How to upgrade to Pop_OS 22.04
Pop_OS 22.04 is out, and with it comes tons of new features, including the Pipewire audio system, a newer Linux kernel, newer Gnome Shell, and more. Here’s how you can upgrade your Pop_OS installation to 22.04.
Download 22.04 ISO and start fresh
If you’re not interested in upgrading your existing OS to Pop_OS 22.04 and instead wish to install the release from scratch, you can. Do the following to get your hands on the latest Pop_OS 22.04 ISO.
Head over to the Pop_OS website, then, once there, find the green “Download” button and click on it with the mouse. After selecting the “Download” button, a pop-up window will appear.
In this window, you’ll be able to choose from 22.04 LTS or 22.04 LTS (Nvidia). If you use an Nvidia GPU, select the Nvidia option. Else, select the 22.04 LTS option. Your browser will then download the ISO file to your PC.
Upgrading to 22.04 – GUI
Upgrading Pop_OS 22.04 from 21.10 (or 20.04) is best done through the GUI. However, before upgrading your system, you’ll need to install any pending software updates for the version of Pop_OS currently in use.
To update, open up the “Pop Shop.” The Pop Shop can be found on the dock. Once Pop Shop is open, find the “Installed” option, and select it with the mouse.
After selecting the “Installed” section, you should see “Operating System Updates,” followed by other updates below. Next, select the green “Update” button inside Pop Shop to download and install your software patches.
Allow Pop Shop to download and install all of the software updates. Then, reboot and log back in. After logging back in, follow the step-by-step instructions below to upgrade Pop_OS to 22.04 with the GUI.
Step 1: Press the Win key on the keyboard to open up the Pop_OS quick launcher. Once it opens, type in “Settings” to launch the settings window. Alternatively, click on the gear icon on the dock to launch settings.
Step 2: Inside the Pop_OS settings area, locate the sidebar on the left, and scroll down to “OS Upgrade & Recovery.” Once there, find the “OS Upgrade” section. In the “OS Upgrade” section, you should see “Pop!_OS 22.04 is available.” Select the green “Download” button.
Step 3: When you select the “Download” button next to “Pop!_OS 22.04 is available,” the GUI will say “Preparing Upgrade,” and download the 22.04 upgrade to your computer. This download will take a couple of minutes to complete, so be patient.
Step 4: When the download is complete, it will say, “Pop!_OS 22.04 download complete.” The green “Download” button will become a green “Upgrade” button. Select it with the mouse to begin the upgrade process.
Upon starting the “Upgrade” process, your OS will reboot. It will then begin installing all upgrades. This process could take a while, so be patient. When the upgrade process is complete, your PC will reboot again. After rebooting again, log into your OS to use Pop_OS 22.04.
Upgrading to 22.04 – Terminal
Upgrading to Pop_OS 22.04 through the GUI is generally recommended. However, it isn’t the only way to do it. It is also possible for users to do an OS upgrade with the terminal prompt.
To start the Pop_OS upgrade in the terminal, open a terminal window. You can open a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T on the keyboard. Alternatively, search for “Terminal” in the app menu and launch it that way.
With the terminal window open, follow the step-by-step instructions below to upgrade your system.
Step 1: In the terminal, run the apt update command. This command will check your current version of Pop_OS for pending software updates. When entering the command, you’ll be asked to enter your password, so be sure you know it.
sudo apt update
Step 2: Following the apt update command, you’ll need to run the full-upgrade command to install all pending software updates. The upgrade command will take some time to complete, so be patient.
sudo apt full-upgrade
Step 3: With the full-upgrade command complete, your pending software updates will be installed. From here, you’ll need to update the Pop_OS recovery partition. You can do this with the pop-upgrade recovery command.
pop-upgrade recovery from-release
The recovery upgrade will take some time to complete. During this process, it is critical that you do not turn off your PC, reboot, or close the terminal. Why? If closed prematurely, your recovery partition could become corrupted.
Step 4: After upgrading your Pop_OS recovery partition, it is time to upgrade Pop_OS to 22.04. To do that, enter the pop-upgrade release upgrade.
pop-upgrade release upgrade
Paying attention to the terminal during the upgrading process is essential, as it will ask you questions through text prompts. When the upgrade process is complete, close the terminal and reboot to use Pop_OS 22.04.
