updates from reaching the service. It is an infrastructure symptom, not a problem with your build.
A transient control-plane or proxy hiccup
A brief blip on the service side or an intermediary proxy can cause telemetry updates to fail momentarily, recovering on their own.
How to fix it
Retry the job
- Re-run the workflow - if connectivity was transiently degraded, a fresh runner completes the job.
- If it recurs on a self-hosted host, check that host’s network health and egress to the control plane.
- Ensure the runner can reach the required service endpoints (no firewall/proxy blocking).
Check runner network health
When this repeats, look at connectivity from the runner outward.
curl -sS -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' https://api.github.com
ping -c 3 api.github.comHow to prevent it
- Run jobs on stable network capacity for work that cannot tolerate a drop.
- Monitor self-hosted runner egress and connectivity to the control plane.
- Make jobs idempotent so a connectivity-driven retry is safe.