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Comment by GianFabien

4 years ago

You can run many Linux distros on MBP, so why not just replace the OS and continue to enjoy the exceptional hardware? You may need to research the distros to see exactly what issues may exist for your specific model of MBP.

4 comments

GianFabien

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istingray  4 years ago

Yes! This is what I wanted to do at first. VERY open to this if there's a way.

However, the 2019 16" Macbook Pro cannot run Linux well. This Github repo seems like the best attempt to make it work -- but even Wi-Fi doesn't work!

https://gist.github.com/gbrow004/096f845c8fe8d03ef9009fbb87b...

As far as I can tell that's the latest but maybe I misunderstood. Open to ideas!!

If anyone here has the 16" MBP running Linux of any sort -- please let me know! Heck I would even pay for a solution.

Edit: this seems promising? https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/lwqm19/linu...

  • arthurk  4 years ago

    I've recently tried different Linux distros (Fedora, Ubuntu, PopOS) on my 2013 MacBook since Catalina is soon going to be deprecated and will not receive any security updates.

    Installing the wifi drivers is annoying since the distros ship without proprietary drivers (broadcom). You either have to plug it in via cable (use an adapter) or use tethering with your phone to download the drivers after installation. But this is fine since you only have to do it once.

    More problematic is the CPU temp which is on average around 15C higher on Linux than on macOS. I've done a lot of research on this but couldn't figure a way to lower it, and from what I can tell this is a common problem with people who run linux on a macbook.

    You'll definitely notice it when placing your laptop on your lap. Of course you can increase the fan speed but then the laptop is a bit louder. If you can live with a slightly hotter or louder laptop then running linux on your macbook is fine, everything works. Right now I'm still using macOS until support runs out.

  • istingray  4 years ago

    Update: turns out there's an incredible Discord, github repos, and wiki for supporting Macs with T2 chips like my 2019 16" MBP. They got me up and running with Ubuntu on my MBP! With wifi, keyboard, mouse, and a member walked me through the whole install.

    https://t2linux.org/