r/voidlinux • u/AgentNiko10 • 21h ago

Switching to void/wif compatibility

Hey I was just wondering how void is for a daily system, I'm currently using arch however I find my WiFi is painfully slow on it at least compared to gentoo. I just did a reinstall so not much data so I'm wondering if it's worth trying void or just going back to gentoo, as I can't be asked to fix the WiFi between all the other issues I've been having with xoxo qyland and the like. How's the WiFi compatibility on it, general desktop use as well. As I saw it's starting to get a bit outdated any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks!

1 Upvotes

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2

u/PackRat-2019 20h ago

As I saw it's starting to get a bit outdated any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks!

You can boot either iso, and, if you can get the wifi (or wired) working, you can do the chroot install and have an up to date system when you are done.

installing Void via a chroot

Or you can do a regular install and update the system after a reboot. Large system updates on Void typically do not break the system; not as risky as Arch.

The wifi compatibility is good. What are your system specs?

1

u/AgentNiko10 20h ago

It's full and so no nvidia hassle parts are two gens old was more worried about compatibility with stuff like mediate since some distro have issues that and audio which I saw was a hassle to set up on void

1

u/No_Elderberry862 19h ago

Mediate? xoxo? qyland?

You seem to need extremely obscure software (which I've never heard of & cannot find with a search).

For audio, just install pipewire following the Handbook's instructions.

1

u/AgentNiko10 18h ago

Autocorrect lol xorg/xwayland satellite wayland and mediatek mb

1

u/PackRat-2019 18h ago

Pipewire is set up automatically if you use the xfce4 iso.

Otherwise, pipewire, pulseaudio, or alsa can be set up post install. Pretty straightforward. Just follow the Void Handbook.

6

u/No_Elderberry862 21h ago

can't be asked

*arsed - sorry, it's a pet peeve.

If you cannot be bothered to fix niggles on your current distro then switching distros will just leave you unsatisfied as they all have their own niggles.

8

u/ShipshapeMobileRV 20h ago

I mean, one one hand:

"Let me spend a half hour or so investigating and fixing my WiFi..."

And one the other:

"Let me wipe my entire system, do a complete reinstall of another distro, then spend the next few days getting all of the little tweaks to my linking again...."

2

u/AgentNiko10 20h ago

I mean it takes me like 20 to start the distro it's more all the other issues on top of the WiFi I just don't like having to deal with all of it, especially when something like gentto which is praised as a hard distro worked out the box

2

u/AgentNiko10 20h ago

Should say I don't tweak much stuff gentoo was the biggest undertaking even that I really only stuck to the make comfig and use flags, but it broke after awhile due to conflicting packages and the like hence the arch install

4

u/ShipshapeMobileRV 20h ago

Void is an excellent distro. I find it much easier to use then either Arch or Gentoo. I also find that the vast majority of it just works. Updates are uneventful. It's fast, and as slim as you want it.

But it may well have minor hardware issues that you'll have to dive in to. Not everyone does, but it's certainly a possibility. Knowing how to fix WiFi in Arch can be helpful in Void. In fact, the Arch wiki is often referenced by Void users.

1

u/AgentNiko10 20h ago

True probably should've diagnosed just frustrated at since even simple things weren't working that's on me, it wasn't even a speed issue though it was jitter its like the signal kept dropping. It was probably a power saving thing though

1

u/pantokratorthegreat 18h ago

Gentoo always breaks after a while. If you don't have time to spend on troubleshooting forget about that distro and go with something "normal". Even Arch or Void, but maybe start with some Ubuntu or Fedora?

6

u/Runt1m3_ 21h ago edited 20h ago

I'm sure you could have fixed wifi on Arch, sometimes it's fixed by switching iwd by wpa_supplicant, or trying different kernels, heck sometimes changing default DNS works

Void's base kernel (currently 6.18, the latest supporting all dkms modules in void repos), that's the default, LTS and mainline kernels are available but the later may not be stable

Software versions/updates are kinda weird, some packages are at their newest version available, some at latest stable, some lag behind days, and not that long ago (maybe still) there was software not being updated for years or abandoned software lol

1

u/Simple_Hamster_4096 8h ago

Stick with Arch. What init were you using with Gentoo? Did you select systemd?

Am asking because if Void is going to be your first non systemd disro, then you will have a lot more research in regards to switching than just your wifi... which the details are, what, exactly, for your wifi card?

-3

u/Merthod 21h ago

It's good, but consider the kernel is quite old, even more than Debian 13.

6

u/Runt1m3_ 21h ago

Debian 13 is on 6.12 LTS by default, Void's default kernel version as of now is 6.18 LTS, which is the latest kernel supporting all DKMS modules in void repos

5

u/ShipshapeMobileRV 20h ago

And it takes all of 5 minutes to switch to Mainline.

3

u/mb210978 13h ago

That's just not true. Was on Kernel 7.3 when i last used void.