How to Install Linux Kernel 4.6 in Ubuntu 16.04

Last updated: May 16, 2016

Linux Kernel

The Linux Kernel 4.6 stable has been released. Linus Torvalds announced this kernel release in lkml.org:

    It’s just as well I didn’t cut the rc cycle short, since the last week ended up getting a few more fixes than expected, but nothing in there feels all that odd or out of line. So 4.6 is out there at the normal schedule, and that obviously also means that I’ll start doing merge window pull requests for 4.7 starting tomorrow.

    Since rc7, there’s been small noise all over, with driver fixes being the bulk of it, but there is minor noise all over (perf tooling, networking, filesystems, documentation, some small arch fixes..)

New features in Kernel 4.6:

  • Initial open-source support for GTX 900 series
  • Runtime AHCI power management support for greater power savings
  • Dell laptop support improvements
  • Better security for 32-bit Linux programs.
  • Various open-source AMD graphics driver improvements.
  • A number of new ARM hardware support.

How to Install Kernel 4.6 in Ubuntu:

There are .deb packages for this kernel release available in kernel-ppa/mainline:

Download and install the packages named below one by one according to your OS type (i386 for 32-bit, amd64 for 64-bit):

  1. linux-headers-4.6.0-xxx_all.deb
  2. linux-headers-4.6.0-xxx-generic_xxx_i386/amd64.deb
  3. linux-image-4.6.0-xxx-generic_xxx_i386/amd64.deb

For a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio) install following packages instead:

  1. linux-headers-4.6.0-xxx_all.deb
  2. linux-headers-4.6.0-xxx-lowlatency_xxx_i386/amd64.deb
  3. linux-image-4.6.0-xxx-lowlatency_xxx_i386/amd64.deb

You can also download and install these debs by running the commands below in terminal/console:

For 64-bit system:

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.6-yakkety/linux-headers-4.6.0-040600_4.6.0-040600.201605151930_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.6-yakkety/linux-headers-4.6.0-040600-generic_4.6.0-040600.201605151930_amd64.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.6-yakkety/linux-image-4.6.0-040600-generic_4.6.0-040600.201605151930_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

For 32-bit system

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.6-yakkety/linux-headers-4.6.0-040600_4.6.0-040600.201605151930_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.6-yakkety/linux-headers-4.6.0-040600-generic_4.6.0-040600.201605151930_i386.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.6-yakkety/linux-image-4.6.0-040600-generic_4.6.0-040600.201605151930_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Restart your computer after installation to apply changes.

Restore:

You can easily switch back to the previous kernel by restart your machine and select boot with old kernel version (available in Advanced options). Then use Ubuntu-Tweak or follow this guide to remove Kernel 4.6.

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7 responses to How to Install Linux Kernel 4.6 in Ubuntu 16.04

  1. Much easier way to get this done everytime:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CokrHUykkUQ

    • Thumbs up for the recommendation!

    • Easy != Better
      If someone is advanced enough to upgrade the kernel outside of the release cycle process, then they should learn/know how to do it correctly, and from TRUSTED sources.

      Besides, if anyone thinks executing a couple of already packaged deb files is not already easy, they should be learning the basics more, not messing with their kernel.

  2. Hi man,
    Thank for the nice tutorial.
    I had some problem upgrading my ubuntu 16.04 from kernel 4.4.0.22 to kernel 4.6.
    After updating kernel with your instructions, i rebooted, ubuntu loaded normally , new kernel was running ok (verified with uname -r) but after some minutes my PC freezes, and i could do nothing.

    My system is a convertible “2 in 1” modern Toshiba Radius 11 L10W-C-10-C laptop equipped with ELAN touchscreen, configured in a dual boot mode with pre-installed win10.
    The “out of the box” ubuntu 16.04 installation with kernel 4.4.0.22 works fine so far. Freezing problems only appear after updating kernel to 4.6

    What can i do to resolve this situation?
    How can i report a kernel bug correctly when i do not know what causes the bug?
    Since the laptop has freeze, how can i identify what causes the problem in the new kernel?

    PS: If i boot back to the old kernel 4.4.0.22 everything works ok.

  3. Randy Noseworthy June 30, 2016 at 10:45 am

    Thanks. This fixed a flickering screen + Dual Monitors issue I was having with Ubuntu MATE 16.04.

  4. awadhesh singh July 16, 2016 at 7:21 am

    i upgraded my kernel using this guide.
    the screen goes black after waking from suspend.
    tried with tm-suspend from terminal, the screen freezes after waking up.
    laptop – HP-Probook-450-G3, i5-6th gen, 8gb ddr3 ram, amd r7 gpu.