Upgrading from pre-release to final

Starting with Fedora 13, installing an Alpha or Beta milestone puts you on the Branched release path.There may be some differences from a fresh install because the installer can do certain things slightly differently than the package update system.

If you have installed Rawhide, you would actually need to downgrade to get the final release, which is not recommended. (It might be easier to wipe the system and install from scratch.)

Alternatively, you can switch to the Branched pre-Alpha release immediately after it becomes available. See Releases/Branched for how to do this using yum.

Performing the upgrade
You shouldn't need to do anything to get the final public release, other than install package updates as they become available. You can use "yum update" or wait for desktop notification.

After updating to final, I see the new fedora and updates repos, but why is my rawhide repo also still enabled?
This will happen if you have manually modified your file before updating. For example, if you have switched from using  to   for a repository definition, this situation occurs. Once is updated, rather than overwrite your configuration changes, the new Rawhide repository file is created as. To disable Rawhide, either toggle  in your modified configuration, select the Software Sources application from System > Administration > Software Sources on the menu, or run this command: su -c 'mv /etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-rawhide.repo.rpmnew /etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-rawhide.repo'

After updating to final, why does yum complain about mismatched package versions even though my rawhide repo is disabled?
This can happen if your rawhide repository was enabled at any time you ran a branched release. It can also happen if you install an Alpha or Beta pre-release and later upgrade to the final release. Packages in the rawhide and updates-testing repositories may not make it into the fedora or updates repositories, leaving your system stranded with newer versions than those that are in the final release.

To fix this, run this command to bring your system into sync with the final release: su -c 'yum distro-sync'

I found a ISO leak before release day! Is it legit or is it exploited?
The only way to know for sure is to verify the leaked SHA256SUM CHECKSUM file's GPG signature (if available) with the official Fedora GPG key. If you can't, or won't do this, it's safer to just be patient and wait for release day. Also note that even if the early leak does check out, it might not be the FINAL release. Fedora has in the past had to re-push last-minute changes to the official releases.

If I report my problem to fedora-test list or post in fedora forum, will my issues reach the developers?
You can use such avenues for discussions however for maximum efficiency, we always recommend that all actual bugs be reported to the Fedora bug tracker (Bugzilla) against the appropriate package in rawhide. This is the only assured way of reaching the right developers.

When is Fedora going to be released?
An up-to-date release schedule is always maintained at Releases//Schedule.

What are the new features in Fedora ?
The Fedora feature list and Fedora__announcement have more details.

Should I upgrade to Fedora ?
We offer you the choice of the greatest and latest release. Per the Fedora lifecyle policy, each release of Fedora is maintained until a month after the second following release. For example, Fedora will stop getting updates a month after Fedora  release. We highly recommend that users of unmaintained, "end-of-life" (EOL) releases upgrade to a newer release to continue getting critical security fixes.

How can I upgrade?
Refer to Upgrading.

Where can I get support for pre-releases?
For IRC Support, please use the #fedora-qa channel instead of the main #fedora channel. The FedoraForum site has a dedicated forum for Alpha and Beta pre-releases; please use that forum instead of the main forum. For email list discussions, please use the fedora-test-list.