diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/BUILD b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/BUILD
index 958b345a937..a8ea89fc999 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/BUILD
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/BUILD
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ go_library(
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/apiclient:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/config:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/dryrun:go_default_library",
-        "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kubeconfig:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/api/core/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors:go_default_library",
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/plan.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/plan.go
index a07d8646a7d..753d6da60fd 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/plan.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/plan.go
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ import (
 	outputapiv1alpha1 "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/output/v1alpha1"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade"
-	etcdutil "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd"
 )
 
 type planFlags struct {
@@ -73,28 +72,13 @@ func runPlan(flags *planFlags, userVersion string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	var etcdClient etcdutil.ClusterInterrogator
-
 	// Currently this is the only method we have for distinguishing
 	// external etcd vs static pod etcd
 	isExternalEtcd := cfg.Etcd.External != nil
-	if isExternalEtcd {
-		etcdClient, err = etcdutil.New(
-			cfg.Etcd.External.Endpoints,
-			cfg.Etcd.External.CAFile,
-			cfg.Etcd.External.CertFile,
-			cfg.Etcd.External.KeyFile)
-	} else {
-		// Connects to local/stacked etcd existing in the cluster
-		etcdClient, err = etcdutil.NewFromCluster(client, cfg.CertificatesDir)
-	}
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
 
 	// Compute which upgrade possibilities there are
 	klog.V(1).Infoln("[upgrade/plan] computing upgrade possibilities")
-	availUpgrades, err := upgrade.GetAvailableUpgrades(versionGetter, flags.allowExperimentalUpgrades, flags.allowRCUpgrades, etcdClient, cfg.DNS.Type, client)
+	availUpgrades, err := upgrade.GetAvailableUpgrades(versionGetter, flags.allowExperimentalUpgrades, flags.allowRCUpgrades, isExternalEtcd, cfg.DNS.Type, client, constants.GetStaticPodDirectory())
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "[upgrade/versions] FATAL")
 	}
@@ -161,10 +145,6 @@ func genUpgradePlan(up *upgrade.Upgrade, isExternalEtcd bool) (*outputapiv1alpha
 
 	components := []outputapiv1alpha1.ComponentUpgradePlan{}
 
-	if isExternalEtcd && up.CanUpgradeEtcd() {
-		components = append(components, newComponentUpgradePlan(constants.Etcd, up.Before.EtcdVersion, up.After.EtcdVersion))
-	}
-
 	if up.CanUpgradeKubelets() {
 		// The map is of the form <old-version>:<node-count>. Here all the keys are put into a slice and sorted
 		// in order to always get the right order. Then the map value is extracted separately
@@ -204,11 +184,8 @@ func printUpgradePlan(up *upgrade.Upgrade, plan *outputapiv1alpha1.UpgradePlan,
 	printManualUpgradeHeader := true
 	for _, component := range plan.Components {
 		if isExternalEtcd && component.Name == constants.Etcd {
-			fmt.Fprintln(w, "External components that should be upgraded manually before you upgrade the control plane with 'kubeadm upgrade apply':")
-			fmt.Fprintln(tabw, "COMPONENT\tCURRENT\tAVAILABLE")
-			fmt.Fprintf(tabw, "%s\t%s\t%s\n", component.Name, component.CurrentVersion, component.NewVersion)
-			// end of external components table
-			endOfTable()
+			// Don't print etcd if it's external
+			continue
 		} else if component.Name == constants.Kubelet {
 			if printManualUpgradeHeader {
 				fmt.Fprintln(w, "Components that must be upgraded manually after you have upgraded the control plane with 'kubeadm upgrade apply':")
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/plan_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/plan_test.go
index 560e6aa6120..8e9026c2920 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/plan_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/plan_test.go
@@ -429,11 +429,7 @@ _____________________________________________________________________
 				},
 			},
 			externalEtcd: true,
-			expectedBytes: []byte(`External components that should be upgraded manually before you upgrade the control plane with 'kubeadm upgrade apply':
-COMPONENT   CURRENT   AVAILABLE
-etcd        3.0.17    3.1.12
-
-Components that must be upgraded manually after you have upgraded the control plane with 'kubeadm upgrade apply':
+			expectedBytes: []byte(`Components that must be upgraded manually after you have upgraded the control plane with 'kubeadm upgrade apply':
 COMPONENT   CURRENT      AVAILABLE
 kubelet     1 x v1.9.2   v1.9.3
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/BUILD b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/BUILD
index 98061f26e61..620b5f16067 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/BUILD
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/BUILD
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ go_library(
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/apiclient:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/dryrun:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd:go_default_library",
+        "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/api/apps/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/api/batch/v1:go_default_library",
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute.go
index 440f330a1ea..c41f40fb216 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute.go
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import (
 	kubeadmapi "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm"
 	kubeadmconstants "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/addons/dns"
-	etcdutil "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd"
 )
 
 // Upgrade defines an upgrade possibility to upgrade from a current version to a new one
@@ -75,7 +74,7 @@ type ClusterState struct {
 
 // GetAvailableUpgrades fetches all versions from the specified VersionGetter and computes which
 // kinds of upgrades can be performed
-func GetAvailableUpgrades(versionGetterImpl VersionGetter, experimentalUpgradesAllowed, rcUpgradesAllowed bool, etcdClient etcdutil.ClusterInterrogator, dnsType kubeadmapi.DNSAddOnType, client clientset.Interface) ([]Upgrade, error) {
+func GetAvailableUpgrades(versionGetterImpl VersionGetter, experimentalUpgradesAllowed, rcUpgradesAllowed, externalEtcd bool, dnsType kubeadmapi.DNSAddOnType, client clientset.Interface, manifestsDir string) ([]Upgrade, error) {
 	fmt.Println("[upgrade] Fetching available versions to upgrade to")
 
 	// Collect the upgrades kubeadm can do in this list
@@ -111,10 +110,13 @@ func GetAvailableUpgrades(versionGetterImpl VersionGetter, experimentalUpgradesA
 		return upgrades, err
 	}
 
-	// Get current etcd version
-	etcdVersion, err := etcdClient.GetVersion()
-	if err != nil {
-		return upgrades, err
+	// Get current stacked etcd version on the local node
+	var etcdVersion string
+	if !externalEtcd {
+		etcdVersion, err = GetEtcdImageTagFromStaticPod(manifestsDir)
+		if err != nil {
+			return upgrades, err
+		}
 	}
 
 	currentDNSType, dnsVersion, err := dns.DeployedDNSAddon(client)
@@ -174,7 +176,7 @@ func GetAvailableUpgrades(versionGetterImpl VersionGetter, experimentalUpgradesA
 						DNSType:        dnsType,
 						DNSVersion:     kubeadmconstants.GetDNSVersion(dnsType),
 						KubeadmVersion: newKubeadmVer,
-						EtcdVersion:    getSuggestedEtcdVersion(patchVersionStr),
+						EtcdVersion:    getSuggestedEtcdVersion(externalEtcd, patchVersionStr),
 						// KubeletVersions is unset here as it is not used anywhere in .After
 					},
 				})
@@ -191,7 +193,7 @@ func GetAvailableUpgrades(versionGetterImpl VersionGetter, experimentalUpgradesA
 				DNSType:        dnsType,
 				DNSVersion:     kubeadmconstants.GetDNSVersion(dnsType),
 				KubeadmVersion: stableVersionStr,
-				EtcdVersion:    getSuggestedEtcdVersion(stableVersionStr),
+				EtcdVersion:    getSuggestedEtcdVersion(externalEtcd, stableVersionStr),
 				// KubeletVersions is unset here as it is not used anywhere in .After
 			},
 		})
@@ -239,7 +241,7 @@ func GetAvailableUpgrades(versionGetterImpl VersionGetter, experimentalUpgradesA
 					DNSType:        dnsType,
 					DNSVersion:     kubeadmconstants.GetDNSVersion(dnsType),
 					KubeadmVersion: previousBranchLatestVersionStr,
-					EtcdVersion:    getSuggestedEtcdVersion(previousBranchLatestVersionStr),
+					EtcdVersion:    getSuggestedEtcdVersion(externalEtcd, previousBranchLatestVersionStr),
 					// KubeletVersions is unset here as it is not used anywhere in .After
 				},
 			})
@@ -266,7 +268,7 @@ func GetAvailableUpgrades(versionGetterImpl VersionGetter, experimentalUpgradesA
 					DNSType:        dnsType,
 					DNSVersion:     unstableKubeDNSVersion,
 					KubeadmVersion: unstableKubeVersion,
-					EtcdVersion:    getSuggestedEtcdVersion(unstableKubeVersion),
+					EtcdVersion:    getSuggestedEtcdVersion(externalEtcd, unstableKubeVersion),
 					// KubeletVersions is unset here as it is not used anywhere in .After
 				},
 			})
@@ -300,7 +302,10 @@ func minorUpgradePossibleWithPatchRelease(stableVersion, patchVersion *versionut
 	return patchVersion.LessThan(stableVersion)
 }
 
-func getSuggestedEtcdVersion(kubernetesVersion string) string {
+func getSuggestedEtcdVersion(externalEtcd bool, kubernetesVersion string) string {
+	if externalEtcd {
+		return ""
+	}
 	etcdVersion, warning, err := kubeadmconstants.EtcdSupportedVersion(kubeadmconstants.SupportedEtcdVersion, kubernetesVersion)
 	if err != nil {
 		klog.Warningf("[upgrade/versions] could not retrieve an etcd version for the target Kubernetes version: %v", err)
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute_test.go
index 23d696c21c1..185bc4ab52e 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute_test.go
@@ -18,12 +18,12 @@ package upgrade
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"os"
 	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
-	"time"
 
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	apps "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
 	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ import (
 	clientsetfake "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/fake"
 	kubeadmapi "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants"
-	etcdutil "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd"
 )
 
 type fakeVersionGetter struct {
@@ -72,54 +71,18 @@ func (f *fakeVersionGetter) KubeletVersions() (map[string]uint16, error) {
 }
 
 const fakeCurrentEtcdVersion = "3.1.12"
-
-type fakeEtcdClient struct {
-	TLS                bool
-	mismatchedVersions bool
-}
-
-func (f fakeEtcdClient) WaitForClusterAvailable(retries int, retryInterval time.Duration) (bool, error) {
-	return true, nil
-}
-
-func (f fakeEtcdClient) CheckClusterHealth() error {
-	return nil
-}
-
-func (f fakeEtcdClient) GetVersion() (string, error) {
-	versions, _ := f.GetClusterVersions()
-	if f.mismatchedVersions {
-		return "", errors.Errorf("etcd cluster contains endpoints with mismatched versions: %v", versions)
-	}
-	return fakeCurrentEtcdVersion, nil
-}
-
-func (f fakeEtcdClient) GetClusterVersions() (map[string]string, error) {
-	if f.mismatchedVersions {
-		return map[string]string{
-			"foo": fakeCurrentEtcdVersion,
-			"bar": "3.2.0",
-		}, nil
-	}
-	return map[string]string{
-		"foo": fakeCurrentEtcdVersion,
-		"bar": fakeCurrentEtcdVersion,
-	}, nil
-}
-
-func (f fakeEtcdClient) Sync() error { return nil }
-
-func (f fakeEtcdClient) AddMember(name string, peerAddrs string) ([]etcdutil.Member, error) {
-	return []etcdutil.Member{}, nil
-}
-
-func (f fakeEtcdClient) GetMemberID(peerURL string) (uint64, error) {
-	return 0, nil
-}
-
-func (f fakeEtcdClient) RemoveMember(id uint64) ([]etcdutil.Member, error) {
-	return []etcdutil.Member{}, nil
-}
+const etcdStaticPod = `apiVersion: v1
+kind: Pod
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    component: etcd
+    tier: control-plane
+  name: etcd
+  namespace: kube-system
+spec:
+  containers:
+  - name: etcd
+    image: k8s.gcr.io/etcd:` + fakeCurrentEtcdVersion
 
 func getEtcdVersion(v *versionutil.Version) string {
 	return constants.SupportedEtcdVersion[uint8(v.Minor())]
@@ -154,14 +117,13 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 	v1Z0rc1 := v1Z0.WithPreRelease("rc.1")
 	v1Z1 := v1Z0.WithPatch(1)
 
-	etcdClient := fakeEtcdClient{}
 	tests := []struct {
 		name                        string
 		vg                          VersionGetter
 		expectedUpgrades            []Upgrade
 		allowExperimental, allowRCs bool
 		errExpected                 bool
-		etcdClient                  etcdutil.ClusterInterrogator
+		externalEtcd                bool
 		beforeDNSType               kubeadmapi.DNSAddOnType
 		beforeDNSVersion            string
 		dnsType                     kubeadmapi.DNSAddOnType
@@ -182,7 +144,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			expectedUpgrades:  []Upgrade{},
 			allowExperimental: false,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "simple patch version upgrade",
@@ -221,7 +182,45 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			allowExperimental: false,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "simple patch version upgrade with external etcd",
+			vg: &fakeVersionGetter{
+				clusterVersion: v1Y1.String(),
+				kubeletVersion: v1Y1.String(), // the kubelet are on the same version as the control plane
+				kubeadmVersion: v1Y2.String(),
+
+				stablePatchVersion: v1Y3.String(),
+				stableVersion:      v1Y3.String(),
+			},
+			beforeDNSType:    kubeadmapi.CoreDNS,
+			beforeDNSVersion: fakeCurrentCoreDNSVersion,
+			dnsType:          kubeadmapi.CoreDNS,
+			externalEtcd:     true,
+			expectedUpgrades: []Upgrade{
+				{
+					Description: fmt.Sprintf("version in the v%d.%d series", v1Y0.Major(), v1Y0.Minor()),
+					Before: ClusterState{
+						KubeVersion: v1Y1.String(),
+						KubeletVersions: map[string]uint16{
+							v1Y1.String(): 1,
+						},
+						KubeadmVersion: v1Y2.String(),
+						DNSType:        kubeadmapi.CoreDNS,
+						DNSVersion:     fakeCurrentCoreDNSVersion,
+						EtcdVersion:    "",
+					},
+					After: ClusterState{
+						KubeVersion:    v1Y3.String(),
+						KubeadmVersion: v1Y3.String(),
+						DNSType:        kubeadmapi.CoreDNS,
+						DNSVersion:     constants.CoreDNSVersion,
+						EtcdVersion:    "",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			allowExperimental: false,
+			errExpected:       false,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "no version provided to offline version getter does not change behavior",
@@ -260,7 +259,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			allowExperimental: false,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "minor version upgrade only",
@@ -299,7 +297,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			allowExperimental: false,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "both minor version upgrade and patch version upgrade available",
@@ -358,7 +355,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			allowExperimental: false,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "allow experimental upgrades, but no upgrade available",
@@ -377,7 +373,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			expectedUpgrades:  []Upgrade{},
 			allowExperimental: true,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "upgrade to an unstable version should be supported",
@@ -417,7 +412,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			allowExperimental: true,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "upgrade from an unstable version to an unstable version should be supported",
@@ -457,7 +451,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			allowExperimental: true,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "v1.X.0-alpha.0 should be ignored",
@@ -498,7 +491,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			allowExperimental: true,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "upgrade to an RC version should be supported",
@@ -539,7 +531,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			allowRCs:    true,
 			errExpected: false,
-			etcdClient:  etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "it is possible (but very uncommon) that the latest version from the previous branch is an rc and the current latest version is alpha.0. In that case, show the RC",
@@ -580,7 +571,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			allowExperimental: true,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "upgrade to an RC version should be supported. There may also be an even newer unstable version.",
@@ -642,22 +632,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 			allowRCs:          true,
 			allowExperimental: true,
 			errExpected:       false,
-			etcdClient:        etcdClient,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "Upgrades with external etcd with mismatched versions should not be allowed.",
-			vg: &fakeVersionGetter{
-				clusterVersion:     v1Y3.String(),
-				kubeletVersion:     v1Y3.String(),
-				kubeadmVersion:     v1Y3.String(),
-				stablePatchVersion: v1Y3.String(),
-				stableVersion:      v1Y3.String(),
-			},
-			allowRCs:          false,
-			allowExperimental: false,
-			etcdClient:        fakeEtcdClient{mismatchedVersions: true},
-			expectedUpgrades:  []Upgrade{},
-			errExpected:       true,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "offline version getter",
@@ -666,7 +640,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 				kubeletVersion: v1Y0.String(),
 				kubeadmVersion: v1Y1.String(),
 			}, v1Z1.String()),
-			etcdClient:       etcdClient,
 			beforeDNSType:    kubeadmapi.CoreDNS,
 			beforeDNSVersion: fakeCurrentCoreDNSVersion,
 			dnsType:          kubeadmapi.CoreDNS,
@@ -703,7 +676,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 				stablePatchVersion: v1Z0.String(),
 				stableVersion:      v1Z0.String(),
 			},
-			etcdClient:       etcdClient,
 			beforeDNSType:    kubeadmapi.KubeDNS,
 			beforeDNSVersion: fakeCurrentKubeDNSVersion,
 			dnsType:          kubeadmapi.CoreDNS,
@@ -740,7 +712,6 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 				stablePatchVersion: v1Z0.String(),
 				stableVersion:      v1Z0.String(),
 			},
-			etcdClient:       etcdClient,
 			beforeDNSType:    kubeadmapi.KubeDNS,
 			beforeDNSVersion: fakeCurrentKubeDNSVersion,
 			dnsType:          kubeadmapi.KubeDNS,
@@ -804,13 +775,24 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			})
 
-			actualUpgrades, actualErr := GetAvailableUpgrades(rt.vg, rt.allowExperimental, rt.allowRCs, rt.etcdClient, rt.dnsType, client)
+			manifestsDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "GetAvailableUpgrades-test-manifests")
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Unable to create temporary directory: %v", err)
+			}
+			defer os.RemoveAll(manifestsDir)
+
+			if err = ioutil.WriteFile(constants.GetStaticPodFilepath(constants.Etcd, manifestsDir), []byte(etcdStaticPod), 0644); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Unable to create test static pod manifest: %v", err)
+			}
+
+			actualUpgrades, actualErr := GetAvailableUpgrades(rt.vg, rt.allowExperimental, rt.allowRCs, rt.externalEtcd, rt.dnsType, client, manifestsDir)
 			if !reflect.DeepEqual(actualUpgrades, rt.expectedUpgrades) {
 				t.Errorf("failed TestGetAvailableUpgrades\n\texpected upgrades: %v\n\tgot: %v", rt.expectedUpgrades, actualUpgrades)
 			}
-			if (actualErr != nil) != rt.errExpected {
-				fmt.Printf("Hello error")
-				t.Errorf("failed TestGetAvailableUpgrades\n\texpected error: %t\n\tgot error: %t", rt.errExpected, (actualErr != nil))
+			if rt.errExpected && actualErr == nil {
+				t.Error("unexpected success")
+			} else if !rt.errExpected && actualErr != nil {
+				t.Errorf("unexpected failure: %v", actualErr)
 			}
 			if !reflect.DeepEqual(actualUpgrades, rt.expectedUpgrades) {
 				t.Errorf("failed TestGetAvailableUpgrades\n\texpected upgrades: %v\n\tgot: %v", rt.expectedUpgrades, actualUpgrades)
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods.go
index b90aaf105f9..510ae744383 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods.go
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
-	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
@@ -39,6 +38,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/apiclient"
 	dryrunutil "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/dryrun"
 	etcdutil "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod"
 )
 
@@ -282,37 +282,38 @@ func performEtcdStaticPodUpgrade(certsRenewMgr *renewal.Manager, client clientse
 		return true, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to back up etcd data")
 	}
 
-	// Need to check currently used version and version from constants, if differs then upgrade
-	desiredEtcdVersion, warning, err := constants.EtcdSupportedVersion(constants.SupportedEtcdVersion, cfg.KubernetesVersion)
-	if err != nil {
-		return true, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to retrieve an etcd version for the target Kubernetes version")
-	}
-	if warning != nil {
-		klog.Warningf("[upgrade/etcd] %v", warning)
+	// Get the desired etcd version. That's either the one specified by the user in cfg.Etcd.Local.ImageTag
+	// or the kubeadm preferred one for the desired Kubernetes version
+	var desiredEtcdVersion *version.Version
+	if cfg.Etcd.Local.ImageTag != "" {
+		desiredEtcdVersion, err = version.ParseSemantic(cfg.Etcd.Local.ImageTag)
+		if err != nil {
+			return true, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to parse tag %q as a semantic version", cfg.Etcd.Local.ImageTag)
+		}
+	} else {
+		// Need to check currently used version and version from constants, if differs then upgrade
+		var warning error
+		desiredEtcdVersion, warning, err = constants.EtcdSupportedVersion(constants.SupportedEtcdVersion, cfg.KubernetesVersion)
+		if err != nil {
+			return true, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to retrieve an etcd version for the target Kubernetes version")
+		}
+		if warning != nil {
+			klog.Warningf("[upgrade/etcd] %v", warning)
+		}
 	}
 
-	// gets the etcd version of the local/stacked etcd member running on the current machine
-	currentEtcdVersions, err := oldEtcdClient.GetClusterVersions()
+	// Get the etcd version of the local/stacked etcd member running on the current machine
+	currentEtcdVersionStr, err := GetEtcdImageTagFromStaticPod(pathMgr.RealManifestDir())
 	if err != nil {
 		return true, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to retrieve the current etcd version")
 	}
-	currentEtcdVersionStr, ok := currentEtcdVersions[etcdutil.GetClientURL(&cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint)]
-	if !ok {
-		return true, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to retrieve the current etcd version")
-	}
 
-	currentEtcdVersion, err := version.ParseSemantic(currentEtcdVersionStr)
+	cmpResult, err := desiredEtcdVersion.Compare(currentEtcdVersionStr)
 	if err != nil {
-		return true, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to parse the current etcd version(%s)", currentEtcdVersionStr)
+		return true, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed comparing the current etcd version %q to the desired one %q", currentEtcdVersionStr, desiredEtcdVersion)
 	}
-
-	// Comparing current etcd version with desired to catch the same version or downgrade condition and fail on them.
-	if desiredEtcdVersion.LessThan(currentEtcdVersion) {
-		return false, errors.Errorf("the desired etcd version for this Kubernetes version %q is %q, but the current etcd version is %q. Won't downgrade etcd, instead just continue", cfg.KubernetesVersion, desiredEtcdVersion.String(), currentEtcdVersion.String())
-	}
-	// For the case when desired etcd version is the same as current etcd version
-	if strings.Compare(desiredEtcdVersion.String(), currentEtcdVersion.String()) == 0 {
-		return false, nil
+	if cmpResult < 1 {
+		return false, errors.Errorf("the desired etcd version %q is not newer than the currently installed %q. Skipping etcd upgrade", desiredEtcdVersion, currentEtcdVersionStr)
 	}
 
 	beforeEtcdPodHash, err := waiter.WaitForStaticPodSingleHash(cfg.NodeRegistration.Name, constants.Etcd)
@@ -633,3 +634,14 @@ func DryRunStaticPodUpgrade(kustomizeDir string, internalcfg *kubeadmapi.InitCon
 
 	return dryrunutil.PrintDryRunFiles(files, os.Stdout)
 }
+
+// GetEtcdImageTagFromStaticPod returns the image tag of the local etcd static pod
+func GetEtcdImageTagFromStaticPod(manifestDir string) (string, error) {
+	realPath := constants.GetStaticPodFilepath(constants.Etcd, manifestDir)
+	pod, err := staticpod.ReadStaticPodFromDisk(realPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	return image.TagFromImage(pod.Spec.Containers[0].Image), nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods_test.go
index ab31893bf3b..479ac129558 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods_test.go
@@ -244,16 +244,6 @@ func (c fakeTLSEtcdClient) CheckClusterHealth() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (c fakeTLSEtcdClient) GetClusterVersions() (map[string]string, error) {
-	return map[string]string{
-		"https://1.2.3.4:2379": "3.1.12",
-	}, nil
-}
-
-func (c fakeTLSEtcdClient) GetVersion() (string, error) {
-	return "3.1.12", nil
-}
-
 func (c fakeTLSEtcdClient) Sync() error { return nil }
 
 func (c fakeTLSEtcdClient) AddMember(name string, peerAddrs string) ([]etcdutil.Member, error) {
@@ -285,16 +275,6 @@ func (c fakePodManifestEtcdClient) CheckClusterHealth() error {
 	return err
 }
 
-func (c fakePodManifestEtcdClient) GetClusterVersions() (map[string]string, error) {
-	return map[string]string{
-		"https://1.2.3.4:2379": "3.1.12",
-	}, nil
-}
-
-func (c fakePodManifestEtcdClient) GetVersion() (string, error) {
-	return "3.1.12", nil
-}
-
 func (c fakePodManifestEtcdClient) Sync() error { return nil }
 
 func (c fakePodManifestEtcdClient) AddMember(name string, peerAddrs string) ([]etcdutil.Member, error) {
@@ -989,3 +969,36 @@ func TestGetPathManagerForUpgrade(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 }
+
+func TestGetEtcdImageTagFromStaticPod(t *testing.T) {
+	const expectedEtcdVersion = "3.1.12"
+	const etcdStaticPod = `apiVersion: v1
+kind: Pod
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    component: etcd
+    tier: control-plane
+  name: etcd
+  namespace: kube-system
+spec:
+  containers:
+  - name: etcd
+    image: k8s.gcr.io/etcd:` + expectedEtcdVersion
+
+	manifestsDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "GetEtcdImageTagFromStaticPod-test-manifests")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Unable to create temporary directory: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(manifestsDir)
+
+	if err = ioutil.WriteFile(constants.GetStaticPodFilepath(constants.Etcd, manifestsDir), []byte(etcdStaticPod), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Unable to create test static pod manifest: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	got, err := GetEtcdImageTagFromStaticPod(manifestsDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	} else if got != expectedEtcdVersion {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected result:\n\tgot: %q\n\texpected: %q", got, expectedEtcdVersion)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/BUILD b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/BUILD
index 8dd4045baa7..f7a417b5c0b 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/BUILD
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/BUILD
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ filegroup(
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/crypto:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/dryrun:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd:all-srcs",
+        "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/initsystem:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kubeconfig:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize:all-srcs",
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd/etcd.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd/etcd.go
index 0c99cd8c9d6..56f925b8745 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd/etcd.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/etcd/etcd.go
@@ -53,8 +53,6 @@ var etcdBackoff = wait.Backoff{
 // ClusterInterrogator is an interface to get etcd cluster related information
 type ClusterInterrogator interface {
 	CheckClusterHealth() error
-	GetClusterVersions() (map[string]string, error)
-	GetVersion() (string, error)
 	WaitForClusterAvailable(retries int, retryInterval time.Duration) (bool, error)
 	Sync() error
 	AddMember(name string, peerAddrs string) ([]Member, error)
@@ -409,41 +407,6 @@ func (c *Client) AddMember(name string, peerAddrs string) ([]Member, error) {
 	return ret, nil
 }
 
-// GetVersion returns the etcd version of the cluster.
-// An error is returned if the version of all endpoints do not match
-func (c *Client) GetVersion() (string, error) {
-	var clusterVersion string
-
-	versions, err := c.GetClusterVersions()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	for _, v := range versions {
-		if clusterVersion != "" && clusterVersion != v {
-			return "", errors.Errorf("etcd cluster contains endpoints with mismatched versions: %v", versions)
-		}
-		clusterVersion = v
-	}
-	if clusterVersion == "" {
-		return "", errors.New("could not determine cluster etcd version")
-	}
-	return clusterVersion, nil
-}
-
-// GetClusterVersions returns a map of the endpoints and their associated versions
-func (c *Client) GetClusterVersions() (map[string]string, error) {
-	versions := make(map[string]string)
-	statuses, err := c.getClusterStatus()
-	if err != nil {
-		return versions, err
-	}
-
-	for ep, status := range statuses {
-		versions[ep] = status.Version
-	}
-	return versions, nil
-}
-
 // CheckClusterHealth returns nil for status Up or error for status Down
 func (c *Client) CheckClusterHealth() error {
 	_, err := c.getClusterStatus()
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image/BUILD b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f61adb81c4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image/BUILD
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl", "go_library", "go_test")
+
+go_library(
+    name = "go_default_library",
+    srcs = ["image.go"],
+    importpath = "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image",
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+)
+
+go_test(
+    name = "go_default_test",
+    srcs = ["image_test.go"],
+    embed = [":go_default_library"],
+)
+
+filegroup(
+    name = "package-srcs",
+    srcs = glob(["**"]),
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+    visibility = ["//visibility:private"],
+)
+
+filegroup(
+    name = "all-srcs",
+    srcs = [":package-srcs"],
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+)
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image/image.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image/image.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0a3c2bb6cb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image/image.go
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2020 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package image
+
+import "regexp"
+
+var (
+	// tagMatcher is the regex used to match a tag.
+	// Basically we presume an image can be made of `[domain][:port][path]<name>[:tag][@sha256:digest]`
+	// We are obvously interested only in the tag, but for the purpose of properly matching it, we also match the digest
+	// (if present). All the parts before the tag we match in a single match everything (but not greedy) group.
+	// All matched sub-groups, except the tag one, get thrown away. Hence, in a result of FindStringSubmatch, if a tag
+	// matches, it's going to be the second returned element (after the full match).
+	tagMatcher = regexp.MustCompile(`^(?U:.*)(?::([[:word:]][[:word:].-]*))?(?:@sha256:[a-fA-F0-9]{64})?$`)
+)
+
+// TagFromImage extracts a tag from image. An empty string is returned if no tag is discovered.
+func TagFromImage(image string) string {
+	matches := tagMatcher.FindStringSubmatch(image)
+	if len(matches) >= 2 {
+		return matches[1]
+	}
+	return ""
+}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image/image_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image/image_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..dd9ee2779bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image/image_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2020 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package image
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestTagFromImage(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := map[string]string{
+		"kindest/node":         "",
+		"kindest/node:latest":  "latest",
+		"kindest/node:v1.17.0": "v1.17.0",
+		"kindest/node:v1.17.0@sha256:9512edae126da271b66b990b6fff768fbb7cd786c7d39e86bdf55906352fdf62": "v1.17.0",
+		"kindest/node@sha256:9512edae126da271b66b990b6fff768fbb7cd786c7d39e86bdf55906352fdf62":         "",
+
+		"example.com/kindest/node":         "",
+		"example.com/kindest/node:latest":  "latest",
+		"example.com/kindest/node:v1.17.0": "v1.17.0",
+		"example.com/kindest/node:v1.17.0@sha256:9512edae126da271b66b990b6fff768fbb7cd786c7d39e86bdf55906352fdf62": "v1.17.0",
+		"example.com/kindest/node@sha256:9512edae126da271b66b990b6fff768fbb7cd786c7d39e86bdf55906352fdf62":         "",
+
+		"example.com:3000/kindest/node":         "",
+		"example.com:3000/kindest/node:latest":  "latest",
+		"example.com:3000/kindest/node:v1.17.0": "v1.17.0",
+		"example.com:3000/kindest/node:v1.17.0@sha256:9512edae126da271b66b990b6fff768fbb7cd786c7d39e86bdf55906352fdf62": "v1.17.0",
+		"example.com:3000/kindest/node@sha256:9512edae126da271b66b990b6fff768fbb7cd786c7d39e86bdf55906352fdf62":         "",
+	}
+	for in, expected := range tests {
+		out := TagFromImage(in)
+		if out != expected {
+			t.Errorf("TagFromImage(%q) = %q, expected %q instead", in, out, expected)
+		}
+	}
+}