diff --git a/chroot.py b/chroot.py
index 5f5ca0b..4768c7d 100644
--- a/chroot.py
+++ b/chroot.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ def create_chroot(
     ],
                             capture_output=True)
     if result.returncode != 0:
-        raise Exception('Failed to install chroot:' + result.stdout + '\n' + result.stderr)
+        raise Exception('Failed to install chroot:' + result.stdout.decode() + '\n' + result.stderr.decode())
     return chroot_path
 
 
diff --git a/packages.py b/packages.py
index 9859294..9738ee2 100644
--- a/packages.py
+++ b/packages.py
@@ -302,6 +302,7 @@ def setup_build_chroot(arch='aarch64', extra_packages=[]) -> str:
     for repo in REPOSITORIES:
         extra_repos[repo] = {
             'Server': f"file://{config.file['paths']['packages']}/{repo}",
+            'SigLevel': 'Never',
         }
     chroot_path = create_chroot(
         chroot_name,
@@ -353,11 +354,9 @@ def setup_dependencies_and_sources(package: Package, chroot: str, repo_dir: str
     makepkg_setup_args = [
         '--nobuild',
         '--holdver',
+        '--nodeps'
     ]
-    if not package.mode == 'cross' and enable_crosscompile:
-        makepkg_setup_args += ['--syncdeps']
-    else:
-        makepkg_setup_args += ['--nodeps']
+    if (package.mode == 'cross' and enable_crosscompile):
         logging.info('Setting up dependencies for cross-compilation')
         for p in package.depends:
             # Don't check for errors here because there might be packages that are listed as dependencies but are not available on x86_64