Known Issues and FAQ

APT update fails on Ubuntu/Debian based distributions with "Error 401 Unauthorized"

This is a bug in APT, which mangles certain redirect URLs issued by GitHub's CDN (which hosts our releases). The easiest solution is for you to update your distribution to a newer release. Anything based on Ubuntu 21.04 and above (or comparable Debian versions) should work.

Alternatively, a workaround can be found in https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/issues/625#issuecomment-1843506675. In essence, this requires you to install a patched APT version via:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gpxbv/apt-urlfix
sudo apt-get update

sudo apt install apt

If the last command fails, try running

sudo apt install apt apt-utils
sudo apt update --fix-missing
sudo apt upgrade

Speaker noise when headphones plugged in

When audio is played through the headphones the speakers of many devices start making hiss-sounds. The sound goes away a few seconds after the media has stopped.

fix: disable 'auto-mute mode'

sudo amixer sset "Auto-Mute Mode" Disabled

No right-click in Gnome with Type Cover

By default, using 2 fingers will trigger right-click and 3 middle-click. For a traditional right-click experience, run gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.peripherals.touchpad click-method "areas". This can also be set from GNOME Tweaks (install via your distribution's package manager): under the Keyboard & Mouse section, change Mouse Click Emulation to Area.

General info about S0ix

You can check the S0ix achievement by one of the following:

• sudo cat /sys/kernel/debug/pmc_core/slp_s0_residency_usec (If your CPU is Core series)
• sudo cat /sys/kernel/debug/pmc_atom/sleep_state (If your CPU is earlier Atom series like Bay/Cherry Trail. In this case, check S0I3 residency)
• sudo cat /sys/kernel/debug/telemetry/s0ix_residency_usec (If your CPU is Pentium series, I guess this works. If not, try the next one)
• sudo cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuidle/low_power_idle_system_residency_us (CPU-independent, but may not exist below Skylake gen)

The value should be non-zero after suspend (s2idle) if your device entered S0ix.

Further info about S0ix on Linux from Intel:

• https://01.org/blogs/qwang59/2020/linux-s0ix-troubleshooting

Suspend (aka sleep) vs. lid closing/opening events

1. surface_gpe

On at least Surface Pro 4 and Surface Pro 5 there exist cases where closing the lid (aka Typecover) while in Suspend will wake up the device.

As a current workaround, or also to just not be bothered by any lid events with regards to the power state, disable or blacklist the "surface_gpe" module in the kernel:

sudo modprobe -r surface_gpe

sudo bash -c 'echo -e "\n# Blacklisting lid vs. suspend issue module\nblacklist surface_gpe" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf'

Checkout linux-surface/linux-surface#1060 for any updates or fixes with regards to the lid closing issue.

2. ACPI

On my Surface Go 3 (Debian Testing) the surface_gpe appoach doesn't seem to work. Hence, I use ACPI to completely disable all key and lid events to wake the device (or make it sleep). Apparently also the keys were waking my device when it was tightly packed in my backpack.

I created a script to run on startup (https://www.siberoloji.com/how-to-configure-system-startup-services-in-debian-12/#creating-a-custom-service). The script has the following code — check the commented lines to find the right device:

#!/bin/sh
# Disable keys to wake
for device in XHC
do
    if grep -q "$device.*enabled" /proc/acpi/wakeup
    then
        echo $device > /proc/acpi/wakeup
    fi
done

# Disable lid to wake
# Find the lid device: sudo dmesg | grep Lid
# Determine according sys: grep . /sys/bus/*/devices/*/power/wakeup
# Use it (in my case):
echo disabled | tee /sys/bus/acpi/devices/PNP0C0D:00/power/wakeup

Simulate middle mouse button

Since the Surface Typecover does not posses a middle button, which is a convenient feature under Linux for accessing the Primary Clipboard or to open links in new tabs for various web browser, the following command can be used to simulate the middle button (xdotool needs to be installed):

xdotool click --clearmodifiers 2

For instance, one could put the latter command onto the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+v ... to have a primary clipboard paste shortcut.

Alternatively, it might be an alternative to define a middle button through a specific tap area on the Typecover touchpad. (If someone could link an according instruction.)