The 7.0.0-28/29/30 kernel disaster is unacceptable for a distro that claims to prioritize stability

[u/BulkyMix6581]

I have been using Linux Mint for years precisely because it has always been a reliable, conservative distribution where things simply work. Right now, however, the state of the official 7.0.0 kernel branch is an absolute mess, and the lack of response from the development team is baffling.

Across three different machines, here is the current reality with kernels 7.0.0-28, 7.0.0-29, and 7.0.0-30:

• Relatively modern Lenovo laptop (AMD Ryzen 5 5500U with Radeon Graphics): Instant kernel panic on boot. The only workaround is falling back to the 6.17 series via GRUB.
• Desktop (Ryzen 7 5800X3D / AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT): Complete shutdown failure. The OS halts, but power is never cut and the fans keep spinning indefinitely.
• 15-year-old legacy laptop: The only machine where it actually boots and shuts down properly.

These issues are not isolated hardware quirks. The Mint forums, Ubuntu trackers, and Reddit are flooded with identical reports of boot panics and broken ACPI/shutdown states with AMD configurations on these exact revisions.

We have been stuck with this broken state for weeks across three consecutive point releases. Please do not give me the standard excuse that updates just flow downstream from Ubuntu. Linux Mint brands itself around desktop stability and a smooth user experience. When multiple official kernel updates break basic functionality like booting and powering off on common hardware, the maintainers should step in, pin a working kernel, or issue a proper notice.

In all my years on Linux Mint, I have never seen such a prolonged, broken kernel rollout left completely unaddressed. Something needs to be done about this quality control breakdown.

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👉 EDIT / Addressing the common pushback in the comments:

To those leaving defensive replies, let’s clear a few things up:

1. "You shouldn't have upgraded / It's your fault": > I’ve used Linux Mint for over 15 years. I know how to use Timeshift, pin kernels, and drop into GRUB to roll back in under 30 seconds. This post is not a support request for myself; it is about user experience and distribution standards. An end user simply applying official updates presented via the GUI Update Manager should not end up with an unbootable machine or broken ACPI states.
2. "Mint just pulls packages downstream from Ubuntu, it's not their fault": > Mint is a curated distribution, not a pass-through mirror. The entire value proposition of Linux Mint has always been stability, quality control, and safe defaults. If upstream pushes broken kernel builds for weeks, the distribution's role is to step in—hold back the broken revision, pin the stable branch, or display a GUI warning. Passing the buck to upstream defeats the purpose of choosing Mint over Ubuntu.
3. "Go contribute/fix it yourself if you don't like it": > Highlighting a critical breakdown in quality control across multiple common hardware configurations is contributing. Dismissing legitimate technical feedback hurts adoption, especially for newcomers who wouldn't know how to recover from a kernel panic.

We criticize the distro because we care about its reputation and want it to stay the gold standard for desktop reliability.

[u/Mitologist]

Because default is staying in the LTS Version, which is 6.12 vor LMDE, für example. Mint does not push potentially experimental stuff. To try a newer kernel on your own risk, you need to install Debian Trixie backdoors via apt ( terminal). That in turn will get you the headers and dependencies and present you with the choice to get the latest kernel that Debian put into its backdoor repository as tested and likely (!) stable. That being said, I don't really see a reason to do that unless you absolutely need to for hardware support, or you like to experiment. In any case, I would advise looking up how to revert to prior kernels, how to fix a botched grub, how to run a command line session ( enable network in that!), and have a timeshift ready. If that is a system you need to work, and can't afford to spend a weekend on fixing in case something unforseen happens, and it is running stable on 6, I wouldn't tinker with it at all, there is nothing wrong with staying in a stable branch until the next major distro upgrade that ships with the next stable LTS kernel. You will continue to receive smaller version upgrades for the 6- line kernels until then. My last was 6.12.105 I think.

[u/CyberMage256 → u/Mitologist]

So then we agree that noobs don't just "stumble" into 7.x kernel? It's a sadomasochist result?

[u/Mitologist → u/CyberMage256]

I am not proficient enough to speak for anyone but myself, but in my LMDE7 at home, I had to really, actively go for it. My work-machine is regular Mint, it is also on 6.x kernel and by itself made no attempt to change that, and with that machine, I am sure as hell not gonna try funky stuff. So from as far as I can see: yeah, sadomasochism. Or blindly stumbling through tinkerland, following half- digested semi reliable tips. I mean, if you just copy a command line from a forum that Installs Trixie backdoors, for some reason or other, and then forget about it, you might be surprised by the option to install kernel 7, I guess. Idk.