How to install Debian/Linux on a MacBook Air 6-1 (11-inch, Mid 2013)
Translation(s): none
Macbook Air 6-1 (11-inch, Mid 2013)
~- Sub-models (LIST OF MODEL REFERENCE NUMBER) options :
- Video card Intel Corporation Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics Controller
- Screen size 11"
- Wireless card Broadcom BCM4360
- Disk APPLE SSD SD0128F 128G and Ram 2x 2048MB SODIMM 1600MHz
Overall Status
Core Components |
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Boot Standard Kernel: |
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LAN network card: |
[?] |
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Detect CD/DVD: |
[?] |
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Detect hard drives: |
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Extra Features |
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CPU Frequency Scaling |
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Hibernation |
[?] |
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Sleep / Suspend |
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Xorg |
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- OpenGL |
[?] |
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- Resize-and-Rotate(randr) |
[?] |
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Switch to External Screen |
[?] |
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Mouse |
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- Built-in (Trackpoint) |
[-] |
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- Built-in (Touchpad) |
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Modem |
[-] |
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Wireless/Wifi |
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Keyboard's Hotkeys |
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Sound Card |
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Face Time Camera |
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Legend :
= OK ; Unsupported(No Driver) ; = Error (Couldn't get it working); [?] Unknown, Not Test ; [-] Not-applicable
= Configuration Required; = Only works with a non-free driver and or firmware
Important Note
Installation was done with a Debian Jessie DVD image. The wireless card was configured after the minimal system was installed. Once the network was configured, the system was dist-upgraded to Debian Sid (running kernel 3.12-1-amd64).
Configuration
Display
From Apple site:
11.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
Supported resolutions:
1366 by 768 (native), 1344 by 756, and 1280 by 720 pixels at 16:9 aspect ratio; 1152 by 720 and 1024 by 640 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768 and 800 by 600 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio
Graphics:<<BR>> VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
Subsystem: Apple Inc. Device 011a
Just works out-of-the-box with Intel i915 driver. Install lightum for automatic screen/keyboard brightness adjustment: https://github.com/poliva/lightum
Audio
Audio device: Intel Corporation Haswell-ULT HD Audio Controller (rev 09) Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
Speakers and headphones work perfectly with kernel 3.12-1-amd64.
Mouse
Trackpad works with the multitouch features below when using the synaptics driver (xserver-xorg-input-synaptics 1.7.2-1)
one-finger-tap corresponds to left mouse button
two-finter-tap corresponds to right mouse button
three-finger-tap corresponds to middle-click (paste function)
two-finger drag corresponds to vertical scroll
No three-finger drag.
Power Management
After resume sometimes the computer is unstable, with occasional freezes. Syslog reports multiple instances of:
ata1: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata1.00: unexpected _GTF length (8)
ata1.00: unexpected _GTF length (8)
ata1.00: configured for UDMA/33
ata1: EH complete
ata1: exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x10000 action 0xe frozen
ata1: irq_stat 0x00400000, PHY RDY changed
ata1: SError: { PHYRdyChg }
ata1: hard resetting link
This can be cured with:
echo min_power > /sys/class/scsi_host/host0/link_power_management_policy
See bug https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=62351
As a workaround, put script 00_minpower in /etc/pm/sleep.d :
#!/bin/bash
#power save setting on resume
case "$1" in
- resume)
echo min_power > /sys/class/scsi_host/host0/link_power_management_policy ;;
esac
WiFi
The Broadcom BCM4360 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter works with driver 'wl' in the dkms source for the Broadcom STA (binary-only) device driver. Install the package 'broadcom-sta-dkms' and load the driver 'wl'. (Tested with Jessie and Sid).
System Summary
lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation Haswell-ULT DRAM Controller [8086:0a04] (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0a26] (rev 09)
00:03.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Haswell-ULT HD Audio Controller [8086:0a0c] (rev 09)
00:14.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP USB xHCI HC [8086:9c31] (rev 04)
00:16.0 Communication controller [0780]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP HECI #0 [8086:9c3a] (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP HD Audio Controller [8086:9c20] (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP PCI Express Root Port 1 [8086:9c10] (rev e4)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP PCI Express Root Port 2 [8086:9c12] (rev e4)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP PCI Express Root Port 3 [8086:9c14] (rev e4)
00:1c.4 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP PCI Express Root Port 5 [8086:9c18] (rev e4)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP PCI Express Root Port 6 [8086:9c1a] (rev e4)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP LPC Controller [8086:9c43] (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation Lynx Point-LP SMBus Controller [8086:9c22] (rev 04)
02:00.0 Multimedia controller [0480]: Broadcom Corporation Device [14e4:1570]
03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4360 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter [14e4:43a0] (rev 03)
04:00.0 SATA controller [0106]: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88SS9183 PCIe SSD Controller [1b4b:9183] (rev 14)
lsusb
lsusb -v | grep -E '\<(Bus|iProduct|bDeviceClass|bDeviceProtocol)' 2>/dev/null
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub bDeviceClass 9 Hub bDeviceProtocol 3 iProduct 2 xHCI Host Controller Bus 001 Device 003: ID 05ac:0290 Apple, Inc. bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level) bDeviceProtocol 0 iProduct 2 Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad (Bus Powered) (Bus Powered) Bus 001 Device 006: ID 05ac:828f Apple, Inc. bDeviceClass 255 Vendor Specific Class bDeviceProtocol 1 iProduct 2 Bluetooth USB Host Controller Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0a5c:4500 Broadcom Corp. BCM2046B1 USB 2.0 Hub (part of BCM2046 Bluetooth) bDeviceClass 9 Hub bDeviceProtocol 0 Full speed (or root) hub iProduct 2 BRCM20702 Hub Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub bDeviceClass 9 Hub bDeviceProtocol 1 Single TT iProduct 2 xHCI Host Controller
USB Host controllers entries (without OHCI, UHCI, EHCI) are removed too.
Resources
Attachments
Some configuration files and sample outputs.
Useful Links
Some tips to improve ssd performance: http://apcmag.com/how-to-maximise-ssd-performance-with-linux.htm
Credits