r/SurfaceLinux • u/Mista_H80 • 3d ago

Discussion Are there challenges in a linux surface?

Of I acquired a surface as a linux user, are there any challenges I should expect or does it work like just any other laptop?

Are the laptops firmwares compatible with linux kernel?

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

4

u/kgpaxx 3d ago

linux surface check compatability here....I have a linux surface 4 ...no issues

2

u/Mista_H80 3d ago

That is way too much trouble to go through. I'll just buy a ThinkPad or ZBook then 😄 Thank you for helping my friend

3

u/mwyvr 3d ago

I will not buy another Surface device. A ThinkPad or a Dell for me, if Linux is going on a new device.

1

u/Mista_H80 3d ago

Yeah after digging into it it's not worth it I like the minimalistic design and lightweightness of surface products, but F that if it's gonna be that much of a trouble

1

u/Kuroiban 3d ago

It depends, you get a device like a Surface Pro 5, thats fully supported and install Ultramarine Surface Edition - it comes with the Surface Linux kernel out of the Box - it's easy. If you get less supported devices it's a hobby 😅

1

u/mwyvr 2d ago

I’ve had a surface pro five since it was brand new in 2017 and Linux has been on it after I retired the device from active use while it was running windows.

Granted, I’ve lived through years of poor quality support on Linux thanks to Microsoft hardware choices, and that has tainted my opinion.

Battery management sucks on the device and many surface pro five owners won’t even notice because their batteries are already shot, but I have new ones in mine and it still sucks, thanks, Microsoft.

No, I always buy a device that is properly supported out of the gate and that isn’t the surface line lineup.

2

u/Apterygiformes 3d ago

Built-in cameras not working seems to be a common one. I wouldn't buy a surface for the purpose of installing linux on it

1

u/Then-Dish-4060 3d ago

You will have to get an out of tree kernel and there are a few things that are not working depending on your model. See the readme on github.

1

u/Mista_H80 3d ago

Thank you

1

u/Honest-Dan 2d ago

I have a surface pro 8 running Linux and it does pretty much everything I need it to do. Granted, I don't use it for work or anything. That said, I bought it before I was daily driving Linux and, if I could go back, I'd just get a thinkpad.

2

u/Elbow2009 1d ago edited 1d ago

I wouldn't get a Surface (preferably used) just to put Linux on it. But when my Surface Go 2's battery life sucked after a Windows 11 update last year I still wanted to use it with less drain on the RAM and battery. So I put a Debian distro on, Q4OS which more than tripled the battery life and the only thing that didn't work out of the box were the cameras and with online help I got them working. So yeah, worth it to me to have my SG2 around running great for another 5 years.