Canonical released Ubuntu 24.04 “Noble Numbat” on April 25. Noble Numbat marks Ubuntu’s tenth long-term support (LTS) release and contains several security and performance improvements.
Ubuntu 23.10 “Mantic Minotaur,” released on October 20, 2023, will receive security updates until July 2024. Still, there is no reason why you can’t update to 24.04 today.
This guide will explain the steps to upgrade from Ubuntu 23.10 to Ubuntu 24.04.
Why Upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 Noble Numbat?
One of the main benefits of upgrading to Ubuntu 24.04 Noble Numbat is that as an LTS release, users will benefit from five years of free security maintenance in the central Ubuntu repository.
Users who sign up for Ubuntu Pro, which is free for personal use, get five additional years of core updates and the Universal Repository.
Subscribers can also purchase the existing Support Add-on to receive two years of additional support.
If up to 12 years of support isn’t enough, Noble Numbat includes new security features, including user namespace restrictions, binary hardening, and turning off older TLS and AppArmor 4 versions.
More importantly, all Ubuntu 24.04 binary packages have been rebuilt in the light of the hidden backdoor in the xz Utils data compression package, discovered in early April.
How It Works Ubuntu 24.04
Although you can technically upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 Noble Numbat using the Terminal (see below), Ubuntu supports easy upgrades to the next version using the built-in software.
To update, you must first use Software Updater to ensure your Ubuntu 23.10 installation is current. You can then rerun Software Updater to update to Ubuntu 24.04.
Ubuntu 23.10 will begin the update process, connecting to the necessary software channels and applicable packages. You will also be offered the chance to remove any obsolete packages.
Ubuntu turns off third-party repositories and PPAs by default. Once the operating system is updated to version 24.04, you can re-enable them via the command line.
Step 1. Prepare Your System Ubuntu 24.04
The upgrade process to Ubuntu 24.04 Noble Numbat is simple. However, following some basic precautions when making significant changes to your operating system is always a good idea.
- Save and close all open files and running programs.
- If you use a portable device, plug it into a power source to prevent battery sewer during the update.
- Be sure to run a full system backup using your favorite utility.
Next, check that your current version of Ubuntu 23.10 is up to date. The simplest way to do this is:
- Click the workspace switcher at the top left, then type “refresh” in the search box.
- Click the “Software Updater” icon to introduce the utility.
Software Updater will now search and display all available updates. Click “Install Now,” then enter your administrator password to download and apply them.
If Ubuntu 23.10 asks you to reboot to apply the updates, click “Reboot now.”
You can also use the command line to update Ubuntu 23.10. Open Terminal and run:
sudo apt update && finish sudo apt update
Press “Y” to update Ubuntu 23.10 to the latest version.
Step 2. Get Ready To Upgrade Ubuntu 24.04
During the update process, the system will probably ask you to reboot. If so, log back into the Ubuntu desktop.
You can now recap the above steps to launch the software updater via the workspace launcher (top left).
You will then see a notification that Ubuntu 23.10 is up to date, but a new version (24.04) is available. Select “Update” to continue.
We initially didn’t see this option during our testing, as we tried to upgrade just hours after Ubuntu 24.04 became available. If you experience the same problem after starting Software Updater, close the utility and start Terminal.
From there, run:
Sudo -c update manager
If you receive a notification that a new version of Ubuntu was not found, add the “-d” flag to the command:
Sudo -c -d update manager
The update tool should launch now.
Step 3. Start the Upgrade
Once the Upgrade Assistant starts, it will display a brief introduction to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Noble Numbat and a link to the release notes. Please take the time to visit the link and read them to learn more about the latest improvements to Noble Numbat.
Then, choose “Upgrade” to start downloading the version update tool. Once this is complete, the tool will launch and say, “Preparing to update.” A window will now ask: “Do you want to start the update? » »
Please read the information here, which lists the number of packages to install and the space required. Then click “Start Update” to continue.
Step 4. Install Your Upgrades
The version update tool will start by setting up new software strings and downloading the latest packages mentioned in the previous step.
During this process, you may see a message about “libc6” asking if Ubuntu should restart services during unsolicited package updates. Click “Next” to confirm.
When the version update tool installs updates, you may notice that the system wallpaper will change to the default Noble Numbat background. You can also click “Terminal” to view detailed information about the update process.
Step 5. Cleaning Up
When the version upgrade tool reaches the cleanup stage, a window encourages you to “Remove obsolete packages.”
If you’re unsure what to do, select “Details” for a list of redundant packages. You can choose “Keep,” but we recommend ” Delete ” to save space.
Step 6. Confirm Your Upgrade
Whether or not you remove obsolete packages, Ubuntu will now ask you to restart the operating system to complete the update. Select “Restart Now” to continue.
Once logged into the Ubuntu 24.04 desktop, you can verify that the update was successful via System Settings. Click the workspace switcher at the top left and type “about” in the search bar.
Select “About” in Settings to see your operating system version.
You can also pattern the current Ubuntu version using the Terminal command:
lsb_release –a
Step 7. Re-enable PPAs and Repos
When Ubuntu is updated to a new version, all third-party fountains and PPAs are turned off by default. Fortunately, these are easy to re-enable via Terminal.
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Noble Numbat removed the traditional /etc/apt/sources.list in favor of /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu.sources to manage sources configuration. This is to keep the operating system compatible with the new “deb822” format.
However, the basic process for enabling deposits/PPAS remains the same:
Start Terminal and run:
- Sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu.sources
- If the third-party repositories or PPAs you are using are not enabled, remove the “#” from the beginning of the corresponding line.
- Type Ctrl + X, then Y to exit and save changes.
Stay Up-to-Date
Even after upgrading to Ubuntu 24.04, you should still check if any other updates have been released. To do this, repeat the instructions from step 1 to run the software updater.
You can also launch Terminal and then run:
sudz apt-get update && sudo apt-get update
The Terminal is beneficial because it will alert you if any third-party repositories/PPAs are still disabled.
Upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 via the Command Line
If you are an experienced Linux user, you may prefer to update via the command line. This approach has advantages because there are no windows or buttons to deal with, but follow step 1 (above) first to prepare your system to run a full backup.
Next, open Terminal and run:
sudo do-release-upgrade
This command will specifically check for a new version of Ubuntu and ask if you want to continue with the upgrade—press “y” to continue.
When we ran this command in Terminal for this tutorial, we saw a message that no new versions of Ubuntu were available. We could fix this by adding the “-d” flag, ie.
sudo do-release-upgrade -d
We hope you find this step-by-step guide helpful in upgrading from Ubuntu 23.10 to 24.04, giving your system up to 12 years of security updates, performance improvements, and the latest features.
