If you use Kubuntu 25.10 you can upgrade to KDE Plasma 6.5 through the Kubuntu backports PPA.
Kubuntu 25.10 was released on 9 October 2025 with KDE Plasma 6.4, but on 21 October the new KDE Plasma 6.5 release arrived — users of the former who want the latter, now have a way to do so.
KDE Plasma 6.5 includes a variety of improvements, including automatic light-to-dark theme switching, pinned clipboard items, easier wi-fi network connecting, low printer ink notifications, rounded bottom corners on Windows and app permission controls.
Although maintained by Kubuntu developers, the backports PPA is explicitly opt-in (i.e. not enabled by default). You use it at your own discretion since the packages within don’t receive the same degree of testing as official repo updates.
The new KDE Plasma 6.5 release is now available to install on Ubuntu 25.10 using the Kubuntu Backports PPA. This opt-in repo packages new(er) KDE releases (desktop, apps, tooling) for use on Kubuntu.
Upgrade to KDE Plasma 6.5
Before you add the Kubuntu Backports PPA you must check for and install any pending updates first. You may want to backup of any critical files or settings first, just incase things go wonky.
Next, you need to add the PPA. The easiest way to do this is to use the command-line, so open your terminal emulator of choice and run:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
You’ll be asked if you want to go ahead and add the PPA (read over what’s printed) and press y to agree.
The PPA is added, its signing key imported and then your system’s list of of packages updated.
Finally, trigger the upgrade by running:
sudo apt full-upgrade
Opinion varies on whether sudo apt full-upgrade or sudo apt upgrade is best. The former is more comprehensive and will resolve (where able) dependency changes by removing packages, while the latter is more conservative.
The difference in actual use is ineligible. Both work fine and, and the risk of actual problems (from the upgrade) is minimal. Just review what it says it’s planning to do before confirming – which is, again, a tap of the y key.
You should give the upgrade plenty of time to complete and, once done, reboot to ensure every nut, bolt and service is in place.
Can I Downgrade KDE Plasma?
Kubuntu 25.10 ships Plasma 6.4 by default, so if you upgrade to 6.5 through this PPA but later wish to downgrade to 6.4 again, you can do so using the ppa-purge tool.
First, install PPA Purge:
sudo apt install ppa:purge
Then, remove the Kubuntu Backports PPA using the command command:
sudo ppa-purge ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
As part of this process a list of packages to be downgraded to the original version is calculated and shown. Hit y if you’re happy to proceed.
Once done, reboot to ensure every nut, bolt and service is in place.