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How to upgrade from 20.10 to 21.10

dj flag

I am running Ubuntu 20.10 on a machine which apparently would suffer audio issues with the 21.04 kernel. Now that 21.10 has been released, I'd like to upgrade directly from 20.10 to 21.10, but update-manager is offering to upgrade only to 21.04. I've tried following general instructions about updating to 20.10 as well as the generic upgrade instructions, both to no avail.

Is it possible to upgrade directly from 20.10 to 21.10 or must I upgrade via 21.04?

Nmath avatar
ng flag
Does this answer your question? [Can I skip over releases when upgrading?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/34430/can-i-skip-over-releases-when-upgrading) or [How to install software or upgrade from an old unsupported release?](https://askubuntu.com/q/91815). It's not recommended. Since 20.10 is past EOL, it's generally better to cleanly install a supported release. In the future don't let your OS go EOL. LTS releases are supported for 5 years, vs 9 months for standard releases.
us flag
Download the image and take a backup of important data. Then check if the audio works properly with a live USB. Then perform a fresh install.
guiverc avatar
cn flag
Ubuntu 20.10 was only QA-tested to upgrade to 21.04; so you wish to go outside of *supported* or *QA-tested* upgrade procedures - it's up to you. FYI: In QA-testing I did do an *upgrade via re-install* or *install using existing partition* where I did a *impish* upgrade over a 20.10 desktop (Lubuntu/LXQt; 20.10 had just reached EOL & I thus didn't need it anymore) install without issue; so the *upgrade via re-install* option is always a choice.
guiverc avatar
cn flag
FYI: the *upgrade via re-install* or *install using existing partition* is an install type that means packages I had installed get re-installed automatically (if available for the new release from Ubuntu repositories) & no user file/config is touched. It allows me to use my selected (not installed by default on a Lubuntu/Xubuntu/Ubuntu..) mp3 player & have my music ready on the system without needing to backup/restore etc. Regardless you should still backup as it's easy to make a mistake with any installation (it allows you to re-install same release; later, backwards etc)
uz flag
Jos
@guiverc is *upgrade via re-install or install using existing partition* a new type of installation procedure? I hadn't seen it and can't find any recent information on it. It sounds like the ideal procedure for people like me who keep upgrading their system twice a year, yet would like to start afresh but don't want to reinstall their packages.
guiverc avatar
cn flag
no @Jos; used to be an option you could see on (upgrade installation) `ubiquity` for some releases; but is just re-using your existing partitions (ie. *something else*, *Manual Partitioning* (`calamares`) or *Manual* (KDE-Qt skin on `ubiquity`) without any format selected - which triggers this install type. Lubuntu has used it as a *testcase* since using `calamares` (I recently documented it here - https://discourse.lubuntu.me/t/testing-checklist-understanding-the-testcases/2743 for Lubuntu; but it's not new as I've been using it since 11.04) .. it's easier on the new `canary` builds :)
glyn avatar
dj flag
@namath You wrote "In the future don't let your OS go EOL." Generally, I agree, but please note I was avoiding a known issue and I didn't really want to install 21.04 and then upgrade the kernel.
glyn avatar
dj flag
@guiverc Thanks. I'm going to try _upgrade via re-install_ and will report back.
glyn avatar
dj flag
I tried _upgrade via re-install_, but couldn't figure out the partitioning step without risking formatting my home directory, so I upgraded via 21.04 instead (which was pretty smooth).
guiverc avatar
cn flag
Well done for getting the *release-upgrade* completed! Yeah, *upgrade via re-install* was an easy option on older `ubiquity` before getting hidden away (inside *something-else*), and thus isn't a widely used feature, but the plan is for the replacement installer to make it easier to use (ie. my mention of *canary* builds in prior comment - alas it's not working there yet; but it's planned to be there before 22.04)
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