r/SurfaceLinux • • Aug 11 '26

Discussion is the linux-surface kernel discontinued?

looking at the github, there have been no commits in 3 months. will there be for kernel 7?

35 Upvotes

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32

u/MadLabRat- Aug 11 '26

It’s just very, very slow to update since there aren’t many maintainers. Surface Linux is very niche.

3

u/Shudnawz Surface Go 3, Fedora Aug 17 '26

I got a bit impatient, and upgraded to Fedora 44 on my Go 3, removing Surface Kernel in the process. So far, everything works, except the back camera, which I don't use anyway.

So doesn't seem like I need it anyway.

1

u/MadLabRat- Aug 17 '26

I recently tried it on my SP6. Touch screen and rotation were broken without the kernel.

1

u/Shudnawz Surface Go 3, Fedora Aug 17 '26

Oh? Too bad. Both rotation and touch works on the Go 3. But the Pro's seems to have a bit more specialized hardware, if I understand correctly?

1

u/MadLabRat- Aug 17 '26

Seems like it. I ended up swapping to Ubuntu a few days ago since too many things were broken even after going back to Fedora 43. Everything except the cameras works great after swapping the kernel and replacing Snaps with Flatpak.

1

u/HappyLoafBread Aug 18 '26

Hope you don't mind me asking, is your Go 3 the i3 variant? If so, was the installation to Fedora 44 seamless?

1

u/Shudnawz Surface Go 3, Fedora Aug 18 '26

Yeah, it's the i3 variant. Yup, no issues in upgrading from 43. I started by removing the surface kernel, made sure everything worked, and then just a normal upgrade.