How to upgrade Ubuntu to 26.10 and kernel to latest version

2026-08-20

Ubuntu 26.10 upgrade guide

How to get to Ubuntu 26.10 Stonking Stingray

Ubuntu 26.10 Stonking Stingray is the next interim release, and planning the move should feel simple, not stressful. Are you looking for a clean guide that helps you choose the right path before you run anything? This walkthrough is built to keep the process clear from start to finish.

This article shows the supported route to Ubuntu 26.10 in one place: from Ubuntu 26.04 LTS once the interim upgrade prompt opens after the October 15, 2026 release, with the LTS-to-LTS move from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS covered as the first step. It also explains what to check before and after the reboot so the process stays predictable and easy to verify.

If you want the smoothest result, read the full guide first and then run the commands in order. It also includes a dedicated kernel section that shows how to move to the latest stable 7.1.x build or try the new Linux 7.2 release, separate from the main OS upgrade path.

Previous LTS

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Noble Numbat is the prior long-term base and the starting point for the standard LTS-to-LTS path.

Current LTS

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

Resolute Raccoon is the active long-term release and the stepping stone to Ubuntu 26.10.

Upcoming interim

Ubuntu 26.10

Stonking Stingray ships GNOME 51 on the Linux 7.2 kernel and arrives on October 15, 2026.

What is new in Ubuntu 26.10

Ubuntu 26.10 Stonking Stingray is a nine-month interim release that tests features destined for the next LTS. It ships the GNOME 51 desktop and the Linux 7.2 kernel, and this cycle is notable for a reworked install and first-run experience as well as the first on-device AI tools.

New in Ubuntu 26.10	What it means
GNOME 51 desktop	Updated shell, Settings, Software, and Calendar apps, plus custom sound effects and monitor brightness persistence. Mutter drops support for legacy NVIDIA drivers.
Linux 7.2 kernel	Ships the freshly released Linux 7.2 kernel with cache-aware scheduling, faster filesystems, and broad new hardware enablement. Details in the kernel section below.
Simplified installer	Guided partitioning and storage configuration with safe defaults; advanced options are hidden behind explicit controls instead of being thrown at you.
First-boot onboarding	Personalization and configuration move to a dedicated post-install flow, so setup decisions are no longer all squeezed into installation time.
On-device AI speech-to-text	Myna, a local push-to-talk transcription tool, runs entirely on your machine through the sandboxed Canonical Inference Snap with multiple model sizes.
dbus-broker	Ubuntu swaps the 2004-era dbus-daemon for dbus-broker, a faster and more reliable system message bus.
Ubuntu Certified check	Settings shows whether your exact hardware model is Ubuntu Certified, from fully certified to not certified.
Package-agnostic App Center	A rebuilt App Center manages DEB, Snap, and Flatpak apps with unified search, ratings, categories, and metadata.
RISC-V and driver polish	A complete RVA23 desktop experience on RISC-V, clearer driver metadata and maturity indicators, and continued WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility work.
Microsoft authentication	Password and MFA sign-in through authd, with approval routed through Microsoft Authenticator, plus a tighter GRUB for Secure Boot.

Choose the right upgrade path

Starting point	Goal	Command	Notes
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	Safest move to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS	`sudo do-release-upgrade`	Use the normal prompt when Canonical opens the LTS-to-LTS upgrade path with Ubuntu 26.04.1, scheduled for August 27, 2026, then upgrade to 26.10 after it releases.
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS	Upgrade to Ubuntu 26.10 when it releases	`sudo do-release-upgrade`	Set Prompt=normal in /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades so interim releases are offered once Canonical enables the 26.10 prompt after October 15, 2026.
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	Force the development-release path in a lab only	`sudo do-release-upgrade --devel-release`	Use this only if you deliberately want to test Ubuntu 26.10 before it ships, and only on a disposable test system.

Before you touch a production machine, test the upgrade on a VM first. If you want a quick cloud sandbox, DigitalOcean still has a generous free trial credit and is a simple place to rehearse the whole flow.

Backups matter more than bravado here. Snapshot the VM, copy your important data, and note any PPAs, third-party repositories, custom kernels, or GPU drivers before you begin. Those are the most common reasons an Ubuntu release upgrade becomes noisy.

If you prefer to watch the video instead of reading, here it is:

To upgrade Ubuntu to 26.10, or to use the development-release path on a lab machine to test Stonking Stingray before the final release, set aside about 2 hours and follow the steps below.

Preparation

Refresh package metadata
```
sudo apt update
```
Install all regular package updates
```
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade
```
Refresh snaps and reboot if the current system asks for it
```
sudo snap refresh
systemctl reboot
```
Make sure the release upgrader is installed
```
sudo apt install update-manager-core
```
Review space, backups, and third-party repositories
Check that you have enough free disk space, note any PPAs or external repositories, and take a backup or VM snapshot before you continue. If you are upgrading a server over SSH, use a stable console or keep the session protected with tools such as screen or tmux.

Upgrade to Ubuntu 26.10

Ubuntu 26.10 is not released yet, so the official upgrade path opens only after October 15, 2026. On Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, set Prompt=normal so interim releases are offered; on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, move to 26.04 first with the LTS prompt that arrives with 26.04.1 on August 27, 2026.

If you are on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, move to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS first
Ubuntu only supports sequential upgrades. On 24.04 LTS, run the official LTS upgrade once Canonical opens the prompt with 26.04.1 (August 27, 2026), then come back to this guide for the 26.10 step.
```
sudo do-release-upgrade
```
Enable the interim-release prompt on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
Set Prompt=normal in /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades so the release upgrader looks for interim releases such as Ubuntu 26.10.
```
sudo nano /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
```
Start the official release upgrade to 26.10 after it is released
```
sudo do-release-upgrade
```
Review the package changes and follow the interactive prompts
The upgrader will show you which packages are new, removed, or disabled. Pay special attention to third-party repositories and locally modified configuration files.
Remove obsolete packages when the upgrader offers cleanup
Removing old packages usually makes the post-upgrade system cleaner and easier to maintain.
```
sudo apt autoremove --purge
sudo apt clean
```
Reboot into Ubuntu 26.10
```
sudo reboot
```
If the upgrader reports no new release, wait for the prompt to open
Interim upgrades usually appear a few days after the release date. If you still see nothing, confirm Prompt=normal and that the system is fully updated, or use the development-release path below only on a test machine.

Use the development-release path only on lab machines

Ubuntu 26.10 is in development until its October 15, 2026 release, so this is the only path that reaches Stonking Stingray today. Use it only if you explicitly want to test the upcoming release, and only on a disposable test system.

Run the development release upgrade command to test Ubuntu 26.10
```
sudo do-release-upgrade --devel-release
```
Start from Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, not a stale release
The --devel-release flag targets the current development series from the release you are on. On Ubuntu 24.04 LTS it lands on the 26.04 development line, so upgrade to 26.04 LTS first and then use this flag to test 26.10. The safe recommendation for production systems is still to wait for the normal upgrade prompt after release.
Choose whether this machine should stay on LTS releases or keep following interim releases
Leave Prompt=lts if you want long-term support releases only. Switch to Prompt=normal if you want this machine to keep seeing interim releases such as Ubuntu 26.10.
```
sudo nano /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
```
Complete the interactive upgrade, remove obsolete packages, and reboot
```
sudo apt autoremove --purge
sudo apt clean
sudo reboot
```

Upgrade Ubuntu kernel version manually

As of August 20, 2026, the latest stable package set listed here is Linux 7.1.9, and the newest mainline build is Linux 7.2, released on August 16, 2026. Newer 7.1.x and 7.2.x builds appear on kernel.ubuntu.com from time to time, but they often remain unpublished while builds are in progress, so verify the latest files there before downloading. Mainline kernels are handy for testing hardware support, but Canonical does not recommend them for normal production use.

Change the working directory to /tmp
```
cd /tmp
```

Download the latest stable kernel packages

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v7.1.9/amd64/linux-headers-7.1.9-070109_7.1.9-070109.202608191735_all.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v7.1.9/amd64/linux-headers-7.1.9-070109-generic_7.1.9-070109.202608191735_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v7.1.9/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-7.1.9-070109-generic_7.1.9-070109.202608191735_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v7.1.9/amd64/linux-modules-7.1.9-070109-generic_7.1.9-070109.202608191735_amd64.deb

Install the stable kernel packages
```
sudo dpkg -i *.deb
```
Reboot after the stable kernel upgrade
```
sudo reboot
```

Optionally test the latest mainline release

If the stable 7.1.9 branch does not fix your problem or you specifically want to test what comes next, you can try the new Linux 7.2 release. You can either use the mainline tool from the community PPA or install the packages manually:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cappelikan/ppa -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mainline -y

# or download the packages manually
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v7.2/amd64/linux-headers-7.2.0-070200_7.2.0-070200.202608162350_all.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v7.2/amd64/linux-headers-7.2.0-070200-generic_7.2.0-070200.202608162350_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v7.2/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-7.2.0-070200-generic_7.2.0-070200.202608162350_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v7.2/amd64/linux-modules-7.2.0-070200-generic_7.2.0-070200.202608162350_amd64.deb

Install the latest mainline kernel packages
```
sudo dpkg -i *.deb
```
Reboot after the mainline kernel upgrade
```
sudo reboot
```

What is new in Linux 7.2

Linux 7.2 released on August 16, 2026 and is the default kernel for Ubuntu 26.10. It focuses on smoother scheduling and faster filesystems, with substantial work on scheduling, storage, and graphics drivers.

Linux 7.2 highlight	What it means
Cache-aware scheduling	The scheduler now considers last-level cache capacity and placement when picking CPUs, which reduces cache thrashing and improves performance on big servers and multi-die laptops.
AMDGPU HDMI 2.1 FRL	Fixed Rate Link support for HDMI 2.1 enables high bandwidth modes such as 4K at 240Hz on RDNA GPUs. It is off by default; set it via kernel module options if your display and cable support it.
Faster ext4 and exFAT	Ext4 and exFAT gain multi-block buffered writes, speeding up write workloads by up to 87 percent and cutting CPU cost per byte written.
Btrfs large folios	Btrfs turns on large folios by default, improving throughput for buffered reads and writes, and it also gains a read-only internal compression pass that can reclaim disk space.
NTFS symlinks	The kernel NTFS3 driver learns to create and read symbolic links, bringing NTFS parity a step closer to full write support.
Better memory reclaim	MGLRU reclaim improvements cut out low-value pages earlier, with roughly 30 percent latency gains reported on MongoDB-style workloads.
USB4STREAM	New audio transport for USB4/Dock devices with high-quality audio streams, a win for docks and multi-screen setups.
New hardware enablement	Initial Apple M3 support, AMD Zen 6 EPYC and Intel Panther Lake R preparation, plus Wi-Fi 7 adapters such as the Realtek 8922AU/8922AE and MediaTek MT7927.
Security hardening	Landlock can now restrict UDP traffic, KVM adds Intel MBEC and an AMD guest-mode execution trap, and Rust support extends to s390 with a new make sbom target for software bills of materials.
Removed legacy code	AppleTalk, ISA and PCMCIA ARCnet, Hercules ISA graphics, and i486 FPU emulation are gone, and the AF_ALG crypto interface is marked deprecated.

These features are most relevant if you run recent AMD or Intel hardware, manage storage-heavy servers, or rely on Wi-Fi 7 networking. For older machines, the stable 7.1.9 line remains a safe and well-tested choice.

Finishing up

Confirm the new Ubuntu release
```
lsb_release -a
cat /etc/os-release
```
Confirm the running kernel version
```
uname -r
```
Check for failed services after the reboot
```
systemctl --failed
```

Run a final cleanup pass

sudo apt autoremove --purge
sudo apt clean

Quick notes before you go

Ubuntu only supports sequential major upgrades. If you are still on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, move to 24.04 LTS first.
Ubuntu 25.10 reached end of life on July 9, 2026, so treat that as a recovery scenario rather than a normal supported upgrade path.
For most people, the distro kernel that ships with Ubuntu 26.10 is the right answer. Manual mainline kernel installs are best kept for hardware testing and troubleshooting.

That is it. At this point you should be running Ubuntu 26.10 Stonking Stingray, or a newer development branch if you intentionally used the devel-release path, and optionally a newer kernel if you chose the mainline path.