How to upgrade Ubuntu to 20.04 and kernel to 5.9

Sypalo.com

page.title

In this article, I will show you how to upgrade your Ubuntu 20.04. As a bonus, we will also update kernel to the latest mainline vesrion 5.9-rc7 or stable version 5.8.12 or end of life 5.7.19 which contains the following improvements:

  • WireGuard Support
  • New processor cooling driver
  • USB4 support
  • Amazon Echo Support
  • Improved hardware support
  • VirtualBox Folder Sharing
  • F2FS data compression using LZO/LZ4

And here is a short list of what's new in Ubuntu 20.04:

  • Best and fastest GNOME 3.36 desktop with dark theme support
  • Improved support for 4K monitors and zoom
  • New themes and visual settings
  • Quick install, fast boot
  • Global do not disturb
  • Best Thunderbolt Support
  • Best support for nVidia graphics cards

To upgrade Ubuntu to the latest stable release 20.04 you will need 2 hours to follow these steps:

Preparation

  • Update packages list
    sudo apt-get update
  • Upgrade packages
    sudo apt-get upgrade
  • Install update-manager-core package
    sudo apt-get install update-manager-core

Upgrade Ubuntu

  • Upgrade distro
    sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
  • Upgrade Ubuntu
    sudo do-release-upgrade

Upgrade kernel

  • Change current directory to /tmp
    cd /tmp
  • Download latest mainline kernel from 5.9.x branch
    wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.9-rc7/amd64/linux-headers-5.9.0-050900rc7_5.9.0-050900rc7.202009272231_all.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.9-rc7/amd64/linux-headers-5.9.0-050900rc7-generic_5.9.0-050900rc7.202009272231_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.9-rc7/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-5.9.0-050900rc7-generic_5.9.0-050900rc7.202009272231_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.9-rc7/amd64/linux-modules-5.9.0-050900rc7-generic_5.9.0-050900rc7.202009272231_amd64.deb
  • or latest latest stable kernel from 5.8.x branch
    wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.8.12/amd64/linux-headers-5.8.12-050812_5.8.12-050812.202009261732_all.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.8.12/amd64/linux-headers-5.8.12-050812-generic_5.8.12-050812.202009261732_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.8.12/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-5.8.12-050812-generic_5.8.12-050812.202009261732_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.8.12/amd64/linux-modules-5.8.12-050812-generic_5.8.12-050812.202009261732_amd64.deb
  • or older and end of life 5.7.x branch
    wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.7.19/amd64/linux-headers-5.7.19-050719_5.7.19-050719.202008270830_all.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.7.19/amd64/linux-headers-5.7.19-050719-generic_5.7.19-050719.202008270830_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.7.19/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-5.7.19-050719-generic_5.7.19-050719.202008270830_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.7.19/amd64/linux-modules-5.7.19-050719-generic_5.7.19-050719.202008270830_amd64.deb
  • Install new kernel
    sudo dpkg -i *.deb
  • Reboot the system
    sudo shutdown -r now

Finishing up

  • Update packages list
    sudo apt-get update
  • Upgrade packages
    sudo apt-get upgrade
  • Reboot the system if needed
    sudo shutdown -r now
  • Check the OS distro
    lsb_release -a
  • Check kernel version
    uname -r

That's it, now you should be running on the latest best-looking Ubuntu 20.04 and most secure Linux Kernel.