Brief: Ubuntu 19.04 has reached the end of life on 23rd January 2020. This means that systems running Ubuntu 19.04 won’t receive security and maintenance updates anymore and thus leaving them vulnerable.
Ubuntu 19.04 was released on 18th April, 2019. Since it was not a long term support (LTS) release, it was supported only for nine months.
Completing its release cycle, Ubuntu 19.04 reached end of life on 23rd January, 2020.
Ubuntu 19.04 brought a few visual and performance improvements and paved the way for a sleek and aesthetically pleasant Ubuntu look.
Like any other regular Ubuntu release, it had a life span of nine months. And that has ended now.
End of life for Ubuntu 19.04? What does it mean?
End of life is means a certain date after which an operating system release won’t get updates.
You might already know that Ubuntu (or any other operating system for that matter) provides security and maintenance upgrades in order to keep your systems safe from cyber attacks.
Once a release reaches the end of life, the operating system stops receiving these important updates.
If you continue using a system after the end of life of your operating system release, your system will be vulnerable to cyber attacks and malware.
That’s not it. In Ubuntu, the applications that you downloaded using APT from Software Center won’t be updated as well. In fact, you won’t be able to install new software using apt-get command anymore (gradually, if not immediately).
All Ubuntu 19.04 users must upgrade to Ubuntu 19.10
Starting 23rd January 2020, Ubuntu 19.04 will stop receiving updates. You must upgrade to Ubuntu 19.10 which will be supported till July 2020. This is also applicable to other official Ubuntu flavors such as Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu etc.
You can check the Ubuntu version either from the settings->Details or by using the command:
lsb_release -aHow to upgrade to Ubuntu 19.10?
Thankfully, Ubuntu provides easy ways to upgrade the existing system to a newer version.
In fact, Ubuntu also prompts you that a new Ubuntu version is available and that you should upgrade to it.
If you have a good internet connection, you can use the same Software Updater tool that you use to update Ubuntu. In the above image, you just need to click the Upgrade button and follow the instructions. I have written a detailed guide about upgrading to Ubuntu 18.04 using this method.
If you don’t have a good internet connection, there is a workaround for you. Make a backup of your home directory or your important data on an external disk.
Then, make a live USB of Ubuntu 19.10. Download Ubuntu 19.10 ISO and use the Startup Disk Creator tool already installed on your Ubuntu system to create a live USB out of this ISO.
Boot from this live USB and go on ‘installing’ Ubuntu 19.10. In the installation procedure, you should see an option to remove Ubuntu 19.04 and replace it with Ubuntu 19.10. Choose this option and proceed as if you are installing Ubuntu afresh.
Are you still using Ubuntu 19.04, 18.10, 17.10 or some other unsupported version?
You should note that at present only Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04 and 19.10 (or higher) versions are supported. If you are running an Ubuntu version other than these, you must upgrade to a newer version.
