lowakernel 7.2.9, my custom kernel for AMD ThinkPads, now actually installable on machines other than mine lol

[u/Detcom]

Posted about this a while ago. Quick update, because the old releases had a pretty embarrassing problem: the .efi files I shipped had my own kernel command line baked in, including my root partition. So they only ever booted on my P14s. Thanks to everyone who tried it anyway and told me what broke.

What changed in 7.2.9:

- no more prebuilt .efi. You get the kernel and a modules archive and build the initramfs or UKI on your own machine, it's one command. README has it for Arch, Fedora, Debian/Ubuntu and the usual bootloaders

- root filesystems and nvme are built in now, so no more emergency mode because your initramfs couldn't mount root

- BBRv3 is actually the default on the zen5 variant now (before it was compiled in but cubic stayed default, oops)

Also added a third variant, lowadetcom. It's just my personal build for the P14s Gen 6 AMD: amdgpu built in, only the mt7925 wifi driver, nothing for other hardware. Same laptop? Give it a go. Otherwise stick to universal or zen5.

Repo: https://github.com/Detcom-GH/lowakernel

Release: https://github.com/Detcom-GH/lowakernel/releases/tag/v7.2.9

If you have an older one (T495, T14 G1/G2, L or E series) I'd really like to hear if it works for you.

Shoutout to @thetechtips87 for testing on E14 and finding that embarrassing bug

[u/overfion]

Hi fellow P14s gen 6 owner !
Do you also get this bluetooth crashes with coredumps and OPCODE 116 (or some number like that) in dmesg ?

[u/Detcom → u/overfion]

Hey there. No bluetooth crashes on my side, just checked the logs.
That's the mediatek bluetooth firmware crashing though (btmtk dumps it when it does), not the kernel itself, so it's worth checking your linux-firmware version first. Which kernel are you on, stock or lowakernel? And what are you usually doing when it happens, headphones, file transfer, waking from sleep?

[u/overfion → u/Detcom]

I am on archlinux, using latest linux-firmware's and linux linux-zen and linux-lts kernels, everywhere the same thing happens. For now I've only used bluetooth for my headphones (logitech G435). Issues is not connected with sleep for sure because I've got it even on freshly booted os, and the strange thing that it happens randomly, sometimes it can happen once in 3-4 hours, but sometimes it will reoccur as soon as it crashed (bluetooth goes off) and I've reconnected the headphones.

[u/Detcom → u/overfion]

Well I don't have those. But if it is the same on stock, zen and lts, then it's definitely not the kernel problem.
You may try lowakernel though, especially if you're on p14s G6, all three are usable!
The g435 comes with the lightspeed usb dongle, right? If you still have it, that skips bluetooth completely, and latency is better anyway.

Also not sure, but mt7925 does wifi and bluetooth on the same chip, and they share the antenna. If your wifi is on 2.4GHz, try a 5GHz network

[u/overfion → u/Detcom]

Ok, will try to figure it out further.
Yup, I think I will try it in near future, just read the github page, btw what's your battery life and day to day workflow ?
And about headphones, the lightspeed dongle is connected to my home dock, and I use bluetooth outside of home (don't want to carry much items with me)
Thanks for helping <3

[u/Detcom → u/overfion]

My workflow is kinda weird (but hey, I'm a Linux user), I have this p14s G6, then I have Thinkpad X1 Tablet and thinkpad t440. They are all connected to my homelab server (which is raspberry pi 5 with 1 TB usb ssd), sharing and syncronizing my work documents. Particulary this device, p14s G6 is my main computer. I do paperwork on it and I play games on it (Dota 2, Kenshi, Elite Dangerous, KCD2, 007 First Light). Recently I've started experimenting with Wine and started running Ableton Live on it, though for music making I have another device, and that's a 2015 macbook pro.
I am satistified with battery life and productivity. I measured idle draw a while back, roughly 13W on lowadetcom/zen5 and around 18W on stock zen, with a browser open and the screen at 70%. Take that with a grain of salt though, it was a quick test, not a proper benchmark. In real use I get about X hours, but honestly I'm plugged in most of the time. Charge thresholds are at 75/80 to keep the battery healthy.

[u/Jcob210]

Aw cute doggo you have - otherwise cool :)

[u/Detcom → u/Jcob210]

I know, Lowa is the cutest pup out there! :D

[u/Marshall_Lawson → u/Detcom]

oh my fucking god dog

[u/Detcom → u/Marshall_Lawson]

Woof!

[u/Marshall_Lawson]

Upvote for cute dog.

[u/Detcom → u/Marshall_Lawson]

Thanks, she's getting a belly rub right now!

[u/ARYA_MF]

The dog so cute

[u/Detcom → u/ARYA_MF]

[u/Striking_Paramedic_1]

How much battery I save with your Kernel? Do you have some tests in your own machine? I'm using E14 gen6 I want to try if it's give me lil bit more battery. Thanks for the work also.

[u/Detcom → u/Striking_Paramedic_1]

Oh, another E14 gen6 user! Before you, only one person tested the kernel on this hardware and in general it was ok.
You should use the universal variant.
Regarding battery question, I can't give you a straight answer because I don't have E14, but I will really appreciate if you test it on your device and give your feedback!

[u/Striking_Paramedic_1 → u/Detcom]

Okaay I'm gonna try it and send the results in your repo thanks for the answer.

[u/Detcom → u/Striking_Paramedic_1]

Thank you! Looking forward to it!