In case you missed the news, Fedora 27 Beta was released last week. If you’re running Fedora Workstation, it’s easy to upgrade to the Beta release. Then you can try out some of the new features early. This article explains how.

Some helpful advice

The Fedora 27 Beta is still just what it says it is: a beta. That means some features are still being tuned up before the final release. However, it works well for many users, especially those who are technically skilled. You might be one of them. Before you upgrade, here are some things to keep in mind.

First, back up your user data. While there are no problems currently known that would risk your data, it’s a good idea to have a recent backup for safety.

Second, remember this process downloads all the update data over your internet connection. It will take some time, based on your connection speed. Upgrading the system also requires a reboot, and takes some time to install the updated packages. Don’t perform this operation unless you have time to wait for it to finish.

If you move to the Beta, you’ll receive updates for testing during the prerelease period. When the Beta goes to Final, you’ll receive an update to the fedora-release package. This will shut off the updates-testing stream. Your system will then automatically follow the Fedora 27 stable release. You don’t need to do anything to make this happen.

Upgrading your system

Open a Terminal and type the following command:

gsettings set org.gnome.software show-upgrade-prerelease true

This setting lets the Software application detect the availability of a prerelease, in this case Fedora 27 Beta.

Normally you have to wait for the Software service to refresh its information. However, you can force it to do this in several ways. One is to kill the service and restart it manually:

pkill gnome-software

Now open the Software app. Visit the Updates tab. After a short time, the Software app retrieves fresh information about the prerelease and advertises it to you.

Use the Download Now button to download the upgrade data for Fedora 27 Beta. Follow the prompts to reboot and install the upgrade, which will take some time. When your system restarts after the upgrade, you’ll be running the Fedora 27 Beta.