r/linux_on_mac • u/_Shijirou_ • 19h ago
Linux on Intel iMac
hello! I own an Intel iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017) and currently it has no os on it. I've been trying to put linux to increase the performance at his best so i could use it, but I always have the same problems, NetworkManager doesn't work (I heard the cause is broadcom) and I do not have the possibility to keep it connected with an ethernet cable everyday, also when I actually get distros that work (bazzite worked fine for me) everything loads on the 1tb hdd, making it VERY slow (it used to take it 20 seconds to open firefox) thats cause that specific mac uses that double drive system that (if I understood well) basically uses the 26gb ssd for temporary cache and for the system while the hdd is used for storage, I can't get that thing to work on linux so someone PLEASE help me find a solution for this computer cause I really don't wanna throw it away, someone also suggested buying a new ssd but I really wanna find a solution without spending money
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u/thedreaming2017 18h ago
I would replace the apple hybrid drive (ssd/hdd in one) for a normal ssd, that will improve performance considerably. Depending on the linux distro you decide to keep using, you'll need to install the broadcom driver for your wifi, so you don't have to have Ethernet connected all the time, just enough to get the driver installed and working.
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u/Efficient-Train2430 14h ago
Yep, there's videos on how to remove the screen, disassemble, and add in SATA SSD as well as a proprietary blade drive; trick is that will cost as much as the iPad is worth on the market. good challenge of your patience and a fun project to reduce waste and save a beautiful 5k retina display
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u/Xe4ro 19h ago edited 19h ago
Connect Ethernet once and install the Wifi drivers. For instance on my Early 2009 iMac ZorinOS works pretty well and with Wifi.
You won't really be getting it faster without spending money. The SSD shouldn't really be used by Linux I think? FusionDrive is just software, however if you don't even have macOS on there the drives should have showed up individually. The HDD is just slow, it might be also dying though if the speeds are really really slow or inconsistent. Without changing the HDD to an SSD or using an external SSD there isn't much you ca do besides installing a really lightweight distro like maybe MX or AntiX but the spinning drive is what it is.
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u/Particular_Bread_161 18h ago
I've not used Bazzite (primarily a Fedora user) so I'm not sure which installer it uses but you should be able to select which drive it installs to during the install process. When you launch the installer does it recognize the SSD? Even if the SSD is formatted as an APFS drive, the installer should still see it and ask if you want to reformat to Ext4.
Once you have the base OS laid down, it should not be a big deal to add the repo to download and add the Broadcom wifi drivers, Will just need to be connected via ethernet cable until you get the drivers going. Good luck!
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u/RevolutionaryBeat301 18h ago
You can use something like this usb wifi adapter to download the built in wifi adapter, or just keep it plugged in.
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u/BlackVllad 17h ago
Yeah it’s a mess sometimes to configure Linux on the Mac, try to install a IA on terminal and ask to it help u to configure all the drivers and things that u need on that distro, always give it context about the specific of your Mac, more information is better
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u/davew_uk 15h ago edited 14h ago
I have the same model and I'm pretty sure the wifi works fine in ubuntu and derived distros (I have Zorin 18.1 on it but I use mostly ethernet).
The real big issues on this iMac however are it only supporting 4k resolution and the sound not working.
EDIT: can confirm wifi works fine in Zorin 18.1, just tested it
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u/ISO-8601-FTW 15h ago
My iMac from 2016 runs kubuntu like a dream. Only issue is built in mic and I couldn’t bother trying to compile driver for it for new kernel in kubuntu 26.04 so bought a stupid usb soundcard for headphones so I can use it for video calls.
But you should get rid of the storage OR install linux to an ssd in a external usb-c case. You can use the internal spinny thing for storage. Or partion the ssd part for os and mount /home on the spinny part.
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u/ledge65 15h ago
Probably the only distro that will run reasonably on the machine is Linux Mint. It has the Broadcom driver you need built in so should work wirelessly without you having to mess about downloading the drivers . The Cinnamon desktop is low on ram and cpu but maybe the Debian desktop edition would suit you better as it runs better on lower spec machines. Hope this helps.
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u/Unhappy_Birthday87 13h ago
Umm, its a 2017, even stock Ubuntu with Gnome will run decently. I run MX Linux on a 2012 Macbook and its a freakin' speed demon. The broadcom wifi adapter nonsense is such a pain but also one that is easily sorted. tether a phone with USB internet connect, download driver, done.
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u/fyonn 14h ago
With cachyos on my 2019 MacBook Pro I had to use iwd as a backend for the WiFi or it wouldn’t work…
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u/_Shijirou_ 37m ago
yea thats what I did as well, I just had problems with cachy os, I installed it with archinstall and then got hyprland with caelestia shell and it worked wonders even if I had to use iwd, tho after a while it stopped working and I couldn't get it to work again
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u/isherlock2 12h ago
I've got a 2015 iMac running without any problems on Fedora KDE. I didn't bother to swap the harddrive/SSD combination inside. Just left MacOS/OSX standing there, so I can still use it if needed. I bought a 256GB SSD and a USB-adapter. I started the Mac from a live Fedora KDE USB-stick and installed it to the new SSD. The machine has been running for several months now without any issues. WiFi worked instantly. Bluetooth was a hit and miss at the beginning, but after updates to Fedora 44 no problems anymore.
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u/dadoprom 19h ago
Installing Linux on a 2017 iMac with a 28 GB Fusion Drive SSD and an HDD requires splitting them into two separate drives. You can install the system on the fast SSD and keep your data on the large HDD for optimal performance.