La upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04, one of the most anticipated among Linux enthusiasts and professionals, has been temporarily retired by Canonical and the derivative flavor teams after being detected serious failures in the migration process, especially on Kubuntu. This decision was made after numerous users reported unusable systems after attempting to upgrade from the previous version.
During the first few days after the release of Ubuntu 25.04 "Plucky Puffin", updates from Ubuntu 24.10 were enabled. However, specialized communities and forums quickly began to fill with messages from users of Kubuntu that, after completing the process, They encountered strange visuals on the login screen and a complete inability to access their desktop. common: neither KDE nor any other session would start correctly, leaving many with a virtually unusable operating system.
What happened to the Kubuntu update?
The main bug is related to the installer that manages the migration from Kubuntu 24.10 to 25.04. According to Simon Quigley, Lubuntu release manager and active community member, the installer was updated this cycle to PyQt6. However, The "pyqt6" dependency was not installed by default on several variants, including Kubuntu, Lubuntu, and Ubuntu StudioAs a result, the update launcher failed, and after the reboot, neither the graphical environment nor the session manager (SDDM) worked correctly.
Some users have been able to resolve the crash by manually reinstalling key packages, such as "plasma-desktop", "kubuntu-desktop", and "sddm", from the terminal (accessed with Ctrl+Alt+F3). However, For most, there is no simple or accessible solution for less experienced profiles.In extreme cases, after the failure, the system would only display a login screen with no option to select a session or continue booting.
Developer Response and Canonical's Decision
The severity of the problem led those responsible for the various Ubuntu flavors to immediately stop updates.. Quigley explained that, after becoming aware of the magnitude and scope of the bug, not only was the option to update in Kubuntu stopped, but they proceeded to Block the upgrade to 25.04 on all ten Ubuntu flavors, both Desktop and Server, while the root cause is investigated and a definitive solution is developed.
The action was so hasty that, as an emergency measure, "Plucky" was marked as "temporarily unsupported," which can cause a pop-up message to appear on systems indicating that the version has reached its end of life. This warning, according to the developers, should be ignored as it is a quick, temporary fix to prevent more users from falling prey to the bug.
Canonical and the Ubuntu core team have taken over to ensure the issue is resolved.Meanwhile, engineers for the affected flavors are working together to identify and resolve any potential issues arising from the update, as the root cause of the bug appears to go beyond the absence of "pyqt6" and could affect other aspects of the migration process.
Impact and scope of the bug: beyond Kubuntu
Although the incident particularly affects Kubuntu, Other flavors such as Lubuntu and Ubuntu Studio have also been pointed out in forums and networks as possible collateral victims.Problems in these cases range from being left without a graphical environment after the update to the appearance of incorrect desktops (such as GNOME instead of KDE, or no desktop at all).
In open conversations with the community, The developers have publicly apologized and acknowledged the importance of thorough code review and internal communication between teams.They took the opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of bug reports in beta versions, as many detected issues could have been addressed sooner if they had been reported in a timely manner.
Options for affected users when upgrading to Ubuntu 25.04
Users who have already started the update and have encountered an unusable system have some manual alternatives., although they require some experience:
- Reinstall the "plasma-desktop", "kubuntu-desktop", and "sddm" packages from the console through
sudo apt install --reinstall. - Reconfigure SDDM running
sudo dpkg-reconfigure sddmto reset the session manager. - Ensure the “pyqt6” package is present before attempting to restart the graphical environment again.
However, These solutions do not guarantee that the desktop will function normally again in all scenarios., since the extent of the failure could depend on additional variables that are not known or derived from particular configurations.
Those who have not yet updated are advised to wait for the official patch to be released.Ubuntu has support channels to help those already affected pick up the pieces, although the general recommendation is to avoid drastic actions and attempt to restore the desktop before opting for a full reinstallation.
Update and current status of Ubuntu 25.04 fixes
For the moment, There is no official confirmation as to when the ability to upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04 from previous versions will be restored.The development team is working on a fix to ensure all flavors can migrate safely without losing desktop functionality, but they are cautious about committing to a timeline.
Remember that This is not the first time that Ubuntu has stopped a major update.Back in September of last year, the update to Ubuntu 24.04.1 was suspended for a few days after bugs were detected in the release upgrader's handling of the apt solver. In that case, the interruption was brief, but it highlighted the complexity of maintaining stability on such diverse systems with so many derivative flavors.
While the situation is being resolved, Users hoping to upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04 should stay tuned for official announcements and avoid using advanced or forced methods to force the upgrade., as they could increase the risk of suffering similar or more serious problems.