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1 TheAlt Linux Compatibility Rating

Our Linux Compatibility Rating is a quick, visual summary showing how well a laptop works with Linux based on our hands‑on tests. We install and use each machine, check essential hardware (screen, keyboard, trackpad, audio, Wi‑Fi, USB) and important extras, then assign one of three colors:

Green Rating

Green — everything essential works out‑of‑the‑box; minor tweaks for non‑essentials possible.

Yellow Rating

Yellow — one or more non‑essential features need tweaks or the installer required extra steps (e.g., disabling Secure Boot); core functionality is present.

Red Rating

Red — an essential feature is missing or broken after installation, making the laptop unsuitable without major fixes.

Our rating is based on a standardized checklist: we record kernel and distro, note install experience, mark each essential, non‑essential, and nice‑to‑have item (e.g., touchscreen, lid suspend, Bluetooth, DisplayPort over USB‑C), and note necessary tweaks. We will provide our results along with neccessary tweaks to get some things working. The Protocols can be found on our GitLab.

The result helps you quickly asses whether a laptop will work with minimal effort or if it’ll need time and technical work to get fully functional

We thank Project Neptun for collaborating with us, and providing us with the laptops to test. Red Rating

2 Laptops

2.1 Lenovo

2.1.1 Lenovo T14 Gen 6

ItemStatusShort note
Kernel6.16.3Fedora 42 (display fixed after kernel update)
Install experiencecomplicatedKDE live: display bugged under Kernel 6.14.0
Screen (resolution)only with tweaksUpdate to 6.16.3 resolved the issue
Keyboardworks
Trackpadworks
Audioworks
Wi‑Fiworks
USB portsworks
Fn keysworks
Touchscreenworks
Lid sensor (suspend/resume)worksSuspend/resume OK
Pen tabletnot present
Tablet mode (tilt sensor)not present
Power profilesworks
SD readernot present
HDMI / DisplayPortworks
DisplayPort over USB‑Cworks
Cameraworks
BluetoothworksRequired a hard reboot after updates
Thunderboltworks
Fingerprintworks
Recommended tweaksKernel & rebootUpdate to Kernel 6.16.3; hard reboot after updates.

2.1.2 Lenovo ThinkPad X9-14 Gen 1

ItemStatusShort note
Kernel6.16.3Fedora Linux 42
Install experiencedisable Secure BootSecure Boot had to be disabled
Screen (resolution)works
Keyboardworks
Trackpadworks
Audioworks
Wi‑Fiworks
USB portsworks
Fn keysworks
Touchscreennot present
Lid sensor (suspend/resume)worksSuspend/resume OK
Pen tabletnot present
Tablet mode (tilt sensor)not present
Power profilesworks
SD readernot present
HDMI / DisplayPortworks
DisplayPort over USB‑Cworks
Cameraworks
Bluetoothworks
Thunderboltworks
Fingerprintworks

2.1.3 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10

ItemStatusShort note
Kernel6.14.0-27-genericUbuntu 24.04.3 LTS
Install experiencedisable Secure BootSecure Boot had to be disabled
Screen (resolution)works
Keyboardworks
Trackpadworks
Audioonly with tweaksRequires configuration/tweaks to work
Wi‑Fiworks
USB portsworks
Fn keysworks
Touchscreenworks
Lid sensor (suspend/resume)worksSuspend/resume OK
Pen tabletnot present
Tablet mode (tilt sensor)not present
Power profilesworks
SD readernot present
HDMI / DisplayPortworks
DisplayPort over USB‑Cworks
Cameraworks
Bluetoothworks
Thunderboltworks
Fingerprintworks

2.1.4 Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 13

ItemStatusShort note
Kernel6.14.0Fedora 42 (Debian 13 had missing firmware)
Install experiencedisable Secure BootSecure Boot had to be disabled
Screen (resolution)works
Keyboardworks
Trackpadworks
Audioworks
Wi‑Fiworks
USB portsworks
Fn keysworksAll keys work except "Mode", a screenshot/snipping key, and one unknown symbol; PrtSc works
Touchscreennot present
Lid sensor (suspend/resume)worksSuspend/resume OK
Pen tabletnot present
Tablet mode (tilt sensor)not present
Power profilesworks
SD readernot present
HDMI / DisplayPortworks
DisplayPort over USB‑Cworks
Cameraworks
Bluetoothonly with tweaksRequired firmware placement and reboot (see referenced fix)
Thunderboltworks
Fingerprintworks
Recommended tweaksBluetooth firmwareTry to update to the latest Kernel, and reboot. If it does not work, manually add firmware for Bluetooth (see fix) and reboot.

(https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/bluetooth-not-work-after-update-to-25-04/61329/2)

2.1.5 Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 1

ItemStatusShort note
Kernel6.12.38Debian 13
Install experiencedisable Secure BootSecure Boot had to be disabled
Screen (resolution)works
Keyboardworks
Trackpadworks
AudioworksBass/treble OK
Wi‑Fiworks
USB portsworks
Fn keysworksVendor‑specific functions do not; generic keys OK
Touchscreenworks
Lid sensor (suspend/resume)worksSuspend/resume OK
Pen tabletworks
Tablet mode (tilt sensor)works
Power profilesworks
SD readernot present
HDMI / DisplayPortworks
DisplayPort over USB‑Cworks
Cameraworks
Microphoneworks
Bluetoothworks
Thunderboltworks
Fingerprintworks
S3 Sleeponly with tweaksSet "Sleep State" to "Linux" in UEFI Config > Power
Recommended tweaksS3 settingenable Linux S3 sleep in UEFI.

2.2 HP

2.2.1 HP ZBook Ultra G1a

ItemStatusShort note
Kernel6.14.0Fedora 42
Install experiencedisable Secure BootSecure Boot had to be disabled
Screen (resolution)works
Keyboardworks
Trackpadworks
Audioworks
Wi‑Fiworks
USB portsworks
Fn keysworks
Touchscreennot present
Lid sensor (suspend/resume)worksSuspend/resume OK
Pen tabletnot present
Tablet mode (tilt sensor)not present
Power profilesworks
SD readernot present
HDMI / DisplayPortunknownNot tested / no note provided
DisplayPort over USB‑Cworks
Cameraonly with tweaksUses AMD ISP4; kernel 6.16.3 lacks driver; upstream module (Linux_ISP_libcamera) may be required or use Ubuntu OEM kernel
Bluetoothworks
Thunderboltworks
Fingerprintworks
Recommended tweakscamera driveradd/compile AMD ISP4 driver or use a kernel/OEM build that includes it.

(https://github.com/amd/Linux_ISP_libcamera)

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