Upgrade Fedora 35 to Fedora 36 with GNOME 42
The new Fedora 36 ships a fresh GNOME 42 desktop and several performance tweaks. This guide walks through the upgrade from 35, covering what to back up first, how to prepare the system, and how to finish with a clean install of the updated GNOME stack.
1. Back Up Your Data (and What’s Running on It)
Before touching any packages, copy your home folder and configuration files to an external drive or cloud storage. The upgrade process can overwrite dotfiles that contain custom Gnome extensions or user‑specific settings; a fresh backup lets you restore those if something goes sideways.
2. Refresh the System & Resolve Pending Issues
sudo dnf clean all && sudo dnf update --refresh
Running dnf clean clears cached metadata that can become stale, while update --refresh forces a fresh pull of package lists. This step is crucial because an out‑of‑date cache may point to nonexistent packages or wrong versions, which can stall the upgrade.
3. Verify Package Integrity and Resolve Broken Dependencies
sudo dnf distro-sync
distro-sync aligns installed packages with the latest repository metadata, fixing mismatches that sometimes slip through after a manual package install or an interrupted update. A user once reported that an orphaned libnss-ldap.so caused GNOME to crash during a session; running this command corrected the broken link automatically.
4. Install the Fedora 36 Release Package
sudo dnf install fedora-release36 -y
The release package tells DNF which repository metadata belongs to Fedora 36. Installing it updates the /etc/yum.repos.d/fedora.repo file, pointing all future queries at the new distro’s mirrors.
5. Perform a Full Upgrade of System Packages
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y
This command pulls every available package from the new Fedora 36 repository and installs it, replacing older 35 versions. The --refresh flag forces DNF to re‑download all metadata, ensuring you’re pulling the exact packages that belong to 36.
6. Reinstall GNOME Desktop (Optional but Recommended)
sudo dnf groupupdate "GNOME desktop" --with-optional --force -y
While many users will see the new GNOME 42 after the previous step, some report that extensions and themes linger in their old versions. A forced group update guarantees a clean install of all GNOME components, wiping stale packages from 35.
7. Reboot & Verify the Desktop Environment
sudo reboot
After restarting, log in and confirm you’re running GNOME 42 by opening “Settings” → “About.” The version number should read “GNOME 42.x”. If you still see the older desktop, run:
gnome-shell --version
to double‑check which build is active.
8. Clean Up Leftover Packages
sudo dnf autoremove -y
This removes packages that were dependencies for Fedora 35 but are no longer needed by any package in 36, freeing disk space and reducing clutter.
9. Restore Custom Settings (If Needed)
If you noticed GNOME extensions or themes missing after the upgrade, copy them back from your backup into ~/.config/gnome-shell/extensions/ and restart GNOME (Alt+F2, type r). Most settings survive an upgrade, but a fresh installation can wipe out user‑specific tweaks.
That’s it. A straightforward DNF workflow plus a few sanity checks usually keeps the upgrade smooth. If you run into trouble—say, a driver conflict that freezes the screen—try booting to a previous kernel from the GRUB menu and reinstall the relevant GPU package before re‑attempting the steps above.
