The Endless OS USB Stick supports trying Endless OS without formatting your computer which is a great way to test hardware compatibility if you have the hardware in hand.
See the Installation page for more information.
Endless OS has been tested on a wide variety of different laptop and desktop computers with great results. Under the hood, Endless OS is based on Linux, which features great out-of-the-box hardware support for the majority of modern devices.
We strive to keep Endless OS up-to-date with the latest Linux versions in order to maximize the landscape of supported hardware. However, there are thousands of different computers available from many different manufacturers and occasionally some compatibility issues may be encountered.
Supported hardware is expected to "just work"—plug it in and go.
There are some cases where devices do not work in this way on Linux, but a Linux device driver is available for download. However, such drivers usually cannot be installed on Endless OS.
If you change the hardware in your computer, it is not necessary to reinstall Endless OS; the hardware changes will be detected automatically.
Endless OS will run on most devices with the following minimum specifications:
64-bit Intel or AMD processors are well-supported
32-bit processors are not supported
x86 processors: Endless OS supports PC systems with 64-bit Intel or compatible processors, such as AMD and VIA, also known as "x64" or "x86_64" computers
ARM processors: Endless OS provides experimental support for some ARM64-based platforms such as Raspberry Pi 4; please refer to our Installation page for more information
For the best performance, we recommend solid state (SSD) storage.
Storage (HDD or SSD): A minimum of 32 GB of disk space is recommended so that you can download and install new apps and have space to add your own videos, photos, music, and documents; the Full version may require even more disk space, and custom images can require hundreds of gigabytes of storage depending on included content
Encrypted storage is not supported when dual-booting alongside Windows; note this is the default in the "Professional" edition of Windows 10 and newer
Like other Linux-based platforms, Intel integrated graphics is the best supported option. We also make efforts to keep up-to-date with the latest open source drivers for AMD graphics where device support is improving.
For NVIDIA GPUs, the proprietary NVIDIA driver is automatically installed; this provides excellent performance but the technical support we can provide for such hardware is very limited.
Intel Wireless is recommended for the best compatibility.
Realtek cards are often unsupported by Endless OS or have significant reliability problems. We recommend avoiding them.
Endless OS ships all standard Wi-Fi drivers present in the official Linux kernel; however, in our experience, hardware support and reliability is variable.
Intel wireless cards are the best supported and rarely present any compatibility or reliability issues. If you have a choice, we recommend using Intel Wi-Fi.
Support is present for certain Atheros, Qualcomm and MediaTek cards, but we are unable to vouch for their level of support and reliability.
Realtek cards are extremely widespread. However, our experience shows that more often than not, Realtek cards are unsupported by standard Linux drivers, or have significant reliability problems. We tend to avoid all Realtek Wi-Fi devices when sourcing our own hardware.
Broadcom devices supported by standard Linux drivers are expected to work, but devices that require the wl driver are not supported.
If your wireless hardware unreliable or unsupported, we recommend using a wired network cable, or tethering to your mobile phone with a USB cable. Another option is to purchase a USB Wi-Fi adapter, however those frequently encounter the compatibility issues mentioned above (many tend to be based on Realtek chips...). If you search ThinkPenguin or your favorite large electronics store for "AR9271", you may find some suitable products based on the Atheros AR9271 chipset which are believed to be fully supported.
USB webcams are well supported by Endless OS. This includes external USB webcams and internal webcams connected using a typical internal USB connection.
MIPI webcams are not yet supported by Linux and thus Endless OS.
Some modern laptops based on Intel CPUs (e.g. Dell XPS from at least 2023) have webcams internally connected using Intel IPU6 MIPI technology. This is currently not yet supported by official Linux, and hence such webcams are unsupported by Endless OS.
Webcams that are internally connected using USB technology (which is otherwise the typical design) are well supported.
Almost all external USB webcams and capture cards should work, as they are very standardized.
Nearly all mice and keyboards are supported and should work correctly.
Laptop touch screens and specialist input devices such as joysticks, tablets, etc. may or may not work correctly; we recommend searching online for Linux compatibility notes for the device in question.
AirPrint-certified and Mopria-certified printers are well-supported for wireless printing on Endless OS.
Additional printer drivers cannot be installed or used on Endless OS
Printers and scanners are perhaps the most inconsistently supported peripherals on Linux and thus Endless OS; however, smartphone-compatible printers manufactured in recent years have a high likelihood of working. Please see our Printers documentation for more info.
Many 3G/4G dongles are supported. Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to know in advance if a specific device is supported. You are advised to search online for Linux compatibility notes with the device in question.
The following hardware is not currently supported by Endless OS:
Chromebook hardware is designed to only run Google Chrome OS and is not supported by Endless OS
Apple hardware is designed to run macOS and is not officially supported by Endless OS; depending on the exact model of Mac, Endless OS might work, but this is not tested
M1 or newer Apple silicon devices are not supported
Dual-booting Endless OS and macOS is not supported
Internal webcams connected over Intel IPU6 MIPI
Smart cards/smart card readers
Fingerprint scanners
Internal dial-up modems
Expansion ports: serial/parallel port devices
ASUS Number Pad
ASUS Screen Pad