Support for Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ officially ends on 15th January 2026 — which for those of you reading in a timely fashion is next week!
A short-term support release, Ubuntu 25.04 got 9 months of updates from launch. It was released in April of 2025, making January 2026 its swan song (or puffin’s final dive, for the ornithological pedants).
Once Ubuntu 25.04 reaches End of Life (EoL) it receives no more security patches, app updates or bug fixes, no matter how critical or urgent.
There aren’t any real-time stats on how many people use each version of Ubuntu, but Ubuntu 25.10 was released last October and has been out for around 3 months by this point. I’d be surprised if many will e panicking…
That said, if you do still use the Plucky Puffin, you must think about what you plan to do next.
Nothing catastrophic happens once an Ubuntu release reaches End of Life (EoL). The end of official support won’t mean the end of your ability to login and use it (so yes, Ubuntu 25.04 will continue to work) past 15th January.
But staying on an older, unsupported release isn’t wise long-term. Without prompt security patches rolling in, you’re leaving yourself exposed as the exploit vultures circle.
Once Canonical drops support for an Ubuntu release, third-party software vendors, PPAs and APT repos tend to follow suit and stop pushing out app updates for that version.
Most annoying of all, Canonical ultimately archives the repo. That makes it a bit of a hassle should you want/need to install a package or app from using apt.
Upgrade to Ubuntu 25.10 to Stay Supported
Though the Plucky Puffin is out of pluck, upgrading to Ubuntu 25.10 ‘Questing Quokka’ is easy, and it’s worthwhile — but only if you do not rely on the X11/Xorg display server.
Ubuntu 25.10 comes with the latest GNOME 49 release (filled with improvements), is powered by the Linux 6.17 kernel and newer graphics drivers, and includes a pair of brand-new apps, new Rust tools, more secure time server, and more.
Note: GNOME 49 no longer supports X11/Xorg desktop sessions. It is Wayland only. If your hardware doesn’t place nice with Wayland, you may need to consider an alternative option, like installing a different desktop environment or reinstalling with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
Upgrades are done “in-place” through the Software Updater tool (or the terminal). You don’t need to download an ISO or do fresh install, and all your existing apps, settings and files are preserved. Backup any critical files before you begin just in case.
To upgrade: Open Software Updater and click the ‘Upgrade’ button shown, or run sudo do-release-upgrade in terminal. Ubuntu upgrades typically take 30-60 minutes, but shorter if your internet speed is fast and your rig is a riot.
Be aware that any additional PPAs or 3rd-party APT repos you’ve added (e.g., Mozilla, Google Chrome, Discord, et al) will be disabled during the upgrade and will require you to manually re-enable them via the Software & Updates tool.
Ubuntu 25.10 is supported with security updates and select bug fixes for another 6 months, so until around July 2026. You will be able to upgrade to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ‘Resolute Raccoon’ in April which is supported for up to 15 years on desktop.
Thus, if you hate the frequent migrations every six months, consider resting easy with the Resolute Raccoon in the spring.
Still running Ubuntu 25.04? I’d love to know what your plans are going forward, so let me know in the comments section below!