How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 23.10 Right Now

Ubuntu 23.10 'Mantic Minotaur' is here. If you are using Ubuntu 22.04 or 23.04, here's how you can upgrade to Ubuntu 23.10 right away.
Warp Terminal

Ubuntu 23.10 is here. If you are using Ubuntu 22.04 Long-term support release, you will not be automatically notified of this release, as 23.10 is not a Long-Term Support version. I will recommend you to wait for the next Long-term support release next year, i.e., Ubuntu 24.04.

However, you can choose to upgrade your system to Ubuntu 23.10 if you prefer the latest features and packages over stability.

In either case, if you are using Ubuntu 23.04, you can upgrade to the latest version available.

📋
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 45 and other new features, you no longer have to wait.

You can easily upgrade your system to Ubuntu 23.10 now.

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

Suggested Read 📖

Ubuntu 23.10: Release Date and New Features
Ubuntu’s next latest and greatest. Here’s what it is expected to pack in.

Upgrading to Ubuntu 23.10 from Ubuntu 23.04 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 23.04 and want to upgrade. You can check what Ubuntu version you have using the following command in the terminal:

lsb_release -a
Use lsb_release command to get the Ubuntu release details
lsb_release command
💡
Ubuntu 23.10 will be supported for 9 months until July 2024.

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

Software and Updates app in Ubuntu Activities Overview
Software and Updates app

And make sure that you have set “Notify me of a new Ubuntu version” to “For any new version” under the Updates tab. This should be the case if you are using Ubuntu 23.04 in the first place.

Select "For any new version" for Update notification in Software and Updates Application
Update for any new version

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 23.10.

Software Updater in Ubuntu Activities Overview
Software Updater in the Menu

Still don’t see the upgrade?

Software Up-to-date notification shown by Software Updater Application
Software Up-to-date

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 23.10 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 23.10 is now available.

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

Click on Upgrade button in Software Updater
Click on Upgrade

Ensure these two things:

  • You should have a good internet speed to download the update (~2 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)

Third-party sources are disabled during upgrade
Third-Party Sources Disabled

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

Click on "Start Upgrade" button after cchecking the details, to start Upgrade process
Confirm Upgrade

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. Click Close.

Lock Screen Disabled during the Update
Lock Screen Disabled

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

Downloading package is progressing
Downloading Packages

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.

Notification to Remove Obsolete packages
Remove Obsolete packages

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

Restart the system by clicking on the "Restart Now" button
Restart System

And, done! You have Ubuntu 23.10 installed on your system now:

System Information page in Ubuntu 23.10 Mantic Minotaur
Ubuntu 23.10 Mantic Minotaur

In case you are still 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
This tutorial demonstrates the steps for upgrading to Ubuntu 22.04 from 20.04. You can use the same steps to upgrade from any other supported Ubuntu version.
About the author
Abhishek Prakash

Abhishek Prakash

Created It's FOSS 11 years ago to share my Linux adventures. Have a Master's degree in Engineering and years of IT industry experience. Huge fan of Agatha Christie detective mysteries 🕵️‍♂️

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