diff --git a/pkg/collector/upgrade/testdata/v0_61_0-invalid.yaml b/pkg/collector/upgrade/testdata/v0_61_0-invalid.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e04bc249a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/collector/upgrade/testdata/v0_61_0-invalid.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+---
+receivers:
+  jaeger:
+    protocols:
+      grpc:
+    remote_sampling:
+      strategy_file: "/etc/strategy.json"
+      strategy_file_reload_interval: 10s
diff --git a/pkg/collector/upgrade/testdata/v0_61_0-valid.yaml b/pkg/collector/upgrade/testdata/v0_61_0-valid.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2dc25ca4a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/collector/upgrade/testdata/v0_61_0-valid.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+receivers:
+  jaeger:
+    protocols:
+      grpc:
diff --git a/pkg/collector/upgrade/upgrade.go b/pkg/collector/upgrade/upgrade.go
index 93123a7f00..7d6dae3bf2 100644
--- a/pkg/collector/upgrade/upgrade.go
+++ b/pkg/collector/upgrade/upgrade.go
@@ -61,7 +61,9 @@ func (u VersionUpgrade) ManagedInstances(ctx context.Context) error {
 		}
 		upgraded, err := u.ManagedInstance(ctx, original)
 		if err != nil {
-			// nothing to do at this level, just go to the next instance
+			const msg = "automated update not possible. Configuration must be corrected manually and CR instance must be re-created."
+			itemLogger.Info(msg)
+			u.Recorder.Event(&original, "Error", "Upgrade", msg)
 			continue
 		}
 
diff --git a/pkg/collector/upgrade/v0_61_0.go b/pkg/collector/upgrade/v0_61_0.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..dff6365a63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/collector/upgrade/v0_61_0.go
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+// Copyright The OpenTelemetry 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 upgrade
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/apis/v1alpha1"
+	"github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/pkg/collector/adapters"
+)
+
+func upgrade0_61_0(u VersionUpgrade, otelcol *v1alpha1.OpenTelemetryCollector) (*v1alpha1.OpenTelemetryCollector, error) {
+	if len(otelcol.Spec.Config) == 0 {
+		return otelcol, nil
+	}
+
+	otelCfg, err := adapters.ConfigFromString(otelcol.Spec.Config)
+	if err != nil {
+		return otelcol, fmt.Errorf("couldn't upgrade to v0.61.0, failed to parse configuration: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Search for removed Jaeger remote sampling settings. (https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/pull/14163)
+	receiversConfig, ok := otelCfg["receivers"].(map[any]any)
+	if !ok {
+		// In case there is no extensions config.
+		return otelcol, nil
+	}
+
+	for key, rc := range receiversConfig {
+		k, ok := key.(string)
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		cfg, ok := rc.(map[any]any)
+		// check if jaeger is configured
+		if !ok || !strings.HasPrefix(k, "jaeger") {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// check if remote sampling settings exit
+		if _, ok := cfg["remote_sampling"]; !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		const issueID = "https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/issues/14707"
+		errStr := fmt.Sprintf(
+			"jaegerremotesampling is no longer available as receiver configuration. "+
+				"Please use the extension instead with a different remote sampling port. See: %s",
+			issueID,
+		)
+		u.Recorder.Event(otelcol, "Error", "Upgrade", errStr)
+		return nil, errors.New(errStr)
+	}
+	return otelcol, nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/collector/upgrade/v0_61_0_test.go b/pkg/collector/upgrade/v0_61_0_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5c43aa32b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/collector/upgrade/v0_61_0_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+// Copyright The OpenTelemetry 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 upgrade_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	_ "embed"
+	"testing"
+
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/record"
+
+	"github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/apis/v1alpha1"
+	"github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/internal/version"
+	"github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/pkg/collector/upgrade"
+)
+
+var (
+	//go:embed testdata/v0_61_0-valid.yaml
+	valid string
+	//go:embed testdata/v0_61_0-invalid.yaml
+	invalid string
+)
+
+func Test0_61_0Upgrade(t *testing.T) {
+
+	collectorInstance := v1alpha1.OpenTelemetryCollector{
+		TypeMeta: metav1.TypeMeta{
+			Kind:       "OpenTelemetryCollector",
+			APIVersion: "v1alpha1",
+		},
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+			Name:      "otel-my-instance",
+			Namespace: "somewhere",
+		},
+		Spec: v1alpha1.OpenTelemetryCollectorSpec{},
+	}
+
+	tt := []struct {
+		name      string
+		config    string
+		expectErr bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:      "no remote sampling config", // valid
+			config:    valid,
+			expectErr: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "has remote sampling config", // invalid
+			config:    invalid,
+			expectErr: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tt {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			collectorInstance.Spec.Config = tc.config
+			collectorInstance.Status.Version = "0.60.0"
+
+			versionUpgrade := &upgrade.VersionUpgrade{
+				Log:      logger,
+				Version:  version.Get(),
+				Client:   k8sClient,
+				Recorder: record.NewFakeRecorder(upgrade.RecordBufferSize),
+			}
+
+			_, err := versionUpgrade.ManagedInstance(context.Background(), collectorInstance)
+			if (err != nil) != tc.expectErr {
+				t.Errorf("expect err: %t but got: %v", tc.expectErr, err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/collector/upgrade/versions.go b/pkg/collector/upgrade/versions.go
index a311cf2ee1..ae0870f044 100644
--- a/pkg/collector/upgrade/versions.go
+++ b/pkg/collector/upgrade/versions.go
@@ -81,6 +81,10 @@ var (
 			Version: *semver.MustParse("0.57.2"),
 			upgrade: upgrade0_57_2,
 		},
+		{
+			Version: *semver.MustParse("0.61.0"),
+			upgrade: upgrade0_61_0,
+		},
 	}
 
 	// Latest represents the latest version that we need to upgrade. This is not necessarily the latest known version.