Overview

This guide explains how to disable Ubuntu Pro ESM (Extended Security Maintenance) on your system, including verification and optional cleanup steps.

Check Current Status

Verify if Ubuntu Pro and ESM services are enabled:

pro status

For older systems:

ua status

Look for: - esm-infra - esm-apps

Disable ESM Services

Disable ESM components individually:

sudo pro disable esm-infra
sudo pro disable esm-apps

To fully disable Ubuntu Pro and remove the subscription:

sudo pro detach

This will: - Disable all Ubuntu Pro services - Remove the system from the Pro subscription

Verify Changes

Confirm that Ubuntu Pro is no longer active:

pro status

Expected output:

NOT ATTACHED

Optional: Remove Ubuntu Pro Client

If you want to completely remove Ubuntu Pro tools and suppress related messages:

sudo apt remove ubuntu-advantage-tools

Important Notes

  • Disabling ESM means you will not receive extended security updates for certain packages.
  • On newer Ubuntu LTS versions (e.g., 22.04+), the impact is mostly limited to non-core packages.

Summary

Action Command ———————————– ———————————————————– Check status pro status

Disable ESM sudo pro disable esm-infra && sudo pro disable esm-apps

Detach Pro sudo pro detach

Remove client sudo apt remove ubuntu-advantage-tools ———————————————————————————————–

After completing these steps, run:

sudo apt update

to confirm that ESM-related prompts are no longer displayed.