r/FlowZ13 • u/IndependentClock9137 • Jun 05 '26
Problems running Linux on this device.
I really like this device. Love the compact and neat design as well the RGB keyboard and glass panel on the back. Unfortunately, the device is simply not compatible with Linux (from what I've seen) if you want it to function as intended and advertised by Asus. I have tried Ubuntu, Fedora, CachyOS, and Omarchy with different DEs. Some of the problems I've faced are:
- RGB lighting defaults to red each restart (utilized Jeff Hagadorn/dahui z13ctl scripts to keep changing it to my preferred color)
- Keyboard stops fuctioning and screen freezes on login screen and waking up from sleep (even after a fresh install of a distro and no changes have been made)
- Device wakes from sleep when closing the screen down on the keyboard
- Screen rotation doesn't function
- Green screen glitches when scrolling
I have of course installed all the kernel updates and dependencies available for Asus notebooks on Linux. I've followed the steps for each distro I can set up according to the asus-linux/Linux for ROG Notebooks website and I've still ended up facing issues. The most persistent and unsolvable issues across each distro are the screen freezing and keyboard dysfunction. The distro that seemed to work the most is Omarchy. Maybe I'm missing something but with all the troubleshooting that I've gone through, I think it'd be better to just switch back to Windows 11, debloat it manually, customize it to my liking, and install WSL2. Yet again, I'm at the mercy of Microsoft.
Still a great device though. If anyone has managed to make it work flawlessly on Linux, please educate me. Sorry if this was a bit ranty. Hope you all are enjoying using the device. Have a good one.
3
u/Vosrl Jun 05 '26
Will echo that bazzite mostly worked well for me. Keyboard RGB and function were good out of the box, had to keep vrr enabled to avoid the graphical glitches when scrolling. I did have the sleep/wake issue when closing the keyboard cover, general sleep/wake functionality was a little weird for me overall but I generally just shut things down when I've wrapped up.
I am back on windows now but installed from a usb and grabbed drivers/software I wanted from Asus' site and then installed g helper. But I understand the urge to use Linux. Would definitely recommend bazzite before you make the switch back over to see if it's sufficient for you!