Surface Go2 with Fedora
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 3:11 am
It was raining today, so I decided to delve further into Linux on the Surface Go2. Last evening I spent a good amount of time reading through the Surface Linux github pages. It is very well organized and has a vast amount of information on installing and using Linux on surface devices. From what I read I gathered the vanilla gnome is probably the best fit if you are mainly interested in using a Surface device as a tablet. Further reading revealed that for the Surface Go and Go2 Fedora supports most everything out of the box.
So I blew out Pop OS and installed Fedora 36. Between MS's seeming making it very hard to install anything but Windows on the device and my making a few mistakes, it took a lot longer than it should have. But in the end it was really worth it.
Once installed one would almost assume the Surface Go2 was built to run Fedora workstation rather than Windows. Everything works out of the box except for the cameras. Sensors are all functional, so screen rotation, ambient light adjustment, special keyboard keys, volume buttons, SD card reader and pencil all work on first boot.
Gnome/Fedora did a wonderful job of making scaling so the 1080p 12" screen is clear, clean and crisp. The Gnome DE is easy to use via touch. The on screen keyboard pops up when needed for text when in tablet mode and does not appear when the Surface keyboard is connected.
I am one happy camper, this is actually a much more usable machine with Fedora Linux than it was with Windows. I read that Fedora Silverblue runs as well as the Fedora workstation, so in a couple weeks when V37 is released, I might switch this over to Silverblue.
So I blew out Pop OS and installed Fedora 36. Between MS's seeming making it very hard to install anything but Windows on the device and my making a few mistakes, it took a lot longer than it should have. But in the end it was really worth it.
Once installed one would almost assume the Surface Go2 was built to run Fedora workstation rather than Windows. Everything works out of the box except for the cameras. Sensors are all functional, so screen rotation, ambient light adjustment, special keyboard keys, volume buttons, SD card reader and pencil all work on first boot.
Gnome/Fedora did a wonderful job of making scaling so the 1080p 12" screen is clear, clean and crisp. The Gnome DE is easy to use via touch. The on screen keyboard pops up when needed for text when in tablet mode and does not appear when the Surface keyboard is connected.
I am one happy camper, this is actually a much more usable machine with Fedora Linux than it was with Windows. I read that Fedora Silverblue runs as well as the Fedora workstation, so in a couple weeks when V37 is released, I might switch this over to Silverblue.