Kubuntu Focus: Release Upgrade Guided Solution

Kubuntu 26.04 LTS with KFS

Upgrade from 24.04 to 26.04

Systems	Applies to Focus Tools
Verified on	24.04, 26.04
Focus Models	All

Background
Clean Install (Preferred)
In-Place Upgrade
Troubleshooting
Revisions
Disclaimer

Upgrade to Kubuntu 26.04 LTS with KFS.

Upgrade to Kubuntu 26.04 LTS with KFS. This ISO image includes the Kubuntu 26.04 LTS OS with the Kubuntu Focus Suite (KFS), a collection of Focus Tools, Curated Apps, UX preferences, and hardware optimizations that are impractical or impossible to add to Kubuntu directly.

Please read the disclaimer before proceeding. We review and update guided solutions regularly. If you have suggestions or requests, please write support@kfocus.org.

Background

Kubuntu Long-Term Support release cycles last for three (3) years. The release code is shown in the format YY.MM. Kubuntu 26.04 LTS was released at the end of April 2026, and is supported through April 2029. Kubuntu 24.04 LTS was released in April 2024 and is supported through April 2027. Kubuntu LTS with KFS follows this support cycle.

Clean Install (Preferred)

We recommend a Clean Install to upgrade to Kubuntu 26.04 LTS with KFS. As with any OS upgrade, this eliminates most software and configuration conflicts that always happen with an in-place upgrade.

While this may seem more time-consuming than doing an in-place upgrade, remember that Ubuntu strongly advises backing up all user data before any in-place upgrade to avoid data loss. If you follow this advice, which you should, there is little difference in the time required to do a clean install versus an in-place upgrade. A clean install can even be faster, and much smoother after the fact.

User settings are preserved when doing a clean upgrade, as long as you back up and restore your user-specific configuration. See the Backups Guided Solution to preserve your data, then follow the Clean Install Guided Solution.

In-Place Upgrade

Kubuntu 26.04 LTS with KFS comes with many new features, updated software, and improved resilience to system breakage. Part of these new features include a switch from X11 to Wayland as the display server.

Because of these changes, an in-place upgrade is not recommended and is done at your own risk. It can cause problems that are hard or impossible for a novice to fix, as illustrated in an upgrade to 24.04 shown on Reddit.

If you insist on an in-place upgrade, please follow these steps:

Back up your data.
Run ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d to view all PPAs and third-party repositories (repos) installed on your system. We recommend disabling as many of these repos as possible, leaving only those with a name starting with kfocus- or kubuntu-. If possible, use ppa-purge to remove the PPAs and all software installed from them. For other repos, you may disable them without uninstalling their software by deleting or moving their .list or .sources files.
Once you have removed all non-Kubuntu and non-KFocus repos, run a full system update using sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade.
Begin the upgrade to 26.04 LTS (Resolute) by running sudo do-release-upgrade --allow-third-party.
Follow the on-screen instructions. Your system will reboot after the upgrade has installed.
Once you have booted into the upgraded system, run sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade && sudo apt install kfocus-main to ensure that Kubuntu 26.04 LTS with KFS is installed properly. Then reboot again.
Re-add any needed third-party repos (ensuring to use the resolute versions of those repos if applicable) and reinstall any needed software.
If the upgrade does not work as expected, you may use the backed-up data from the first step to perform a Clean Install.

Troubleshooting

Q: I'm getting an upgrade notification. How soon should I upgrade?

A: If Kubuntu 24.04 is still serving your needs, there is no immediate need to upgrade: bug fixes, security updates, technical support, and validation on Kubuntu Focus systems extends through April 2027. However, if you are still running 22.04, we recommend you upgrade soon since support concluded at the end of April 2025.

Revisions

This is a partial revision history. See the git repository for all entries.

2026-09-29 dcc91bd1 First publication; see upgrade-2404 for prior doc

Disclaimer

We try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.

THIS SOLUTION IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOLUTION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.