The Linux Mint team announced that Linux Mint 21 users can now officially upgrade to version 21.1. Linux Mint 21.1 ‘Vera’ was released just yesterday after a two-week beta phase and now upgrades are also open. The Mint team has outlined five steps to perform the upgrade, all of which are fairly easy to follow.

Those looking to upgrade should first use Timeshift to create a snapshot of their operating system to restore if something goes wrong. Timeshift is in the application menu, just follow the instructions within the program and set it up however you want. The important thing to remember with Timeshift is that its main focus is not your personal files – although you can back them up – but the system files. An upgrade will change the underlying system files and if something goes wrong during the process, Timeshift can undo the changes.

Now that you’ve backed up, the Mint team suggests disabling the screensaver and updating any Cinnamon Spice like widgets, desktops, extensions, or themes through System Settings. By disabling the screen saver, your computer will likely go into sleep or hibernate mode and interfere with the upgrade process.

With these prerequisites out of the way, you can begin the upgrade. From the update manager, click the refresh button and install all available updates. Once it’s done, tap edit > Upgrade to Linux Mint 21.1 Vera In the Update manager. An upgrade window will open – if prompted to replace or save any configuration files, choose to replace them.

Once you’ve done this, restart your computer to make sure all changes take effect after the upgrade. When your device is turned on, open the launcher from the application menu and select the design settings you like. Linux Mint 21.1 comes with a major overhaul to the interface but you can customize this through the Welcome program.

When you upgrade, make sure you have the steps Open on a mobile device or another computer so you don’t miss anything. Even if you don’t follow the steps word for word, this new version of Mint still uses the same base software as Linux Mint 21 so nothing important should break.