You can now upgrade Ubuntu 22.04 LTS to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Here we explain how

2024-09-13 07:00:00

Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS was released today as the first point release of the long-term supported Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) operating system series and Canonical has finally opened the upgrade path for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) users.

To ensure a safe upgrade process for existing Ubuntu LTS users, Canonical opens the upgrade path from the previous version of Ubuntu LTS to the new version of Ubuntu LTS approximately six months after the release of the latter, when it is the first specific version, in this case, Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS.

Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS isn’t a major milestone, it’s just a collection of software updates and security patches for those who want to deploy Ubuntu 24.04 LTS without downloading hundreds of packages during or after installation. It doesn’t include a new kernel, but it finally opens the upgrade path from Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

How to upgrade Ubuntu 22.04 LTS to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS using GUI

You should get a notification that Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is available for upgrade. If you don’t get the notification, open the Software Updater utility and it will tell you that “Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS is now available (you have 22.04). Click the “Update” button to start the update process.

A dialog box will appear with more information about the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS release if you’re interested in reading the full release notes, but you’re here to update your system, so click the “Upgrade” button to start the update process.

Now, follow the on-screen instructions to update successfully. However, before the update process starts, you will be notified which packages will be updated, installed or removed, close all open windows and documents to avoid data loss, and the lock screen is disabled and will remain disabled during the update process.

During the update process, which may take up to an hour or more to complete depending on your Internet bandwidth and computer specifications, you will see a notice that the Mozilla Thunderbird email client will only be available as a Snap package and not is in the native Debian (DEB) file format and the fwupd.conf file will be replaced with a newer version.

Once the update process is complete, you will be informed about the obsolete packages that will be automatically removed, so click the “Remove” button. Afterwards, you will be prompted to restart your computer to complete the update process, but don’t forget to save your work before doing so.

How to upgrade Ubuntu 22.04 LTS to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS using CLI

As always, before attempting to upgrade Ubuntu installations, make sure you have a recent backup of your most important files (just in case something bad happens during the upgrade process). Also, make sure your Ubuntu 22.04 LTS system is up to date by running the following commands in the Terminal app or using the Software Updater utility.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade full

Restart your system. Now, if you don’t see a notification that Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is available for upgrade, open the Terminal app and run the following command to start the upgrade process to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS “Noble Numbat”.

non-release-upgradable

To continue, press y. Wait for the command to collect all the necessary data and when it is finished it will ask you “Do you want to start the update?” so press yaagain to continue. Press Enter when you see the lock screen notification disabled.

Wait for all the packages needed to get the update to be found. The update will start automatically and may take up to an hour or more to complete, depending on Internet bandwidth and computer specifications.

During the upgrade process, you will see a notice stating that the Mozilla Thunderbird email client will only be provided as a Snap package and not in the native Debian (DEB) file format. The upgrade process will automatically convert Thunderbird from DEB to Snap.

Once the update process is complete, you will be notified of obsolete packages that will be automatically removed.

Afterwards, you will be asked to restart your computer to complete the update process, but don’t forget to save your work before doing so.

That’s all! You have successfully updated your Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish), so it’s time to enjoy the new features and improvements included in the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) release.