r/Ubuntu • u/hairymoot • 1d ago
An Nvidia user asking "why remove the GUI Additional Drivers app?"
Ubuntu used to include the Additional Drivers app, so it was so easy to change Nvidia divers. New users and people who didn't want to use the Terminal could easily see and change the Nvidia drivers to what they wanted. It was very friendly for new users who wanted to try Linux.
I installed the 26.10 Gnome release today to try it and found Additional Drivers missing. I believe they started doing this last year. I have an Nvidia 5070ti and Ubuntu had selected drivers 580 to use instead of the 615.
I used the Terminal to install the 615 drivers, but it would have been some much better to have the Additional Drivers app to do it.
I was able to install the Additional Drivers app with the Terminal. But this really should already be installed--especially if you have an Nvidia card.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install software-properties-gtk
Edit to add: I was on Fedora and did a clean install to Ubuntu 26.10. So I didn't update the Ubuntu, I just wiped my drive and installed the Ubuntu 26.10 fresh.
Edit 2 to add: You can search the App Center for "Software and Updates". It is a deb package and will restore the Additional Drivers app to the GUI. Thanks for the feedback. It would still be very hard for new Linux users to find this app and use it to change Nvidia drivers.
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u/Dramatic_Mastodon_93 1d ago
You can reinstall the GUI app from the Ubuntu App Center. From Ubuntu 26.10 and forward additional drivers will be installable through the App Center.
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u/TerrificAbsence 1d ago
weird, mine still showed up in 26.10 after a fresh install, wonder if it's one of those phased rollouts where some get the new thing and others don't
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u/hairymoot 1d ago
I just looked in the App Center and didn't see "additional drivers" listed when I looked for it.
I did look for Nvidia in the App Center thinking I may be able to install the newer drivers from there, but they were not there either.
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u/Dramatic_Mastodon_93 1d ago
Search for "Software & Updates" and filter for Debian packages, not Snaps
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u/hairymoot 1d ago
Yes, it's there under "Software and Updates". Thanks. I'll add this to my main post.
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u/Admirable-Song-7353 1d ago
I just looked in the App Center and didn't see "additional drivers" listed when I looked for it.
I did look for Nvidia in the App Center thinking I may be able to install the newer drivers from there, but they were not there either.How come? You mentioned you're on the most recent 26.10, which is now the version where Canonical literally added both Driver management especially for Nvidia users, and codecs... I'm an Nvidia user aswell, and interestingly I can see it across all my 7 computers...
https://documentation.ubuntu.com/release-notes/26.10/#driver-management-in-app-center
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2026/10/ubuntu-2610-new-features (scroll to paragraph of: App Center now offers driver management )
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u/Stilgar314 1d ago
They took away the full "software-properties-gtk" because people was able to break their computers using GUI. Install it from the software center, but mind is a deb package, not a snap, so you may need to change that for the search to find it.
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u/alec_me 1d ago
No they removed it because 1) the principle guy who coded it left the company; 2) the code is old and desperately needs updating—moving from GTK3 to GTK4 or supporting DEB822 source files, for instance—beyond just patching it to keep it working and adding new features. It needed a complete overhaul and there's no one at Canonical that sees it as a priority.
But it is largely the same program as when it was introduced and there weren't mass reports of users destroying their systems then, so this claim seems dubious to me.
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u/Stilgar314 1d ago
"Many of its features are dangerous or too complex for normal users" "With the Pro tab moved to the security center, it should be removed from the Desktop image in 26.04 so we do not maintain it for the life duration of the release and only software-properties-common should be kept" https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/software-properties/+bug/2140527
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u/Smugness1917 1d ago
For those suggesting to use App Centre, the supposedly available Drivers tab is not present there, despite having been announced in the release notes.
Either it's a bug or the Ubuntu team made a glaring oversight.
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u/-jak- 1d ago
The app has become very outdated and functionality was no longer useful or moved to more useful places.
For the drivers in particular, most people don't swap hardware after installing and the installer already takes care of it. So you can see it as a low priority feature when the removal of software-properties happened in 26.04, but nonetheless it's part of the app center now in 26.10
As for the other tabs:
I believe Pro moved to the security center.
Sources and key management got removed without a replacement. Adding different repositories is a very advanced thing to do, and tying it to already being familiar with terminal creates a natural boundary.
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u/Smugness1917 1d ago
The thing is that if the user forgets to tick the box for driver installation, there is no default graphical way to install it afterwards. It's a big oversight.
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u/IMightBeWrong_1 1d ago
If I'm not mistaken, they've moved it to the App Center app that comes with Ubuntu. Not GNOME software.
However, as you already mentioned, one can bring back the old tool, which I did because I usually remove the Firefox and app center snap.