So I’m going to be a freshman in college this upcoming year and I’m trying to pick laptop to buy. I think I’ve narrowed it down to either a Mac or a think pad. I’m studying astrophysics so I want something with coding capabilities etc. I’ve become interested in Linux and want to install it on a think pad of if I were to get one. So I guess what I’m asking is should I get a Mac and try and get an older thinkpad down the road and mess around with it then or should I get a newer thinkpad right out the get go and just learn that first? Money isn’t a problem, but I’m very new to coding and modifying operating systems and all this computer science stuff so any suggestions or advice helps. Thanks!

I feel like I must be missing something. How does one use a classic wired headset with a PC? A good 3.5mm jack microphone input seems rare.

So I want to be able to use a good headset, something like Audio-Technica ATH-G*, Beyerdynamic MMX* or Sennheiser PC* series. These are classic mid-tier hi-fi/studio headphones with a microphone attached, and a 3.5mm jack connector (as opposed to XLR on respective professional models). I suppose the same could apply to the often recommended solution of hi-fi headphones + ModMic.

The respective headphones would normally get plugged into either a dedicated "audiophile" DAC&amp, or an audio interface for recording (with XLR inputs).

What is there with the 3.5mm jack for microphone input though?

• On-board audio isn't always adequate.
• There are plenty of $1-20 USB dongles from various/no-name brands, typically with a C-Media chip, and their quality is hit or miss in my experience.
• Asus Xonar and Creative Sound Blaster, yes, but after trying multiple models, I'm disappointed by the state of Linux support (or lack thereof). They're always doing weird things with volume controls or switching line-in and microphone input (or line-out and headphone output) in firmware. (Alas, EPOS/Sennheiser GSX* might fall into this category too, based on my cursory search.)

Is there anything I'm missing?

Am I condemned to cheap-dongle lottery?

pcmag released four "DYI builds" to get something comparable to steam machines, but they don't discuss the operating system at all.

Taking their "AMD DIY Mini-ITX Steam Machine" as an example:

(on pcpartpicker)

How well would this configuration supports Linux? I'm particularly interested in support for bazzite, and as far as I can tell it's all good, but I'd like external validation.

Hi everyone, before I actually start the post I just want to say that I'm still a bit of a beginner in linux, so if you have any questions about the OS try to keep it simple please.

Recently I wanted to make a minecraft server for me and my friends with an old desktop I have. I tried using the wifi card it already had but it was broken, so I bought an wifi usb adapter (dual band AC 1200) that I wasn't able to make it work, I tried installing the driver that came with it on a CD but for some reason ubuntu just couldn't read the sh installation file, I also tried to follow this github but still couldn't make it work. In the end, I ended up selling it to my friend that needed one.

That being said, does anyone know a usb wifi adapter that has official or easy to install drivers which works on ubuntu server version 26.04?

any help is appreciated :)

Old hp notebook series laptop with 4gb ram and 1 tb hdd, intel i3 7th gen. Tried ubuntu, mint and 2-3 other i don't even remember the names. Currently on mint xfce for two months. It's not that good but i just use Firefox for classes so it doesn't lag upto using 4 tabs but there is serious issue with its realtek network adapter i can't use bluetooth and wifi at same time if use both the wifi remain connected but speed drops from 25Mbps to 100Kbps but when i boot back to windows (which is disaster on this pc ) both works fine. Need help to switch to any other distro

Btw a linux noob just used gemini to try other distro

I'm deciding between two wifi adapter, the Alfa Network Alfa AWUS036AXML

And the ACH v2, the AXML is 10 euro's cheaper right now. I'm using Kali on a thinkpad T470

Hi everyone, I'm dealing with a frustrating issue with my external monitor and could use some advanced help.

• The Issue: My LG monitor (connected via HDMI) constantly flickers and drops the signal (black screen).
• My Setup: ASUS laptop with NVIDIA Legacy OPTIMUS dual graphics (GTX 960M + Intel). Running Pop!_OS.
• The Key Detail: I had zero issues with this exact monitor and cable setup when running Windows 10, so I can confidently rule out a hardware or cable fault. This is 100% a Linux/driver issue.
• What I've Found: Checking the kernel logs, I noticed a constant "i915 hotplug storm" occurring (the system seems to think the HDMI is rapidly connecting and disconnecting, forcing a link re-sync).

Does anyone know how to stabilize this? Are there any specific kernel parameters or X11 configurations recommended for this specific legacy NVIDIA/Intel combo to stop the hotplug storm?

Thanks in advance!

I am facing a severe battery drain issue on my Acer laptop running Linux. It has an Intel i5-13420H CPU and NVIDIA RTX 3050 Laptop GPU. On Windows, the battery lasts around 4 hours in power-saving mode, but on Linux it only lasts around 1.5 hours. Linux consumes around 25–30W during normal desktop usage. I have tested KDE Plasma, GNOME, and Hyprland, and the issue occurs on all of them. KDE and GNOME were on default settings without heavy animations or custom effects. I am using tuned-ppd for power management, but battery life is still much worse compared to Windows.

Hi all together,

a while ago, I wrote another post in which I was thinking out loud about getting a new laptop. I think I’ve now brought myself up to speed with the latest technology – but I haven’t made a decision yet, and the market situation is annoying. 😄

The remaining candidates are

• ThinkPad T14 Gen7
  
• Dell XPS 14" 2026

ThinkPad T14 Gen7

(+) 75 Wh Battery
(+) Repairability
(+) No soldered RAM
(+) Keyboard seems fine
(+) Purchase without Windows possible
(+) ~500 cd/m² IPS Display

(-) Currently no configuration with Arc B3x0 GPU (3x8H CPUs) in my region.
(-) Only a single fan.

(?)(+) Better cooling system, more cooling space?
(?)(-) Hinges a bit too loose according to reviews.
(?)(-) Bit Wobbly Chassis (as it seems for me).

Dell

(+) 3x8H CPUs CPUs available
(+) Aluminum Chassis
(+) 2 fan cooling
(+) ~500 cd/m² IPS Display
(+) Hinges perfect according to reviews.

( ) 70 Wh Battery

(-) Soldered RAM
(-) Cumbersome Hardware Access
(-) No option to do without Windows.

(?)(-) Weird Keyboard (no spaces between keys - tactile feedback questionable).

Both are considered 'sturdy' while only the XPS gives me this impression in the videos tbh -even though reviews saying ThinkPad is. Aside from this there are a lot of advantages on the ThinkPad's side and so I tend to Lenovo.

But there is a caveat: Lenovo does not offer the T14 with these Arc GPUs in Germany (3x8H CPUs). And while the prices a growing and growing for sure it is uncertain when Lenovo will offer them (if at all). Mash IT got one in the UK - but it's already gone again.

The thing is: I probably don't need the better GPU now. But first of all, from a psychological point of view, it’s frustrating, as predecessor Lunar Lake was much better in that category thane the lower gfx-tier Panther Lakes. And second I plan a very long usage time (I have my current Laptop for over 10 years now).

But also aside from this topic: I'd like to read about your opinions/experiences. Maybe some of you had the chance to use ThinkPad T14 Gen7 or Dell XPS 14" 2026 (or even both)?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to get the keyboard backlight working on my Monster Tulpar T7 V25.1.

This laptop is sold by Monster in Turkey, but it is actually an MSI-based chassis.

System:

• Model: Monster Tulpar T7 V25.1
• Vendor: MONSTER
• Keyboard: SteelSeries KLC
• OS: Zorin OS 18.1 Core (Ubuntu 24.04)
• Kernel: latest available

The keyboard works perfectly under Windows using SteelSeries GG.

Under Linux:

• The keyboard is detected as USB device 1038:113a (SteelSeries KLC).
• HID descriptors are visible.
• No keyboard backlight device appears under "/sys/class/leds/".
• No WMI interface related to the keyboard exists.
• Tuxedo/Clevo drivers do not detect the hardware.
• OpenRGB also cannot detect it.

At this point I only want one thing:

I don't care about RGB effects or color control.

I only want the keyboard backlight to stay ON with a single static color so I can use the laptop at night.

Has anyone managed to enable the keyboard backlight on this model or another MSI/Monster laptop using the same SteelSeries keyboard?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for help with a keyboard backlight issue on Linux.

My laptop is a Monster Tulpar T7 V25.1, which is sold by Monster in Turkey but is actually based on an MSI chassis.

System Information

• Laptop: Monster Tulpar T7 V25.1 (MSI-based)
• OS: Zorin OS 18.1 Core (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS)
• Desktop: GNOME (Wayland)
• Keyboard: SteelSeries
• USB Device ID: 1038:113a (SteelSeries KLC)

The problem

The keyboard works perfectly under Linux, but the backlight never turns on.

Under Windows, the backlight works perfectly using SteelSeries GG.

This model does not use Monster Control Center. It uses Feature Manager together with SteelSeries GG.

What I've already checked

• The SteelSeries keyboard is detected correctly.
• "lsusb" reports the SteelSeries KLC device (1038:113a).
• HID descriptors are accessible.
• No keyboard LED appears under "/sys/class/leds".
• No Monster/Clevo WMI interface is available.
• The "msi_wmi" kernel module is loaded.
• OpenRGB does not detect the keyboard.

At this point I believe SteelSeries GG sends a proprietary initialization command that Linux never sends, so the keyboard backlight remains off.

Has anyone with an MSI laptop using the same SteelSeries keyboard managed to make the backlight work under Linux?

I'm happy to provide logs, run tests, or try experimental patches if needed.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I recently switched to Fedora 44 KDE, and overall I really enjoy the experience. The system feels very smooth and stable compared with my previous setup.

However, I have encountered two hardware-related issues that I cannot solve.

I tried asking AI assistants for help, but they couldn't identify the root cause. Maybe I didn't provide enough technical information, so I would like to ask the Fedora community for advice.

            .',;::::;,'.                 aiping@fedora  
        .';:cccccccccccc:;,.             -------------  
     .;cccccccccccccccccccccc;.          OS: Fedora Linux 44 (KDE Plasma Desktop Edition) x86_64  
   .:cccccccccccccccccccccccccc:.        Host: VivoBook_ASUSLaptop M3400QA_M3400QA (1.0)  
 .;ccccccccccccc;.:dddl:.;ccccccc;.      Kernel: Linux 7.1.3-201.fc44.x86_64  
.:ccccccccccccc;OWMKOOXMWd;ccccccc:.     Uptime: 4 hours, 54 mins  
.:ccccccccccccc;KMMc;cc;xMMc;ccccccc:.    Packages: 9 (flatpak), 2593 (rpm)  
,cccccccccccccc;MMM.;cc;;WW:;cccccccc,    Shell: bash 5.3.9  
:cccccccccccccc;MMM.;cccccccccccccccc:    Display (SDC4154): 2880x1800 @ 1.65x in 14", 90 Hz \[Built-in, HDR\]  
:ccccccc;oxOOOo;MMM000k.;cccccccccccc:    DE: KDE Plasma 6.7.2  
cccccc;0MMKxdd:;MMMkddc.;cccccccccccc;    WM: KWin (Wayland)  
ccccc;XMO';cccc;MMM.;cccccccccccccccc'    WM Theme: Breeze  
ccccc;MMo;ccccc;MMW.;ccccccccccccccc;     Theme: Breeze (Dark) \[Qt\], Breeze-Dark \[GTK2\], Breeze \[GTK3\]  
ccccc;0MNc.ccc.xMMd;ccccccccccccccc;      Icons: breeze-dark \[Qt\], breeze-dark \[GTK2/3/4\]  
cccccc;dNMWXXXWM0:;cccccccccccccc:,       Font: Noto Sans (10pt) \[Qt\], Noto Sans (10pt) \[GTK2/3/4\]  
cccccccc;.:odl:.;cccccccccccccc:,.        Cursor: breeze (24px)  
ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc:'.          Terminal: konsole 26.4.3  
:ccccccccccccccccccccccc:;,..             Terminal Font: Monospace (15pt)  
':cccccccccccccccc::;,.                  CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (12) @ 4.28 GHz  
                                         GPU: AMD Radeon Vega Series / Radeon Vega Mobile Series \[Integrated\]  
                                         Memory: 6.53 GiB / 15.02 GiB (43%)  
                                         Swap: 361.41 MiB / 8.00 GiB (4%)  
                                         Disk (/): 31.12 GiB / 474.34 GiB (7%) - btrfs  
                                         Disk (/run/media/aiping/备份): 1.15 TiB / 2.73 TiB (42%) - fuseblk  
                                         Local IP (wlp1s0): 192.168.219.45/24  
                                         Battery (ASUS Battery): 100% \[AC Connected\]  
                                         Locale: en_US.UTF-8

Issue 1: Fingerprint reader disconnects during enrollment

When I try to enroll my fingerprint:

1. The fingerprint reader works at the beginning.
2. I can start scanning my finger normally.
3. During the enrollment process, suddenly it says that the fingerprint device is disconnected/lost.

After that, the enrollment fails.

I have installed and checked fingerprint-related packages, but I cannot figure out whether this is:

* a driver problem * a libfprint issue * a USB power management issue * or a hardware compatibility problem

Relevant output:

aiping@fedora:\~$ lsusb  
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub  
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 05e3:0610 Genesys Logic, Inc. Hub  
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 32c2:0015 BYCX Gaming Keyboard    
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub  
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 05e3:0626 Genesys Logic, Inc. Hub  
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 152d:0578 JMicron Technology Corp. / JMicron USA Technology Corp. JMS578 SATA 6Gb/s  
Bus 002 Device 006: ID 174c:1153 ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1153 SATA 3Gb/s bridge  
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub  
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 8087:0032 Intel Corp. AX210 Bluetooth  
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 13d3:5458 IMC Networks USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam  
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 04f3:0c6e Elan Microelectronics Corp. ELAN:Fingerprint  
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub

aiping@fedora:\~$ fprintd-enroll  
Using device /net/reactivated/Fprint/Device/0  
Enrolling right-index-finger finger.  
Enroll result: enroll-disconnected  
aiping@fedora:\~$ pkill fprintd    
pkill: killing pid 18931 failed: 不允许的操作  
aiping@fedora:\~$ sudo pkill fprintd    
\[sudo\] aiping 的密码：  
aiping@fedora:\~$ fprintd-enroll  
Using device /net/reactivated/Fprint/Device/0  
Enrolling right-index-finger finger.  
Enroll result: enroll-stage-passed  
Enroll result: enroll-stage-passed  
Enroll result: enroll-stage-passed  
Enroll result: enroll-disconnected  
aiping@fedora:\~$ fprintd-list $USER  
found 1 devices  
Device at /net/reactivated/Fprint/Device/0  
Using device /net/reactivated/Fprint/Device/0  
User aiping has no fingers enrolled for ElanTech Fingerprint Sensor.  

Issue 2: Microphone has heavy background noise

The built-in microphone works, but the recorded audio has a lot of noise.

The noise is present in:

* KDE audio recorder * other applications

I tried adjusting the input volume, but it did not solve the problem.

I suspect it might be related to:

* PipeWire configuration * microphone gain * audio driver * ASUS hardware support

Relevant information:

aiping@fedora:\~$ wpctl status  
PipeWire 'pipewire-0' \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, cookie:4232050807\]  
└─ Clients:  
       33. uresourced                          \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2234\]  
       34. WirePlumber                         \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2245\]  
       35. WirePlumber \[export\]                \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2245\]  
       36. kwin_wayland                        \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2246\]  
       37. pipewire                            \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2522\]  
       38. libcanberra                         \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2400\]  
       39.                                     \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2400\]  
       40. Konsole                             \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:4866\]  
       41. xdg-desktop-portal                  \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2754\]  
       42. plasmashell                         \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2421\]  
       43. libcanberra                         \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2421\]  
       44.                                     \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2421\]  
       45. Zen                                 \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2\]  
       46.                                     \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:2470\]  
       47. wpctl                               \[1.6.8, aiping@fedora, pid:19235\]  

Audio  
├─ Devices:  
│      43. Renoir/Cezanne HDMI/DP Audio Controller \[alsa\]  
│      44. Ryzen HD Audio Controller           \[alsa\]  
│     
├─ Sinks:  
│      51. Renoir/Cezanne HDMI/DP Audio Controller Pro \[vol: 1.00\]  
│  \*   52. Ryzen HD Audio Controller 模拟立体声 \[vol: 0.33\]  
│     
├─ Sources:  
│  \*   53. Ryzen HD Audio Controller 模拟立体声 \[vol: 0.70\]  
│     
├─ Filters:  
│     
└─ Streams:  

Video  
├─ Devices:  
│      54. USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam                \[v4l2\]  
│      55. USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam                \[v4l2\]  
│      72. USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam: USB2.0 HD     \[libcamera\]  
│     
├─ Sinks:  
│     
├─ Sources:  
│  \*   80. USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam (V4L2)           
│     
├─ Filters:  
│     
└─ Streams:  

Settings  
└─ Default Configured Devices:  
        33. Audio/Sink    alsa_output.pci-0000_03_00.6.analog-stereo


aiping@fedora:\~$ lspci | grep -i audio  
03:00.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. \[AMD/ATI\] Renoir/Cezanne HDMI/DP Audio Controller  
03:00.5 Multimedia controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. \[AMD\] Audio Coprocessor (rev 01)  
03:00.6 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. \[AMD\] Ryzen HD Audio Controller  
aiping@fedora:\~$

I'd be grateful for any suggestions .**If my information isn't enough, please tell me what else to check. Or if you could point me in a direction to investigate further, that would be really helpful. I've already tried troubleshooting with AI assistance, but the results weren't great.**

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I'm trying to install Ubuntu on a distinct drive on my PC. Whenever I do, I can't boot on the drive and it doesn't even appear under the SATA drives in my BIOS.

My motherboard is an Asus TUF B550. I disabled CSM and secure boot. I made sure to let Ubuntu install itself in UEFI mode. The drive is actually visible when I use a live stick, and I'm attaching a screenshot of the current partitioning.

What am I missing?

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone can help because I've pretty much exhausted everything I can think of.

My PC has never successfully slept since I built it. It enters suspend, turns off the controller, then immediately wakes again after around 5–6 seconds.

This happens on both SteamOS and Bazzite, so I'm starting to think this is either a firmware issue or a hardware compatibility problem.

Hardware

- Fractal Terra

- Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Rev. 1.4

- BIOS FHa (updated from FG)

- Ryzen 7 5700X3D

- Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 GRE

- 32 GB DDR4 3600 MHz RAM

- 1 TB NVMe SSD (happy to provide model if needed)

- Official Fractal Terra PCIe 4.0 riser

- SteamOS Holo 3.8.14

- Also tested on the latest Bazzite Home Theatre image

Symptoms

- Suspend is requested successfully.

- Machine enters deep (S3) sleep.

- About 5 seconds later it resumes automatically.

- No keyboard, mouse or controller input is required.

- Happens from both Gaming Mode and Desktop Mode.

Kernel log

Every suspend looks like this:

```text

ACPI: PM: Waking up from system sleep state S3

xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: xHC error in resume, USBSTS 0x401, Reinit

usb usb1: root hub lost power or was reset

usb usb2: root hub lost power or was reset

PM: suspend exit

```

Things I've already tried

- Updated BIOS from FG to FHa

- Loaded Optimized Defaults after the BIOS update

- Enabled ErP

- Disabled Wake on LAN

- Disabled Resume by Alarm

- Disabled GPP0 wake

- Disabled PTXH wake

- Disabled PCI wake sources

- Forced PCIe to Gen 3

- Tested both Auto and Gen 3 PCIe settings

- Unplugged all external USB devices

- Unplugged the case front panel headers (except the power switch)

- Tested with no games running

- Tested with no controllers connected

- Tested from SteamOS Gaming Mode

- Tested from SteamOS Desktop Mode

- Installed Bazzite and tested there (identical behaviour)

Additional information

`/sys/power/pm_wakeup_irq` reports:

```text

No data available

```

So Linux doesn't appear to think anything is actually waking the system.

The only notable USB devices are:

- Internal Realtek Bluetooth

- Integrated Technology Express (ITE) controller

- Standard USB root hubs

Questions

Has anyone seen this combination of:

- Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Rev. 1.4

- Ryzen 7 5700X3D

- RX 7900 GRE

immediately resume from S3 under Linux?

Is there a known BIOS setting, ACPI quirk or kernel parameter I've missed?

Any suggestions would be hugely appreciated, because at this point I'm out of ideas.

Thanks in advance!

I recently got the RGB keyboard backlight working on my Colorful P15 2024 gaming laptop under Linux.

The laptop uses the Clevo V250RND barebone platform and did not have a working official Linux keyboard backlight driver. I modified the relevant tuxedo-keyboard components so the keyboard backlight is exposed through the standard Linux LED interface:

/sys/class/leds/rgb:kbd_backlight

The project currently includes:

- RGB keyboard backlight control

- Static, breathing, and rainbow effects

- A PyQt5 GUI

- User-level systemd background service

- Fedora/RHEL RPM and Debian/Ubuntu DEB packaging

- DKMS support

- Instructions for debugging and adapting other Clevo-based laptops

The hardware I have personally tested is:

- Laptop: Colorful P15 2024

- Barebone: Clevo V250RND

- Distribution: Fedora 44

- Kernel: 7.1.x

- Architecture: x86_64

Other laptops using the same or a similar Clevo barebone may also work, but compatibility has not been confirmed yet.

Project:

https://github.com/FuHao0119/colorful-laptop-clevo-keyboard

I would be particularly interested in hearing from people using Colorful, Clevo, TUXEDO, or other related barebone laptops. If you test it on another model, please share the laptop model, Clevo barebone model, distribution, kernel version, and whether the backlight device appears under /sys/class/leds.

Please be careful when testing kernel modules and DKMS packages. Make sure you know how to remove the modules from a TTY or recovery environment if something goes wrong.

Hi all,

I'm running Fedora and wanting to upgrade my docking station for my laptop.

Do Ugreen usb c / thunderbolt docking stations have any success with Linux?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on an unofficial fan control app for Clevo and Tongfang laptops running Linux.

It has a web dashboard for creating custom fan curves, switching profiles, monitoring temperatures, and controlling how the fans respond under load. I also added NVIDIA GPU temperature monitoring, safety fallbacks, configuration backups, and a few quality-of-life features.

I originally built it for my own laptop because I wanted something simple that gave me more control without constantly editing configuration files.

The project is still new, so feedback, testing, and hardware compatibility reports would be really helpful. Please read the compatibility and safety notes before installing it since fan control interacts directly with laptop hardware.

GitHub: https://github.com/vindeckyy/fan-control

If anyone has a Clevo or Tongfang model and tries it, I’d love to hear how it works on your machine.

Hi everyone,

I’d like to hear your opinion about a Linux tool called edgepad.

edgepad turns the edges of a laptop touchpad into configurable gesture zones. The idea is that a swipe or tap starting from the left/right/top/bottom edge can run a command - for example switching workspaces, opening a launcher, triggering a script, adjusting volume/brightness, or controlling media.

edgepad reads the physical touchpad, claims contacts that start inside an edge zone, and forwards the remaining center contacts through a virtual touchpad. So the compositor should still see normal touchpad input for regular movement/scrolling/taps.

Current features include:
- edge zones on left/right/top/bottom
- swipe directions plus tap bindings
- automatic touchpad discovery when there is exactly one readable candidate
- user-session daemon with TOML config
- diagnostics/capture/replay tools for debugging real hardware behavior
- Nix flake, NixOS module, Home Manager module, systemd user service, and a release installer

Tested setup so far: NixOS + Hyprland.

Would be great to receive real-world feedback from other hardware/software combinations:
- GNOME/KDE/Sway/other Wayland compositors
- Fedora/Arch/Debian/Ubuntu/openSUSE/etc.
- different kernel versions.

Would be great to hear your feedback on whether it works properly on your laptop setup, which gestures or actions would be useful to add, what should be improved, or just what you think of the idea.

If you face any issue, feel free to create an issue on the project's GitHub page: https://github.com/assembledev/edgepad

📋 Prerequisites

Before starting, you must ensure two things:

1. Active Internet Connection: Because your Wi-Fi is not working yet, you must connect your laptop to the internet temporarily. You can do this by:
   • Connecting an Ethernet cable directly, or
   • Enabling USB Tethering from your smartphone (connect your phone to the laptop via USB and turn on USB Tethering in your phone's Hotspot settings).
2. Disable Secure Boot: Third-party community drivers are not signed by default. You must disable Secure Boot in your laptop's BIOS/UEFI settings for the driver to load. To check if Secure Boot is already disabled, run:mokutil --sb-state It should output:SecureBoot disabled

⚡ Installation Steps

Step 1: Clone the Driver Installer

Clone the community-maintained driver installer repository:

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/SkimerPM/MediaTek-MT7902-Linux-Driver-Installer
cd MediaTek-MT7902-Linux-Driver-Installer

Step 2: Grant Execution Permission

Make the installer script executable:

chmod +x fix_my_wifi.sh

Step 3: Run the Installer (With Your Country Code)

Run the script with administrative privileges (sudo). It is highly recommended to specify your country code (e.g., BD for Bangladesh, US for United States, IN for India, etc.). This configures the correct regulatory limits and unlocks all 5 GHz Wi-Fi channels.

sudo ./fix_my_wifi.sh --country BD

Replace BD with your own two-letter country code if you are outside Bangladesh.

During installation, press Enter (or type y) when prompted to confirm installation steps and firmware cleanups.

Step 4: Verification

The driver uses DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support), which compiles the modules directly for your kernel.

Once the installer finishes:

• No reboot is required. The Wi-Fi card should activate immediately.

Check whether the wireless interface exists:

ip link show | grep -E 'wl|wlan'

You should see an interface such as wlo1 or wlp2s0.

Then scan for available Wi-Fi networks:

nmcli dev wifi list

You should now see both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks.

🔧 Maintenance & Troubleshooting

Kernel Updates

Because the driver is registered with DKMS, it will automatically rebuild itself whenever your Linux kernel is updated. No manual action is required.

Checking Logs

If Wi-Fi or Bluetooth still does not appear after installation, check the kernel logs:

sudo dmesg | grep -i mt79

Uninstallation

To completely remove the driver and restore your system:

sudo ./fix_my_wifi.sh --uninstall

📦 GitHub Repository

Community-maintained installer:

https://github.com/SkimerPM/MediaTek-MT7902-Linux-Driver-Installer

Thank you so much for creating and maintaining this installer. I spent hours trying different solutions before finding your project, and it finally got my MediaTek MT7902 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth working on Linux.

Your work saved me a lot of time and frustration, and I'm sure it will help many others facing the same issue. I even wrote a setup guide based on your installer so more people can get their devices working easily.

You're a true lifesaver. Thank you again for your time and contribution to the Linux community! 🐧❤️

Most Linux laptop videos seem aimed at developers, so I made one about using a T480 for normal everyday work.

It’s fast enough, cheap, easy to upgrade and Fedora has been straightforward for what I do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW1xKF6BEVU

Anyone else still using an older ThinkPad as their main laptop? What limitation did you notice first?