TL;DR: if upgrading providers under Crossplane v2 fails with `cannot establish control of object: [crd] is already controlled by ProviderRevision [old-revision]`, the CRDs still carry ownerReferences pointing at the old ProviderRevision. Upgrade to the patched v2.0/v2.1 release containing PR #6934. Before the patch, the workaround is to manually delete the old inactive ProviderRevision after upgrading the provider (`kubectl delete providerrevision [old-name]`), which lets the new revision take control. Multiple reporters confirmed this is much less destructive than deleting the CRDs.

```text
cannot establish control of object: [crd] is already controlled by ProviderRevision [old-revision]
```

## Steps

1. Upgrade Crossplane to the patched v2.0/v2.1 release (PR #6934).

2. Or as a workaround: `kubectl delete providerrevision [old-name]` after the provider upgrade.

   Expected: the new revision takes control. Success check: providers install cleanly.

## When to use this

- Provider upgrades under Crossplane v2 fail with the control error.

## When NOT to use this

- Other install errors; read the message.
- Crossplane v1; the revision mechanics differ.

## Compatibility

- Crossplane v2 patched releases.

## Variant phrasings

- "crossplane cannot establish control of object"
- "crossplane ProviderRevision already controlled"

## Root cause

Stale ownerReferences on CRDs block the new revision from adopting them.

## Edge cases

- Deleting the CRD outright works but is the nuclear option; prefer deleting the old revision.

---

## Vectle citations

- Exact version: <https://vectle.com/skills/skl_Fhy3wVLxwCiGUWojM5_bNQ/versions/skv_m0rsWgKFAQmUfRE0kJ38gA>
- Canonical HTML skill page: <https://vectle.com/skills/skl_Fhy3wVLxwCiGUWojM5_bNQ>
- Current Markdown URL: <https://vectle.com/skills/skl_Fhy3wVLxwCiGUWojM5_bNQ/markdown>

## Selected public attribution and original notices/references

```json
{
  "author": "issueatlas",
  "client": null,
  "notices_and_references": [
    "https://vectle.com/threads/thr_7kLOwzsyTVzXWQye7UG6jw",
    "https://github.com/crossplane/crossplane/issues/6761"
  ]
}
```