diff --git a/bin/ubuntu-core-initramfs b/bin/ubuntu-core-initramfs
index a5c31a49..5062e0ab 100755
--- a/bin/ubuntu-core-initramfs
+++ b/bin/ubuntu-core-initramfs
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ def install_misc(dest_dir):
         "/usr/bin/partx",
         "/usr/bin/plymouth",
         "/usr/bin/unsquashfs",
-        "/usr/lib/" + deb_arch + "/plymouth/label-ft.so",
+        "/usr/lib/" + deb_arch + "/plymouth/label-freetype.so",
         "/usr/lib/" + deb_arch + "/plymouth/script.so",
         "/usr/lib/" + deb_arch + "/plymouth/two-step.so",
         "/usr/sbin/depmod",
@@ -446,7 +446,7 @@ def install_misc(dest_dir):
     proc_env = os.environ.copy()
     proc_env["LD_PRELOAD"] = ""
     to_resolve = [
-        "/usr/lib/" + deb_arch + "/plymouth/label-ft.so",
+        "/usr/lib/" + deb_arch + "/plymouth/label-freetype.so",
         "/usr/lib/" + deb_arch + "/plymouth/script.so",
         "/usr/lib/" + deb_arch + "/plymouth/two-step.so",
     ]
diff --git a/snakeoil/OVMF_VARS.snakeoil.fd b/snakeoil/OVMF_VARS.snakeoil.fd
deleted file mode 100644
index e9d02bf8..00000000
Binary files a/snakeoil/OVMF_VARS.snakeoil.fd and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/snakeoil/OVMF_VARS_4M.snakeoil.fd b/snakeoil/OVMF_VARS_4M.snakeoil.fd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..289039cd
Binary files /dev/null and b/snakeoil/OVMF_VARS_4M.snakeoil.fd differ
diff --git a/spread.yaml b/spread.yaml
index f7d4954b..aa9fc7ad 100644
--- a/spread.yaml
+++ b/spread.yaml
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@ backends:
     halt-timeout: 2h
     systems:
       - ubuntu-24.04-64:
-          # FIXME: switch to 24.04
-          image: ubuntu-23.10-64
+          image: ubuntu-24.04-64
           storage: 20G
 
   qemu-nested:
diff --git a/tests/lib/nested.sh b/tests/lib/nested.sh
index a07daf6c..c0298859 100644
--- a/tests/lib/nested.sh
+++ b/tests/lib/nested.sh
@@ -122,8 +122,8 @@ start_nested_core_vm_unit(){
     fi
 
     mkdir -p "${WORK_DIR}/image/"
-    cp -f "${OVMF_VARS_D}/OVMF_VARS${OVMF_VARS}.fd" "${WORK_DIR}/image/OVMF_VARS${OVMF_VARS}.fd"
-    PARAM_BIOS="-drive file=/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE${OVMF_CODE}.fd,if=pflash,format=raw,unit=0,readonly=on -drive file=${WORK_DIR}/image/OVMF_VARS${OVMF_VARS}.fd,if=pflash,format=raw"
+    cp -f "${OVMF_VARS_D}/OVMF_VARS_4M${OVMF_VARS}.fd" "${WORK_DIR}/image/OVMF_VARS_4M${OVMF_VARS}.fd"
+    PARAM_BIOS="-drive file=/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE_4M${OVMF_CODE}.fd,if=pflash,format=raw,unit=0,readonly=on -drive file=${WORK_DIR}/image/OVMF_VARS_4M${OVMF_VARS}.fd,if=pflash,format=raw"
     PARAM_MACHINE="-machine q35${ATTR_KVM} -global ICH9-LPC.disable_s3=1"
 
     # Unfortunately the test-snapd-swtpm snap does not work correctly in lxd
diff --git a/tests/lib/prepare-utils.sh b/tests/lib/prepare-utils.sh
index 32751656..7a5e2c48 100644
--- a/tests/lib/prepare-utils.sh
+++ b/tests/lib/prepare-utils.sh
@@ -77,8 +77,8 @@ start_snapd_core_vm() {
     fi
 
     mkdir -p "${work_dir}/image/"
-    cp -f "/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_VARS.fd" "${work_dir}/image/OVMF_VARS.fd"
-    PARAM_BIOS="-drive file=/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE.fd,if=pflash,format=raw,unit=0,readonly=on -drive file=${work_dir}/image/OVMF_VARS.fd,if=pflash,format=raw"
+    cp -f "/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_VARS_4M.fd" "${work_dir}/image/OVMF_VARS_4M.fd"
+    PARAM_BIOS="-drive file=/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE_4M.fd,if=pflash,format=raw,unit=0,readonly=on -drive file=${work_dir}/image/OVMF_VARS_4M.fd,if=pflash,format=raw"
     PARAM_MACHINE="-machine q35${ATTR_KVM} -global ICH9-LPC.disable_s3=1"
     PARAM_IMAGE="-drive file=${work_dir}/pc.img,cache=none,format=raw,id=disk1,if=none -device virtio-blk-pci,drive=disk1,bootindex=1"
 
@@ -152,8 +152,7 @@ download_core_initrd_snaps() {
     curl -o ubuntu-core-amd64-dangerous.model https://raw.githubusercontent.com/snapcore/models/master/ubuntu-core-24-amd64-dangerous.model
 
     # download neccessary images
-    # FIXME: switch to 24/ channel
-    snap download pc-kernel --channel=22/${snap_branch} --basename=upstream-pc-kernel
+    snap download pc-kernel --channel=24/${snap_branch} --basename=upstream-pc-kernel
     snap download pc --channel=24/${snap_branch} --basename=upstream-pc-gadget
     snap download snapd --channel=${snap_branch} --basename=upstream-snapd
     snap download core24 --channel=${snap_branch} --basename=upstream-core24
@@ -327,7 +326,8 @@ echo 'ubuntu ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL' >> /etc/sudoers.d/99-ubuntu-user
 sed -i 's/\#\?\(PermitRootLogin\|PasswordAuthentication\)\>.*/\1 yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
 echo "MaxAuthTries 120" >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config
 grep '^PermitRootLogin yes' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
-systemctl reload ssh
+# ssh might not be active yet so the command might fail
+systemctl reload ssh || true
 
 print_system "done setting up ssh for spread test user"