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How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 23.04 Right Now

Ubuntu 23.04 'Lunar Lobster' has just been released. If you are using Ubuntu 22.04 or 22.10, here's how you can upgrade to Ubuntu 23.04 right away.

Ubuntu 23.04 is here. If you are using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, you will not be automatically notified of this release, as it is not a Long-Term Support version. I will recommend you to wait for the next LTS release next year, i.e., Ubuntu 24.04.

However, you can choose to upgrade your system to Ubuntu 23.04 if you prefer the latest features and packages over stability.

In either case, if you are using Ubuntu 22.10, you can upgrade to the latest version available.

ubuntu 23.04 upgrade
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Not everyone will be notified about the availability of the new version immediately. It may take a couple of weeks before you see the upgrade option.

No matter what you have now, if you want to get your hands on Ubuntu 23.04 that comes with GNOME 44 and other new features, you no longer have to wait.

You can easily upgrade your system to Ubuntu 23.04 now.

Once you upgrade, you cannot go back to the previous version. You’ll have to freshly install it.

Suggested Read 📖

9 Ubuntu 23.04 (Lunar Lobster) Features
Ubuntu 23.04 is around the corner. Learn all about the features that you can expect with its release.

Upgrading to Ubuntu 23.04 from Ubuntu 22.10 Right Now

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While the upgrade procedure is painless, it is still recommended to make a backup of your data on an external disk. Having a live Ubuntu USB helps you reinstall in some rare unfortunate incidents when the upgrade doesn’t go as planned.

Here, I assume that you are using Ubuntu 22.10 and want to upgrade. You can check what Ubuntu version you have using the following command in the terminal:

lsb_release -a
ubuntu version check
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Ubuntu 23.04 will be supported for 9 months until January 2024.

Here’s what you do. Open the Software & Updates application:

ubuntu 22.10 software and updates

And make sure that you have set “Notify me of a new Ubuntu version” to “For any new version” under the Updates tab.

ubuntu new version update setting

Now open a terminal and enter the following command to make sure that your system is updated:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Now run the Software Updater, and it should show you the option to upgrade to Ubuntu 23.04.

ubuntu 23.04 upgrade

Still don’t see the upgrade?

If you do not see the upgrade notification, you can still force it to find it for you.

You can make the update manager to look for development releases (Ubuntu 23.04 in this case) with this command:

update-manager -d

It will open the Update Manager tool that looks for updates. Since you have already updated the system, it won’t find new updates to install. However, it will see that Ubuntu 23.04 is now available.

You can hit the upgrade button and follow the on-screen option to start the upgrade procedure.

ubuntu 23.04 preparing to upgrade

Ensure these two things:

  • You should have a good internet speed to download the update (2-3 GB).
  • Your system should stay connected to a power source during the upgrade.

The next step shows you that the third-party PPAs will be disabled (so you will have to manually enable them after the upgrade if needed)

It will then prompt you to show the number of new packages to be installed and the ones that are no longer needed:

Hit "Start Upgrade" to continue with the upgrade process. The system will disable the lock screen during the upgrade process, and you will be notified of the same:

ubuntu 23.04 upgrade lockscreen disabled

Now it will download the packages, refresh/update packages, and install all the essentials.

ubuntu upgrade fetching files

Next, you will be shown a prompt to remove obsolete packages. You can choose to keep any of them, but for the most part, you should be good.

ubuntu removing obsolelte packages in upgrade

You can continue the upgrade process and when it is done, it will ask you to restart the system to apply the upgrade:

ubuntu 23.04 upgrade restart

And, done! You have Ubuntu 23.04 installed on your system now:

Ubuntu 23.04

In case you are using Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, and want to upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04, you can follow our other guide for help:

How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS from Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and 21.10
This tutorial demonstrates the steps for upgrading to Ubuntu 22.04 from Ubuntu 21.10 and 20.04. You can use the same steps to upgrade from any other supported Ubuntu version. There are plenty of new features in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. As an ardent Ubuntu user, it is

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