Framework laptop Linux

Hello friends,

We’re excited that so many of you have chosen Framework over others in this very crowded laptop space. We’re also excited that we have a very vibrant Linux community that have rallied around Framework and the Framework Laptop. With the explosion of interest and folks joining our community, we’ve also seen quite a bit of misinformation on the web and in our community around Linux version support and what should just, “work”. We’re seeing a pretty significant spike in customers contacting Framework Support frustrated that they can’t get Framework hardware to function on their favorite version of Linux. As we’ve stated in our support articles and publicly, we have only verified that the hardware in the Framework Laptop is working without issue in Ubuntu 21.04.3+ [NOT 20.04.3] and Fedora 35. Yes, it’s entirely possible that other versions/flavors of Linux work too! That said, some require technical expertise and deeper Linux knowledge to fidget with drivers and perform some advanced troubleshooting to get the hardware working. If you are on a version of Linux that is on an older kernel, you just won’t be able to get the WiFi or Fingerprint Reader working, it’s not possible as it’s newer tech that requires a newer kernel to function. Asking kindly, if you are attempting to install a version of Linux outside of the above listed versions and run into compatibility problems, we ask that you troubleshoot with our Linux community instead of contacting Framework Support frustrated that things aren’t working as intended. Linux compatibility is, and will always be, a challenge given the sheer number of flavors to choose from, kernel they are based on, etc. While we understand and sympathize with your frustration, our agents are unable to solve problems that are not within their power to solve and/or troubleshoot.

Thank you for your understanding and we hope that you enjoy your Framework Laptop however you choose to enjoy it. Happy Holidays.

The Framework laptop, released in 2021, focuses on extreme repairability. The DIY edition in particular, comes without an OS and the devs and community are currently focused on supporting Arch Linux as an alternative to Windows.

Hardware

Standard

Device Make/model Status Vendor ID / Product ID Kernel driver[s] Kernel version Notes

Chipset	Intel Tiger Lake	Works	[multiple]	i801_smbus intel_ish_ipc intel_lpss_pci intel_pmt	5.14.15
Video card	Intel Tiger Lake-LP GT2	Works	f111:0001	i915	5.14.15	i965 and iris USE flags
Sound card	Intel Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound	Works	8086:a0c8:f111:0001	snd_hda_intel, snd_soc_sof_tigerlake	5.14.15	Also requires either Realtek or IDT HD codec, depending on date of manufacture[1]
Wireless network card	Intel AX210	Works	8086:2725:8086:0024	iwlwifi	5.14.15	Needs firmware from sys-kernel/linux-firmware
Bluetooth	Intel AX210	Works		bluetooth	5.14.15
Touchpad	PixArt PIXA3854	Works	093A:0274	hid_multitouch	5.14.15	Also depends on i2c_designware_core, intel_ishtp_hid
Fingerprint Reader	Goodix USB2.0 MISC	Works	27c6:609c			Requires sys-auth/fprintd-1.94.0
Webcam	Realtek Laptop Camera	Works	0bda:5634	uvc	5.15.8 [as tested]

Expansion cards

The Framework Laptop features four modular expansion card slots allowing for custom port configurations. Each connects to an underlying USB-C interface. See //frame.work/marketplace/expansion-cards

Device Make/model Status Vendor ID / Product ID Kernel driver[s] Kernel version Notes

DisplayPort	Framework	Untested
Ethernet	Framework	Untested
HDMI	Framework	Works	32ac:0002
SSD	Framework	Untested
MicroSD	Framework	Works	090c:3350	usb_storage, uas
USB-A	Framework	Works		xhci_hcd
USB-C	Framework	Works		xhci_hcd	5.14.15	Required for charging

Installation

Because of some boot menu and device selection issues, it may be necessary to update to BIOS version 3.06 before installing. See: //community.frame.work/t/public-beta-test-bios-v3-06-driver-bundle-2021-10-29/10167 This update is also necessary to support the Tempo audio codec in the post-Oct 2021 Framework laptops.

There is not yet a linux-based BIOS update mechanism, but the update can be run in a Windows PE environment such as Windows 10 setup media or Hiren's BootCD PE

Firmware

Firmware from sys-kernel/linux-firmware is needed for the GPU, wireless, and bluetooth interfaces. The TigerLake GPU firmware in particular needs to be loaded immediately at boot, so it must be included as a kernel blob or on an init ramdisk. See: Intel#Firmware

Kernel

There have been significant stability issues with Wifi and Bluetooth in kernels prior to 5.14.15, so we're starting there.

KERNEL Power Management

Processor type and features ---> [*] Intel Low Power Subsystem support Power management and ACPI options ---> [*] ACPI [Advanced Configuration and Power Interface] Support ---> ~~ Your choice of AC, Battery, Fan, Thermal, etc ~~ [*] Intel DPTF [Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework] Support [*] Cpuidle Driver for Intel Processors Firmware Drivers ---> [*] Load custom ACPI SSDT overlay from an EFI variable Device Drivers ---> Thermal Drivers ---> Intel thermal drivers ---> X86 package temperature thermal driver Intel SoCs DTS thermal driver ACPI INT340X thermal drivers ---> ACPI INT340X thermal driver Intel TCC offset cooling Driver Multifunction device drivers ---> Intel Low Power Subsystem support in PCI mode Intel PMC Driver for Broxton Intel Platform Monitoring Technology [PMT] support [*] X86 Platform Specific Device Drivers Intel PMC Core driver

KERNEL I2C Bus [needed for Touchpad, Camera, and probably other stuff]

Device Drivers ---> I2C Support ---> I2C device interface I2C Hardware Bus Support ---> Intel 82801 [ICH/PCH] Synopsys Designware Platform

KERNEL Touchpad

Device Drivers ---> Input device support ---> HID support ---> Generic HID driver Special HID driver ---> HID Multitouch panels HID Sensors framework support Intel ISH HID support ---> Intel Integrated Sensor Hub

KERNEL Wireless LAN

[*] Networking support ---> [*] Wireless ---> cfg80211 - wireless configuration API Generic IEEE 802.11 Networking Stack [mac80211]

Device Drivers --->

[*] Network device support ---> [*] Wireless LAN ---> [*] Intel devices Intel Wireless WiFi Next Gen AGN - Wireless-N/Advanced-N/Ultimate-N [iwlwifi] Intel Wireless WiFi MVM Firmware support

KERNEL Graphics card

Device Drivers ---> /dev/agpgart [AGP Support] ---> Direct Rendering Manager [XFree86 4.1.0 and higher DRI support] ---> Intel 8xx/9xx/G3x/G4x/HD Graphics

KERNEL Sound

Device Drivers ---> Sound card support ---> Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ---> HD Audio ---> HD Audio PCI Build Realtek HD-audio codec support Build IDT/Sigmatel HD-audio codec support Build HDMI/DisplayPort HD-audio codec support ALSA for SoC audio support ---> [*] Sound Open Firmware Support SOF PCI enumeration support [*] SOF support for Intel audio DSPs SOF support for Tigerlake

KERNEL Storage [NVMe]

Device Drivers ---> NVME Support ---> NVM Express block device [*] NVMe multipath support

Note
Post-October '21 Frameworks use a Tempo [also known as IDT/Sigmatel] audio codec instead of Realtek

1. ↑ //frame.work/blog/solving-for-silicon-shortages