Time is up on Ubuntu 24.10 ‘Oracular Oriole’, which hit End of Life (EOL) on July 10, 2025.

Any soothsaying stragglers sticking with Ubuntu 24.10 beyond July 10 will no longer receive security or bug fix updates from Canonical — regardless of how critical. Users should consult the stars to see if an upgrade to the newer Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ release is in their future…

No further updates will be issued for Ubuntu 24.10 beyond July 10 – so upgrade soon!

Normally when covering an EOL I say something like “…but most people who use an Ubuntu interim release will upgrade as soon as the next one is out, so few will be affected by this”.

However, given that Ubuntu 24.10 to 25.04 upgrades were closed for several months owing to major bugs, there may be people holding off upgrading — no need; all issues were resolved.

Of course, the vast majority of Ubuntu users run a long-term support (LTS) version. Those are supported for a minimum of 5 years, so the 6-monthly upgrades to new releases interim riders enjoy isn’t necessary.

A Final Kernel Update is Coming

Those who can’t upgrade to a newer Ubuntu release before July 10 shouldn’t panic.

In early July, Canonical’s Kernel Team will release one final 6.11.0-based kernel update. This is designed to give users “the chance to get fixes before they have the opportunity to upgrade to a newer release.”

However, that last hurrah shouldn’t be a reason to hold off upgrading for good.

Canonical recommends “upgrading to a newer Ubuntu release before your current version reaches End of Life, to ensure your system remains up-to-date and protected against the latest security vulnerabilities.”

To continue receiving updates from Canonical after July 10, all users of Ubuntu 24.10 will need to upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04. Updates from other repos, sources and avenues may or may not be affected – it will vary.

Ubuntu 25.04 is supported until January 2026, but it will be possible to upgrade to Ubuntu 25.10 from October—assuming no upgrade issues appear. Those who don’t want to upgrade as often should look to use a long-term support (LTS) release.

But since it is easy to upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04 (like “click a button” easy), a spare half an hour, stable internet connection, and something to pass the the time is all that’s required to do it. Which mean, there’s really no reason to not upgrade soon-ish, okay?