Endless OS ordinarily features an automatic update mechanism that can smoothly take you from any old version to the latest, even when major changes are made. However, Endless OS 3 was an exception here, we really changed the fundamental composition of the system, such as the adoption of Flatpak as our app technology.
Due to the enormity of the changes throughout the system, and the fact that the old applications format used in 2.x will no longer be supported, previous Endless OS users who want to use Endless OS 3 will need to upgrade their systems semi-manually. Please note that this upgrade may not be the best option for all users, so read the benefits and limitations below carefully before deciding whether or not upgrade to Endless OS 3.
If you do not upgrade to Endless OS 3, your experience will remain as it is and will be regarded as unsupported. You will not receive new apps or updates. We highly encourage users to upgrade.
Benefits of Endless OS 3:
- Support for Flatpak applications
- New app center
- More modern desktop icon theme
- Support for newer hardware
- Newer version of Chromium web browser
- Support for Google Chrome (except on Endless Mini hardware)
- Continue to get all the latest OS and application updates and fixes
When you are ready to upgrade to Endless OS 3, follow these steps:
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Update to the latest 2.x version. You can do this by going to Settings > Details > Check for updates now.
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Back up all of your files, just in case.
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Go to Terminal and enter the commands as below:
rm -f eos-upgrade-eos2-to-eos3
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/endlessm/eos-customer-support/master/eos-upgrade-eos2-to-eos3
sudo bash eos-upgrade-eos2-to-eos3
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Enter your user password when asked, read the warning message displayed, and type "y" followed by the Enter key whenever you are prompted to proceed.
- This upgrade process will remove any installed application bundles and printer drivers. After rebooting to Endless OS 3, the apps you want to use will need to be reinstalled from the App Center, and the printer drivers will need to be added again.
- Once the upgrade starts, it will download approximately 1 GB of data or more over the internet. Please be patient and make sure you have a good internet connection.
- The first time you install an application from the App Center, approximately 2 GB of data will be downloaded before the application is installed. This is because a Flatpak runtime is being downloaded and installed along with the app. Sometimes this first app installation (including the large runtime) will fail. If so, please try again, and the download will pick up from where it left off. After you download the first app from the App Center, the others will no longer need to download the Flatpak runtime, and downloads will resume as normal.
- Depending on the language, the Encyclopedia app may be as large as 5 GB, and may require a lot of internet bandwidth and take a particularly long time to download.
- After this update, you will may only reach Endless OS 3.3.x, which is not the latest version. You can run a regular system update to reach the latest version.