Canonical has officially enabled upgrades from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS “Noble Numbat” to Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS “Resolute Raccoon,” opening the long-awaited upgrade path for users who prefer to move directly from one Long-Term Support release to the next.
“The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce that upgrades from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS, codenamed “Resolute Raccoon”, are now enabled.”
According to the Ubuntu Release Team, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS desktop users will begin receiving an upgrade notification through Update Manager. Canonical says the rollout will happen progressively over the coming days, so don’t worry if the option does not appear immediately.
Ubuntu Server users, or anyone who doesn’t want to wait for the graphical notification, can start the process manually with:
sudo do-release-upgradeCode language: Bash (bash)As usual, backing up important data before performing a major distribution upgrade is strongly recommended. Canonical also advises users to read the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS release notes beforehand, particularly for known issues or changes that could affect existing setups.
So, what do Ubuntu 24.04 LTS users gain from upgrading? Much has changed over the two-year gap. Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ships with Linux kernel 7.0, compared with the 6.8 kernel in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, bringing newer hardware support and numerous kernel improvements.
On the desktop, users move from GNOME 46 to GNOME 50. Changes across these GNOME releases include better performance, improved fractional scaling and Variable Refresh Rate support, grouped notifications, a more refined Files app, improved NVIDIA support under Wayland, and numerous accessibility enhancements.
The Ubuntu desktop session is now Wayland-only, although older X11 applications still work through XWayland. Ubuntu 26.04 also replaces several default GNOME applications: Ptyxis replaces GNOME Terminal, Loupe replaces Eye of GNOME as the image viewer, Papers replaces Evince for PDFs, Resources replaces GNOME System Monitor, and Showtime becomes the default video player.
There are many smaller improvements, including better Snap integration, updated App Center functionality, a new Security Center, improved update notifications, and newer versions of core system components like systemd 259 and APT 3.
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is scheduled to receive standard support through May 2031. With the LTS-to-LTS upgrade path open, Ubuntu 24.04 users who skipped interim releases can now move directly to the current Ubuntu LTS without a clean installation.
For further information about upgrading, see this.
