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Ubuntu

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Blank screen on boot

Ubuntu's GRUB is not booting using the Mac Startup Manager for many users. Thus affected users are advised to install the rEFInd Boot Manager and boot the kernel using it instead of the Startup Manager.

Download Links:

Ubuntu and Kubuntu

Linux Mint

Hardware Requirements

  • USB-C to USB adapter

Install Procedure

  1. Follow the Pre-installation steps to prepare your Mac for Ubuntu.
  2. Boot into the Live ISO. You should now be in the GRUB boot menu. Select the option which is relevent to you.
  3. Start the installer and install it like normal until you get to the partition option. MAKE SURE YOU CHOOSE MANUAL PARTITIONING.

  4. Find the partition you made for Linux when you were following the Pre-installation steps. MAKE SURE TO SELECT THE RIGHT PARTITION OR ELSE YOUR DATA WILL BE LOST. Delete it to make free space. You'll need to make these partitions:

    1. If you want, you can make seperate partitions for swap, /home, /boot etc as you do in a normal PC.

    2. The only partition to be made compulsorily is the one mounted at / and formatted to ext4 or btrfs.

    3. Leave EFI boot alone. If you want to use a separate EFI partition, you can separate it out later after installation as instructed here.

  5. Continue the rest of the setup.

  6. Once it's finished, you can reboot without your installation media. Hold down Option (⌥) while booting, then select EFI Boot and press enter.
  7. Welcome to Ubuntu! :)

Setting up Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Once you're booted and in your desktop, run get-apple-firmware and choose the option "Retrieve the firmware directly from macOS".

If this method doesn't work, follow this guide to get firmware for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Configuring the Touch Bar

If your Mac has a Touch Bar, then you can install the tiny-dfr app by running sudo apt update && sudo apt install tiny-dfr to set up the Touch Bar. Make sure you restart your Mac after installing the app.

For configuration of the Touch Bar, run sudo touchbar and follow the on-screen instructions.

Troubleshooting

If you are facing issues while installing or have post installation issues (E.g.: Wi-Fi, sound etc.), refer to the FAQ section first. If it is not able to help you, you may open an issue here or contact us on the Discord server.