How to Upgrade to Linux Mint 21 [Step by Step Tutorial]

This is a regularly updated guide for upgrading an existing Linux Mint install to a new available version.

There are three sections in this article that show the steps for upgrading between various major versions of Linux Mint:

Section 1 is about upgrading to Mint 21 from Mint 20.3 (GUI upgrade tool)
Section 2 is about upgrading to Mint 20 from Mint 19.3 (Command-line based upgrader)
Section 3 is about upgrading to Mint 19 from Mint 18.3 (if someone is still using it)

You can follow the appropriate steps based on your current Mint version and requirement.

This is a regularly updated guide for upgrading an existing Linux Mint install to a new available version.

The guide has been updated with the steps for upgrading to Linux Mint 21 from Mint 20.3. Linux Mint now has a GUI tool to upgrade to the latest version.

Things to know before you upgrade to Linux Mint 21

Before you go on upgrading to Linux Mint 21, you should consider the following:

Do you really need to upgrade? Linux Mint 20.x is supported for several more years.
You’ll need a good speed internet connection to download upgrades of around 1.4 GB.
It may take a couple of hours to complete the upgrade procedure based on your internet speed. You must have patience.
It is a good idea to make a live USB of Linux Mint 21 and try it in a live session to see if it is compatible with your hardware. Newer kernels might have issues with older hardware, so testing it before the real upgrade or install can save you a lot of frustration.
A fresh installation is always better than a major version upgrade but installing Linux Mint 21 from scratch would mean losing your existing data. You must take backup on an external disk.
Though upgrades are mostly safe, it’s not 100% failproof. You must have system snapshots and proper backups.
You can upgrade to Linux Mint 21 only from Linux Mint 20.3 Cinnamon, Xfce and MATE. Check your Linux Mint version first. If you are using Linux Mint 20.2 or 20.1, you need to upgrade to 20.3 first from the Update Manager. If you are using Linux Mint 19, I advise you to go for a fresh installation rather than upgrading to several Mint versions.

Once you know what you will do, let’s see how to upgrade to Linux Mint 21.

Upgrading to Linux Mint 21 from 20.3

Check your Linux Mint version and ensure that you are using Mint 20.3. You cannot upgrade to Mint 21 from Mint 20.1 or 20.2.

Step 1: Update your system by installing any available updates

Launch the Update Manager with Menu -> Administration -> Update Manager. Check if there are any package updates available. If yes, install all the software updates first.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Make a backup of your files on an external disk [Optional yet recommended]

Timeshift is a good tool for creating system snapshots, but it’s not the ideal tool for your documents, pictures, and other such non-system, personal files. I advise making a backup on an external disk. It’s just for the sake of data safety.

When I say making a backup on an external disk, I mean to simply copy and paste your Pictures, Documents, Downloads, and Videos directory on an external USB disk.

If you don’t have a disk of that much size, at least copy the most important files you cannot afford to lose.