Linux 6.12 is now the last LTS (Long Term Support) stable kernel and Ubuntu users can install it on their computers. Let's see how...
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) ships with the Linux 6.8 kernel, which reached the end of its supported life at the end of May 2024. Even if Canonical continues to support Linux 6.8 with bug fixes from later releases, it may you need the extra hardware support when installing Ubuntu on a newer computer, or maybe you just want to enjoy some new features.
The first Noble Numbat point release, Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS, still uses Linux kernel 6.8, as Canonical plans to upgrade the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS kernel to Linux kernel 6.11 from Ubuntu 24.10 (Oracular Oriole) on February 13 2025. However, Linux kernel 6.11 has also reached end of life and is no longer supported.
Canonical promised a while ago that new versions of Ubuntu will ship with the latest Linux kernel. But they didn't promise to upgrade the default kernel to newer versions during the supported period of the corresponding Ubuntu version.
So why not install Linux kernel 6.12?
Linux kernel 6.12 was released on November 17, 2024 and is LTS (Long Term Support) meaning it will receive support for at least two years. Includes new features such as real-time “PREEMPT_RT” support, a new scheduler called sched_ext, DRM panic messages as QR codes, Clang support (including LTO) for nolibc, an updated cpuidle tool, support for NVIDIA's virtual command queue implementation for SMMUv3 and more.
Let's proceed with the installation. You will need to download the Linux kernel 6.12 LTS packages for your architecture of interest (64-bit (amd64), AArch64 (ARM64), ARMhf, PowerPC 64-bit Little Endian (ppc64el) or IBM System z (s390x)) from the official Ubuntu mainline kernel PPA archive and install them on your system via the command line.
For example, to install Linux kernel 6.12 LTS on an Ubuntu 64-bit (amd64) system, download the packages listed below to a folder in your Home directory.
- linux-image-unsigned-6.12.0-061200-generic_6.12.0-061200.202411220723_amd64.deb
- linux-modules-6.12.0-061200-generic_6.12.0-061200.202411220723_amd64.deb
- linux-headers-6.12.0-061200-generic_6.12.0-061200.202411220723_amd64.deb
- linux-headers-6.12.0-061200_6.12.0-061200.202411220723_all.deb
Once all the packages have been downloaded to the folder you selected, you can install them all at once with the command
sudo dpkg -i * .deb
If you have problems with Linux kernel 6.12 LTS and want to go back to the default Ubuntu kernel or another kernel installed on your system, press the Esc key when starting your computer to display the boot menu. Then, from "Advanced options". select a different kernel version from the list of available kernels.
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
