diff --git a/frontend/src/Settings/General/UpdateSettings.js b/frontend/src/Settings/General/UpdateSettings.js
index f50ff1a7c..c76dc6339 100644
--- a/frontend/src/Settings/General/UpdateSettings.js
+++ b/frontend/src/Settings/General/UpdateSettings.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
 import React from 'react';
+import titleCase from 'Utilities/String/titleCase';
 import { inputTypes, sizes } from 'Helpers/Props';
 import FieldSet from 'Components/FieldSet';
 import FormGroup from 'Components/Form/FormGroup';
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@ function UpdateSettings(props) {
     advancedSettings,
     settings,
     isWindows,
+    packageUpdateMechanism,
     onInputChange
   } = props;
 
@@ -25,10 +27,20 @@ function UpdateSettings(props) {
     return null;
   }
 
-  const updateOptions = [
-    { key: 'builtIn', value: 'Built-In' },
-    { key: 'script', value: 'Script' }
-  ];
+  const usingExternalUpdateMechanism = packageUpdateMechanism !== 'builtIn';
+
+  const updateOptions = [];
+
+  if (usingExternalUpdateMechanism) {
+    updateOptions.push({
+      key: packageUpdateMechanism,
+      value: titleCase(packageUpdateMechanism)
+    });
+  } else {
+    updateOptions.push({ key: 'builtIn', value: 'Built-In' });
+  }
+
+  updateOptions.push({ key: 'script', value: 'Script' });
 
   return (
     <FieldSet legend="Updates">
@@ -41,10 +53,11 @@ function UpdateSettings(props) {
         <FormInputGroup
           type={inputTypes.TEXT}
           name="branch"
-          helpText="Branch to use to update Radarr"
+          helpText={usingExternalUpdateMechanism ? 'Branch used by external update mechanism' : 'Branch to use to update Radarr'}
           helpLink="https://github.com/Radarr/Radarr/wiki/Release-Branches"
-          onChange={onInputChange}
           {...branch}
+          onChange={onInputChange}
+          readOnly={usingExternalUpdateMechanism}
         />
       </FormGroup>
 
@@ -111,6 +124,7 @@ UpdateSettings.propTypes = {
   advancedSettings: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
   settings: PropTypes.object.isRequired,
   isWindows: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
+  packageUpdateMechanism: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
   onInputChange: PropTypes.func.isRequired
 };
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/System/Status/About/About.js b/frontend/src/System/Status/About/About.js
index 7751068a9..d04e8b99e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/System/Status/About/About.js
+++ b/frontend/src/System/Status/About/About.js
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ class About extends Component {
   render() {
     const {
       version,
+      packageVersion,
+      packageAuthor,
       isNetCore,
       isMono,
       isDocker,
@@ -36,6 +38,14 @@ class About extends Component {
             data={version}
           />
 
+          {
+            packageVersion &&
+              <DescriptionListItem
+                title="Package Version"
+                data={(packageAuthor ? `${packageVersion} by ${packageAuthor}` : packageVersion)}
+              />
+          }
+
           {
             isMono &&
               <DescriptionListItem
@@ -99,6 +109,8 @@ class About extends Component {
 
 About.propTypes = {
   version: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
+  packageVersion: PropTypes.string,
+  packageAuthor: PropTypes.string,
   isNetCore: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
   isMono: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
   runtimeVersion: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
diff --git a/frontend/src/System/Updates/Updates.js b/frontend/src/System/Updates/Updates.js
index 2e872eb68..290c9844d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/System/Updates/Updates.js
+++ b/frontend/src/System/Updates/Updates.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import _ from 'lodash';
 import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
-import React, { Component } from 'react';
+import React, { Component, Fragment } from 'react';
 import { icons, kinds } from 'Helpers/Props';
 import formatDate from 'Utilities/Date/formatDate';
 import LoadingIndicator from 'Components/Loading/LoadingIndicator';
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ class Updates extends Component {
       generalSettingsError,
       items,
       isInstallingUpdate,
+      updateMechanism,
       isDocker,
       shortDateFormat,
       onInstallLatestPress
@@ -37,6 +38,12 @@ class Updates extends Component {
     const hasUpdateToInstall = hasUpdates && _.some(items, { installable: true, latest: true });
     const noUpdateToInstall = hasUpdates && !hasUpdateToInstall;
 
+    const externalUpdaterMessages = {
+      external: 'Unable to update Radarr directly, Radarr is configured to use an external update mechanism',
+      apt: 'Unable to update Radarr directly, use apt to install the update',
+      docker: 'Unable to update Radarr directly, update the docker container to receive the update'
+    };
+
     return (
       <PageContent title="Updates">
         <PageContentBodyConnector>
@@ -52,9 +59,9 @@ class Updates extends Component {
 
           {
             hasUpdateToInstall &&
-              <div className={styles.updateAvailable}>
+              <div className={styles.messageContainer}>
                 {
-                  !isDocker &&
+                  (updateMechanism === 'builtIn' || updateMechanism === 'script') && !isDocker ?
                     <SpinnerButton
                       className={styles.updateAvailable}
                       kind={kinds.PRIMARY}
@@ -62,14 +69,19 @@ class Updates extends Component {
                       onPress={onInstallLatestPress}
                     >
                       Install Latest
-                    </SpinnerButton>
-                }
+                    </SpinnerButton> :
 
-                {
-                  isDocker &&
-                    <div className={styles.upToDateMessage}>
-                      An update is available.  Please update your Docker image and re-create the container.
-                    </div>
+                    <Fragment>
+                      <Icon
+                        name={icons.WARNING}
+                        kind={kinds.WARNING}
+                        size={30}
+                      />
+
+                      <div className={styles.message}>
+                        {externalUpdaterMessages[updateMechanism] || externalUpdaterMessages.external}
+                      </div>
+                    </Fragment>
                 }
 
                 {
diff --git a/src/NzbDrone.Core/Configuration/DeploymentInfoProvider.cs b/src/NzbDrone.Core/Configuration/DeploymentInfoProvider.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..560699b4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/NzbDrone.Core/Configuration/DeploymentInfoProvider.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
+using NzbDrone.Common.Disk;
+using NzbDrone.Common.EnvironmentInfo;
+using NzbDrone.Common.Extensions;
+using NzbDrone.Core.Update;
+
+namespace NzbDrone.Core.Configuration
+{
+    public interface IDeploymentInfoProvider
+    {
+        string PackageVersion { get; }
+        string PackageAuthor { get; }
+        string PackageBranch { get; }
+        UpdateMechanism PackageUpdateMechanism { get; }
+
+        string ReleaseVersion { get; }
+        string ReleaseBranch { get; }
+
+        bool IsExternalUpdateMechanism { get; }
+        UpdateMechanism DefaultUpdateMechanism { get; }
+        string DefaultBranch { get; }
+    }
+
+    public class DeploymentInfoProvider : IDeploymentInfoProvider
+    {
+        public DeploymentInfoProvider(IAppFolderInfo appFolderInfo, IDiskProvider diskProvider)
+        {
+            var bin = appFolderInfo.StartUpFolder;
+            var packageInfoPath = Path.Combine(bin, "..", "package_info");
+            var releaseInfoPath = Path.Combine(bin, "release_info");
+
+            PackageUpdateMechanism = UpdateMechanism.BuiltIn;
+            DefaultBranch = "aphrodite";
+
+            if (Path.GetFileName(bin) == "bin" && diskProvider.FileExists(packageInfoPath))
+            {
+                var data = diskProvider.ReadAllText(packageInfoPath);
+
+                PackageVersion = ReadValue(data, "PackageVersion");
+                PackageAuthor = ReadValue(data, "PackageAuthor");
+                PackageUpdateMechanism = ReadEnumValue(data, "UpdateMethod", UpdateMechanism.BuiltIn);
+                PackageBranch = ReadValue(data, "Branch");
+
+                ReleaseVersion = ReadValue(data, "ReleaseVersion");
+
+                if (PackageBranch.IsNotNullOrWhiteSpace())
+                {
+                    DefaultBranch = PackageBranch;
+                }
+            }
+
+            if (diskProvider.FileExists(releaseInfoPath))
+            {
+                var data = diskProvider.ReadAllText(releaseInfoPath);
+
+                ReleaseVersion = ReadValue(data, "ReleaseVersion", ReleaseVersion);
+                ReleaseBranch = ReadValue(data, "Branch");
+
+                if (ReleaseBranch.IsNotNullOrWhiteSpace())
+                {
+                    DefaultBranch = ReleaseBranch;
+                }
+            }
+
+            DefaultUpdateMechanism = PackageUpdateMechanism;
+        }
+
+        private static string ReadValue(string fileData, string key, string defaultValue = null)
+        {
+            var match = Regex.Match(fileData, "^" + key + "=(.*)$", RegexOptions.Multiline);
+            if (match.Success)
+            {
+                return match.Groups[1].Value.Trim();
+            }
+
+            return defaultValue;
+        }
+
+        private static T ReadEnumValue<T>(string fileData, string key, T defaultValue)
+            where T : struct
+        {
+            var value = ReadValue(fileData, key);
+            if (value != null && Enum.TryParse<T>(value, true, out var result))
+            {
+                return result;
+            }
+
+            return defaultValue;
+        }
+
+        public string PackageVersion { get; private set; }
+        public string PackageAuthor { get; private set; }
+        public string PackageBranch { get; private set; }
+        public UpdateMechanism PackageUpdateMechanism { get; private set; }
+
+        public string ReleaseVersion { get; private set; }
+        public string ReleaseBranch { get; set; }
+
+        public bool IsExternalUpdateMechanism => PackageUpdateMechanism >= UpdateMechanism.External;
+        public UpdateMechanism DefaultUpdateMechanism { get; private set; }
+        public string DefaultBranch { get; private set; }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/ConfigureUpdateMechanism.cs b/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/ConfigureUpdateMechanism.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1f001d280
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/ConfigureUpdateMechanism.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using NLog;
+using NzbDrone.Common.Extensions;
+using NzbDrone.Core.Configuration;
+using NzbDrone.Core.Lifecycle;
+using NzbDrone.Core.Messaging.Events;
+
+namespace NzbDrone.Core.Update
+{
+    public interface IUpdaterConfigProvider
+    {
+    }
+
+    public class UpdaterConfigProvider : IUpdaterConfigProvider, IHandle<ApplicationStartedEvent>
+    {
+        private Logger _logger;
+        private IConfigFileProvider _configFileProvider;
+        private IDeploymentInfoProvider _deploymentInfoProvider;
+
+        public UpdaterConfigProvider(IDeploymentInfoProvider deploymentInfoProvider, IConfigFileProvider configFileProvider, Logger logger)
+        {
+            _deploymentInfoProvider = deploymentInfoProvider;
+            _configFileProvider = configFileProvider;
+            _logger = logger;
+        }
+
+        public void Handle(ApplicationStartedEvent message)
+        {
+            var updateMechanism = _configFileProvider.UpdateMechanism;
+            var packageUpdateMechanism = _deploymentInfoProvider.PackageUpdateMechanism;
+
+            var externalMechanisms = Enum.GetValues(typeof(UpdateMechanism))
+                                         .Cast<UpdateMechanism>()
+                                         .Where(v => v >= UpdateMechanism.External)
+                                         .ToArray();
+
+            foreach (var externalMechanism in externalMechanisms)
+            {
+                if ((packageUpdateMechanism != externalMechanism && updateMechanism == externalMechanism) ||
+                    (packageUpdateMechanism == externalMechanism && updateMechanism == UpdateMechanism.BuiltIn))
+                {
+                    _logger.Info("Update mechanism {0} not supported in the current configuration, changing to {1}.", updateMechanism, packageUpdateMechanism);
+                    ChangeUpdateMechanism(packageUpdateMechanism);
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+
+            if (_deploymentInfoProvider.IsExternalUpdateMechanism)
+            {
+                var currentBranch = _configFileProvider.Branch;
+                var packageBranch = _deploymentInfoProvider.PackageBranch;
+                if (packageBranch.IsNotNullOrWhiteSpace() & packageBranch != currentBranch)
+                {
+                    _logger.Info("External updater uses branch {0} instead of the currently selected {1}, changing to {0}.", packageBranch, currentBranch);
+                    ChangeBranch(packageBranch);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        private void ChangeUpdateMechanism(UpdateMechanism updateMechanism)
+        {
+            var config = new Dictionary<string, object>
+            {
+                [nameof(_configFileProvider.UpdateMechanism)] = updateMechanism
+            };
+            _configFileProvider.SaveConfigDictionary(config);
+        }
+
+        private void ChangeBranch(string branch)
+        {
+            var config = new Dictionary<string, object>
+            {
+                [nameof(_configFileProvider.Branch)] = branch
+            };
+            _configFileProvider.SaveConfigDictionary(config);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/InstallUpdateService.cs b/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/InstallUpdateService.cs
index ea644e2c3..413bf718f 100644
--- a/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/InstallUpdateService.cs
+++ b/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/InstallUpdateService.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-using System;
+using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.IO;
 using NLog;
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ namespace NzbDrone.Core.Update
         private readonly IProcessProvider _processProvider;
         private readonly IVerifyUpdates _updateVerifier;
         private readonly IStartupContext _startupContext;
+        private readonly IDeploymentInfoProvider _deploymentInfoProvider;
         private readonly IConfigFileProvider _configFileProvider;
         private readonly IRuntimeInfo _runtimeInfo;
         private readonly IBackupService _backupService;
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ namespace NzbDrone.Core.Update
                                     IProcessProvider processProvider,
                                     IVerifyUpdates updateVerifier,
                                     IStartupContext startupContext,
+                                    IDeploymentInfoProvider deploymentInfoProvider,
                                     IConfigFileProvider configFileProvider,
                                     IRuntimeInfo runtimeInfo,
                                     IBackupService backupService,
@@ -63,6 +65,7 @@ namespace NzbDrone.Core.Update
             _processProvider = processProvider;
             _updateVerifier = updateVerifier;
             _startupContext = startupContext;
+            _deploymentInfoProvider = deploymentInfoProvider;
             _configFileProvider = configFileProvider;
             _runtimeInfo = runtimeInfo;
             _backupService = backupService;
@@ -230,6 +233,18 @@ namespace NzbDrone.Core.Update
                 return;
             }
 
+            // Safety net, ConfigureUpdateMechanism should take care of invalid settings
+            if (_configFileProvider.UpdateMechanism == UpdateMechanism.BuiltIn && _deploymentInfoProvider.IsExternalUpdateMechanism)
+            {
+                _logger.ProgressDebug("Built-In updater disabled, please use {0} to install", _deploymentInfoProvider.PackageUpdateMechanism);
+                return;
+            }
+            else if (_configFileProvider.UpdateMechanism != UpdateMechanism.Script && _deploymentInfoProvider.IsExternalUpdateMechanism)
+            {
+                _logger.ProgressDebug("Update available, please use {0} to install", _deploymentInfoProvider.PackageUpdateMechanism);
+                return;
+            }
+
             try
             {
                 InstallUpdate(latestAvailable);
diff --git a/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/UpdateMechanism.cs b/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/UpdateMechanism.cs
index 8b647a1e7..f87dca79c 100644
--- a/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/UpdateMechanism.cs
+++ b/src/NzbDrone.Core/Update/UpdateMechanism.cs
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
-namespace NzbDrone.Core.Update
+namespace NzbDrone.Core.Update
 {
     public enum UpdateMechanism
     {
         BuiltIn = 0,
-        Script = 1
+        Script = 1,
+        External = 10,
+        Apt = 11,
+        Docker = 12
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Radarr.Api.V3/System/SystemModule.cs b/src/Radarr.Api.V3/System/SystemModule.cs
index 7a3b27bb2..d1c962268 100644
--- a/src/Radarr.Api.V3/System/SystemModule.cs
+++ b/src/Radarr.Api.V3/System/SystemModule.cs
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ namespace Radarr.Api.V3.System
         private readonly IConfigFileProvider _configFileProvider;
         private readonly IMainDatabase _database;
         private readonly ILifecycleService _lifecycleService;
+        private readonly IDeploymentInfoProvider _deploymentInfoProvider;
 
         public SystemModule(IAppFolderInfo appFolderInfo,
                             IRuntimeInfo runtimeInfo,
@@ -26,7 +27,8 @@ namespace Radarr.Api.V3.System
                             IRouteCacheProvider routeCacheProvider,
                             IConfigFileProvider configFileProvider,
                             IMainDatabase database,
-                            ILifecycleService lifecycleService)
+                            ILifecycleService lifecycleService,
+                            IDeploymentInfoProvider deploymentInfoProvider)
             : base("system")
         {
             _appFolderInfo = appFolderInfo;
@@ -37,6 +39,7 @@ namespace Radarr.Api.V3.System
             _configFileProvider = configFileProvider;
             _database = database;
             _lifecycleService = lifecycleService;
+            _deploymentInfoProvider = deploymentInfoProvider;
             Get("/status", x => GetStatus());
             Get("/routes", x => GetRoutes());
             Post("/shutdown", x => Shutdown());
@@ -71,7 +74,10 @@ namespace Radarr.Api.V3.System
                 UrlBase = _configFileProvider.UrlBase,
                 RuntimeVersion = _platformInfo.Version,
                 RuntimeName = PlatformInfo.Platform,
-                StartTime = _runtimeInfo.StartTime
+                StartTime = _runtimeInfo.StartTime,
+                PackageVersion = _deploymentInfoProvider.PackageVersion,
+                PackageAuthor = _deploymentInfoProvider.PackageAuthor,
+                PackageUpdateMechanism = _deploymentInfoProvider.PackageUpdateMechanism
             };
         }