It was announced as a novelty in Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo, but the truth is that it had been available for a long time. Yes it has appeared by default as an option in Software and Updates of the latest version of Ubuntu, but LivePatch it is not working as many of us thought. When we go to the options, it does not allow us to activate it. In fact, it does not allow it when we do what we will explain in this article, but we will explain it for other systems where it is possible and for when they activate (?) The option in Disco Dingo.
It seems like, Canonical backed down at the last minute and the LivePatch feature is not supported by Ubuntu 19.04 at the time of this writing. It likely will be in the near future, but we may also have to wait for Eoan Ermine this October to be able to use it as they had planned for this April. It is worth mentioning that, for example, in Kubuntu the option does not appear or as not available.
Activate LivePatch on supported systems
If nothing changes in the next few months or already in Ubuntu19.10, currently the process consists of two parts: request the token and add it to LivePatch. We will do it by following these steps:
- We access the website https://auth.livepatch.canonical.com.
- We choose the option that best suits our needs, which in most cases will be "Ubuntu user".
- We click on «Get your LivePatch token».
- If we were not logged in, it will ask us to enter our Ubuntu username and password. If we don't have one, we check in and then go inside.
- Upon entering, it will tell us what to do. Currently, it tells us to enter two commands, the first to install LivePatch from its Snap package and the second to enter the token. The commands would be the following, where "TOKEN" is the one provided:
sudo snap install canonical-livepatch sudo canonical-livepatch enable TOKEN
And it would be all. Be supposed to when carrying out this process we can activate the option that appears in the header capture. If we do it right now in Disco Dingo, it will tell us that our system is not supported, which does not cease to surprise considering that LivePatch was one of the outstanding novelties of the Disco Dingo family.
Other things to keep in mind
- LivePatch will be free for personal use.
- The same email will help us to use LivePatch on up to three computers.
- There is a payment option for your corporate use.
What do you think LivePatch cannot be used on Ubuntu 19.04? And a second question: have you managed to activate it in Ubuntu 18.04?
I currently use Ubuntu 19.10 and it still tells me that LivePatch is not available for my system.
Is it only supported for LTS versions?
Since Xubuntu 20.04.3 LTS, doing everything as the article says, the Livepatch icon (the shield with a green checkmark) appears on the panel, but going to “Livepatch Configuration” (which is the same as going to “Software and Updates» > Livepatch tab) no change: The «Livepatch is not available on this system» keeps appearing.
Regards!
I finally fixed that myself by installing (after following all the steps in the article) Gnome Online Accounts and Gnome Control Center:
sudo apt-get install gnome-online-accounts gnome-control-center --no-install-recommends
Now if I go to "Livepatch Settings" it shows that LivePatch is on, when was the last update check, and whether or not any updates were applied.