Run Linux on Surface Pro 3: Simple Tips and Tricks!

I’ve been messing around with my old Surface Pro 3 lately, and I figured, why not try to slap Linux on it? I mean, Windows is fine and all, but I’ve always been curious about running Linux on a tablet. Plus, I heard it can give old hardware a new lease on life. So, I decided to give it a shot.

First things first, I had to pick a Linux distribution. There are so many out there, and honestly, it was a bit overwhelming. I did some digging around online, reading forums and articles, and it seemed like Ubuntu was a popular choice for Surface devices. It’s supposed to be user-friendly, and there’s a ton of documentation available. Sounded good to me, so I went with Ubuntu.

Next up, I needed to create a bootable USB drive. I downloaded the Ubuntu ISO file from their official website – the 64-bit version, of course. Then, I used this tool, I forget what it’s called, but it’s a popular one for making bootable drives, to flash the ISO onto a spare USB stick I had lying around. I’ve done this before for other computers, so it was pretty straightforward.

With the bootable USB ready, I shut down my Surface Pro 3 and plugged it in. Now, getting it to boot from USB was a bit of a pain. I had to hold down the volume down button while powering it on to get into the UEFI settings. It took a few tries to get the timing right, but I eventually got there. Once in the UEFI, I changed the boot order to prioritize the USB drive, saved the changes, and rebooted.

Bingo! The Ubuntu installer booted up. I followed the on-screen instructions, which were pretty easy to understand. I chose to install Ubuntu alongside Windows, just in case I needed to switch back. The installation process took a while, maybe half an hour or so. I just left it running and did something else in the meantime.

After the installation was complete, I rebooted again, and there it was – the Ubuntu login screen. I logged in, and everything seemed to be working fine, well, for the most part. The touchscreen was working, which was a relief. Wi-Fi was good too. But then I realized some things weren’t quite right.

The on-screen keyboard was kinda wonky. It would pop up randomly or sometimes not at all. And the auto-rotation was all messed up. It seemed like some drivers or patches were missing. Back to the internet I went. I found out that there’s this special kernel, specifically made for Surface devices, that’s supposed to fix a lot of these issues.

Installing this custom kernel was a bit more involved. I had to add some repositories to the system and then use the terminal to install the kernel and some other packages. It wasn’t super complicated, but I had to follow the instructions very carefully. I’m not exactly a Linux expert, so I was a little nervous about messing things up. But hey, what’s the worst that could happen, right? I could always just reinstall everything if things went south.

After a couple more reboots, it seemed like most things were working better. The on-screen keyboard was more reliable, and the auto-rotation was behaving. There were still a few minor quirks here and there, but overall, it was definitely usable. I even managed to install some of my favorite apps and tools.

What I did to install Linux on Surface Pro 3:

• Choose a Linux distribution: I went with Ubuntu because it is user-friendly and widely used.
• Create a bootable USB drive: Download the Ubuntu ISO (64-bit) and use a tool to flash it onto a USB stick.
• Boot from USB: Access the UEFI settings by holding the volume down button during startup and change the boot order.
• Install Ubuntu: Follow the on-screen instructions to install alongside Windows or as the only operating system.
• Install the custom Surface kernel: This fixes many compatibility issues. You can add some repositories to the system and install it via the terminal.

So, yeah, that’s my experience with putting Linux on my Surface Pro 3. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, but it wasn’t super difficult either. If you’re comfortable with tinkering around with your computer and following online guides, it’s definitely doable. And honestly, it’s kind of cool to have a Linux tablet. It’s like having a whole new device. I’m still playing around with it, but so far, I’m pretty happy with the results.