How to upgrade Fedora 26 to Fedora 27
Upgrading is an essential operation in any operating system, but few operating system can handle it well. Many users prefer to install over the previous version and risk losing their data. Other user do backups and then install the operating system over. Fedora users have the possibility to upgrade their fast-paced operating system simply pushing a button. Let’s take a look at how this process work:
Before upgrading
Remember that upgrading an operating system is always a delicate procedure, as I always say: if you care, backup. Make backups of your important data, possibly using external supports such as external hard drives or even DVDs.
Read the release notes of the version you want to upgrade to. There may be incompatible software or packages that are not in the new version, in both case you want to know that and take the appropriate measures depending on the software.
Take note of all the changes made during the update process in order to identify problems related with different software versions (e.g. PHP).
If you’re upgrading a battery-powered machine, connect it to the wall plug. Upgrades using battery power should be avoided.
Keep in mind this guide is mainly for desktop/workstation users, server upgrades should be planned and carried out according to different principles. This tutorial itself describes only the procedure to upgrade, but doesn’t deal with solving problems related to the process, which is pretty common in server setups.
Using GNOME Software
Fedora upgrade banner
If you’re using Fedora 23 or later you will be able to update using GNOME Software. This is the preferred method, all you have to do is open GNOME Software and click on updates, from there you should see the upgrade banner and will be able to perform the download of the update. Once you click on download you will be prompted to confirm (you will need elevated privileges) and the system will start pulling updates from the Internet. When the download is over you should be facing this screen:
Fedora upgrade ready to be installed
Simply click on install and the system will start upgrading, the system will now reboot. When the reboot is over, you should be facing this new loading screen:
Fedora upgrading
This screen means the upgrade is ongoing, you will need to wait for a bit of time, also don’t unplug the computer from the power outlet. Keep in mind this process can be very long, so you can go and grab some coffee. Whenever you want, you can press ESC in order to check on the underlying processes to see if something went wrong. This process shouldn’t take too long, in my tests, the longest upgrade took about one hour and a half. If everything went right the system will reboot once more meaning the system has correctly been updated:
Fedora upgrade done
Using DNF system upgrade plugin
The DNF (What is DNF?) system upgrade plugin is the preferred method to update Fedora 21 and older through CLI.
The first step is to upgrade all the currently installed software:
$ sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
The second step is to install the system upgrade plugin:
$ sudo dnf install dnf-plugin-system-upgrade
The third and most important step is to download the packages needed for the upgrade. In this example I am downloading the packages for Fedora 27. If you want to upgrade to another version simply replace 27 with the version number you want to upgrade to in the command.
$ sudo dnf system-upgrade download --refresh --releasever=27
Once the download completes the machine is still untouched. The fourth step will finalize the upgrade:
$ sudo dnf system-upgrade reboot
After you issue this command the system will reboot in order to complete the upgrade process. Don’t unplug the computer from the power outlet. Keep in mind this process can be very long, so you can go and grab some coffee. This process shouldn’t take too long, in my tests, the longest upgrade took about one hour and a half.
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