In a new Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, “Software & Updates” utility is not installed. In place of that tool, what utilities are we supposed to use to set the mirror for updates, update checking frequency, how to handle security updates and/or other updates?
In addition, I’ve yet to see any kind of notification that any updates are available. Is there a notification? If so, after 14 days of use, I haven’t seen it.
I have been expecting to see the same notification introduced in Ubuntu 25.10 (see the image), assuming it would continue in 26.04.
Yes, I knew “Software & Updates” was removed from the default install, because it could lead to harmful choices by clueless users. I installed it right after the OS installation to make some settings, in particular selecting “Display immediately” which should trigger a notification of non-security updates.
Maybe everything is a security update so far? Those have no notifications and can be handled by unattended-upgrades (a feature only found in Ubuntu!). That a possibility. I need to check the logs.
Regardless, the question remains, what did Cannonical intend for us to use to replace that tool to make settings?
Edit:
apt update shows 17 updates.
apt list - - upgradable shows 9 of 17 are non-security. Those 9 should trigger a notification. I’ll post again if one appears.
It’s still there, but you have to tweak a dconf/gsetting or two. Easiest way to do that is with the dconf-editor which is a gui application to configure those settings. Not installed by default so go ahead and install it: sudo apt install dconf-editor
Then in dconf-editor navigate to com->ubuntu->update-notifier->show-updates-status-icon. Flip the toggle for “Use default value” to off and then change the Default value to “True”. The editor will notify you a setting has changed and prompt you to reload it. Go ahead and do that.
The default for notification of available normal (non-security) updates is 7 days. You can navigate to com->ubuntu->update-notifier and change “regular-auto-launch-interval” to however many days you want to pass before being notified of normal updates. “0” sets it to as soon as they are available.
Security updates are handled by unattended-upgrades.
Beats me, why it’s off for you. I do remember someone complaining about update “notification spam” in the late release testing phase on this very Discourse, so it must have been on at one point. Maybe you did change it and forgot?
Nope. I wasn’t even aware those settings were in dconf-editor until now. Probably it was just an oversight. I don’t see any good reason the developers would want notifications turned off.
But that conflicts with the experience of the other user complaining about the opposite, which would mean someone turned it off just before the release proper. That would be the opposite of an oversight.
The external link requires a login (annoying in a bug report).
The diff in update-notifier’s gschema file adds the gsettings key to revert disabling the update-notifier indicator to enabled.
+ <key type="b" name="show-updates-status-icon">
+ <default>false</default>
+ <summary>Show updates status icon when there are updates</summary>
+ <description>If the user should see the updates status icon in the systray on new updates. Set to False if the user has opted out of seeing the status icon for non error states.</description>
+ </key>
Just speculating (because I can’t see what the reason could be because I don’t have a login to the external website that might explain it. grr) but default was set to false perhaps because users upgrading from 24.04 wouldn’t be used to it. Could be an oversight, though.
Update-notifier still starts at boot up and will launch update-manager (software-updates) when updates are available so the tray icon is kind of a redundant notification. I won’t upgrade until x.1 or x.2, but I doubt I’ll enable the tray icon when I do.
