How To Upgrade To Ubuntu 20.04 From Ubuntu 18.04 / Ubuntu 19.10 [Detailed Guide]

Ubuntu 20.04 was released on April 23, 2020, codenamed Focal Fossa. If you haven’t upgraded your system to Ubuntu 20.04 yet, here is the guide on how to upgrade Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or Ubuntu 19.10 to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

You can also plan a fresh installation of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on your system if you wish.

Ubuntu 20.04 will be supported for five years, until April 2025.

Take a look at the new features in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS to learn more about what you get when you upgrade your system to Ubuntu 20.04.

Pre-Upgrade Tasks

Internet Connection

The System needs to have an active internet connection to download packages.

Backup

Before upgrading Ubuntu 18.04 or Ubuntu 19.10 to Ubuntu 20.04, take a backup of important files to an external location like USB hard disk or Dropbox.

Configure upgrades

Ensure the system is configured to receive OS upgrades. To check that, open the Software & Updates.

Ubuntu 18.04

Click on the Activities » Search for Software & Updates.

Go to the Updates tab and ensure Notify me of a new Ubuntu version is set to For long-term support versions.

Ubuntu 19.10

Click the Activities » Search for Software & Updates.

Go to the Updates tab and ensure Notify me of a new Ubuntu version is set to For any new version.

Prepare Ubuntu for Upgrade

First, we need to install the latest updates for the current version of Ubuntu, i.e., Ubuntu 18.04 or Ubuntu 19.10 using the following command.

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade -y

Reboot the system.

sudo reboot

Upgrade To Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Start the software updater to begin the upgrade on your system.

Ubuntu 18.04

In the terminal, run the following command to open the software updater.

sudo update-manager -cd

In a few seconds, you should get the software updater window with a message saying that Ubuntu 20.04 is now available. Click on Upgrade.

Ubuntu 19.10

In the terminal, run the following command to open the software updater.

sudo update-manager -cd

In a few seconds, you should get the software updater window with a message saying that Ubuntu 20.04 is now available. Click on Upgrade.

Upgrade OS

Now, click the Upgrade in the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS release notes window.

Wait for few minutes to let the software updater prepare your system for upgrades and configure new channels to receive upgrades.

Click Start Upgrade to begin the up-gradation process.

Take a break. The upgrade process will take 30 to 50 minutes to complete depending upon the speed of your internet connection.

You may need to remove the obsolete packages by clicking on Remove.

Click Restart Now to restart the machine to complete the upgrade.

Once your system is rebooted, you will get the Ubuntu 20.04 login screen. Log in with your existing credentials.

You will get the desktop upon successful login.

Conclusion

That’s All. Your system has been successfully upgraded to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. Do check out articles of Ubuntu 20.04 to get the most out of your OS upgrade.