How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 26.04

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon) was released on April 23, 2026. It ships with Linux kernel 7.0, GNOME 50, Python 3.14, PHP 8.5, Java 25, TPM-backed full-disk encryption, post-quantum cryptography support in OpenSSL, and a Wayland-only GNOME session. As an LTS release, it receives standard security updates for five years, with expanded coverage available through Ubuntu Pro.

This guide shows how to upgrade to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS from the command line. Ubuntu 25.10 systems can upgrade now, while Ubuntu 24.04 LTS systems will be offered the standard upgrade path after Ubuntu 26.04.1 is released.

If you prefer a clean setup or do not have an existing Ubuntu installation, follow our guide on how to install Ubuntu 26.04 instead.

Prerequisites #

You need to be logged in as root or a user with sudo privileges to perform the upgrade.

You can upgrade to Ubuntu 26.04 from Ubuntu 25.10 today. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS systems will be offered the standard upgrade path after Ubuntu 26.04.1 is released. If you are running an older release, you must first upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 and then to 24.04 before continuing.

Make sure you have a working internet connection before starting.

Back Up Your Data #

Before starting a major version upgrade, make sure you have a complete backup of your data. If you are running Ubuntu on a virtual machine, take a full system snapshot so you can restore quickly if anything goes wrong.

Update Currently Installed Packages #

Before starting the release upgrade, bring your existing system fully up to date.

Check whether any packages are marked as held back, as they can interfere with the upgrade:

sudo apt-mark showhold

An empty output means there are no held packages. If there are held packages, unhold them with:

sudo apt-mark unhold package_name

Refresh the package index and upgrade all installed packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Perform a full distribution upgrade to resolve any remaining dependency changes:

sudo apt full-upgrade

Remove automatically installed dependencies that are no longer needed:

sudo apt --purge autoremove

Upgrade to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS #

You can upgrade from the command line using do-release-upgrade, which works for both desktop and server installations.

do-release-upgrade is part of the update-manager-core package, which is installed by default on most Ubuntu systems. If it is not present, install it first:

sudo apt install update-manager-core

If you are upgrading over SSH, do-release-upgrade may start an additional SSH daemon on port 1022 so you can reconnect if the main session drops. If you use a firewall, you may need to open that port temporarily:

sudo ufw allow 1022/tcp

To begin the release upgrade, run:

sudo do-release-upgrade

If Ubuntu does not offer the new release yet, follow the standard supported rollout for your current version. This guide covers the normal upgrade path.

The tool will disable third-party repositories, update the apt sources to point to the Ubuntu 26.04 repositories, and begin downloading the required packages.

You will be prompted several times during the process. When asked whether services should be automatically restarted, type y. When asked about configuration files, type Y to accept the package maintainer’s version if you have not made custom changes; otherwise keep your current version to avoid losing your customizations.

The upgrade runs inside a GNU screen session and will automatically re-attach if the connection drops.

The process may take some time depending on the number of packages, your hardware, and your internet speed.

Once the new packages are installed, the tool will ask whether to remove obsolete software. Type d to review the list first, or y to proceed with removal.

When the upgrade finishes, you will be prompted to restart the system. Type y to reboot and complete the upgrade.

Verify the Upgrade #

After the system boots, log in and check the Ubuntu version :

lsb_release -a

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
Release:	26.04
Codename:	resolute

You can also confirm the kernel version:

uname -r

The output should show a 7.0.x kernel.

Troubleshooting #

Third-party repository errors during apt update
The upgrade tool disables third-party repositories automatically. If you see errors before running do-release-upgrade, disable the affected sources under /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ and re-enable them one by one after the upgrade completes.

“Packages have been kept back”
Run sudo apt full-upgrade to resolve held-back packages before starting the upgrade. Do not proceed with do-release-upgrade until there are no held packages.

SSH connection drops mid-upgrade
The upgrade runs inside a GNU screen session. Reconnect over SSH and run sudo screen -r to re-attach to the running session.

A service or container does not work after the reboot
If something that worked before the upgrade fails afterward, check its status and logs first. Run systemctl status service_name and journalctl -xe for services, and review your container runtime logs and configuration for Docker or containerd workloads. Third-party packages and older configurations sometimes need updates after a major release upgrade.

GNOME desktop shows only Wayland sessions
Ubuntu 26.04 drops the X11 GNOME session. If you relied on an X11 desktop session, applications that do not support Wayland natively will run through XWayland automatically. For most applications this is transparent, but some older tools may behave differently.

Conclusion #

Your system is now running Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Resolute Raccoon. Re-enable any third-party repositories you disabled before the upgrade and verify that your critical services are running. For a full list of known issues and changes, see the official Ubuntu 26.04 release notes .

About the authors

Dejan Panovski

Dejan Panovski is the founder of Linuxize, an RHCSA-certified Linux system administrator and DevOps engineer based in Skopje, Macedonia. Author of 800+ Linux tutorials with 20+ years of experience turning complex Linux tasks into clear, reliable guides.

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