Linux Kernel 4.3 Released, How to Install / Upgrade it in Ubuntu

Last updated: November 2, 2015

upgrade Linux Kernel

Linus Torvalds finally announced the release of Linux Kernel 4.3 at LKML last night. He wrote:

So it *felt* like the last week of the rc series was busy, to the point where I got a bit worried about the release. But doing the actual numbers shows that that really was just my subjective feeling,
probably due to the kernel summit and travel back home from Korea. It wasn’t actually a particularly busy week, it’s just that the pull requests were more noticeable in the last couple of days.

We had a network update and a late fix for a x86 vm86 mode bug introduced by the vm86 cleanups, but other than that it’s just a collection of various small oneliners all over. Ok, the vm86 mode thing was a one-liner too, it was just slightly more nerve-wracking because it looked scarier than it was before people (Andy) figured out what was going on.

The changes from rc7 are dominated by the network stuff, but as you can tell from the appended shortlog it’s not anything particularly scary.

So on the whole, this remains a rather calm release cycle until the very end. And with the release of 4.3, obviously the merge window for 4.4 is open, and let’s keep our fingers crossed that that will be an equally calm release. Especially since apparently Greg has decided ahead of time (as an experiment brought on by discussion at the kernel summit) that 4.4 will be another LTS release …

What’s New in Kernel 4.3:

  • Intel Skylake Graphics enabled by default.
  • Initial support for AMD Radeon R9 Fury
  • OpenGL 3.3 support for VMware.
  • Rework of the open-source NVIDIA/Nouveau driver
  • Remove EXT3 driver since existing EXT3 file-systems can be handled by the EXT4 driver
  • Many fixes for XFS, EXT4, F2FS, Btrfs RAID 5/6 and TRIM.

How to Install Kernel 4.3 in Ubuntu:

Ubuntu Kernel Team has made the binary packages for the new Kernel release, available for download at:

Download Linux Kernel 4.3 DEBs

You may first check out your OS type, 32-bit or 64-bit, and then download and install below packages one by one:

  1. linux-headers-4.3.0-xxx_all.deb
  2. linux-headers-4.3.0-xxx-generic_xxx_i386/amd64.deb
  3. linux-image-4.3.0-xxx-generic_xxx_i386/amd64.deb

If you need a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio) then download & install below packages instead:

  1. linux-headers-4.3.0_xxx_all.deb
  2. linux-headers-4.3.0-xxx-lowlatency_xxx_i386/amd64.deb
  3. linux-image-4.3.0-xxx-lowlatency_xxx_i386/amd64.deb

For Ubuntu Server or those who prefer Linux command, run below commands one by one to download and install the kernel binaries:

For 64-bit system:

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.3-wily/linux-headers-4.3.0-040300-generic_4.3.0-040300.201511020949_amd64.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.3-wily/linux-headers-4.3.0-040300_4.3.0-040300.201511020949_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.3-wily/linux-image-4.3.0-040300-generic_4.3.0-040300.201511020949_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

for 32-bit system:

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.3-wily/linux-headers-4.3.0-040300_4.3.0-040300.201511020949_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.3-wily/linux-headers-4.3.0-040300-generic_4.3.0-040300.201511020949_i386.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.3-wily/linux-image-4.3.0-040300-generic_4.3.0-040300.201511020949_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Once installed, restart to take effect.

Revert back and Uninstall the new Kernel:

Restart your computer and select boot with the old kernel entry under Advanced Options menu when you’re at Grub boot-loader.

When it boots up, run below commands to remove the kernel image:

sudo apt-get autoremove linux-image-4.3.0*

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I'm a freelance blogger who started using Ubuntu in 2007 and wishes to share my experiences and some useful tips with Ubuntu beginners and lovers. Please comment to let me know if the tutorial is outdated! And, notify me if you find any typo/grammar/language mistakes. English is not my native language. Contact me via [email protected] Buy me a coffee: Buymeacoffee | https://ko-fi.com/ubuntuhandbook1 |

5 responses to Linux Kernel 4.3 Released, How to Install / Upgrade it in Ubuntu

  1. Thank you for the guide, it worked perfectly so far. You mention in your description to help with language so I’d like to point out “…run below commands…” reads less awkwardly as “…run the commands below…”

    Your English very good, and better than most native English speaker/writers at that… Thanks again for your blog posts!

  2. This—–> sudo apt-get autoremove linux-image-4.3.0* command doesn’t work to remove it after it’s been installed. This——> sudo apt-get autoremove ‘linux-image-4.3.0*’ <——–is what worked to remove it for me.

  3. Thank you for this article.

    At installing the Kernel i got this failure message:

    nvidia-304 304.128-0ubuntu0.0.1: nvidia-304 kernel module failed to build
    DKMSKernelVersion 4.3.0-040300-generic

    At reboot after the grub boot manager i have this message:

    Ignoring BGRT: invalid status 0 (expected 1)

    but the system boots.

    Thank you

  4. I had been having frequent problems with Ubuntu 14.04 (disconnecting from the internet connection and resisting reconnecting) and 15.10 (erratic malfunctioning of the monitor) and had hoped that this upgrading of the kernel to 4.3 would solve my problems.
    No luck! After accurately following the above instructions and installing kernel 4.3, a new problem has arisen—activation of many programs (such as system settings) shutting down.

  5. After several interruptions from shutdowns, I’ve managed to downgrade from kernel 4.3 to 4.1.6. The system seems to be working a bit slower, but at least I am still connected to the internet, my monitor isn’t playing games with its display and I haven’t been shut down (yet).
    Here’s hoping that my problems have been solved. Time will tell.

    P.S. The repeat postings above weren’t intentional—they were a result of shutdowns in the middle of my writing. You are welcome to remove the first posting and edit out this PS note.