Kernel 4.10 in ubuntu 16.04.3 update

Question

I have 16.04 already installed since 16.04.1. I saw the newest version 16.04.3 includes new kernel 4.10 plus some other goodies like new mesa drivers etc. My system got updated to 16.04.3 but kernel stayed in 4.4.0. Shouldn't this be done automatically when updating to 16.04.3? How can I update safely (since it's included in the distribution) to latest kernel version (kernel 4.10)?

$ lsb_release -a
LSB Version:    core-9.20160110ubuntu0.2-amd64:core-9.20160110ubuntu0.2-noarch:security-9.20160110ubuntu0.2-amd64:security-9.20160110ubuntu0.2-noarch
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS
Release:    16.04
Codename:   xenial

$ uname -r
4.4.0-89-generic

Solution 1

You can install the 4.10 kernel by running in terminal

sudo apt install linux-generic-hwe-16.04

This will install the HWE rolling kernel that is used when you do a fresh install from a 16.04.3 ISO.

Regarding new X stack including mesa drivers, you can install them by

sudo apt install xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04

Solution 2

You can do this manually with the following commands,

Ubuntu desktop installations:

sudo apt install --install-recommends linux-image-generic-hwe-16.04 xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04

Ubuntu server installations:

sudo apt install --install-recommends linux-image-generic-hwe-16.04

If you are using your computer as a host system for VirtualBox, or if you need kernel modules that are compiled automatically using DKMS, you must also install the linux-headers HWE version of the package with this command:

sudo apt install linux-headers-generic-hwe-16.04

Let all updates complete fully and then restart your machine:

sudo reboot

After restarting, you can see that the kernel version has been updated from 4.x.x to 4.10.x. with this command:

uname -a

If you encounter issues after the kernel update, you can boot using the GA kernel by selecting it from the GRUB boot menu.

Hope this helps,

Comments

[Admin]

Possible duplicate of How to update kernel to the latest mainline version without any Distro-upgrade?

[Admin]

OP is not asking for a "latest mainline kernel".

[Admin]

I'm not entirely certain, but it looks like the kernel should be 4.8 - to get to 4.10 you would need the HWE kernels. what is the output of ls -l /boot?

[Apostolos]

so isn't 4.10 mainline kernel?

[Apostolos]

sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep 4.10 give me linux-image-4.10.0-30-generic - Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP can I install this? Would I have any issues installing hwe-16.04 on my system?

[Pilot6]

Yes, install it. As I wrote before, it is the kernel provided with the 16.04.3 image. But you don't really have to install it. Anyway you can always revert to the 4.4 if there is any problem.

[Pilot6]

The command I gave in my answer will install that package automatically and also headers for that kernel.

[Apostolos]

Why do I not have to install it? Doesn't it bring enhancements?

[Pilot6]

What kind of "enhancements"? It makes sense to install new kernels on new hardware, but nothing is wrong to install it if you like.

[Anwar]

@Apostolos What do you mean by mainline kernel? Ubuntu doesn't include mainline kernel in any updates. Ubuntu's kernel are customized for ubuntu!

[Thomas]

What is the difference between a "fresh" install and a upgrade then? Why is the HWE kernel not the standard one. What makes a fresh install of LTS different? Would be nice to have some more information about it.