> On Mar 8, 2024, at 00:53, Matthias Apitz <guru(at)unixarea(dot)de> wrote:
> It does not say definitely that for all other versions a dump/restore is
> required.
You cannot just replace the binaries to upgrade from an earlier major version to 16.X. The release notes use "a dump/restore (is/is not) required" to indicated whether you can just replace the binaries ("is not") and restart the server on the same database files.
Dump/restore is not the only option for a major version upgrade. You can use the pg_upgrade utility that is part of the standard distribution, or logical replication to a new server on the new version.