Brace for glitches and GRUB grumbles as Ubuntu 24.04.1 lands

Now the Numbat has been neatened, you can replace your Jellyfish – if you dare

Updated Ubuntu 24.04.1 is here, which means that users of the previous LTS release, 22.04 "Jammy Jellyfish," will be offered the update.

The first point release for "Noble Numbat" came out on Friday, and users of the preceding stable release of Ubuntu will at long last get the chance to upgrade their OS after a two-week delay. (Those more intrepid folks running interim releases got the offer way back in May.)

Canonical says that it's time to update your desktop – but the fact that you can does not of course mean that you should just yet. Errors can slip through unnoticed; for example, we note that the "press release" link on that page is broken. If you're not in a hurry, postpone the upgrade for a week or two. You can keep updating in the meantime. 22.04 remains fully supported until April 2027.

The Reg FOSS desk notes that users on both Reddit and Ask Ubuntu are reporting problems, and they are not alone. Networking seems to be a problem for some, and if that affects you, you might need to manually re-enable your Ethernet port from the command line, after which the upgrade should complete.

For those with the option, we'd advise using a wired Ethernet connection for the upgrade, rather than wireless – it tends to be more reliable.

If the installation doesn't finish but you're able to fix why, you can restart it with the command do-release-upgrade. If the installation completes but the desktop doesn't load, some users report that reinstalling the desktop helps:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop

If you're not using GNOME, substitute the name of your desktop: kubuntu-desktop, lubuntu-desktop, xubuntu-desktop, ubuntu-mate-desktop, etc.

A significant change catching some upgraders off guard is that recent Ubuntu versions don't add other OSes to their GRUB menu. This is by design: a module called os-prober is disabled in recent releases. You can just turn it back on, rerun sudo update-grub – and your other OSes, including Windows, should reappear on the next reboot. We also suggest turning off Secure Boot in your firmware settings, which might also help if you've been nobbled by Microsoft's recent screw-up.

It's a good idea to have some kind of recovery media to hand before you begin. We suggest using Ventoy to make a multi-boot USB key, and putting ISOs of both 24.04.1 and 22.04.4 on it. (If you're short of space, the minimal version of Xubuntu is smaller, but alternatives such as SystemRescue can do more.) ®

Updated to add on September 10:

Canonical dev Julian A Klode confirmed on September 9 that they fixed the bug and upgrades are available again.