I've been reading numerous issues of late regarding big issues with Z18. This is by no means a fault of Zorin but Gnome. I would not be able to cope with the headache of clients getting stressed out on the suspend/screenlock issue.
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I wouldn't recommend Zorin 18 with Gnome desktop to anyone who depends on their computer working. Even my Live USB stick with Zorin 18 crashes almost every day and I have to hard shut down the computer. It is a really frustrating experience with Gnome on Zorin 18 at the moment - and no real solution has been found yet for this problem with the Gnome session crashing (it happens also with no third-party gnome extensions installed and using Xorg or Wayland).
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As I have stated elsewhere, a lot of current Zorin extensions are present which help create the look and feel. They need to drop Gnome and look at a more stable, customisable DE that is easy for Windows migrators to manage. Gnome is in self-destruction mode.
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I can - fortunately - say that I don't have these Problems. But to be fair: I don't need any special Programs and I don't play on PC. So, that makes it less risky. I don't even need to switch to Xorg.
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A client I installed LMDE 7 on also didn't play games and I did not dare risk putting Zorin 18 on it following an issue with a forum poster on a Notebook with 4 Gb RAM.
It's been a fun and wild ride. I will be moving the Zorin 18 Manuals to Internet Archive and then deleting my stuff from murena.io. It is time to finally move on to pastures new ... while I still can.
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The nature of GNOME is that the less modifications you make to it, or rather – the more aligning to developers' vision you use it, the more stable it gets.
I learned it hard way once I installed GNOME on Arch and started to customise it my way.
As for Zorin, I never had issues with GNOME itself – I guess the process of testing is more thorough on Zorin than Arch.
Cinnamon or COSMIC, once the latter gets more mature.
Not wanting to spark a DE war on another forum, but my personal experiences with Plasma don't make it a reliable option.
It would be nice to get a response from the Zorin OS developers on this issue but so far they have been radio silence.
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You have just highlighted the issue with GNU/Linux generally because we are using hardware built for that other OS. It appears people like Chris Titus and Nick from 'thelinuxexperiment' have no such issues with their notebooks running Plasma.
Sadly, I don't think we're gonna hear from them. Their favorite animal must be the ostrich, because like the ostrich, they like to stick their heads in the sand and refuse to confront legitimate, valid criticisms/feedback head-on.
P.S.: I know ostriches really don't put their head in the sand; it's a myth, but still.
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OK. Zorin newbie here, about to install my first Zorin OS - over Ubuntu LTS. I appreciate the fact that everyone is trying to be upbeat and positive. I imagine the devs are working nights trying to resolve the GNOME bugs.
I think it's important to be respectful that, as a FOSS project, the founders are developers not PR or marketing afficionados. They have limited time and probably even more limited budget.
Is it possible OP that you upgraded too soon or maybe you should try a downgrade for your clients?
At the end of the day, there's very few problems in tech that money doesn't solve.
To paraphrase JFK, 'ask not what your Linux distro can do for you. But rather, what you can do for your Linux distro'. 
OP can you rephrase your feedback to suggest what you need from the devs in order to continue offering Zorin OS to your clients? Maybe include a possible solution or manner in which they can achieve this result to your satisfaction?
I'm sure they are super-appreciative of your support up to now...
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im not having any troubles with 18 pro what so ever but then i have removed the 6.17 kernel and was using 6.18.15-3 liquorix i have recently changed to 6.19.3 generic
here is the system thing showing what i have for a system and kernel im using
System Details Report
Report details
- Date generated: 2026-04-11 11:32:32
Hardware Information:
- Hardware Model: ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING
- Memory: 32.0 GiB
- Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900X × 24
- Graphics: AMD Radeon™ RX 6600 XT
- Disk Capacity: 1.0 TB
Software Information:
- Firmware Version: 3636
- OS Name: Zorin OS 18.1 Pro
- OS Build: (null)
- OS Type: 64-bit
- Windowing System: X11
- Kernel Version: Linux 6.19.3-061903-generic
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Thanks. So, you upgraded the kernel and resolved the issues?
Can you marked the thread [solved] or edit the title? Is that possible?
Fortunately, I can also say that I don’t have these problems.
I haven’t even had to switch to Xorg yet.
Everything is working as it should
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This was my thread, and no I can't in all seriousness change it. There was another member on here who had a notebook with 4 Gb RAM and it ran like a dog.
I cannot risk Zorin 18. If I were installing to a dedicated GNU/Linux hardware, then yes, this thread would not exist. But as we all know, hardware was built for that other OS.
The client I put LMDE 7 on had a very poor performing Acer Aspire running Windows 10 with 4 Gb RAM. I think the way Gnome is these days you need 8 Gb RAM minimum.
Compare it with Q40S which has a much lower kernel can run on older kit with only 2 Gb RAM from 2006, albeit not possible to multitask and apps slow to launch by a second or two.
This is why Zorin should not sunset Lite, or offer an alternative like LXQt, LXDE or TrinityDE.
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I hope you will still remain on the board .... I personally feel you are a great asset here on this forum with all your vast knowledge of computers and other operating systems .....
As to the problems with Gnome I left Gnome behind a while back and now run Mint with Cinnamon DE .... I can also run with Zorin 17.3 and Cinnamon DE on another HD as a back-up if needed ..... no way will I even try 18 until all the bugs are worked out and it is much more stable .....
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I will still be around as far as possible. 
It's just the practicality of where I am at. OK, so Zorin is a 'familiar' interface and you have to admit it is familiar to Windows 7 users. That is why I opted for Plasma oriented OS's (LMDE being an exception as the client had heard of it), as with the end of Win10 and for those who like/d using it want something familiar, well PCLOS Debian Plasma and Q4OS can offer a similar feel to Windows 10, the only minor tweak needed is installing Tiled Menu by zren, and preferably Plasma 5.27.xx, which is possible on Zorin 18. Sadly, Zorin 17 can only offer Plasma 5.24 which is nowhere near as versatile as 5.27.xx.
To be fair Cinnamon offers something 'almost' like Windows 10 with its menu in LMDE 7, but not as polished as the Tiled Menu:
or for users wanting to get away from Windows 11:
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My kid's Zorin (2 PCs) is working fine. My daughter's upgrade didn't go well or properly, because the mirror was incomplete and Zorin upgrader clearly didn't check for that before starting the upgrade.
Since then, no problems.
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Have you looked at anduin os? I switched from zorin 18. It also has gnome with arcmenu and dash to panel.
Yes I have ... and I was not impressed.
I won't ever come back to Gnome thanks. They are becoming if not already become, the Microslop of GNU/Linux. Even Anduin can't stop that from happening.
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Just for clarity, the only GNU/Linux distributions I would consider for others are listed on my website page here:
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