[Post-Install] Phased Updates

[Anomalous]

How can I permanently disable the phased updates from Apt so that I get all of the upgraded packages I want?


I am asking because today was the fourth time that the unattended-upgrade tool has removed my nvidia-drivers only to then run into the updated drivers being held back, leaving me with no display drivers on my next boot.

[skyfishgoo]

i would recommend unchecking the box for "offline update" and setting the update policy to manual so you can wait for the blue dot on the discovery icon in the system tray and then open discover to see what will be updated.

if you see a kernal, firmware, or driver update pending you know that

a) you should take a snapshot first

b) you will need to reboot after the update

c) you should be prepared to face some level of maintenance busy work, just in case anything goes sideways (at the very least be able to restore your snapshot).

there is no way to force apt to install packages that are being held back short of compiling them yourself.

[oldgeek]

I've found that some, if not all, phased updates will upgrade if you use Discover to update.

[skyfishgoo]

i always found a 1:1 relationship between packages available for updates in apt vs discover.

phased packages don't even show up in discover until they are released, and they they show up in both.

[oldgeek]

Awhile back, I received a notication of mostly Nvidia updates (for 24.04) which were marked as held back on the terminal, but were available for download on Discover. I downloaded them, and lost my Nvidia driver and could only get a low resolution. I returned to my previous configuration (using btrfs) to fix it. I still see these 'upgrades' on the held back list for Apt updating, but they are ready to go on Discover. So in my case, I never use Discover to update, just the terminal.

[Snowhog]

How can I permanently disable the phased updates from Apt so that I get all of the upgraded packages I want?

How do I turn off phased updates?
If you’re sure that you want to disable phased updates, reverting to the old behavior, you can change apt’s configuration by creating a file in /etc/apt/apt.conf.d called 99-Phased-Updates (if /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99-Phased-Updates doesn’t already exist). In the file, simply add the following lines:

Update-Manager::Always-Include-Phased-Updates true;
APT::Get::Always-Include-Phased-Updates true;