Does Linux even work properly on Dell XPS laptops?

the more i am delving into things, the dell documentations are saying that the two really aren’t compatible except for like an outdated version of ubuntu… I never even thought about this, but looking back in time, I’ve tried many distros and the all have had some sort of internal issues that I couldn’t figure out and had to wipe the disk and try a new one…

Considering it was a windows computer to begin with, is this causing problems with my Linux installations or is it more likely user error? Especially the firmware and driver side of things, as outlined in my prior post. Did Dell lock down their XPS laptops to basically only be compatible with Windows??? Im tired of distro hopping because of all the issues I have with other distros on my machine. I’m hoping you kind folks could help clear this up for me and offer insight? perhaps the bios needs some special configuring to help make Linux work as it should? Thanks

edit: whoops, I should clarify the exact model, I have an xps 13 9310 dell laptop

MiDaBa,

My XPS 9310 2 in 1 works great with Fedora. Literally the only hardware that didn’t work after install was the fingerprint scanner. Everything else seems perfect. It even recognizes when the laptop is folded into a tablet and provides the virtual keyboard and does auto rotate.

hperrin,

I don’t buy Dell laptops anymore because of how poorly the hardware they choose works with Linux. I swear they’ll literally look for the one wifi chipset that doesn’t work on Linux when they’re building they’re laptops.

(I’ve had three different XPS laptops, each with unique hardware incompatibilities under Linux. I now have an Acer, an MSI, and a Chuwi, and all work 100%.)

sysadmin420,

Lenovos have been great as well, if you don’t count the fingerprint reader incompatiblity

fxt_ryknow,

+1 for Lenovo. My Gen5 x1 carbon is without question, the single best Linux on a laptop experience I’ve ever had. Running tumbleweed as my daily driver, fwiw.

sysadmin420,

My yoga 9 graphics laptop is fantastic on Ubuntu.

I just hate the person who decided soldering in a 300mb wifi card was cool, and soldered ram.

Syrup,

Dell provides XPS laptop with Ubuntu on it. It works great and Ubuntu can be replaced with other distro ( I did successfully tested Mint and now Debian 11)

riotrick,
@riotrick@lemmy.world avatar

I have a 13 plus (9320). Everything works in any distro, except for the webcam. Dell provides drivers for it for ubuntu 20.04 and 22.04, and only for the default kernels it comes with. You can also get it working on arch.

Work is being done on these alder lake webcams, but there still is no support for them in the kernel at the moment.

I run mine in ubuntu with a newer kernel. And use my phone with droidcam as a webcam as a work-a-round. The newer kernels run better for battery life etc. I still have the default kernel installed, so I can reboot and use that, when I really need the built in cam.

pyromaniac_donkey,

Yes. Mine works flawlessly.

bia,

I sure hope so . I have a new XPS 13 9315 on the way!

I’ve been running a 2019 XPS 13 on Debian without any major issues, just sleep that has high battery drain. But I think that’s a common issue.

Gebruikersnaam,

9520, everything works but the trackpad sometimes has terrible lag. It’s a common issue, some also report it on Windows. Don’t care enough to ask IT to replace it.

zkrzsz,

What issues do you have? Maybe try to spend some time to fix the issues and not resort to distro hopping. Learn to fix it and you should know how to deal with the issues on any distros.

wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dell_XPS_13_(9310)

Dr_Bandid,

The real problem is that certain XPS laptops like the 9500 had terrible design problems that dell tried to mask with software in linux. E.g., speaker balancing or high idle power draw. Other design atrocities such as unstable touchpads or improper grounding were initially blamed on linux even though the problem was hardware.

I got mine two years ago and I’ve regretted it since two weeks into it. But since my job bought it for me, I’m stuck with the POS. Do yourself a favor and stick with Thinkpad, or even better Framework.

Macaroni9538,

yea i’m just about ready to invest in a new computer. the damn usb-c ports are so unreliable too after years of wear and tear. things disconnect just by the slightest shift in cable.

Dr_Bandid,

That’s also true! I’m really disappointed in what the XPS line became after 2020. :(

EddoWagt,

Are you sure the ports aren’t dirty? That’s often/always the case with faulty USB-C ports

Hundun,

I’ve been running arch on XPS 15 a couple years ago with no problems. There was a problem with sound on laptop launch, but a couple of months in the kernel update fixed all the issues. Arch wiki has a lot of info on hardware compatibility, as well as steps you should take to enable something that doesn’t work out of the box

Macaroni9538,

I just feel personally that building the Arch OS would be too complicated for me, that’s why I’m considering Manjaro. much more user friendly

StrangeAstronomer,

I’ve been using a Dell XPS L502X with fedora since it was delivered 10/8/2011. No real problems, but I recently moved to voidlinux and almost doubled my battery life. Dell put quite a lot of time into supporting linux.

gunpachi,
@gunpachi@lemmings.world avatar

Void is probably my favourite rolling release distro. I ran it for 2 years on my old PC and had very few problems.

cloventt,

Daily drive a 9500 on latest Fedora. Only thing that doesn’t work is the fingerprint scanner and honestly I don’t care in the slightest.

Dr_Bandid,

I have one of these and its been a nightmare of a machine. Linux works just as it’s supposed to, but the computer internal design is hot garbage.

ThatHermanoGuy,

I have two XPS laptops that run the latest Ubuntu Linux flawlessly. Hell, that’s why I bought them. They are literally sold with Linux preinstalled, why wouldn’t they work?

I even get BIOS/firmware updates in GNOME Software!

Macaroni9538,

dude how do you get firmware and driver updates via the gnome store??? I know I’ve seen it at least once in my life time, but it’s been a long long time. I have the lvfs repo enabled, so idk what the heck is going on. and when you say they come pre-intalled with linux, is that an option you have to choose when purchsing the laptop?

ThatHermanoGuy,

If comes from fwupd which I believe is installed by default on Ubuntu. The manufacturer needs to support it, of course. To get Linux preinstalled, you have to buy one of their “developer editions.” They make them almost impossible to find on their website, but they’re buried there somewhere.

Maoo,
@Maoo@hexbear.net avatar

You basically have to research the exact model you’re interested in and how it works on specific distributions. Also a good idea to check hardware compatibility in the kernel you’d be using.

sxan, (edited )
@sxan@midwest.social avatar

I’ve owned 3 of different generations. The first had a broadcom chipset, which gave me occasional trouble. The most recent, ca 2020, was rock solid and worked without issue under Arch. All hardware worked flawlessly. Currently runing Artix on it, and the challenges I’m finding have less to do with the XPS/Linux combo, and more with Artix.

Go ahead; it’ll work fine.

Edit: fixed typos

Macaroni9538,

thank you!

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