Dell XPS 13 (2016)
Device | Status | Modules |
Video | Works after configuration | i915 |
Wireless | Works after configuration | brcmfmac |
Bluetooth | Works after installing firmware | btbcm |
Audio | Working | snd_hda_intel |
Touchpad | Works after configuration | ? |
Webcam | Working | uvcvideo |
Card Reader | Working | rtsx_pci |
Wireless switch | Working | intel_hid |
Function/Multimedia Keys | Working | ? |
The Dell XPS 13 2016 (9350) is the third-generation model of the XPS 13 line. The laptop is available in both a standard edition with Windows installed as well as a Developer Edition which only differs in that it comes with Ubuntu installed as well as the Broadcom WiFi card replaced with an Intel WiFi card. Just like the older versions (Dell XPS 13 and Dell XPS 13 (2015)) it can be bought in different hardware configurations.
The installation process for Arch on the XPS 13 does not differ from any other PC. For installation help, please see the Installation guide and UEFI. This page covers the current status of hardware support on Arch, as well as post-installation recommendations.
As of kernel 4.3, the Intel Skylake architecture is supported.
Contents
Content adaptive brightness control
In the XPS 13 the display panels (both FHD and QHD+) come with adaptive brightness embedded in the panel firmware, this "content adaptive brightness control" (usually referred to as CABC or DBC) will adjust the screen brightness depending on the content displayed on the screen and will generally be found undesirable, especially for Linux users who are likely to be switching between dark and light screen content. Dell has issued a fix for this however it is only available to run in Windows and for the QHD+ model of the laptop so this precaution should be taken before installing Linux, the FHD model of the XPS 13 (9350) cannot be fixed. This is not a problem with the panel but rather a problem with the way the panels are configured for the XPS 13, as the same panel exists in the Dell's Latitude 13 7000 series (e7370) FHD model but with CABC disabled. The fix is available directly from Dell.
BIOS
USB not found
It may happen that the Arch Linux USB won't be recognized. You have to disable secure boot (Secure Boot > Disable) and then enable the legacy (General > Advanced Boot Options > Enable Legacy Option ROMs).
No UEFI system found
Sometimes the BIOS UEFI does not respect the efivars. In this case you have manually add your efi file in BIOS boot options by going to General > Boot Sequence > Add Boot Option.
Updates
BIOS update 1.4.4 was released on 2016-06-30. Store the update binary on your EFI partition (/boot/EFI
) or on a USB flash drive, reboot, and choose BIOS Update in the F12 boot menu.
Thunderbolt 3 / USB 3.1
The USB-C port supports Thunderbolt 3, Displayport-over-USB-C and USB power delivery as well as USB 3.1.
In the event of devices not working correctly, ensure that you have updated to the latest BIOS (above) and Thunderbolt firmware (below).
Thunderbolt 3 Firmware Update 2.16.01.003, A04 was released on 2016-08-10. Unlike the BIOS update, this is a graphical application which must be run in a modern Windows environment (MS-DOS will not suffice).
Hotplug support for this port requires a bug fix which landed in kernel version 4.7. It also requires the kernel to be built with CONFIG_PCI_HOTPLUG=y.
SATA controller
When the SATA-controller is set to RAID On
in Bios, the hard disk (at least the SSD) is not recognized. Set to Off
or AHCI
(AHCI
is recommended) before attempting to install Arch.
Dual booting Linux and Windows
In order to boot into Windows properly without getting an INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
error with disabled RAID
you must configure Windows to use the AHCI
-speaking SATA storage controller, assuming you used AHCI
for installing Linux. The driver is effectively disabled even though it is installed. Either of the following methods were reported to activate the drivers without reinstallation (your mileage may vary):
- booting into safe mode and back
- Selecting
Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller
in Windows Device Manager - Modifying registry entries
- Modifying other registry entries
Consult the microsoft support page for additional information. Be aware that some manufactures propagate reinstalling Windows to be the only solution, which it is not.
NVM Express SSD
Cannot find root device
The location of the nvme
module for "NVM Express" SSD has changed between linux kernel version 4.3 and 4.4. If you experience "cannot find root device" on boot, it may be due to the nvme
module not being present in initramfs
. In this case, the following may resolve your issue.
Edit your /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
file:
... MODULES="... nvme" ...
Then update the bootloader.
# mkinitcpio -p linux
where linux
is the name of the image loaded on boot. If you installed linux-mainlineAUR then change that to linux-mainline
.
Note on Mount Options
Using the discard
mount option for your filesystem is not recommended, as mentioned in this warning and the forum. See also Solid State Drives/NVMe#Discards for further information.
NVME Power Saving Patch
Andy Lutomirski has released version 4 of his patchset which fixes powersaving for NVME devices in linux. Currently, this patch is not merged into mainline yet. Until it lands in mainline kernel use the AUR package below. Linux-nvme — Mainline linux kernel patched with Andy's patch for NVME powersaving APST.
Wireless
For the non-developer edition, the built-in Broadcom BCM4350 is now supported in the current linux kernel (as of version 4.4.1-1). The wireless module brcmfmac
also needs the firmware brcmfmac4350-pcie.bin
from the related linux-firmware package.
The Broadcom adapter does not report its regulatory country and so, by default, the global settings for channels and frequencies will be set. See Wireless network configuration#Respecting the regulatory domain for more information about how this can be changed.
Bluetooth
Intel WiFi
If your WiFi card supports Bluetooth, then the BT interface should be available out-of-the-box, as the required firmware is included in linux-firmware.
Broadcom Wifi
Bluetooth should work right away. Load the module btusb
and bluetooth
if it was not already and start/enable bluetooth.service
. Refer to Bluetooth for more information and configuration options.
Wireless headset: strange bluetooth behavior
If your Bluetooth behaves unstable, such as connection loss, stuttering sound. being able to connect but not to listen through it, etc. you probably need the proprietary firmware.
The Broadcom Bluetooth firmware is not available in the kernel (the same as for the 2015 model source), therefore you will have to retrieve it from a Windows .exe. You need to extract the .exe
file with p7zip and then convert it to a .hcd
file with hex2hcd from bluez-utils:
$ 7z x 9350_Network_Driver_XMJK7_WN32_12.0.1.720_A00.EXE $ cp Win32/BCM4350C5_003.006.007.0095.1703.hex ./ $ hex2hcd BCM4350C5_003.006.007.0095.1703.hex # mv BCM4350C5_003.006.007.0095.1703.hcd /lib/firmware/brcm/BCM-0a5c-6412.hcd
After reboot, the firmware should be available for your Bluetooth interface.
Video
The video should work with the i915
driver of the current linux kernel. Consult Intel graphics for a detailed installation and configuration guide as well as for Troubleshooting.
Blank screen issue after booting
If using "late start" KMS (the default) and the screen goes blank when loading modules, it may help to add i915
and intel_agp
to the initramfs or using a special kernel parameter. Consult Intel graphics#Blank screen during boot, when "Loading modules" for more information about the kernel paramter way and have a look at Kernel mode setting#Early KMS start for a guide on how to setup the modules for the initramfs.
Linux kernel 4.3 or earlier
If you are using an older kernel 4.3 or earlier, you also require the kernel parameter i915.preliminary_hw_support=1
, see Intel graphics#Skylake support. (For later kernels 4.3+ or linux-bcm4350AUR the parameter is unnecessary.)
Linux kernel 4.5 or earlier
If you have the newer i7-6560 CPU with Iris 540 graphics, the GPU hangs every few minutes with kernel versions before 4.6. This is probably due to this bug https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=94161 and can be countered by either disabling DRI in your Xorg configuration:
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf
Section "Device" Identifier "Intel Graphics" Driver "intel" Option "DRI" "false" EndSection
or by adding i915.enable_rc6=0
to the kernel boot parameters.
Touchpad
Only key-presses work out of the box. Installing xf86-input-libinput is sufficient for proper mouse support plus it also handles the touchscreen - see libinput for configuration. Features such as tap-to-click are usually adjustable within the desktop environment.
Alternatively you may want to install xf86-input-synaptics as driver but "it is on maintenance mode and xf86-input-libinput must be preferred over" (installation note from the package itself). Plus it may lack the ability to be easily adjustable within your desktop environment (see Dell Studio XPS 13). Restarting the X server might be required.
Remove psmouse errors from dmesg
If dmesg | grep -i psmouse
returns an error, but your touchpad still works, then it might be a good idea to disable psmouse
. First create a config file:
# nano /etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf blacklist psmouse
Then add this file to /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
:
... FILES="/etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf" ...
Rebuild your initial ramdisk image (see Mkinitcpio#Image creation and activation).
Gestures
Refer to libinput#Gestures for information about the current development state and available methods.
Sound
Hissing/Crackling noises when using headphones
Some people reported white hissing/crackling noises when using headphones. To get rid of them you can run alsamixer
from alsa-utils.
Select your soundcard with F6 and set the headset-gain to 22 (3rd lever from the left) or use the amixer
command:
$ amixer -c 0 cset 'numid=10' 1 numid=10,iface=MIXER,name='Headphone Mic Boost Volume' ; type=INTEGER,access=rw---R--,values=2,min=0,max=3,step=0 : values=1,1 | dBscale-min=0.00dB,step=10.00dB,mute=0
Unfortunately PulseAudio will override the above setting every time you log in/out of your environment (or every time the PulseAudio service is restarted), even if the alsa-restore.service
is enabled at start up.
To work around this issue, edit /usr/share/pulseaudio/alsa-mixer/paths/analog-input-headphone-mic.conf
and comment out the section [Element Headphone Mic Boost]
:
--- #[Element Headphone Mic Boost] #required-any = any #switch = select #volume = merge #override-map.1 = all #override-map.2 = all-left,all-right ---
Similarly in /usr/share/pulseaudio/alsa-mixer/paths/analog-input-internal-mic.conf
, comment out the same section:
--- #[Element Headphone Mic Boost] #switch = off #volume = off ---
This will prevent PulseAudio to fiddle with the gain setting at all.
Loud popping-noises when sound was not playing
Also people noticed loud popping-noises when sound was not playing.
You can turn off the sound_power_save in through e.g. tlp
# nano /etc/default/tlp ... SOUND_POWER_SAVE_ON_BAT = 0 ...
Microphone
For ALSA, increase "Digital" channel for microphone to work.
CPU slowdown after resume from suspend
If you are experiencing a very slow computer after resume from suspend, you may be subject to a bug where your CPU frequency is capped to a very low value. Use cpupower frequency-info
to check. If so, please read this forum thread for debug information, and a workaround.
Diverting models
XPS 12
Dell XPS 15
Despite the similarities between the two devices they have quite different solutions for various problems, refer to Dell XPS 15 for more information.
Dell XPS 13 (2015)
Information about the predecessor is available at Dell XPS 13 (2015).
Dell XPS 13 9360 (4th Gen - late 2016)
Information about the successor is available at Dell XPS 13 (4th Gen).
lspci and lsusb
The lspci and lsusb below were take from the following system:
[ 0.000000] DMI: Dell Inc. XPS 13 9350/0PWNCR, BIOS 1.3.3 03/01/2016
on kernel:
Linux marv 4.5.4-1-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Wed May 11 22:21:28 CEST 2016 x86_64 GNU/Linux
lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Skylake Host Bridge/DRAM Registers (rev 08) 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Skylake Integrated Graphics (rev 07) 00:04.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Skylake Processor Thermal Subsystem (rev 08) 00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP USB 3.0 xHCI Controller (rev 21) 00:14.2 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Thermal subsystem (rev 21) 00:15.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO I2C Controller #0 (rev 21) 00:15.1 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO I2C Controller #1 (rev 21) 00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP CSME HECI #1 (rev 21) 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d10 (rev f1) 00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #5 (rev f1) 00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #6 (rev f1) 00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d18 (rev f1) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP LPC Controller (rev 21) 00:1f.2 Memory controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PMC (rev 21) 00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio (rev 21) 00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP SMBus (rev 21) 3a:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4350 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 08) 3b:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS525A PCI Express Card Reader (rev 01) 3c:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd NVMe SSD Controller (rev 01)
Full output from sudo lspci -v
After plugging in a USB-C hub, a number of new PCI devices appear:
01:00.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 1576 02:00.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 1576 02:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 1576 02:02.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 1576 39:00.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Device 15b5
lsusb
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0c45:670c Microdia Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04f3:20d0 Elan Microelectronics Corp. Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0a5c:6412 Broadcom Corp. Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Full output from sudo lsusb -v