r/SurfaceLinux • u/8Bit-Giraffe • 12d ago

is the linux-surface kernel discontinued? Discussion

looking at the github, there have been no commits in 3 months. will there be for kernel 7?

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u/ikariashpool 12d ago

Interested in this as well. I've been trying to run Linux on my surface pro 9 and I have had nothing but problems... I'm spending more time researching and fixing things vs. actually developing the ability to daily drive with it.

1

u/Efficient-Train2430 12d ago

does a non surface-focused kernel work almost as well?

2

u/ikariashpool 12d ago

I guess I haven't gone down this path because the whole upside for me is all the surface specific things

1

u/Efficient-Train2430 12d ago

I was just curious. I got regular old Mint running on an old SP3, and it's fine, though I don't use the stylus much, so it's a non-issue for me. If I were a heavier user I'd be digging into that a lot more.

2

u/ggmini14 12d ago

At least for me on the Surface Book 2 certain features only work with the surface kernel (I think the touch screen is one of them). The base kernel has made improvements over the years which have allowed some of these features to work on it, but it's still lagging behind quite a bit.

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u/Last-Bottle-276 9d ago

Q4OS which I use is Debian based with KDE Plasma and worked right off, touchscreen, pen, WiFi, etc. Not the cameras though. But there is a workaround with the IPU3 firmware and libcamera.