Support for Microsoft Surface devices

codewizard1975

I know it's been asked in the past and I've read the very few threads about the subject.

Has anyone on the Solus Dev team thought about adding the Linux Surface patches into the mainline kernel builds to help support these devices? It would allow support for the touch, pen, and even some integrated webcam support.

My testing so far on a Surface Pro 7 has shown Solus to work fast and without issues like other distributions have experienced.

ReillyBrogan

Do you have a list of such patches?

Mascaret

ReillyBrogan
I use PopOs on a Surface pro 6 with this: https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface.
The patches are listed there.

codewizard1975

I prefer to use Solus as its better optimized and prone to less issues since the GNOME edition is clean and up-to-date. If the support for touch was working fully, more people may come to use Solus on their Surface Tablets and Laptops.

I have used other distros in the past, but always had one error or another that pushed me away.

Hopefully the patches get merged into the Solus kernel builds.

AlphaElwedritsch

This is an old thread but still with current context. So I'm reviving it without creating a new one.
Has anyone been able to get Solus running properly on a Surface?
Are the Surface dedicated patches included in the Solus kernel?
Are there any reports on Linux on Surface in general, or Solus on Surface in particular?

Thanks buddies

alfisya

Surface patches has been added to Solus kernel since 2023. @codewizard1975 was testing it at the time. Then there is report of boot failure, but it looks like it has been resolved.

I don't remember if any of the staffs have surface devices, so it might not get tested throughly. The best way to know (If you have such devices) is just test it yourself, then report it here if it (doesn't) works. Cheers!

codewizard1975

@AlphaElwedritsch - I've tested the Plasma edition a week ago and that booted just fine on my Surface Pro 7. I'm going to be installing the Solus GNOME today back on it as I was testing some other distros for awhile as well.

For the best touch-supported window manager, I've found GNOME to be there. Plasma (KDE) tends to work mostly but with a couple minor issues. Budgie isn't really optimized for touch and is harder to use just with touch.

Before I forget, be sure to always use the Wayland edition of any window manager you have so rotation works perfectly, otherwise the tearing on these (especially when rotated sideways) is horrible on X11.

Feel free to message me directly with questions.

AlphaElwedritsch

codewizard1975 thanks a lot for this information and support
It is still my working surface with windows, but until I get a new one, I will try to use it with solus.