I’m looking for a cheap and portable tablet that I can use for writing. Microsoft Surface Pro tablets, at least around the gen 4 models, are rather cheap to buy used, and they seem decently well made. Naturally, were I to buy one, I would have to install Linux onto it.
I’ve been peripherally aware of the Linux Surface project for some time now. I looked at it recently, after having not for some time, and it seems that they have really made good progress compared to what I remember, and it’s making me much more interested in trying to install Linux on a Surface Pro.
Having never owned a Surface Pro, I’m not sure which models are the most reliable and sturdy. I’m not looking for something that’s the flashiest; I want something that works well. I want something pragmatic — something akin to the idea of an older era of Thinkpad (eg T460). I want a pen with low input delay and good accuracy, reliable and responsive touch controls, and a decent display. I was thinking the Surface Pro 4 might be a good choice, but it’s hard to know as there aren’t many videos out there of people installing Linux on them, so I’m wondering what your experience has been with Microsoft Surface Pro’s and installing Linux on one.
Cross-posts:
Watch for battery life when buying older Surface devices. Replacing batteries in the older Surface Pros is notoriously difficult, because apparently the whole assembly is glued together. Loss of battery life is what forced an early retirement of my 5th-gen (2015) Surface Pro, even though not was otherwise completely serviceable. Newer versions are apparently more repairable, but you’ll have to investigate where that cut-off line of repairability is.
Watch for battery life when buying older Surface devices. Replacing batteries in the older Surface Pros is notoriously difficult, because apparently the whole assembly is glued together.
Thank you very much for the heads up!
Newer versions are apparently more repairable, but you’ll have to investigate where that cut-off line of repairability is.
It looks like an attempt at heading in the direction of repairability started with the Surface Pro 9, but it’s still quite involved [1][2].
References
- “Surface Pro 9 Teardown: The Most Repairable Surface In Years”. iFixit. Youtube. Published: 2022-11-10 (Accessed: 2024-08-26T02:28Z). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGP1pO8nGDc.
- “Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Repair”. Clay Eickemeyer, Spencer Day. iFixit. Published: 2024-03-30 (Accessed: 2024-08-26T02:30Z). https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Microsoft+Surface+Pro+9+Repair/165163.
I’ve installed Mint on a 6 recently. Setting up the boot settings was a minor hassle, but everything else was very smooth. Definitely recommend the linux-surface kernel.
I have a Surface Pro 7 running EndeavourOS.
Installing was just as simple as installing on desktop. The Linux surface kernel solved some of the non-functional parts (such as touchscreen and auto-rotate). The only thing that doesn’t work are the cameras, but idgaf bout those.
All in all it’s not a terrible experience, but compromises have to be made.
I used Fedora with the linux-surface kernel on a Surface Book 1, and everything pretty much worked out of the box. I bought it used on eBay and the battery in the tablet portion was pretty degraded, so I don’t know if it impacted performance, but it could be a little clunky at times.
It was my computer in exile while our house was being renovated after some water damage and I was able to run prusa slicer on of for my mini. I didn’t try a pen with it, but the touch controls worked with the custom kernel.
Eventually, I tried Aurora OS which is an immutable fedora distro with the surface kernel loaded by default and performance was about the same. Now I have it on cachyOS which needed the Ethernet cable installed so I could get the Marvell firmware drivers for WiFi, but it was much snappier. That’s an arch based distro, so I could load the surface kernel for touch driver stuff but you lose out on some of the more advanced kernel stuff that group is pushing.
Overall, I’ve been pleased with the experience. I didn’t have a surface device before, but when I heard about the linux-surface project, I had to try it.
I got a surface pro 3 from goodwill for $99. Been running fedora on it and it runs hot the fan will get loud but honestly it’s great for reading manga with komikku or watching movies and stuff. the pro 3 works without the linux-surface kernel so that’s a plus even if it does mean it’s a little slow. gnome works great on it and it makes me wish all my laptops had a touchscreen. in tablet mode the on screen keyboard leaves a bit to be desired but I hear there’s some improvements in gnome 47 and 48 so I’m hopeful
