diff --git a/agentops/__init__.py b/agentops/__init__.py
index 5798c366..9397d6b3 100755
--- a/agentops/__init__.py
+++ b/agentops/__init__.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 from .helpers import check_agentops_update
 from .log_config import logger
 from .session import Session
+import threading
 
 try:
     from .partners.langchain_callback_handler import (
@@ -62,7 +63,8 @@ def init(
     Attributes:
     """
     Client().unsuppress_logs()
-    check_agentops_update()
+    t = threading.Thread(target=check_agentops_update)
+    t.start()
 
     if Client().is_initialized:
         return logger.warning(
diff --git a/agentops/helpers.py b/agentops/helpers.py
index bd95e868..9e7e873a 100644
--- a/agentops/helpers.py
+++ b/agentops/helpers.py
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 import json
 import inspect
 from typing import Union
+import requests
+from importlib.metadata import version, PackageNotFoundError
 
 from .log_config import logger
 from uuid import UUID
@@ -150,15 +152,19 @@ def get_agentops_version():
 
 
 def check_agentops_update():
-    result = subprocess.run(
-        ["pip", "list", "--outdated"], capture_output=True, text=True
-    )
-    lines = result.stdout.splitlines()[2:]  # Skip the header lines
-    for line in lines:
-        parts = line.split()
-        if len(parts) > 0 and parts[0] == "agentops":
+    response = requests.get("https://pypi.org/pypi/agentops/json")
+
+    if response.status_code == 200:
+        latest_version = response.json()["info"]["version"]
+
+        try:
+            current_version = version("agentops")
+        except PackageNotFoundError:
+            return None
+
+        if not latest_version == current_version:
             logger.warning(
-                f" WARNING: {parts[0]} is out of date. Please update with the command: 'pip install --upgrade agentops'"
+                f" WARNING: agentops is out of date. Please update with the command: 'pip install --upgrade agentops'"
             )
 
 
diff --git a/tests/core_manual_tests/canary.py b/tests/core_manual_tests/canary.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..325cb840
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/core_manual_tests/canary.py
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import agentops
+from openai import OpenAI
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+from agentops import ActionEvent
+
+load_dotenv()
+agentops.init()
+openai = OpenAI()
+
+messages = [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
+
+# option 1: use session.patch
+response = openai.chat.completions.create(
+    model="gpt-3.5-turbo",
+    messages=messages,
+    temperature=0.5,
+)
+
+agentops.record(ActionEvent(action_type="test event"))
+
+agentops.end_session(end_state="Success")
+
+###
+#  Used to verify that one session is created with one LLM event
+###