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, on both desktop and server installations. Ubuntu 25.10 reached end of life on July 9, 2026, and should be upgraded to 26.04 now. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS systems are offered the standard upgrade path once Ubuntu 26.04.1 is released on August 27, 2026. Before then, administrators can force an early upgrade with the -d flag for testing, but Canonical does not recommend this route for production systems.

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 directly from Ubuntu 25.10 or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Older releases cannot jump straight to 26.04. If you are running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or an older interim release, upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS first, then follow this guide. Our guide on how to upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 covers the earlier step in that chain.

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 packages are listed, review why each one is held. When a package no longer needs to remain held, unhold it with:

sudo apt-mark unhold package_name

Refresh the package index and install all available updates, including phased updates:

sudo apt update
sudo apt dist-upgrade -o APT::Get::Always-Include-Phased-Updates=true

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 provided by the ubuntu-release-upgrader-core package, which is installed by default on most Ubuntu systems. If the command is not present, install the package first:

sudo apt install ubuntu-release-upgrader-core

grep ^Prompt /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades

sudo sed -i 's/^Prompt=.*/Prompt=normal/' /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades

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

On Ubuntu 25.10 the new release is offered right away, as long as Prompt is set to normal. On Ubuntu 24.04 LTS the command reports that no new release is available until the point release lands, which the next section covers.

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. A configuration-file prompt means that the installed file differs from the package maintainer’s version. Type d to inspect the differences, then keep the current file if you need its customizations or install the maintainer’s version only after confirming that the local changes are no longer needed.

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.

Upgrading from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS #

Canonical does not open the LTS to LTS upgrade path on release day. Ubuntu 24.04 systems are offered Ubuntu 26.04 only after the first point release, Ubuntu 26.04.1, which is scheduled for August 27, 2026. Until then, running the command on a 24.04 machine ends with a message that no new release was found:

sudo do-release-upgrade

Checking for a new Ubuntu release
No new release found.

This is expected behavior and not a broken system. The delay gives Canonical time to identify and fix upgrade blockers before the broad LTS rollout begins.

If you need to evaluate the upgrade before the point release, Canonical documents the -d flag as a way to force the early LTS-to-LTS path. Use it only on test systems or a recoverable subset of machines:

sudo do-release-upgrade -d

The -d option bypasses the standard LTS rollout. It is not the recommended production path, even though the final Ubuntu 26.04 release is already available.

Once Canonical enables the LTS rollout after Ubuntu 26.04.1, drop the flag. A plain sudo do-release-upgrade will then offer Ubuntu 26.04 on fully updated 24.04 systems, and the rest of this guide applies unchanged.

Verify the Upgrade #

If you opened port 1022 in UFW before upgrading over SSH, reconnect through the regular SSH port and remove the temporary firewall rule:

sudo ufw delete allow 1022/tcp

Then 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 #

do-release-upgrade reports “No new release found” on Ubuntu 25.10
This is the Prompt setting. With Prompt=lts the tool consults Canonical’s LTS metadata, which does not offer Ubuntu 26.04 until the 26.04.1 point release, so interim releases such as 25.10 see nothing. Set it to normal and retry:

sudo sed -i 's/^Prompt=.*/Prompt=normal/' /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
sudo do-release-upgrade

do-release-upgrade reports “No new release found” on Ubuntu 24.04
The standard LTS-to-LTS path opens after Ubuntu 26.04.1, which is scheduled for August 27, 2026. Until Canonical enables that rollout, wait or use sudo do-release-upgrade -d only to evaluate the upgrade on a recoverable, non-production system. Also confirm that /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades is not set to Prompt=never.

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-mark showhold to check for explicitly held packages and review them individually. If there are no holds, install phased updates with sudo apt dist-upgrade -o APT::Get::Always-Include-Phased-Updates=true. Do not proceed with do-release-upgrade until the current release is fully updated.

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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