HP Pavilion x2 10-n000nf Linux support

Some time ago I bought a 2 in 1 windows PC/tablet to replace my Android tablet that just died hoping to replace Windows by Linux.

For those wondering if it’s a good choice for that usage the quick answer is : hell no ! And here’s why.

First, for the linux install, if you want to use a 64bits linux distribution it’s not as easy as disabling secure boot and booting an install CD of debian or any other distribution because HP had the great idea to use a 32 bits UEFI (while the Atom inside is really 64bits). So to use a 64bits Linux you need to boot the distrib installation with a 32bits UEFI image (you “just” need to replace one file for debian IIRC).

So what’s not working after finishing the installation (using latest linux kernel on debian FYI) :

• sound : intel atom HDA seems to be a big mess… sound never worked.
• wifi : a driver seems to exist for the wifi card (https://github.com/hadess/rtl8723bs) but it didn’t work for me. I patched a kernel and booted it, still no wifi.
• screen brightness : can’t adjust it, always at max 🙁

I was “happy” to see that other things I was expecting to not work were working perfectly (touchscreen for example). But without wifi and sound, this PC is useless to me so I waited for a few kernel releases hoping wifi and sound will eventually work but they didn’t. So I sold it…