How to use the New Hardware Enablement Stack in Ubuntu 18.04.3. How to upgrade to Ubuntu 18.04.3 with Kernel 5.0 and updated Xorg.
Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS
The Ubuntu team announced the release of Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS (Long-Term Support) for its Desktop, Server, and Cloud products, as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support. Like previous LTS series, 18.04.3 includes hardware enablement stacks for use on newer hardware. This support is offered on all architectures and is installed by default when using one of the desktop images.
LTS stands for long-term support — which means five years, until April 2023, of free security and maintenance updates, guaranteed.
Ubuntu Server defaults to installing the GA kernel; however you may select the HWE kernel from the installer bootloader.
As usual, this point release includes many updates, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.
Upgrade to Ubuntu 18.04.3 with Kernel 5.0 and Xorg
Note that to install the updated kernel 5.0, Xorg, and graphics drivers, you have to opt-in to “hardware enablement” (HWE). To install Linux 5.0 along with the new X server and graphics drivers, launch a terminal and run the following command. You can just copy-paste it into the terminal and press Enter:
sudo apt install --install-recommends linux-generic-hwe-18.04 xserver-xorg-hwe-18.04
Enter your password when prompted and type “y” to confirm when required. Ubuntu will update to the latest system with the latest hardware enablement stack.
Once you are done, you’ll have to reboot your system to install the new kernel.
If you want to downgrade Linux Kernel or Xorg – want to remove Linux 5.0 – run the following command:
sudo apt remove linux-image-unsigned-5.0.*-generic linux-image-5.0.*-generic
sudo apt remove xserver-xorg-*-hwe-18.04
sudo apt install xorg