diff --git a/newt/repo/repo.go b/newt/repo/repo.go
index 09e0456bdb..e29efacaf9 100644
--- a/newt/repo/repo.go
+++ b/newt/repo/repo.go
@@ -323,6 +323,10 @@ func (r *Repo) Upgrade(ver newtutil.RepoVersion) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	if branch := r.downloader.MainBranch(); branch != "" {
+		commit = branch
+	}
+
 	if err := r.updateRepo(commit); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}