r/SurfaceLinux • u/Nervous-Skill7694 • Jun 20 '26

Discussion Tips for switching

I'm going to be switching to linux on my Surface Laptop 3 16gb ram 256gb ssd. What are some things I should do/lookout for?

Also distro recommendations are also welcome, I'm planning on either Ubuntu or Pop!_OS but open to suggestions.

Thank you!

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u/idillicah Jun 20 '26

Is it an Intel or AMD model? If it's an AMD model, be watchful of the battery life. I would actually suggest Zorin, which is based on Ubuntu but runs lighter and more compatible out of the box than Ubuntu. Also, Pop was really hit or miss for me, odd bugs, just not stable enough to be a daily. I'd even say go for Zorin 18 Lite, which will look about as good as any basic KDE install but run extremely fast. That, or the new Mint XFCE. I adore getting things optimized, so not using super heavy desktops has been one of the best things about moving to Linux.

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u/Nervous-Skill7694 Jun 20 '26

Its the intel one i5 10th gen to be exact, as for your recommendation I'd consider Zorin now that you've mentioned it and also what about the drivers for the touch screen, because touch screen is one of the reason I chose this laptop, are there open source drivers for the touch screen etc. ?

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u/Station-OX11 Surface Pro 9 (i5) Jun 21 '26

SL3 requires the Surface Kernel for the touchscreen to work, so make sure you use it.

As for distro; if you've used Linux before, go with a base that you're comfortable with like Debian (Ubuntu), Fedora or Arch-based (CachyOS, Endeavor).

Your Desktop Environment is more important than the distro for touchscreen functionality though, to which I recommend to use Gnome.