How to upgrade to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS from Ubuntu 15.10

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Ubuntu 16.04 LTS final has been released few minutes ago.

In this tutorial, let us see how to upgrade to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS from Ubuntu 15.10 and older versions.

Upgrade to Ubuntu 16.04 desktop

Before going to upgrade, we need to update the system.

Open up the Terminal and enter the following commands.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

The above command will download and install the latest available packages.

Reboot your system to finish installing updates.

sudo reboot

Now, enter the following command to upgrade to new available version.

sudo update-manager -d

Software Updater window will show up and it is going to search for the available new release.

After a few seconds, you will see a screen like below that saying:

“The software on this computer is up to date.

However, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS is available now (you have 15.10)”.

Click Upgrade button to start the upgrade.

Software Updater_001

Then, Click Upgrade.

Release Notes_002

Note: As of writing this tutorial, The upgrade release notes wizard still showed message “Welcome to Ubuntu Xenial Xerus development release”. This message will be gone once after all Ubuntu mirrors are updated with latest Ubuntu images.

After few minutes, the software updater will ask you to start the upgrade.

Click Start upgrade to continue.

Untitled window_001

Now, the distribution upgrade will download new packages. Sit back and grab a cup of coffee. It will take a while depending upon your Internet connection speed.

Distribution Upgrade_005

Distribution Upgrade_006

Close Remove to remove obsolete packages.

Untitled window_002

Finally, click “Restart Now” button to complete the upgrade process.

Untitled window_003

Congratulations. Ubuntu 15.10 has been successfully upgraded to version 16.04.

Log in to the newly upgraded Ubuntu 16.04 desktop.

Ubuntu 16.04 Desktop

Here it is how my Ubuntu 16.04 LTS desktop looks like.

Ubuntu 16.04 desktop

To view the Ubuntu desktop details, go to System settings > Details from Unity dash.

About Ubuntu

From command line, you can view the system details using command:

cat /etc/*-release

Sample output:

DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=16.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=xenial
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 16.04 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 16.04 LTS"
VERSION_ID="16.04"
HOME_URL="http://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="http://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
UBUNTU_CODENAME=xenial

To view the Kernel details, run:

uname -a

Sample output:

Linux ostechnix-sk 4.4.0-21-generic #37-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 18 18:33:37 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

That’s it. Start using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Server Upgrade

We saw how to upgrade to Ubuntu 16.04 desktop. Now, we will see how to upgrade from Ubuntu 15.10 server to Ubuntu 16.04 server.

First, Install the update-manager-core package if it is not installed yet using command:

sudo apt-get install update-manager-core

Then, Edit the file /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades,

sudo nano /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades

and set Prompt=normal or Prompt=lts as shown below.

sk@server: ~_010

# Default behavior for the release upgrader.

[DEFAULT]
# Default prompting behavior, valid options:
#
#  never  - Never check for a new release.
#  normal - Check to see if a new release is available.  If more than one new
#           release is found, the release upgrader will attempt to upgrade to
#           the release that immediately succeeds the currently-running
#           release.
#  lts    - Check to see if a new LTS release is available.  The upgrader
#           will attempt to upgrade to the first LTS release available after
#           the currently-running one.  Note that this option should not be
#           used if the currently-running release is not itself an LTS
#           release, since in that case the upgrader won't be able to
#           determine if a newer release is available.
Prompt=normal
  • Normal – Check to see if a new release is available. If more than one new release is found, the release upgrader will attempt to upgrade to the release that immediately succeeds the currently-running release.
  • LTS – Check to see if a new LTS release is available. The upgrader will attempt to upgrade to the first LTS release available after the currently-running one. Note that this option should not be used if the currently-running release is not itself an LTS release, since in that case the upgrader won’t be able to determine if a newer release is available.

As you already know, Ubuntu 16.04 is the next available version to Ubuntu 15.10, so I simply left it as normal.

Now, it is time to upgrade your server system to latest version using the following commands:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Reboot your system to apply the updates.

sudo reboot

In case you’re upgrading via SSH, it is better to start the upgrade session within screen session. Because in case of any SSH connection failure during upgrade process, you can easily reconnect with the upgrade session.

To install the screen tool, run:

sudo apt-get install screen

Then start the screen session using command:

screen

In case of any failure, you can re-attach to the upgrade session with command:

screen -Dr

Now, start the upgrade process with command:

sudo do-release-upgrade -d

Type Y and press ENTER.

sk@server: ~_002

Press ENTER again.

sk@server: ~_003

After a while, you’ll be asked to continue the upgrade process. Type Y and press ENTER to continue.

sk@server: ~_004

The upgrade process will take place. Sit back and grab a cup of coffee.

It will take from few minutes to hours depending upon the speed of your Internet.

sk@server: ~_004

Once the latest packages are downloaded and installed, type Y and press ENTER to remove the obsolete packages.

sk@server: ~_006

Finally, to finish the upgrade type Y and press ENTER.

sk@server: ~_007

Congratulations! Welcome to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Xenial Xerus development version.

Ubuntu 16.04 server [Running] - Oracle VM VirtualBox_001

Upgrading to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS version is a piece of cake. The upgrade process for both server and desktop went smooth without a single issue. It’s time to explore what’s new in Ubuntu 16.04 server.

I will be here soon with another interesting article. Until then stay tuned with us and share this article to your social networks, and support OSTechNix.

Cheers!!

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  • @madtHOUSE

    I don’t know what the f*** is wrong with my own system, ve tried every damn thing, keeps reporting back to me that my system is up to date. It does not inform me about the newest version. also tried upgrading using the command “sudo do-releae-upgrade” and “sudo do-release-upgrade -d”, still same s*** – no new release. Right now, I’m as confused as Mr Bean with no clue of what to do. save a life here pls.

  • Javier Richard Quinto Ancieta

    Hi, thank you for the tutorial, Do you know if I will maintain all programs that I have installed on ubuntu 15.10 without any problem?

    • SK

      Hi, all applications will remain and work after upgrading. Don’t worry about that. However, some third party PPAs will be disabled while upgrading. You can enable enable them after upgrading your Ubuntu. I upgraded my production system from Ubuntu 14.04 to 16.04. Not a single application or single file is gone. Everything worked well.

      • Javier Richard Quinto Ancieta

        Thank you man, I will be updating my ubuntu 15.10 to 16.04 in a while, i hope everything result ok

  • SK

    Hey, I am sorry to hear that you can’t upgrade to 16.04. Could you please elaborate the question? What is your current Ubuntu version? Did you reboot the system after running command “sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade”? Also, make sure you have correct entries in “/etc/update-manager/release-upgrades” file. You should set “prompt=normal” in “/etc/update-manager/release-upgrades” file if you are trying to upgrade from 15.10 to 16.04, and set “prompt-lts” if you are trying to upgrade from 14.04 to 16.04. Feel free to let me know if you need any further assistance. I will gladly help you.

    • @madtHOUSE

      thanks a lot man. i was able to fix the issue eventually by setting the update option under ‘software & updates’ to check ‘for any new version’ as stated in the official ubuntu release note of 16.04 that 15.10 users should set ‘notify me of a new ubuntu version’ drop down menu to check ‘for any new version’. couldn’t believe it. imagine, such a small thing. anyway, thank you so much i really appreciate ur concern.

      • SK

        I am glad to know that. Cheers!

  • wjhvroom

    Hello,

    It is an excellent howto-guide. After upgrading from 15.04 to 16.04 (server) all my php websites do not longer work. For example phpinfo.php gives a blank page, phpmyadmin gives a blank page and while logging on to wordpress it gives a blank page too.

    What should I do to get php working again?

    Thanks for your help and with kind regards,
    Willem-Jan

    • SK

      Hi Willem,

      I really have no idea why php isn’t working after upgrading. Please post the issue along with complete log details in PHP forums.

      • wjhvroom

        Hello,

        Thanks for your reply. I solved it already by creating a new server with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Now a clean install, with WordPress restored from a backup, works like a charm.

        With kind regards,
        Willem-Jan

  • Daniel Mayowa Ogunbayo

    I used your steps but on reboot I am stuck on a black screen

    • SK

      Hi Daniel, I am not really sure what exactly the problem. This guide is worked for me without any issues.

      • Daniel Mayowa Ogunbayo

        The problem was related to the nvidia drivers where not update or got corrupted. I reversed the the install updated the nvida drivers and updated to 16.x which worked this time.

        • SK

          I am glad you fixed the problem. Cheers.

          • Daniel Mayowa Ogunbayo

            Thanks for the documented steps. Cheers.