Kernel version in 4.3 Budgie?

riquezjp

Hi my laptop requires a wi-fi driver (rtw89) that wasn't included until Kernel 5.16
What version is the Solus kernel ? if its 5.15, the driver might be back-ported into it, I know some distros do that - how can I find out? thanks!
If its an older Kernel like 5.13 or lower then I'll need to update it for sure, can I do that?

Neumie

Currently an up to date Solus install has kernel 5.15.50.

riquezjp

Neumie The live USB boots with 5.13
I can update kernel by connecting my phone with USB since I have no wi-fi.
But it would be good to find out if 5.15.50 includes the right driver

Whats the easy way to update the kernel? (I didn't find a settings manager tool, so I presume Ill have to do it via terminal)
Obviously I'm no pro at this, but i can manage with some help.
~~ ahh, probably just running the standard system update, pamac or whatever is included. Im overthinking it!

LukMas

I can't give you an answer about the support of the hardware in the current kernel of Solus (current is equal to latest supported), but you could proceed in this way:

you already have the live USB, so from this one you install Solus on your hardware (maybe you create a separate partition before, so if the hardware is not working you can remove it and the boot entries and keep going the original OS, if you have one)
you connect your device on the net using the phone with USB
with a working connection you can update the system
When you update Solus, being a rolling release, you'll get automatically the latest release of the kernel and the software. Hence, you can reboot and check if the 5.15.50 supports your hardware.

Maybe, if you know where the drivers are and what to check, is to install and update Solus on a virtual machine. Then you could check if the driver is in the current kernel. But I don't know if this really works.