diff --git a/changelog.d/downloader/3229.misc.rst b/changelog.d/downloader/3229.misc.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..12382355f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/downloader/3229.misc.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix `UnboundLocalError` in cog update that happened when cogs were already up-to-date.
diff --git a/redbot/cogs/downloader/downloader.py b/redbot/cogs/downloader/downloader.py
index 3287977a5..3913cc739 100644
--- a/redbot/cogs/downloader/downloader.py
+++ b/redbot/cogs/downloader/downloader.py
@@ -859,6 +859,7 @@ class Downloader(commands.Cog):
             pinned_cogs = {cog for cog in cogs_to_check if cog.pinned}
             cogs_to_check -= pinned_cogs
             if not cogs_to_check:
+                cogs_to_update = libs_to_update = ()
                 message += _("There were no cogs to check.")
                 if pinned_cogs:
                     cognames = [cog.name for cog in pinned_cogs]