Step-by-Step Guide: Upgrading from Zorin OS 16 to Zorin OS 17 Now Made Possible

The Zorin OS team announced today that the upgrade path from Zorin OS 16 to Zorin OS 17 is now open for Zorin OS Core and Pro users through the Zorin OS Upgrader utility.

Zorin OS 17 arrived last year on December 20th and introduced new features like a Quick Settings menu in the toolbar, Spatial Desktop effects including the popular Desktop Cube effect, full GTK4 theming, an advanced window-tiling experience, and many others.

However, if you wanted to enjoy Zorin OS 17’s new features you would have to do a fresh installation as it wasn’t possible to upgrade from existing Zorin OS 16 installations, until now. As of today, Zorin OS 16 users can upgrade their computers to Zorin OS 17 directly through the Upgrade Zorin OS app.

Using the official Upgrade Zorin OS utility means that you’ll be able to keep your precious files, installed applications, and tweaks while taking advantage of the new features and improvements in Zorin OS 17.

Here’s how to upgrade from Zorin OS 16 to Zorin OS 17

Before performing the upgrade, make sure that you have a recent backup of your most important files on an external drive. Also, please keep in mind that the Upgrade Zorin OS app currently only supports upgrades from Zorin OS Core and Zorin OS Pro editions.

If your Zorin OS 16 is up to date (if not, run the Software Updater utility), upgrading is as simple as opening the Upgrade Zorin OS utility from the System Tools menu and following the on-screen instructions. Once the upgrade process is complete, you’ll see a notification to reboot your computer.

That’s it, you’re now running Zorin OS 17 so enjoy its new features and improvements.

For existing Zorin OS Pro users, the devs prepared a discount on the new Zorin OS 17 Pro release. To get the discount, select the “Zorin OS 17 Pro” option in the Upgrade Zorin OS app and enter your email address and Support Code for your previous copy of Zorin OS Pro.