Learn how to upgrade Ubuntu 14.04 to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Desktop. If you are newbie in Linux world so let me tell you first LTS means is “Long Term Support” . We always prefer LTS version rather than other Ubuntu versions.
Reason is very simple they are long time supported and very stable.

How to upgrade Ubuntu 14.04 to 16.04 LTS

Upgrading is simple process as well as time consuming also. In this post I will share some of the cases which you should consider before proceeding to upgrading Ubuntu 14.04 LTS to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

Note: Here we are talking about Ubuntu Desktop not SERVER EDITION.

Things before upgrading Ubuntu 14.04 to 16.04 LTS

1. Take the backup of your important data. If you do not have any external disk or cloud backup, just copy it to other partition rather than mounted main root (/)

2. Check the applications which are incompatible with Python 3. Because in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS python version 3.x could be your default python. You should also know about your Ubuntu 14.04 LTS has python 2.x as default python.

3. Take the backup of configuration files of applications you are using in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

Things to remember

In this section I am listing some of the points which will make you decisive to upgrade Ubuntu 14.04 to 16.04 LTS.

1. Upgradation consume lots of internet bandwidth.
2. Internet bandwidth speed should be fast.
3. You must have enough disk space (in / mounted partition)
4. Good to clean “Trash” and /tmp directory.
5. Do not interrupt the upgradation process once it is started “Installing the package”

Upgrade Ubuntu 14.04 to 16.04 LTS

1. Press “Alt+F2” keys, it will open the dash console.
2. Search for and type “Software Updater”
3. Click on “Setting” button of “Software Updater” to open the settings window.
4. In settings, click on tab called “Updates”
5. Select at dropdown “Notify me of a new Ubuntu version” as “For new version” . Click on “Save” button.

6. Reopen the “Software Updater” from Dash console. It will search the newer version and suggest for upgrade. It will clearly specify which version will be upgraded hence proceed only when it show ‘Ubuntu 16.04 LTS’

7. The upgrading process will be started.

Once the “Installing the upgrade” starts, the “Terminal” option will be highlighted. We strongly recommend to click the “Terminal” as shown in above diagram.

It will help you to select your answer if any questions are prompted on screen. For eg, it generally appears when you have some software installed like mysql.

Keep checking the “Terminal”, it may sometimes also ask if you want to keep the original files or settings for some application/software or other stuff.

If all goes well at the end you will see the “Restart” button. It is mandatory to restart the system after upgradation process is completed.

What is new in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

You will see some significant changes in new Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Here are some list –

1. Linux kernel 4.4
2. Python 3
3. Golang 1.6
4. Apt 1.2
5. OpenSSH 7.2

For more details read Ubuntu 16.04 LTS release notes