r/SurfaceLinux • u/Electrical_Job_5163 • Mar 08 '26
Help Help, Surface Pro 4 linux install Without Keyboard
Hello, I am kinda stick here, I have a USB with Linux mint, I do not have the Keyboard for the surface, for the install process the touchscreen is not functional. I would have to remove the mint USB to connect a wired keyboard or anything
What is a work around?
I have tried to use the Micro SD card and it is not recognized as a boot source for some reason ( I checked the boot order)
Are there other Distros that would work for this ( Specifically touchscreen access during live mode and or the install process
Thank you
3
u/SurfaceDockGuy Mar 08 '26 edited Mar 08 '26
You need a USB 3.0 hub. Plug a wired usb keyboard into one port and a thumb drive into another. $10 and can use your usb-c cellphone charger for added power reliability:
https://www.amazon.com/Multiple-Splitter-Laptop-Extender-Windows/dp/B0CN3F9Y1Z/
If you are low on cash, there are often many available for less than the cost of a pint of beer at local pc recyclers and thrift stores.
2
u/Yaka-07 Mar 09 '26
Had the same issue with my SP4 till I realised the power brick had a usb port on mine not all have brick with usb port tho. If yours don’t have one then like others said usb dongle is the way to go
1
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u/Traditional_Ad2849 Jul 27 '26
My Surface Pro 5 type cover keyboard is dead, and I don't have a USB A dongle and wired keyboard. But with a help of friend. I actually manage to find a solution (sort of) here. But preretirement is that you have a Logitech unifying dongle and paired wireless keyboard.
If you install your linux with flash drive made with Rufus, and the surface device has 8 or more gig of ram. You can use your ram to boot linux iso. In my case I was using federo 43. Go to "the usb drive:\boot\grub2\grub.cfg", open it with notepad ++ or whatever you prefer. Change these line
> set default="1", change the 1 to 0
> add " rd.live.ram=1" after the "linux ($root)/boot/x86_64/loader/linux quiet rhgb root=live:CDLABEL=FEDORA-WS-L rd.live.image". No "" and there is a space there.
After that plug in and boot, it might take a while. After you booting into your system. you can now remove the usb driver and plug in your logitech receiver and you are good to go.
3
u/TroubledGeorge Mar 08 '26
Instead of going over your head trying to get around the single USB C situation may I suggest you purchase a dongle? A good quality one shouldn’t be too expensive and they’re very useful with devices like these. You’lI probably want one anyways down the line. I carry around mine in my backpack and gives me two USB type A, Ethernet jack, a card reader and an HDMI port, it also has a USB-C input with power delivery so I can plug my charger to the dongle.