This is for trouble-free users of Zorin 17 and 18

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There have been a number of posts about Zorin 18, some positive, some negative.

For those of you who have had a trouble free experience it would be nice if you could post back here with:

  1. Make and model of your computer, indicating whether it is a Desktop or a Notebook.

  2. If a Desktop, what graphics card is present, onboard or separate PCIe Graphics, make and model.
    If Noteboik, Dedicated Graphics (Nvidia or AMD) or Discrete (i.e., Intel/Nvidia).

  3. Onboard Audio or dedicated sound card.

  4. Network hardware; Ethernet make and model, WiFi make and model and if Bluetooth integrated (this will be mainly Notebooks).

Thanks if you respond to this thread.

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I have been using Zorin since version 17 and am currently on version 18. I have only positive things to report; everything works out of the box.

My hardware Desktop:
Hardware: AMD® Ryzen 7 5700u with Radeon Graphics + 32.0 GiB RAM
It was an Asus PN51 Mini PC
Converted to a fanless Akasa Turing A50 MKII8 case

Network hardware:
GbE (Realtek 8111EP 2.5G LAN, Realtek RTL8125B-CG) Intern Mini-PCI-E

Soundcard:
GO XLR
Software GoXLR Utility

Monitor:
ASUS VY279HF Eye Care Gaming 27-inch monitor

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Positive report using Zorin 16, 17 and 18 Core with Wayland on a MacBookPro 14,1 (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports): MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications – Apple Support (UK)
Linux Probe: https://linux-hardware.org/?probe=de8403bbdb
It took me a while to get the camera, trackpad, sound and microphone working properly but now it's a pretty smooth experience and I have now ditched MacOS X Ventura (now out of support). I still have it on a second partition just in case.

My hardware Notebook:
2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, with 64MB of eDRAM (i5-7360U)

Network hardware:

  • Wi-Fi
    • Broadcom BCM4350 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
  • Bluetooth
    • Bluetooth 4.2 wireless technology

Soundcard:
Cirrus 8409 HDA chips

Proprietary chip not supported by GNU/Linux natively. Fixed by installing these drivers: GitHub - davidjo/snd_hda_macbookpro: Kernel audio driver for Macs with 8409 HDA chip + MAX98706/SSM3515 amps

Graphic card:
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640

Camera
720p FaceTime HD camera

Proprietary, not supported by GNU/Linux natively
Installed this driver: Installation · patjak/facetimehd Wiki · GitHub
Followed this to get colours working properly: macbook 12-inch driver issue · Issue #196 · patjak/facetimehd · GitHub

Things that need tweaking to work

  1. Sleep is not working because of proprietary Apple's NVMe controller. Wrote a script to save energy when closing lid: [How To] Reduce energy consumption when closing lid for laptops having issues with suspend

  2. Did this to have battery charging management like Mac OSX, basically stopping charge at 80%: GitHub - c---/applesmc-next: Patches to Linux kernel to allow setting battery charge thresholds on Apple devices.
    Then installed this Gnome extension: Battery Health Charging - GNOME Shell Extensions

  3. Sometimes, when I plug a usb device it doesn't mount automatically. Running this command few times get the device to mount

     sudo lshw

  4. Because of Mac "retina display", I have to use fractional scaling 175%

  5. For Better Trackpad experience
    MacbookPro M1 with Asahi Linux: Fixing the touchpad | devroom.io
    And this for libinput-tools overwride:
    Linux on MacBook Pro Late 2016 and Mid 2017 (with Touchbar) · GitHub

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  • Gigabyte Aorus B450i Mainboard
  • 16 Gig's of Crucial Ballistix RAM
  • AMD Ryzen 3200G (sligthly oc'd) APU
  • Wayland
  • Intel I211 Ethernet
  • Wifi and Bluetooth are disabled, so no Experience with that
  • Audio runs over HDMI

Runs all fine. With Zorin 16, 17 and 18.

1 Like
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Screenshot from 2026-01-31 09-55-49
Screenshot from 2026-01-31 09-55-49645Ă—418 10.1 KB

32 GB of ddr4 3200 mhz ram
everything works fine
started at 16 then to all 3 iterations of 17 then 18
had a small problem with vid driver update but
I manually installed one that works fine

2 Likes
6

Positive report also on second machine using Zorin 17.3 Core (waiting for Zorin 18 upgrade) with Wayland on an iMac9,1 20 inch (Early 2009): iMac (Early 2009) - Technical Specifications – Apple Support (UK)

I did upgrade two things:

  • Upgraded the ram from 2GB to 8GB Crucial
  • Upgraded broken dvd drive with a 500GB SSD Crucial CT500MX200

Everything is very smooth and worked out of the box, a bit slow as it start to show it's age but still usable.

My hardware Desktop:
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor E8135

Network hardware:

Built-in Broadcom BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n, AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification);2 IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible (using open source drivers)
Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)

Soundcard
NVIDIA MCP79 High Definition Audio

Graphic card:
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

Surprisingly works fine out of the box with the NVAC Nouveau drivers

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7

Lenovo Thinkpad T450S, 12GB.2 x 500GB SSD. LAN/WAN, touchscreen, trackpad all work. Fn keys all work as advertised. OS 17.3, no rush to upgrade. I use Variety to manage wallpaper.
I only use Wine to run a Security Camera Client, it takes CPU usage way up there.
I use Thunderbird, Brave and Firefox.

Love Zorin OS, using Core

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8

I jumped across for 18 on my main rig.

Desktop:
i7-10400f
NVIDIA 2060 RTX
590 Drivers
Corsair Keyboard and mouse

Worked out of the box however, mouse and keyboard lights not configurable until
installing extra package.

1 Like
9

HP Laptop, no issues.

System Details Report

Report details

  • Date generated: 2026-01-31 21:48:50

Hardware Information:

  • Hardware Model: HP HP Laptop 15-bw0xx
  • Memory: 4,0 GiB
  • Processor: AMD A6-9220 RADEON R4, 5 COMPUTE CORES 2C+3G Ă— 2
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ R4 Graphics
  • Disk Capacity: 1,0 TB

Software Information:

  • Firmware Version: F.13
  • OS Name: Zorin OS 18 Core
  • OS Build: (null)
  • OS Type: 64-bit
  • Windowing System: Wayland
  • Kernel Version: Linux 6.14.0-37-generic

image
image577Ă—354 13.5 KB

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Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen8

  • Display : 14-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS (non-touch), with optional 3840 x 2160 (4K) display.

  • Processor : Intel Core i5-10310U.

  • Memory :16GB LPDDR3/LPDDR4X (soldered, non-upgradable).

  • Graphics : Intel UHD Graphics (integrated).

  • Wireless : Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0.

Zorin 18 core with xfce DE

No issues with the gear, only my lack of knowledge/understanding.

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image
image626Ă—766 31.4 KB

description: Ethernet interface
product: RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.

    *-pci:1
         description: PCI bridge
         product: Intel Corporation
         vendor: Intel Corporation
        
       *-network
            description: Wireless interface
            product: RTL8822CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
            vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
           
    *-pci:2
         description: PCI bridge
         product: Tiger Lake-H PCI Express Root Port #9
         vendor: Intel Corporation

multimedia
description: Audio device
product: Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation

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12

i have just installed Zorin 18 OS Core then upgraded to Zorin 18 OS Pro.

system spec's ..
HP 24" all in one, its a desktop but with all laptop components.
Ryzen 7 5825u 8C/16T with radeon graphics
64GB SoDimm (2x32) DDR4 3200
NVMe 1TB WD580 Blue M2 type sata 4x4

Zorin installed with no problems or errors and upgraded easily again with no problems or errors.

best of luck Steve ..

3 Likes
13

System Details Report

Report details

  • Date generated: 2026-02-12 09:28:10

Hardware Information:

  • Hardware Model: Framework Laptop 13 AMD Ryzen 7040Series
  • Memory: 64.0 GiB
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 5 7640U w/ Radeon™ 760M Graphics Ă— 12
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ 760M Graphics
  • Disk Capacity: 1.0 TB

Software Information:

  • Firmware Version: 03.17
  • OS Name: Zorin OS 18 Core
  • OS Build: (null)
  • OS Type: 64-bit
  • Windowing System: Wayland
  • Kernel Version: Linux 6.17.0-14-generic

This is a Framework Laptop 13" with the amd 7040. I haven't had any problems. It's fully supported by framework. Everything works.

2 Likes
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image
image648Ă—426 11.4 KB

I change the kernel to whats shown..im testing it for now...so far its working better then the 6.17

1 Like
15

System Details Report

Report details

  • Date generated: 2026-02-13 10:11:39

Hardware Information:

  • Hardware Model: System76 Thelio Mira
  • Memory: 32.0 GiB
  • Processor: 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-13400 Ă— 16
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ RX 6600
  • Graphics 1: Intel® UHD Graphics 730 (ADL-S GT1)
  • Disk Capacity: 5.0 TB

Software Information:

  • Firmware Version: FL Z5
  • OS Name: Zorin OS 18 Core
  • OS Build: (null)
  • OS Type: 64-bit
  • Windowing System: X11
  • Kernel Version: Linux 6.18.7-76061807-generic

Only issues were fan support (system76 driver install corrected this issue) and Wifi does not like 5g connections, frequent disconnects, switched to a 2g connection on my router and wifi is fine.

Bob

1 Like
16

Dual boot with Mint OS .... Zorin 17 haven't tried 18 yet waiting for the bugs to clear out of auto upgrade to 18 .....

Screenshot from 2026-02-14 07-43-12
Screenshot from 2026-02-14 07-43-121920Ă—1080 221 KB

1 Like
17

System Details Report

Report details

  • Date generated: 2026-02-13 16:07:36

Hardware Information:

  • Hardware Model: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. B560M DS3H V2
  • Memory: 16.0 GiB
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-10105 Ă— 8
  • Graphics: Intel® UHD Graphics 630 (CML GT2)
  • Disk Capacity: 256.1 GB

Software Information:

  • Firmware Version: F9a
  • OS Name: Zorin OS 18 Core
  • OS Build: (null)
  • OS Type: 64-bit
  • Windowing System: X11
  • Kernel Version: Linux 6.17.0-14-generic
1 Like
18

Rapport d’informations du système

DĂ©tails du compte rendu

  • Date de gĂ©nĂ©ration : 2026-02-14 10:35:22

Informations liées au matériel :

  • Modèle du matĂ©riel : Packard Bell Easynote ENTE69BH
  • MĂ©moire : 16,0 Gio
  • Processeur : Intel® Core™ i3-5005U Ă— 4
  • Carte graphique : Intel® HD Graphics 5500 (BDW GT2)
  • CapacitĂ© du disque : 1,2 To

Informations liées au logiciel :

  • Version du micrologiciel : V1.35
  • Nom du système d’exploitation : Zorin OS 18 Core
  • Construction du système d’exploitation : (null)
  • Type de système d’exploitation : 64 bits
  • Système de fenĂŞtrage : X11
  • Version du noyau : Linux 6.17.0-14-generic

Upgraded from 17.3 without any problem

1 Like
19

what can I say for my 10 years old laptop

systemd-analyze 
Startup finished in 1.987s (firmware) + 2.499s (loader) + 2.543s (kernel) + 10.200s (userspace) = 17.232s 
graphical.target reached after 10.175s in userspace.
1 Like
20

I have a very elderly MacBook Air (4GB RAM, 256GB SSD) dating from 2013, and early last year, I used it to experiment with Linux Mint. It was not a happy experience – I reinstalled twice and still ended up hating it. But I was anxious to explore realistic alternatives to MacOS and Windows (I run my own business, and we work in an all-Mac environment, albeit with certain apps running in VMs [Parallels Desktop]).

This year, I decided to try Zorin instead. I'd read a lot of good things about it, and since I hadn't touched my elderly MacBook Air since early last year, I pulled it out again and recklessly did a full Zorin install – no dual operating systems, just a complete overwrite. The whole thing went flawlessly – Zorin correctly identified all the hardware, set the trackpad up in the standard Mac fashion, effortlessly connected to WiFi, and runs much, much faster than (the elderly version of) MacOS previously installed on the machine, but also than Linux Mint.

I'm seriously impressed! I'm just experimenting with the Core version at the moment, but have been able to connect to the various online drives we use without any issues, set up file syncing with Nextcloud, and connected up Beeper (our messaging aggregator). We've gradually moved over to apps that aren't excessively platform-specific (with a few exceptions, inevitably), and Zorin appears to support all of them. It also supports the Mac's sleep mode and appears to consume less power than MacOS and Linux Mint (as you can probably imagine, the 13-year-old battery is not great!)

The Software store is a great, highly accessible source of useful apps (especially utilities), and I love the ZorinOS-specific options, as well as the extensive Help files.

If my experiment continues to be as positive as it is at the moment, I shall certainly invest in the Pro version and look seriously at rolling it out on more up-to-date systems. What's impressed me most is that the new install (V18) has essentially rejuvenated an elderly machine that was barely used. Bravo!

6 Likes