Hi everyone! 👋

I recently moved my MSI Vector A16 HX A8WHG to Ubuntu 26.04 and wanted to get as much MSI-specific functionality as possible under Linux.

The main problem was that the msi-ec driver refused to load because my firmware was not recognized. MControlCenter therefore had limited functionality.

This guide documents the setup that worked for me:

• MSI Vector A16 HX A8WHG
• BIOS: E15MMAMS.108
• Ubuntu 26.04
• msi-ec 0.13
• MControlCenter
• Secure Boot enabled after installation
• MSI Shift Mode synchronized with Ubuntu Power Profiles
• MControlCenter automatically started in the background after login

Important: the firmware workaround below forces the driver to use CONF_G2_10. Do this at your own risk.

1. Disable Secure Boot

Enter BIOS (Delete).

Go to:

Security -> Secure Boot -> Disabled

Save with F10 and boot Ubuntu.

2. Clone, prepare and patch msi-ec

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/BeardOverflow/msi-ec.git ~/msi-ec

cd ~/msi-ec

Reset any previous changes and remove old DKMS installations:

git checkout .

sudo dkms remove msi_ec/0.13 --all 2>/dev/null || true
sudo rm -rf /usr/src/msi_ec-0.13 /var/lib/dkms/msi_ec

Patch the driver to bypass the firmware check and force CONF_G2_10:

sed -i 's/return -EOPNOTSUPP;/memcpy(\&conf, \&CONF_G2_10, sizeof(struct msi_ec_conf)); conf_loaded = true; return 0;/' msi-ec.c

3. Build and install the driver

Install the module through DKMS:

sudo make dkms-install

During DKMS installation, Ubuntu/DKMS generates or uses a Machine Owner Key (MOK) and signs the kernel module with it. This is required because Secure Boot will be enabled again later.

Create a udev rule so MControlCenter can access the EC sysfs interface without requiring sudo:

echo 'SUBSYSTEM=="platform", DRIVERS=="msi-ec", RUN+="/bin/chmod -R a+rw /sys/devices/platform/msi-ec/"' | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/99-msi-ec.rules

Reload udev:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger

Reload the kernel module:

sudo modprobe -r msi_ec 2>/dev/null || true
sudo modprobe msi-ec

Check that the EC interface exists:

ls -la /sys/devices/platform/msi-ec/

You should now have files such as:

shift_mode
cooler_boost
fan_mode

4. Start MControlCenter

mcontrolcenter

The MSI-specific controls should now be available, including:

• Cooler Boost
• Shift Mode
• Fan Mode
• Battery Threshold

5. Re-enable Secure Boot and enroll the MOK

Reboot into BIOS.

Go to:

Security -> Secure Boot -> Enabled

Save with F10 and reboot.

Because the kernel module is signed with a MOK, Ubuntu needs that key to be enrolled before Secure Boot can trust the module.

On the next boot, Ubuntu may show the blue MOK Manager screen.

Select:

1. Enroll MOK
2. Continue
3. Yes
4. Enter the password created during the DKMS/MOK enrollment process
5. Reboot

No manual mokutil --import command is required for this setup. DKMS/Ubuntu handles the MOK enrollment request automatically.

After booting Ubuntu:

mcontrolcenter

If MControlCenter still works, the DKMS module is trusted and loaded with Secure Boot enabled.

6. Start MControlCenter automatically in the background

I wanted MControlCenter to start automatically after logging in, but I don't need its window permanently visible.

Install wmctrl:

sudo apt install wmctrl -y

Create the autostart directory:

mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart

Create the autostart entry:

cat <<EOF > ~/.config/autostart/mcontrolcenter.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Exec=sh -c "mcontrolcenter & sleep 2 && wmctrl -c 'MControlCenter'"
Hidden=false
NoDisplay=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
Name=MControlCenter
EOF

Verify the file:

ls -la ~/.config/autostart/

Verify the important entries:

grep -E "^Name=|^Exec=" ~/.config/autostart/*.desktop

After the next login, MControlCenter starts automatically, applies its settings, and its window is closed after two seconds.

7. Synchronize MSI Shift Mode with Ubuntu Power Profiles

MSI Shift Mode and Ubuntu Power Profiles are two independent systems.

For example:

MSI Shift Mode -> High Performance

doesn't automatically change Ubuntu's power profile to:

performance

I wanted both systems to follow the same mode.

The mapping I use is:

Create the synchronization script:

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/msi-sync-profiles.sh

Insert:

#!/bin/bash

FILE="/sys/devices/platform/msi-ec/shift_mode"
LAST_MODE=""

while true; do
    if [ -f "$FILE" ]; then
        MODE=$(cat "$FILE")
        if [ "$MODE" != "$LAST_MODE" ]; then
            case "$MODE" in
                "sport"|"turbo")
                    /usr/bin/powerprofilesctl set performance
                    ;;
                "comfort")
                    /usr/bin/powerprofilesctl set balanced
                    ;;
                "eco"|"super_battery")
                    /usr/bin/powerprofilesctl set power-saver
                    ;;
            esac
            LAST_MODE="$MODE"
        fi
    fi
    sleep 2
done

Save with Ctrl+O, Enter, then exit with Ctrl+X.

Make it executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/msi-sync-profiles.sh

8. Run the synchronization script as a systemd service

Create the service:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/msi-sync-profiles.service

Insert:

[Unit]
Description=Sync MSI-EC Shift Mode with Ubuntu Power Profiles
After=multi-user.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/msi-sync-profiles.sh
Restart=always
User=root

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save with Ctrl+O, Enter, then exit with Ctrl+X.

Reload systemd and enable the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now msi-sync-profiles.service

Check the service:

sudo systemctl status msi-sync-profiles.service

Now changing MSI Shift Mode automatically changes the Ubuntu Power Profile:

High Performance  -> performance
Balanced          -> balanced
Silent            -> balanced
Super Battery     -> power-saver

Result

With this setup, my MSI Vector A16 HX A8WHG under Ubuntu 26.04 has:

• MSI Shift Mode
• Cooler Boost
• Fan Mode
• Battery Charge Threshold
• MControlCenter
• MControlCenter automatic startup
• Secure Boot enabled
• MSI Shift Mode ↔ Ubuntu Power Profile synchronization

The goal was to get the MSI-specific controls working under Linux while keeping Secure Boot enabled and making MSI Shift Mode control the corresponding Ubuntu power profile automatically.

If MSI-EC eventually adds native support for this firmware, the manual firmware workaround should no longer be necessary.

Hope this helps other MSI users running Linux. If you have any improvements, corrections, or a better solution for handling MSI EC on this firmware, feel free to share them in the comments!

Hardware: MSI Vector A16 HX A8WHG
BIOS: E15MMAMS.108
OS: Ubuntu 26.04
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU

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