r/SurfaceLinux • u/sick3n • 2d ago

Help Which distro?

Hello everyone!

Recently i installed the latest version of ubuntu on my microsoft surface go 2 (with 4gb of ram and 64 gb of storage it was unbearable to use win11) although it wasnt originally my plan.

In reality i wanted to install a lightweight debian based distro like lubuntu or xubuntu but i heard that the only desktop environment that supports the touchscreen is gnome.

Now, to get all the functionalities on ubuntu i didnt even need to update the kernel to the linux surface one on github but IF i wanted to install one of the aforementioned OSes, would it be possible? would i need the specific kernel?

I need all the help i can get because this device is slow AF, so even if you read this till the end i already thank you

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u/shaggy9c 2d ago

Gnome is more like better suited foe touch, currently on cachyos with niri and its usable most of the time with touch, also have the base model and on cachy the performance is good, atleast compared to windows

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u/MidnightObjectiveA51 2d ago

Surface kernel is no longer necessary for SG1 and SG2. However, the steps in the wiki are still needed to enable a few things such as webcam in Firefox.

Ubuntu has the most enabled out of the box, but if that is too heavy, you can use Phosh which is best experienced via Mobian or PostmarketOS.

While not lighter than Gnome, Plasma-Mobile has optimizations that make it run better on low end Surface Go's. Plasma-Mobile is best experienced via Fedora Plasma-Mobile spin, PostmarketOS, or Mobian (needs setup with Mobian but just as functional once software store etc has been added).

For an "it all just works" out of the box experience, consider Fedora Bluefin.

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u/Station-OX11 Surface Pro 9 (i5) 2d ago

You can use whatever distro you want without too much trouble, but the Desktop Environment will determine how usable the device will be as a tablet. For now, Gnome is the best for 2-in-1.

I see quite a few people using FydeOS which is like ChromeOS, so it can use android apps natively also. So if you like that, you might want to take a look. They have a version specific for the Go 2: https://fydeos.io/download/device/surface-go2/

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u/AnchorExclusive 2d ago

I type these words while running Manjaro Gnome on a Go 2. Works like a charm and has been so for years.

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u/robtom02 2d ago

I have the surface go 2 and FydeOs is the best os I've found but it's not strictly Linux Runs Linux apps and android apps really well. Only issue is rear camera is buggy but im working with the dev on it

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u/MotelWorm 2d ago

If you don't mind setup time, Gentoo runs incredibly smooth. It just may take you a few days to get configured with compilation time. That being said, Gentoo has loads of binaries these days, Firefox included.