Ubuntu Pro is a package of additional software updates and services offered by Canonical for its enterprise customers. It includes things like:
- ESM (Extended Security Maintenance): This represents the extra 7 years of updates. It covers 25,000 packages available in Ubuntu’s official repositories.
- Ubuntu Livepatch Service: A feature that enables users to upgrade the kernel version that they are currently using without having to do a restart.
Originally, Ubuntu LTS versions are supported with updates only for 5 years. But thanks to the generosity of Canonical, you can get an additional 7 years of updates for a total of 12 years of system updates for absolutely no extra cost.
Ubuntu Pro is free for personal use on up to 5 machines, so you can use this guide on many Ubuntu machines that you have along with your family.
How to enable Ubuntu Pro on Ubuntu 24.04?
If you don’t have an account already, then head to the Ubuntu Pro website and register a free account:
Once you finish registration and login to the service, you should go to your dashboard:
You will see your API token along with a ready command line that you can directly copy and paste into your terminal to activate your Ubuntu Pro subscription:
That’s it. Your Ubuntu system will automatically enable all the needed Ubuntu Pro services without any further interference from your side.
Your Ubuntu LTS system will now receive updates for the next 12 years, free of charge, without any additional changes.
You can open the “Software & Updates” application on your Ubuntu system to see the current status of your Ubuntu Pro subscription, and toggle any services you may like or dislike. You can also see that the Ubuntu Pro badge is now being displayed on your desktop:
This is everything you need to do.
Ubuntu users must definitely be happy that they can install their Ubuntu OS and forget about it for the next 12 years. Thanks to package formats like Snaps, Flatpaks and AppImages, users can always get the latest versions of desktop software they desire in these contained app formats, while the base system remains stable with these continuous updates from Canonical.
Remember, though, that Ubuntu Pro does not cover all packages in Ubuntu repositories; out of around 60,000 binary packages, only selected 25,000 of them are going to be supported. You would be pretty much on your own when it comes to using an outdated package that is not part of the Ubuntu Pro program.
With a B.Sc and M.Sc in Computer Science & Engineering, Hanny brings more than a decade of experience with Linux and open-source software. He has developed Linux distributions, desktop programs, web applications and much more. All of which attracted tens of thousands of users over many years. He additionally maintains other open-source related platforms to promote it in his local communities.
Hanny is the founder of FOSS Post.
