If you use Ubuntu Desktop as your daily driver, you are likely familiar with the Software Updater pop-up. This dialogue box frequently interrupts your workflow, jumping to the front of your screen to inform you that “Updated software is available for this computer” and asking you to “Install Now” or “Remind Me Later.”
While keeping your system secure is important, these constant interruptions can be incredibly annoying, especially if you prefer to manage your updates manually via the apt command line at a time that is convenient for you. You can completely disable the graphical pop-up without breaking your system’s ability to download updates.
How to Disable the Software Updater Pop-up
You can turn off the notification trigger directly from the hidden “Software & Updates” settings panel.
- Press the Super key (Windows key) on your keyboard to open the Activities overview search bar.
- Type Software & Updates and press Enter to launch the application. (Ensure you open this specific app, not the generic “Software” store).
- Click on the Updates tab located at the top of the window.
- Look for the drop-down menu labelled Automatically check for updates:
- Change this setting from “Daily” to Never. (You will be prompted to enter your administrator password to confirm this change).
- Look slightly lower for the drop-down menu labelled When there are other updates:
- Change this setting to Display immediately to Display every two weeks (or whatever minimum frequency your version of Ubuntu allows).
- Click the Close button.
By telling Ubuntu to “Never” check for updates automatically, the system daemon will never trigger the graphical pop-up box. You can now work completely uninterrupted. Whenever you are ready to update your system, simply open the Terminal and manually run sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade.