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As everyone is reporting, Ubuntu 20.04.5 is now out, with kernel 5.15:

But upgrading Ubuntu 18.04 to 20.04.5 still lands me on kernel 5.4 and there is seemingly no upgrade available.

Am I misunderstanding the situation? Is it not possible to get kernel 5.15 through upgrade, and a new install is required?

KdgDev
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    You need to install the hwe kernel. See https://askubuntu.com/q/1314328/243321 – Organic Marble Sep 02 '22 at 12:31
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    Aha, thanks. @OrganicMarble – KdgDev Sep 02 '22 at 20:50
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    See also https://askubuntu.com/q/885561/243321 – Organic Marble Sep 02 '22 at 21:15
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    Ubuntu 20.04 LTS uses the GA 5.4 kernel for the life of the product, only Ubuntu 20.04 LTS using the HWE kernel upgraded to 5.15 kernel. If you were using the GA kernel stack on 18.04, you'll upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04 using the GA kernel stack, likewise if using the HWE kernel stack on 18.04 you upgrade to 20.04 LTS using HWE. If your system had both GA & HWE installed at 18.04, you'll have both installed on upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. ie. your 18.04 system & installation options (or changes made) dictate what you now have. – guiverc Sep 02 '22 at 22:55

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Ubuntu 20.04 LTS uses the GA 5.4 kernel for the life of the product, only Ubuntu 20.04 LTS using the HWE kernel upgraded to 5.15 kernel.

If you were using

  • the GA kernel stack on 18.04, you'll upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04 using the GA kernel stack,
  • likewise if using the HWE kernel stack on 18.04 you upgrade to 20.04 LTS using HWE, however
  • if your system had both GA & HWE installed at 18.04, you'll have both installed on upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

ie. your 18.04 system & installation options (or changes made) dictate what you now have.

See also https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack

Note Servers default to the more stable GA kernel stack by default; for 18.04 & prior releases; this if your system is a server install - GA kernel stack should be expected.

Desktop installations with 18.04 or 18.04.1 media defaulted to GA kernel stack being used on the install, but installs with 18.04.2 or later media defaulted to installations using the HWE kernel stack (Ubuntu flavors still follow this structure; but starting with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Desktop, all installation media now uses HWE by default).

guiverc
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