Apps will not update to latest GNOME version in Debian 12

Hi, just learning-
Background Situation-
I reinstalled Debian 12.9 on my Lenovo T540 laptop, to add Secuirty updates, (unaddended-update).

I there was a login issue with the purchased ISO installed on the USB. I used the IRC channel and went through that issue to findout it cannot be corrected.

Therefore I started with a fresh iso from Debian- I made a Live-usb- with Debian 12.9 ISO. Then installed it onto my box.

Gnome Software Issue- Today, I wanted to update the Software on this newly installed Debian12.9 OS. I clicked the UPDATE button on the Gnome Software Application Top Right, but it said the software is up to date. I knew this could not be true from experience.

At Software ā€“ Apps for GNOME The Newest Version of Gnome Software is version 47.0 released on Sep 12, 2024.
And mine version is 43.5

I would happily update or upgrade using ā€˜apt updateā€™ or ā€˜apt upgradeā€™
But I donā€™t know the exact way to do that and I know one must be careful.
Not sure if I need to add the Gnome Repository url to the Mirror list in the Gnome Software or if I can do it via the command line.
I am not sure of the exact gnome repository url.

I am just getting more comfortable using Apt.

PS in reading some other posts, I tried the following:
Check if the command software works by typing man software. There is no man page for software. I donā€™t know the gnome commandsā€¦
I tried to update the gnome software packagmanger from within the gui itself. it says all packages are up to date.
I will restart my box once I finish writing. Maybe just maybe that will help?
I did try to find the bug tracker, but do not know how to navigate that bug tracker

I did also enter in command line:
ā€˜apt updateā€™
ā€˜apt upgradeā€™
That did not seem to affect any packages. Zero updates and Zero upgrades. So something is a miss.

Thanks so much
rainbowoflight

Hi again I did receive an error message when trying to update the first time- oh when I was trying to add a repository mirror:
'pk-client-error-quark:E: The repository ā€˜cdrom/Debian GNU/Linux 12.9.0_Bookworm? -Official amd64 DVD Binary-1 firmware 20250111-10;55] bookworm Release does not have a Release file
W; See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
E: cdrom/Debian GNU/Linux12.9.0_Bookworm_-Officeial amd64 DVD Binary-1 with firmware 20250111-10.55] bookworm Release is not (yet) available.
(Please use apt-chrom to make this CD-Rom recognized by Apt
apt-get-update cannot be used to add new CD-Rom(s)
(319)ā€™

I was able to add one repository for
http://debian.cc.lehigh.edu/debian
And I unchecked the DVD under the tab for ā€œOther Softwareā€
Thanks Again, rainbowoflight

You are getting your software from the distribution, not GNOME itself. Debian stable is based on GNOME 43, so it is expected that thereis no update to any 47.x versions.

Frankly, if you want bleeding edge software, then Debian stable is not the right distribution for that. (Thatā€™s not a snipe at Debian, it simply uses a very conservative definition of ā€œstableā€. You shouldnā€™t expect very recent versions from CentOS, RHEL or SuSE ES either)

In any case, your questions are very distribution specific, so you are more likely to get proper help in a Debian forum.

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Hello fmuellner Florian Mullner from Gnome Team,
Thank you so much for responding. I appreciate now that the version Gnome 43 is what the Debian Distribution considers stable and is what I downloaded.
Since I am not a Developer nor a SuperUser at this time, I need Stable like perhaps a version which Debian considers Stable, because its gone through some bugs and fixes. So, I am grateful for your time to explain to me. Perhaps everything is fine on my box. Great!

Thank you again! rainbowoflight

1 Like

Debian Stable sticks with the GNOME version which was made during its release.

Debian Stable is updated every 2 years and as a result to the latest GNOME every 2 years, as shown below.

Version Code name Release date GNOME Version
Debian 10 Buster Jul 6, 2019 3.30
Debian 11 Bullseye Aug 14, 2021 3.38
Debian 12 Bookworm Jun 10, 2023 43
Debian 13 Trixie TBA - around mid 2025 48
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I have been using Debian 13 Trixie for almost a year. It works well and I also have the updated software. I am very happy with its stability. Updates are daily, but I set up automatic updates in the GNOME Software app and occasionally do sudo apt autoclean and sudo apt autoremove from the terminal. I also use BleachBit (as root) to delete unwanted translation languages.

Using Debian Testing (trixie) and its upstream Debian Unstable (sid) are not recommended for normal desktop users. For anyone who want the latest GNOME / apps without the risk of Debian Testing / Unstable, a better suggestion would be try distros like Ubuntu, Fedora ( which have a 6 month release cycle ).

Also one can search the web, which has a lot of articles on what distros are recommended for normal desktop users with a focus on usability.

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After my experience of about a year with Debian Testing (Trixie) I would recommend it for normal desktop users as well. For me, Debian Testing was stable as Debian Stable. With Ubuntu I had problems and I canā€™t recommend it, and I donā€™t like it. Fedora I have not used. I also recently installed Debian Testing for a computer science student. The student worked on his project without any problems with Debian Testing. GNOME 48 works better than GNOME 43, and I can also use my Bluetooth headset.

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There is sense in that especially as the point at which Trixie is almost at the point of being stable release.
That said, I tend to wait (in Ubuntu particularly) for the first point release to drop before committing to it as my daily driver.

My experience has taught me not to trust comments, but to personally try whether a software works for me. For years I avoided using Debian and GNOME because of the negative comments I had read about them. With the release of Debian 12, I decided to try it together with GNOME. I found that Debian is easy to use like the other distros and that GNOME is fast, beautiful, and makes me more productive because it is well thought out. When I needed more up-to-date software, I switched to Debian Testing (with GNOME) and havenā€™t changed it since.