diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 71641293e..bc2bfa56f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ BUG FIXES:
   - core: Prerelease plugins installed are locked to that prerelease
       version. [GH-3301]
   - core: Better error message when adding a box with a malformed version. [GH-3332]
+  - core: Fix a rare issue where vagrant up would complain it couldn't
+      check version of a box that doesn't exist. [GH-3326]
   - commands/box: Show versions when listing. [GH-3316]
   - commands/status: Machine readable output contains the target. [GH-3218]
   - guests/arch: Reload udev rules after network change. [GH-3322]
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated.rb b/lib/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated.rb
index 944fb6246..fcd88c384 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated.rb
@@ -23,10 +23,9 @@ module Vagrant
           end
 
           if !machine.box
-            # The box doesn't exist. I suppose technically that means
-            # that it is "outdated" but we show a specialized error
-            # message anyways.
-            raise Errors::BoxOutdatedNoBox, name: machine.config.vm.box
+            # We don't have a box. Just ignore, we can't check for
+            # outdated...
+            return @app.call(env)
           end
 
           box = machine.box
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/errors.rb b/lib/vagrant/errors.rb
index 03c6578fa..a886560ca 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/errors.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/errors.rb
@@ -184,10 +184,6 @@ module Vagrant
       error_key(:box_not_found_with_provider)
     end
 
-    class BoxOutdatedNoBox < VagrantError
-      error_key(:box_outdated_no_box)
-    end
-
     class BoxProviderDoesntMatch < VagrantError
       error_key(:box_provider_doesnt_match)
     end
diff --git a/templates/locales/en.yml b/templates/locales/en.yml
index bcf2b24d1..b4017f3b3 100644
--- a/templates/locales/en.yml
+++ b/templates/locales/en.yml
@@ -407,10 +407,6 @@ en:
         the box are shown below:
 
         %{providers}
-      box_outdated_no_box: |-
-        The box '%{name}' isn't downloaded or added yet, so we can't
-        check if it is outdated. Run a `vagrant up` or add the box
-        with `vagrant box add` to download an appropriate version.
       box_provider_doesnt_match: |-
         The box you attempted to add doesn't match the provider you specified.
 
diff --git a/test/unit/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated_test.rb b/test/unit/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated_test.rb
index 0bb133549..9e1a2051e 100644
--- a/test/unit/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated_test.rb
@@ -65,10 +65,11 @@ describe Vagrant::Action::Builtin::BoxCheckOutdated do
     it "raises an exception if the machine doesn't have a box yet" do
       machine.stub(box: nil)
 
-      expect(app).to receive(:call).never
+      expect(app).to receive(:call).with(env).once
 
-      expect { subject.call(env) }.
-        to raise_error(Vagrant::Errors::BoxOutdatedNoBox)
+      subject.call(env)
+
+      expect(env).to_not have_key(:box_outdated)
     end
   end