How to upgrade to Ubuntu 20.10
Ubuntu 20.10 Groovy Gorilla is out now! It’s an exciting new release with a lot to love, like QR code WiFi sharing, improved fingerprint login support, better Thunderbolt port support, and much more!
In this guide, we’ll go over how to upgrade your Ubuntu 20.04 LTS system to the new Ubuntu 20.10. However, before we begin, please make a backup of your system, as it’s always good to have a backup before attempting a system upgrade.
Upgrade to 20.10 with the GUI
Upgrading to Ubuntu 20.10 with the GUI is the best, most straightforward way to go if you’re new to the operating system. To start the upgrading process, press the Win key on the keyboard and search for “Software & Updates.”
Inside of the “Software & Updates” app, look for the “Updates” tab, and click on it with the mouse. After selecting the “Updates” tab, find the “Notify me of a new Ubuntu version” menu, and change it from “For long-term support versions” to “For any new version.”
Once the settings in the Ubuntu “Software & Updates” app is changed, select the “Close” button to close the app. Then, press the Win key, and search for “Software Updater.”
Launching “Software Updater” will allow the app to check for Ubuntu updates. When it is done checking for updates, select the “Install Now” button to install all updates.
Once all of the updates are installed on your system, you may need to reboot the computer. Do so.
When you log back into your PC, re-open the “Software Updater.” After opening up the updater, you will see a notification appear on the screen. It says, “The software on this computer is up to date. However, Ubuntu 20.10 is now available (you have 20.04). Click on the ‘Upgrade” button.
After selecting the “Upgrade” button, you will need to enter your user account password. Do so, and select the “Authenticate” button to continue. Once authenticated, the Ubuntu 20.10 release notes will appear on the screen.
Read through the release notes for Ubuntu 20.10 and learn all about the new upgrade. Then, when you’re ready to go, select the “Upgrade” button at the bottom to continue.
Clicking on the “Upgrade” button will bring up the “Distribution Upgrade” window. In this window, you’ll see Ubuntu prepare your system by setting up the 20.10 software channels, as well as download new packages. Sit back and wait for the preparation to complete.
When Ubuntu is done preparing, you will see a window appear. This window says, “Do you want to start the upgrade?” Click on the “Start Upgrade” button to install the new packages and transition your Ubuntu Linux PC from 20.04 LTS to 20.10.
Upgrading from Ubuntu 20.04 to 20.10 with the upgrader tool may take some time. Be patient, and allow the upgrader to install all of the new packages. When the process is complete, the upgrader will reboot your Ubuntu PC.
Upon logging back into your Ubuntu PC after the reboot, you will be using Ubuntu 20.10 Groovy Gorilla! Enjoy!
Upgrade to 20.10 with the terminal
If you’re not a fan of the GUI upgrade tool, it is also possible to upgrade to Ubuntu 20.10 via the terminal. Here’s how to do it. First, launch a terminal window on the Ubuntu desktop. Then, use the sed command to change your Ubuntu release preferences from “lts” to “normal.”
sudo sed -i 's/Prompt=lts/Prompt=normal/g' /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
After changing your release preferences, you need to install any pending software updates on Ubuntu. Upgrading is necessary, as Ubuntu may not notice that there is an upgrade available without installing patches. To do this, start by refreshing Ubuntu’s software sources.
sudo apt update
Once you’ve refreshed Ubuntu’s software sources, you’ll undoubtedly see that there are software updates to install. To install the updates on your Ubuntu Linux PC, run the upgrade command.
sudo apt upgrade -y
Now that your Ubuntu 20.04 system is up to date reboot your computer, as you may have installed updates that require a reboot.
After rebooting, open the terminal back up. Then, using the terminal window, execute the do-release-upgrade command below.
sudo do-release-upgrade
Once the do-release-upgrade command is run, Ubuntu will transfer over your software channels from Ubuntu 20.04 to Ubuntu 20.10. When your software channels are changed over, you will see a prompt in the terminal.
Read the prompt in the terminal. When you’ve finished reading it, press the Y button to download all of the Ubuntu 20.10 packages to your system. Keep in mind that this download could take a long time, especially if you have slow internet.
When the upgrade process is done, you will be instructed to reboot your Ubuntu PC. Do so. When you log back into your Ubuntu PC, you’ll be using Ubuntu 20.10 Groovy Gorilla!
