table of contents
fruity foreword
this page was written on an early 2015 macbook air, running linux, and can i say: woah, that was a lot easier than i expected it to be. getting linux on these things is really not complicated, and is honestly about the same experience as on a typical windows laptop, besides a few minor quirks.
this page only applies to a much smaller group of people than the rest of the guide, and it's not as well-researched or complete, so it can be considered a kind of "side story" to the rest of the guide. it'll be dense in places, and moves pretty fast. i don't expect that to be a problem for most people who get to this page.
apple is dropping support for intel macs, with the very newest ones being relegated to the dumpster by our friend tim cook circa 2028. which is bad and all, but, well...
fruity use case
i talk the dangers of using obsolete versions of windows to death on just about every other page. you don't need to care about that, obviously. and the truth is, those risks are much lower for old macs: there are much fewer mac users than windows users in the world, and mac users tend to be a bit more technical and computer-savvy than windows users, just out of necessity from being a minority. most mac users are also buying a new computer every 2-3 years, something fairly uncommon in the windows world. that makes you a much more difficult target for malware, and if someone does pwn an old version of mac OS, the number of people they can hit is much smaller. so very few people even bother.
if you are stuck on an old mac, the main things you're missing out on are probably new versions of mac-first professional software (think final cut pro, or adobe, or whatever)... which tend to be unreliable on linux, if they work at all, and many of them don't. add the fact that beginner-friendly linux distributions tend to look and act like the late windows 10 rather than macOS by default, and macs are somewhat more likely to have driver issues on linux than windows PCs, and for most mac users, the value proposition of switching to linux is pretty small. i can think of a few major reasons you might want to do it anyway:
- you don't really care about that mac-exclusive professional software, or that you get mac OS in particular. maybe you got your mac as a hand-me-down or a gift, and you're really not a big fan of mac OS. maybe you have a new mac for all that stuff, but you also want to find a use for your old mac that's been collecting dust. maybe, like me, you just found an old macbook air for super cheap on ebay, and decided to try something new (you can get a mid-2010s macbook air for under $50 USD, and they're nicer than modern chromebooks that cost 4x as much!)
- you want something unique that linux can offer you over mac OS. linux has better windows software/games support than mac OS, and our support is getting better and better, very quickly (thanks, steam!). it's also got some great customizability, with a huge "ricing" community dedicated to making pretty, highly customized setups. maybe you'd like some unusual workflows we have in the linux sphere, like our tiling window managers, and our more sophisticated virtual desktop/workspace support. maybe you're interested in the huge ecosystem of free software we have.
- your intel mac is old enough that it's getting a bit slow these days. linux is leaner and faster than mac OS in general (although the difference is much smaller compared to the bloated mess that is windows 11), so for low-end macs, it will probably be a fair bit more responsive than a new version of macOS.
fruity warning
there are, of course, some issues you may have with using a macbook on linux. in general, driver support for intel macs is a bit worse than windows PCs, so you may have some things not work right. my macbook air's webcam isn't detected, and i had to use my phone's USB tethering to connect to the 'net so i could download the driver for the wi-fi card. if you have a fancy touchpad with some special features, like vibration motors or dual-pressure (mine is way too old), those features are likely unsupported or just do nothing on linux. the list goes on.
however, after a bit of troubleshooting, i was able to get past almost all of the issues i had. this macbook air now works about as well as most of my windows computers from the same era!
fruity getting linux
it's a bit harder to suggest linux distributions for mac OS users than for windows users. there are lots of possible options, and each of them has pros and cons. you can read the long answer in the next paragraph, or skip to the TL;DR below that.
the safe option for windows users, linux mint cinnamon, is still a decent option on macs, but being styled after windows 7 and 10 isn't an asset here like it is for windows refugees. there's also fedora workstation and ubuntu desktop, which can be customized to look a fair bit like mac OS, but they're fairly resource hungry (won't be very fast on an especially old mac), and both are fairly divisive - new users tend either to like them, or really hate them. there's elementary os, something like an alternative to linux mint for mac OS users, looking familiar by default and focusing on ease of use and light hardware requirements... but i have no experience with it personally, so i can't offer any advice on installing and using it. i am personally running solus plasma edition (it's the third option at this link) on my macbook air, with a theme installed to make it look more like mac OS. i like this the best of the options... but i already have years of experience with plasma at time of writing, so i'm biased, and the mac users i've talked to seem to be divided on plasma. much like ubuntu or fedora workstation, mac users tend to love or hate it.
tl;dr here: most of you will probably like elementary os, especially those of you on older, slower macs. alternatively, there's the much more popular linux mint cinnamon, if it looking like windows isn't a problem for you. there are other options in the longer paragraph above, if you are adventurous and willing to do a bit more tinkering.
fruity installing linux
to install linux, you will need a USB flash drive - anything at least 4 gigabytes in size will do. this is not optional! go through "how to download each option" below and follow the instructions for the one you like the sound of the most, then skip ahead to "how to make the install media".
how to download each option
if you want to download elementary OS, go to this link. they make it look like you have to pay - you can just put $0 in as a custom price, and it should take you straight to the download. the download link might not work in some older browsers - i had to open it in a modern version of firefox. it'll offer an ARM64 and AMD64 option - select AMD64, since you're on an intel mac. wait for that download to complete, and then proceed to the next section, "how to make the install media".
if you want to download linux mint, go to this link, find "Cinnamon edition", and hit Download. scroll down to "Download mirrors", and pick a link in or near your country. if there isn't any near you, the first link "Cicku" is generally a safe bet. you can also hit "Torrent download: 64-bit" at the top, if you know what a torrent is and how to download one. wait for that download to complete, and then proceed to the next section, "how to make the install media".
if you want to download solus, go to this link and select an edition. i use plasma edition, the third option on this page. hit the big blue "download" button under your edition of choice. wait for that download to complete, and then proceed to the next section, "how to make the install media".
if you want to download ubuntu desktop, go to this link, find the big green button next to "Intel or AMD 64-bit architecture", and hit Download. keep in mind, this option is bigger than the others - you'll want a USB stick at least 8 gigabytes in size. wait for that download to complete, and then proceed to the next section, "how to make the install media".
if you want to download fedora workstation, go to this link, find the download button below the text "For Intel and AMD x86_64 systems", and hit it. wait for that download to complete, and then proceed to the next section, "how to make the install media".
how to make the install media
the easiest way to make a linux installer USB on mac os is using an application called balena etcher. you can get it here: https://etcher.balena.io/#download-etcher. you want the option "etcher for macos", with the arch "X64". it works on OS X 10.10 "yosemite" and later. if you're running an older version of OS X than that, you'll probably just have to use the terminal. (and if you're on a 32-bit mac that's stuck on snow leopard, you're completely out of luck - none of these options will work. sorry... maybe check the 32-bit windows page?)
once you have etcher downloaded and open, you should simply do the following:
- plug in your USB drive. if there are any files on it that you want to keep, you should copy them off first - this process will wipe the drive.
- in "select image" in etcher, you should select the .iso file you downloaded above.
- in "select drive", you should select the USB drive you want to use for the install process.
- hit "Flash!" and wait for it to complete. DO NOT UNPLUG your usb drive during this process.
- once the process has completed, DO NOT UNPLUG your usb drive (yet). right click the drive in finder or on the desktop, and hit eject (or drag the drive to the trash bin). wait at this point - if your USB drive has a light, wait for it to stop flashing. if it doesn't have a light, you should just wait for at least 30 seconds before removing the drive. if you remove the drive too soon, the installer can be corrupted, and installing linux will fail.
- if you unplugged your USB drive too early, or if the installer failed at a later step, you should restart at step 1.
how to install linux
from this stage, installing linux is fairly simple. just do the following:
- plug the install media (the USB drive) into your mac
- if it isn't already, turn the mac off
- press the power button, and then spam press the option key until you hear the chime and see the apple logo.
- you should be greeted by a boot menu with multiple drive options. select the USB drive here with the arrow keys and enter/return. if it is not present at this screen, you probably have to restart at step 1 of "how to make the install media".
- you should now be booting the install media. in all cases, the installer should load up to a desktop environment. if it hits an error and fails to boot, or drops you to a text prompt, you probably have to restart at step 1 of "how to make the install media".
- you may not have wi-fi connection in the installer environment. in that case, you will have to either plug in an ethernet cable, or do what i did: plug your smartphone in to a second USB port on your mac, and enable USB tethering on your phone to share the phone's network connection with the computer. this is called "Personal Hotspot" on iOS, and "Use connection for USB tethering" on android.
- from here, there should be an obvious "Install" button on the desktop, or the media should take you straight into an install wizard. follow the instructions in the environment from here on out, and when they are completed, you will have a full linux installation on your mac.