Dell XPS 13 (9350) Compatibility

Question

Is the Dell XPS 13 (9350) laptop compatible with the Ubuntu OS?

I'm new to Linux and Ubuntu but I'm minded to be a convert to open source software after disinterest in continuing to use Windows. I've been reading a lot of stories about problems with Linux failing to recognize the hard drive and the Wi-Fi has problems.

The laptop will come pre-installed with Windows 10 but I'm looking to erase that and install Ubuntu as my sole operating system. I'll try the Ubuntu demo first, but I'd like check on here as well.

Solution 1

Currently there are still some compatibility issues with the default Ubuntu installation.
Here is what you have to do to get a properly working Ubuntu system installation ...

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Preparation

First of all - you won’t be able to connect to the internet out of the box from Ubuntu 15.10
because the WiFi card currently is not supported - for the installation you will need either :

• An USB Wifi or Ethernet adapter dongle
• an USB key containing the following kernel compiled by Cephyr (this kernel contains an additional patch for using this WiFi card).

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Ubuntu will not detect your disk at once because the SATA-controller is set to RAID On.
Boot into BIOS (Press F12 at startup) and set the SATA-controller to Off or to AHCI.

Note : If you want to keep a dual boot with Windows, you have to follow this procedure.

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Installation

Create a bootable USB/DVD Ubuntu 15.10 installation media.
Boot from it by selecting it in the BIOS menu. Install Ubuntu as usual.

Fixing issues

WiFi

When the installation is done, open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and install the patched kernel :

#Only if you have a USB WiFi/Ethernet adapter
wget http://secretundergroundla.ir/?ddownload=15

tar jxf xps13_9350_kernel.tar.bz2
sudo chown root:root brcmfmac4350-pcie.bin BCM-0a5c-6412.hcd
sudo mv -t /lib/firmware/brcm/ BCM-0a5c-6412.hcd brcmfmac4350-pcie.bin
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-4.3.0-wifitest-custom_4.3.0-wifitest-custom-10.00.Custom_amd64.deb linux-image-4.3.0-wifitest-custom_4.3.0-wifitest-custom-10.00.Custom_amd64.deb

Reboot and WiFi should work properly now.

Update the system :

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Bluetooth

To make Bluetooth work properly you have to install the Broadcom firmware.

wget http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER03272920M/1/9350_Network_Driver_XMJK7_WN32_12.0.1.720_A00.EXE
unzip 9350_Network_Driver_XMJK7_WN32_12.0.1.720_A00.EXE
cp Win64/BCM4350C5_003.006.007.0095.1703.hex ./
hex2hcd BCM4350C5_003.006.007.0095.1703.hex
mv BCM4350C5_003.006.007.0095.1703.hcd /lib/firmware/brcm/BCM-0a5c-6412.hcd

Reload the module and Bluetooth should work.

sudo modprobe -r btusb   
sudo modprobe btusb

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The Dell XPS 13 9350 is a good, but still quite new machine ... so please just give it some time,
everything will be fixed by Canonical and the community in the default Ubuntu installation ;-).

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Sources :

Arch Linux Wiki,
XPS 13 (9350) WiFi with Ubuntu 15.10,
Install Ubuntu 15.10 on the Dell XPS 13 9343 (2015) : A complete guide.

Solution 2

The following works:

First we upgrade the linux kernel to 4.4.

Download http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.4-rc7-wily/linux-image-4.4.0-040400rc7-generic_4.4.0-040400rc7.201512272230_amd64.deb and then:

$ sudo dpkg -i linux-image-4.4.0-040400rc7-generic_4.4.0-040400rc7.201512272230_amd64.deb

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get upgrade

Next install some updated firmware tools:

$ sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer

And then download and install the following firmware: http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/main/l/linux-firmware/linux-firmware_1.154_all.deb and

$ sudo dpkg -i linux-firmware_1.154_all.deb

Restart your machine, and you should have wifi!

Comments

[Limecat]

This will probably help: digitaltopo.net/o/?p=243 It looks like you need to change the wifi card and change the settings on your SSD, which will break windows...

[user2295555]

There are some issues with the current stable linux kernel (4.2) so you'll have to install and install a precompiled one. More info and discussions: sul.ccfink.de/?p=11 (complete install guide) wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_XPS_13_(2016) (additional info about bluetooth etc) There is also a link to the dell forums (I can't post because i don't have enough reputation)

[Tim Abell]

too late, got one and wiped it :-D

[Dean Chen]

Please see my post. I ran into problem when using it and finally find a temporary way to bypass this.

[hg8]

Hello awesomebytes, welcome to Ask Ubuntu! Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. ;-)

[AlinG]

no need to recompile, just fix initramfs-tools like here for instance bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=807000 filed on launchpad too bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/initramfs-tools/+bug/15248‌​79

[Admin]

I followed Ray answer (answered Jan 19 at 18:37) but I lost the wifi after reboot. So I follow it again using the kernel from <pre> kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.5-rc2-wily </pre>and now everything is fine. Thanks Ray

[jarv]

This answer is slightly out-of-date now that 4.4 is generally available. You do not need to use the patched 4.3 kernel above. Instead follow the same instructions but install the 4.4 kernel. You may also need to disable ipv6 if you are seeing issues with wifi dropping.

[James]

Thanks a lot @hg8 for this answer. I have a XPS 13 9350 with ubuntu 15.10, with a custom 4.3 kernel installed for the wifi driver and the firmware gotten from the linux-firmware repo. But my bluetooth was pretty bad, but with the download from dell and your commands, it works perfect now. (before, it had a range of approximatively 30cm when using audio via bluetooth…)

[Mellson]

I followed your excellent guide and everything seemed to work ok. But when I reboot Ubuntu just boots into a black screen. Any ideas?

[Mellson]

I tried with a release candidate of linux kernel 4.5 - then it worked. Thanks for the guide!

[knocte]

Had problems with NVMe disks, but switching from Raid to AHCI worked for me (Ubuntu 16.04.1) thanks.