Your path: Mac with the T2 chip
Covers MacBook Pro 13" and 15" from 2018–2020 (excluding the 16"), and MacBook Air 2018+. Identifiers: MacBookPro15,x, MacBookPro16,2, MacBookPro16,3, MacBookAir8,x, MacBookAir9,1. Linux runs, but with real compromises.
We're installing Linux on a MacBookPro15,2 (13″ 2018, 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports) as the first walked-through example. If that's your model too, the per-machine notes are there. As we (and readers) cover more T2 models, we'll add them.
- Effort
- Two unhurried days.
- Cost
- Possibly a USB webcam (around 30 EUR) if the internal camera turns out flaky on your model.
- Risk
- Medium — sleep is flaky, occasional macOS-update regressions, some hardware via community drivers.
- Verdict
- Doable if you accept the caveats below.
What you're agreeing to
The T2 chip handles a lot of your hardware — webcam, microphone, audio, Touch ID. macOS talks to it through Apple-proprietary channels. The Linux community (the t2linux project) has figured out most of it, but Apple occasionally ships firmware changes via macOS updates that affect the Linux side.
Works
- Keyboard, trackpad, Wi-Fi (after installing a custom kernel and extracting firmware — we'll walk through it).
- Touch Bar in function-key mode.
- Speakers, screen, USB-C, Thunderbolt, SSD.
- Webcam — via a community driver. Reports vary by model; some readers get it stable, others see crashes. The t2linux state page has current details. If yours is unreliable, a USB webcam is the no-fuss fallback.
Doesn't work
- Touch ID. You'll log in with a password.
- The hardware video encoder (only matters for video editing exports).
Flaky
- Sleep. Broken by a macOS Sonoma firmware update — closing the lid may drain the battery. Workaround: shut down instead of sleeping. This is the single most annoying thing.
- Microphone works but can be quiet. External USB or Bluetooth mics work normally.
- Bluetooth can stutter when 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi is busy.
If you spend your day on video calls, the maybe-flaky webcam plus the broken sleep adds up to a noticeably worse machine than you have today. Honest question: are you fine with (a) possibly keeping a USB webcam plugged in and (b) shutting down instead of closing the lid? If yes — proceed. If either is "no", keep macOS, or look at ChromeOS Flex.
The plan
- Try it without installing — more involved on T2, but a smart final check if you're committed.
- Backup & prep — back up, sign out of Apple ID, lower Secure Boot, extract Wi-Fi firmware.
- Create the installer USB — T2-patched Fedora. (Coming as we go.)
- Install — boot from USB with external keyboard and mouse. (Coming as we go.)
- Post-install — T2 kernel, Wi-Fi firmware, Touch Bar driver. (Coming as we go.)
- Daily life — apps, photos migration, suspend workaround. (Coming as we go.)
Why Fedora
For most Linux switchers we'd recommend Zorin OS or Mint. On a T2 Mac, that flips. The community project that makes Linux work on T2 (t2linux) targets Fedora and Arch first. Using Zorin or Mint on T2 means fighting the toolchain; using Fedora means following it.
Fedora's desktop (GNOME) is reasonably macOS-adjacent — menu bar at the top, hot-corner overview in place of Mission Control, an app grid in place of Launchpad. Not identical, but the muscle memory transfers within a week.