MacBookPro11,x

This wiki page should help you in getting your MacBook Pro (Late 2013) to work with Arch Linux.

Preparing for the Installation

Preparing the hard drive

Assuming you want to dual boot with OS X, so you can update firmware, you have to shrink its partition with Disk Utility. You can either create a HFS+ partition now to override later, or leave it empty.

Installation

Booting the live image

Now, download the latest Archboot ISO, write it to USB, and boot from it by selecting it in the Apple boot loader by holding Alt on boot (use rEFIt if you cannot manage to select it). If you are using a kernel before 3.13 when it comes to the syslinux boot loader, press Tab to edit the entry and append nomodeset to fix screen corruption, do not use nomodeset for kernel 3.13 and above, it is not needed anymore (and it will break vaapi).

Console

Unless you are blessed with extraordinary eyesight, the console font on a retina display will be too tiny to comfortably use. For a more legible version, do:

$ setfont sun12x22

Internet

Note: You can skip this if you use the Thunderbolt or USB-to-Ethernet adapter for the installation.

Wireless

As mentioned below, broadcom-wl is sufficient if you are using the Linux mainline kernel. For custom kernels, you need to use broadcom-wl-dkms. Both are available from the AUR. The easiest way to get Wi-Fi connectivity during install is to build the package driver on a separate system. Note that it does have to be built against the exact same kernel version as used by the installer, and this may differ from the latest version. If built against the wrong kernel you may encounter an error (ERROR: could not insert 'wl': Invalid argument) upon modprobe. Build the package as follows:

$ curl -O https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/br/broadcom-wl-dkms/broadcom-wl-dkms.tar.gz
$ tar -zxvf broadcom-wl-dkms.tar.gz
$ cd broadcom-wl-dkms
$ makepkg -s

This will give you a package (broadcom-wl-*.pkg.tar.xz) which can be installed using pacman. Put this package on a USB drive, mount it, and install the package using:

# pacman -U broadcom-wl-*.pkg.tar.xz
# modprobe wl

You may now use wifi-menu to connect to your network of choice.

Note: You need to repeat this process when you have finished your installation and booting into the system for the first time. If kernel versions differ, you may want to ensure to install a number of essential packages while you have connectivity and before you boot into your system ,

these alow you to build the broadcom driver again and connect (provided you put the AUR tarball for the driver on USB drive too):

dkms,wpa_supplicant, dhcpcd (dialog and netctl are needed if you want to use wifi-menu again after you boot)

The installation

Run the installation wizard. Just kidding. You might want to take a look at the Beginner's guide and become a wizard at standard Arch installs first.

Bootloader

Note: Refer to the MacBook page if you do not want to have a separate partition for GRUB but rather prefer to use rEFInd (or rEFIt).
Tip: If you want to use the native MacBook bootloader, you need an extra partition of at least 128 MiB.

Using the MacBook's native EFI bootloader (recommended)

Method 1: creating an extra apple-format bootable partition with GRUB

This method uses the MacBook's native EFI bootloader, i.e. the one the can be reached when holding the alt-key during boot. For additional info, see GRUB EFI Examples#Apple Mac EFI systems.

Note: For this method you need an extra partition of at least 128 MiB. This partition will be used by the MacBook's native bootloader to launch Arch. It also assumes that you are dual-booting OS X and Arch.
Note: It's possible to avoid the HFS+ partition by using FAT32, this way you can do all the bootloader stuff right from the LiveCD.

At the end of the Arch Linux install process we would normally install GRUB (or a variation) to a partition on the drive. For this method we will place a boot.efi file on an extra partition used by the MacBook's native bootloader.

First, install the grub package from the official repositories. Make sure to follow the steps for setting up grub on a partition using the grub-install and grub-mkconfig commands, like normal. We will use the config file that grub-mkconfig creates to generate a standalone boot.efi file using the grub-mkstandalone command, then we will wipe your just-created grub partition and set it up for Mac's native bootloader (or you can simply create a new partition and leave the grub partition alone, it's up to you). Now, let's do it.

When generating a grub config file, GRUB looks to /etc/default/grub for its configuration. Edit the parameter GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT to look something like this:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet rootflags=data=writeback libata.force=noncq"

The libata.force=noncq parameter will prevent SSD lockups and the rootflags option is used for SSD-performance.

Note: Do not use the rootflags option on Btrfs. It is not supported.

Now we generate the boot.efi file (in our current working directory):

# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
# grub-mkstandalone -o boot.efi -d /usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi -O x86_64-efi /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Put this file on a USB (or other OS X accessible media) and reboot into OS X.

Launch DiskUtility.app and reformat the extra partition (or just make a new one) as HFS+ (in the "Erase" tab of Disk Utility), mount it, then create the following directory structure and file:

$ mount -t hfs /dev/diskXsY <Path to root of extra partition>
$ mkdir -p <Path to root of extra partition>/System/Library/CoreServices
$ touch <Path to root of extra partition>/mach_kernel

where diskXsy is the disk your partition is on (e.g. disk0s1). You can use diskutil list to list your disks and partitions.

Copy the boot.efi file to the <Path to extra partition>/System/Library/CoreServices/ directory. Using your editor of choice, create a SystemVersion.plist file in the CoreServices directory, which is located here:

<path to extra partition>/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist

Edit that file to look like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>ProductBuildVersion</key>
    <string></string>
    <key>ProductName</key>
    <string>Linux</string>
    <key>ProductVersion</key>
    <string>Arch Linux</string>
</dict>
</plist>
Note: It's possible to do the above modifications to/on the extra partition from within Linux (if you've installed the proper HFS tools), but the following bless commands have to be executed from within OS X.

The last step is then to bless (make bootable) the extra partition (as root):

# bless --folder=<Path to root of extra partition> --file=<Path to root of extra partition>/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi --setBoot
# bless --mount=<Path to root of extra partition> --file=<Path to root of extra partition>/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi --setBoot
Note: It might not be necessary to execute both commands, but to be sure it worked it won't do any harm to execute both.
Note: In order to change grub settings both grub.cfg and boot.efi will have to be generated. This can be done from in Linux, without booting OS X.

Generate grub.cfg and boot.efi from Arch Linux:

# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
# mount -t hfsplus -o force,rw /dev/sdXY /mnt # mount the HFS+ partition
# grub-mkstandalone -o /mnt/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi -d /usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi -O x86_64-efi /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Method 2: Using the default EFI System Partition with Grub

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This article is a stub.

Notes: Coming this weekend... (Discuss)

Direct EFI booting (rEFInd)

See: UEFI_Bootloaders

As of August 2013, refind can automatically detect the Arch kernel, removing the need for copying the kernel into the EFI partition. Simply install refind without the EFI file system drivers [1] using the --nodrivers option [2], and enable the scan_all_linux_kernels and also_scan_dirs options in refind.conf (see link above for instructions.).

An alternative way is to omit all the scans and put the following bootentry at the end of your "refind.conf":

menuentry "Arch" {
  icon EFI/refind/icons/os_arch.icns 
  volume <Volume label>
  ostype Linux
  loader /boot/vmlinuz-linux
  initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
  options "rw root=/dev/<arch partition> rootfstype=<filesystem type> libata.force=noncq"
}

Don't forget to replace the angle brackets with your data.

GRUB (with OS X)

Another solution is to install GRUB. Edit /tmp/install/boot/grub/grub.cfg and edit the boot entry to load Linux mainline instead of the normal one.

Note: libata.force=noncq helps with hangs due to SSD speed.

Now cd into /tmp/install/ and create the GRUB image by running:

grub-mkstandalone -o bootx64.efi -d usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi -O x86_64-efi -C xz boot/grub/grub.cfg

This will create file called boot64.efi which contains GRUB and the configuration file incorporated inside. It is important to cd into the right directory to make it pick up the configuration file and put it into the right place within the image.

Copy this file to the MacBook's EFI partition. The downside of this method is that you need to repeat this step whenever you want to change the GRUB config. Reboot the machine and you should be able to select your installed Arch Linux by keeping the Alt button pressed. It should appear as EFI boot.

To generate a nicer config use: grub-mkconfig, remove quiet if you like the text, then to update your GRUB post-installation, do this to make the GRUB EFI file and put it in the EFI partition:

cd /
grub-mkstandalone -o bootx64.efi -d usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi -O x86_64-efi -C xz boot/grub/grub.cfg
sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
sudo cp bootx64.efi /mnt/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi
Note: You'll need hfsprogs to run the above commands

Post installation

Console

Largest console font (although ugly) achieved by adding FONT=sun12x22 to /etc/vconsole.conf It is still tiny but is at least readable.

Graphics

MacBook Pro 11,1

  • Intel works on 3.12 with nomodeset
  • Intel works from 3.13.4-1-ARCH

MacBook Pro 11,2

  • Intel works from 3.13.4-1-ARCH

MacBook Pro 11,3

See HiDPI for information on how to tweak the system for a Retina screen.

If you are using Xfce, you will probably experience tearing in Firefox, VLC, etc. Until newer versions of xfwm support OpenGL rendering, use another compositing window manager like compton with backend = "glx".

Getting the integrated intel card to work on 11,3

By default the integrated card is powered off. To fix this we need a grub function called "apple_set_os". This function hasn't oficially been merged yet, so we need to build grub ourselves. Download the grub-git package from the AUR. Using something like:

$ packer -G grub-git
$ cd grub-git

Get the patch from here: http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2013-12/msg00442.html

Put the patch contents into a file labeled something like "apple.patch"

Add this patch to your PKGBUILD and run:

$ makepkg -si

Reboot into OS X and download gfxCardStatus v2.2.1 (newer versions do not work properly) run the app and specify the integrated card.

Reboot and at the grub prompt typ 'c' to get into console, followed by "apple_set_os" at the prompt.

You should now be able to install xf86-video-intel and get your card running.

Note that the HDMI port and MiniDP are soldered to the nvidia card meaning that to run external displays you need to use the dedicated card.

Sound

If you do not want to hear the annoying sound at system start-up, one way to get rid of it is to turn sound off while under Mac OS.

Volume keys can be made to work with xfce4-volumed (if you are using Xfce).

Also, if you are using PulseAudio, sometimes it thinks HDMI is the default sound card; to solve this problem, install pavucontrol and set Analog Stereo as the fallback device.

Touchpad

One method is to install xf86-input-synaptics and configure to your liking in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-synaptics.conf:

Section "InputClass"
    MatchIsTouchpad "on"
    Identifier      "touchpad catchall"
    Driver          "synaptics"
    # 1 = left, 2 = right, 3 = middle
    Option          "TapButton1" "1"  
    Option          "TapButton2" "3"
    Option          "TapButton3" "2"
    # Palm detection
    Option          "PalmDetect" "1"
    # Horizontal scrolling
    Option "HorizTwoFingerScroll" "1"
    # Natural Scrolling (and speed)
    Option "VertScrollDelta" "-100"
    Option "HorizScrollDelta" "-100"
EndSection

Ctrl-Click as Right-Click

Using this SuperUser receipt [3] I got Ctrl-click working as right-click. I had to increase the sleep time to 0.1 though.

input-mtrack

Another method is to use xf86-input-mtrack-git [4]. If you like to have a thumb resting on the touchpad, this driver is the right choice, because it has an option for IgnoreThumb.

With this config the touchpad behavior becomes more osx-like.

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-touchpad.conf
Section "InputClass"
    MatchIsTouchpad "on"
    Identifier      "Touchpads"
    Driver          "mtrack"
    Option          "Sensitivity" "0.70"
    Option          "FingerHigh" "8"
    Option          "FingerLow" "1"
    Option          "IgnoreThumb" "true"
    Option          "IgnorePalm" "true"
    Option          "TapButton1" "1"
    Option          "TapButton2" "2"
    Option          "TapButton3" "0"
    Option          "TapButton4" "0"
    Option          "ClickFinger1" "1"
    Option          "ClickFinger2" "3"
    Option          "ClickFinger3" "3"
    Option          "ButtonMoveEmulate" "false"
    Option          "ButtonIntegrated" "true"
    Option          "ClickTime" "25"
    Option          "BottomEdge" "30"
    Option          "SwipeLeftButton" "8"
    Option          "SwipeRightButton" "9"
    Option          "SwipeUpButton" "0"
    Option          "SwipeDownButton" "0"
    Option          "ScrollDistance" "75"
    Option          "VertScrollDelta" "-111"
    Option          "HorizScrollDelta" "-111"
EndSection

Keyboard backlight

  • Works, see MacBook#Keyboard_Backlight
  • On KDE the backlight and the increse/decrese brightness keys work fine, but they need upower to start before the desktop. To do this create the file /etc/systemd/system/kdm.service.d/kbd_backlight.conf with this content (you might need to create the directory as well)
[Unit]
Requires=upower.service
After=upower.service

Screen backlight

  • Intel, works on Linux 3.13
  • Framebuffer, works for MacBook Pro 11,1 and 11,3 via /sys/class/backlight/gmux_backlight/brightness.
  • Nvidia, does not work using default settings. Try adding setpci -v -H1 -s 00:01.00 BRIDGE_CONTROL=0 to /etc/rc.local.
Note: If the screen doesn't show the prompt or the login manager (i.e. a black screen), append i915.invert_brightness=1 to the kernel.

Suspend

  • Works on MacBook Pro 11,2 with Linux 3.13
  • No backlight after suspend with Linux 3.12
    • Use hibernate instead

SD Card Reader

  • Disappears sporadically after suspend as of Linux 3.18. Workaround is to create /etc/modprobe.d/xhci-reset-on-suspend.conf with:
  # Reset XHCI USB devices on suspend/resume, fixes SD Card reader vanishing after suspend 
  options xhci_hcd quirks=0x80

Repurpose the power key

By default systemd handles the rMBPs power key as defined in /etc/systemd/logind.conf. By setting

   HandlePowerKey=ignore

systemd ignores power key events.

Now the power key can be repurposed as keycode 124. For example in i3 conf:

   bindcode 124 ...

What does not work

Updated 2015-01-22

General

Wi-Fi

Web cam

  • Listed on PCI bus as: Multimedia controller: Broadcom Corporation Device 1570.
  • In OS X, the camera is listed as FaceTime HD camera 1570.
  • No known Linux driver. Kernel.org Bug

Discussions

See also