APT’s “held broken packages” message is a summary, not a diagnosis. The conflict may come from an explicit hold, mixed repositories, an unavailable candidate version or an interrupted package operation. Read the package names and version requirements printed immediately above the final message.

Refresh package information

sudo apt update
apt-mark showhold
dpkg --audit

Resolve repository download or signature errors before installing anything. apt-mark showhold lists explicit holds; an empty result means the message has another cause. dpkg --audit reports partially installed packages.

Compare installed and candidate versions

apt-cache policy package-name
apt-cache depends package-name
apt-cache rdepends package-name

Replace package-name with the package APT identified. A candidate from a PPA or another Ubuntu release can conflict with dependencies from the normal release. Do not change codenames or disable signature checks to force a match.

Preview APT’s solution

sudo apt-get --simulate install package-name

Read the entire proposed transaction. Stop if it removes desktop, kernel, networking or other essential packages you did not intend to replace. Fix the repository or requested version rather than accepting a destructive solver result.

Repair an interrupted dependency state

sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt --fix-broken install

APT documents --fix-broken as an attempt to correct a system with broken dependencies. It can still propose removals, so review the plan before confirming.

Remove an intentional hold only when appropriate

sudo apt-mark unhold package-name
sudo apt install package-name

First find out why the package was held. Administrators may hold a package to preserve application or hardware compatibility.

Related package errors

If no package candidate exists at all, follow the Unable to locate package guide. If another process owns the package database, use the dpkg lock checklist. For a downloaded file, see installing a local .deb with APT.

Sources and verification

Commands checked against Ubuntu package-management guidance and the APT manual on September 11, 2026. The exact safe resolution depends on the packages and configured repositories.