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HOWTO: Upgrade Raspberry Pi OS from Bookworm to Trixie
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gistfile1.txt
### WARNING: READ CAREFULLY BEFORE ATTEMPTING ###
#
# Officially, this is not recommended. YMMV
# https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/bookworm-the-new-version-of-raspberry-pi-os/
#
# This mostly works if you are on 64bit. You are on your own if you are on 32bit or mixed 64/32bit
#
# Credit to anfractuosity and fgimenezm for figuring out additional details for kernels
#
# Make sure everything is up-to-date
sudo apt-get -y update && sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y dist-upgrade
# Point to bookworm repos instead
sudo sed -i -e 's/bookworm/trixie/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo sed -i -e 's/bookworm/trixie/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.list
# Contents of /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
# Uncomment deb-src lines below then 'apt-get update' to enable 'apt-get source'
#deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie main contrib non-free
#deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security main contrib non-free
#deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates main contrib non-free
# Contents of /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.list
deb http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian/ trixie main
# Uncomment line below then 'apt-get update' to enable 'apt-get source'
#deb-src http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian/ trixie main
# Do actual update. See also https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=389477
sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade -y -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-confdef" -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-confnew" --purge --auto-remove rpd-wayland-all+ rpd-x-all+
sudo apt -y clean && sudo apt -y autoremove
# Reboot
sudo reboot
# Modernize sources
sudo apt modernize-sources
# Make sure the following is in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.sources. The Signed-by: may be missing
Types: deb
URIs: http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian/
Suites: trixie
Components: main
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/raspberrypi-archive-keyring.gpg
# Remove the raspi.list.bak after confirming that everything works
sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.list.bak
@bcutter
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bcutter commented Feb 28, 2026 •
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I gave a headless test Pi 2 running 32 bit, platform armv7l a try - the upgrade worked good so far. Unfortunately, full-upgrade gave

update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-6.12.62+rpt-rpi-v7l
WARNING: Unsupported initramfs version (6.12.62+rpt-rpi-v7l) - skipping setup
NOTE: Manual boot configuration may be required

and according to uname -a the kernel is still on old Linux Hostname 6.1.70-v7+ #1714 SMP Thu Jan 4 14:48:23 GMT 2024 armv7l GNU/Linux.

Any idea why? I did also modernize sources later, which made no difference unfortunately.

I worked around this (ended up) using sudo rpi-update unfortunately. That bumped the kernel to
Linux Hostname 6.12.73-v7+ #1947 SMP Thu Feb 19 12:27:25 GMT 2026 armv7l GNU/Linux

sudo apt policy raspberrypi-kernel
Hinweis: Paket raspberrypi-kernel kann nicht gefunden werden.

sudo dpkg -l 'linux-image*' | grep ^ii | grep -i meta
ii  linux-image-rpi-v7l             1:6.12.62-1+rpt1~bookworm armhf        Linux for Raspberry Pi v7 (meta-package)

sudo apt-cache policy linux-image-rpi-v7l
linux-image-rpi-v7l:
  Installiert:           1:6.12.62-1+rpt1~bookworm
  Installationskandidat: 1:6.12.62-1+rpt1~bookworm
  Versionstabelle:
 *** 1:6.12.62-1+rpt1~bookworm 100
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

So I'm not sure why there's no raspberrypi-kernel package for armhf under Trixie in the sources anymore.

@beren12
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beren12 commented Apr 16, 2026 •
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I gave a headless test Pi 2 running 32 bit, platform armv7l a try - the upgrade worked good so far. Unfortunately, full-upgrade gave

update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-6.12.62+rpt-rpi-v7l
WARNING: Unsupported initramfs version (6.12.62+rpt-rpi-v7l) - skipping setup
NOTE: Manual boot configuration may be required

and according to uname -a the kernel is still on old Linux Hostname 6.1.70-v7+ #1714 SMP Thu Jan 4 14:48:23 GMT 2024 armv7l GNU/Linux.

Any idea why? I did also modernize sources later, which made no difference unfortunately.

I worked around this (ended up) using sudo rpi-update unfortunately. That bumped the kernel to Linux Hostname 6.12.73-v7+ #1947 SMP Thu Feb 19 12:27:25 GMT 2026 armv7l GNU/Linux

sudo apt policy raspberrypi-kernel
Hinweis: Paket raspberrypi-kernel kann nicht gefunden werden.

sudo dpkg -l 'linux-image*' | grep ^ii | grep -i meta
ii  linux-image-rpi-v7l             1:6.12.62-1+rpt1~bookworm armhf        Linux for Raspberry Pi v7 (meta-package)

sudo apt-cache policy linux-image-rpi-v7l
linux-image-rpi-v7l:
  Installiert:           1:6.12.62-1+rpt1~bookworm
  Installationskandidat: 1:6.12.62-1+rpt1~bookworm
  Versionstabelle:
 *** 1:6.12.62-1+rpt1~bookworm 100
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

So I'm not sure why there's no raspberrypi-kernel package for armhf under Trixie in the sources anymore.

Check the bullseye to bookworm guide. You are supposed to remove those and replace with the correct newer kernel packages.

Also /boot becomes /boot/firmware it’s important to not skip steps.

@bcutter
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bcutter commented Apr 19, 2026 •
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Check the bullseye to bookworm guide. You are supposed to remove those and replace with the correct newer kernel packages.

Also /boot becomes /boot/firmware it’s important to not skip steps.

Thanks for the hint.

I checked this on a Raspberry Pi 2 (armhf) after upgrading to Trixie:

  • The system uses the new /boot/firmware layout (boot partition is mounted there):
$ ls /boot
cmdline.txt                 config.txt    initrd.img-6.12.25+rpt-rpi-v7l  System.map-6.12.62+rpt-rpi-v7l
config-6.12.25+rpt-rpi-v7l  firmware      initrd.img-6.12.62+rpt-rpi-v7l  vmlinuz-6.12.25+rpt-rpi-v7l
config-6.12.62+rpt-rpi-v7l  firmware.bak  System.map-6.12.25+rpt-rpi-v7l  vmlinuz-6.12.62+rpt-rpi-v7l
$ ls /boot/firmware
 bcm2708-rpi-b.dtb          bcm2710-rpi-cm3.dtb        bcm2712-rpi-cm5-cm4io.dtb    fixup_cd.dat       start4cd.elf
 bcm2708-rpi-b-plus.dtb     bcm2710-rpi-zero-2.dtb     bcm2712-rpi-cm5-cm5io.dtb    fixup.dat          start4db.elf
 bcm2708-rpi-b-rev1.dtb     bcm2710-rpi-zero-2-w.dtb   bcm2712-rpi-cm5l-cm4io.dtb   fixup_db.dat       start4.elf
 bcm2708-rpi-cm.dtb         bcm2711-rpi-400.dtb        bcm2712-rpi-cm5l-cm5io.dtb   fixup_x.dat        start4x.elf
 bcm2708-rpi-zero.dtb       bcm2711-rpi-4-b.dtb        bootcode.bin                 initramfs7l        start_cd.elf
 bcm2708-rpi-zero-w.dtb     bcm2711-rpi-cm4.dtb        cmdline.txt                  issue.txt          start_db.elf
 bcm2709-rpi-2-b.dtb        bcm2711-rpi-cm4-io.dtb     config.txt                   kernel7.img        start.elf
 bcm2709-rpi-cm2.dtb        bcm2711-rpi-cm4s.dtb       config.txt.bak               kernel7l.img       start_x.elf
 bcm2710-rpi-2-b.dtb        bcm2712d0-rpi-5-b.dtb      fixup4cd.dat                 kernel.img        'System Volume Information'
 bcm2710-rpi-3-b.dtb        bcm2712-d-rpi-5-b.dtb      fixup4.dat                   LICENCE.broadcom
 bcm2710-rpi-3-b-plus.dtb   bcm2712-rpi-500.dtb        fixup4db.dat                 LICENSE.oracle
 bcm2710-rpi-cm0.dtb        bcm2712-rpi-5-b.dtb        fixup4x.dat                  overlays
$ lsblk -f
NAME        FSTYPE FSVER LABEL  UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
mmcblk0
├─mmcblk0p1 vfat   FAT32 BOOT   xxxx-xxxx                             963,6M     6% /boot/firmware

More importantly:

  • The system correctly migrated to the new kernel scheme (linux-image-rpi-v7l)
  • But no kernel packages are available in the Trixie repositories for armhf
  • apt policy linux-image-rpi-v7l only shows a locally installed Bookworm version (no candidate)
  • apt-cache / apt list return no newer versions at all

So the system ends up with an orphaned Bookworm kernel that cannot be upgraded via apt.

As a workaround, I was only able to get a newer kernel via rpi-update (now running 6.12.73-v7+ #1947 SMP Thu Feb 19 12:27:25 GMT 2026 armv7l GNU/Linux since the last run in February), which suggests that newer kernels exist but are not yet published via apt for armhf.

This looks like a repository / packaging gap for armhf rather than just a missed migration step.

Today I sudo apt upgraded two Trixie test systems:

  • Raspberry Pi 2, headless, 32 bit, kernel upgraded in February from Pi OS 12.12 to 13.2 following this HOWTO but using "sudo rpi-update", now running 6.12.73-v7+ #1947 SMP Thu Feb 19 12:27:25 GMT 2026 armv7l GNU/Linux
    --> today after upgraded to Pi OS 13.4, kernel still at 6.12.73-v7+ #1947 SMP Thu Feb 19 12:27:25 GMT 2026 armv7l GNU/Linux
  • Raspberry Pi 4, with UI, 64 bit, kernel upgraded in March from Pi OS 12.13 to 13.3 following this HOWTO only using regular apt packages, now running 6.12.62+rpt-rpi-v8 #1 SMP PREEMPT Debian 1:6.12.62-1+rpt1 (2025-12-18) aarch64 GNU/Linux
    --> today after upgraded to Pi OS 13.4 kernel got upgraded to 6.12.75+rpt-rpi-v8 #1 SMP PREEMPT Debian 1:6.12.75-1+rpt1 (2026-03-11) aarch64 GNU/Linux

Furthermore, two more Pi's still running Bookworm:

  • Pi 5, 64 bit, Pi OS 12.13, kernel 6.12.75+rpt-rpi-2712 #1 SMP PREEMPT Debian 1:6.12.75-1+rpt1~bookworm (2026-03-11) aarch64 GNU/Linux
  • Pi 3B+, 32 bit, Pi OS 12.12, kernel 6.1.77-v7+ #1768 SMP Tue Jun 4 14:45:11 BST 2024 armv7l GNU/Linux

That kind of proves my theory: there simply are no kernel updates for 32 bit on armv7l architecture (neither on Bookworm, nor on latest Trixie). Experts, please prove me wrong, but 32 bit seems to be stuck on older kernels, except when running sudo rpi-update.

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