Install Debian GNU/Linux to a Surface Tablet

This is for a later model Surface, not the early release that requires jailbreaking.

The 'nonfree' drivers will be necessary for functionality like wifi, so it would be wise to use the "unofficial" iso: https://cdimage.debian.org/images/unofficial/non-free/images-including-firmware/

Make a bootable USB with an ISO burning application (I use Etcher 1.4.4 or below; the later versions have ads)

Dual Boot Debian and Windows

Free up some space by using Windows' built-in partition tool.

In Windows, search "partition" - the Disk Manager application should show
Right-click a volume (the main disk/largest volume) in either pane and select the "Shrink Volume" option
Enter how many MB you’ll need. For a non-gui Debian install, you can probably do 10-12 GB if you don't intend to keep a lot of files.

Disable Secure Boot

In Windows:

Settings > Change PC Settings > General > Advanced Startup

After reboot:

Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > UEFI Firmware Settings
Select Secure Boot Control [Enabled] > change to [Disabled] > Exit Setup

Caveats

Assuming your Surface has 1 USB port, if you're also running this install off of a USB, you're going to have to install a lot of dependencies post-install. If you have a dual-USB adapter (so you can run 2 USBs at once), you can skip a lot of post-install steps.

Boot the ISO and Begin Installation

If the USB doesn't auto-boot, go into the BIOS and re-order the boot order, with USB loading first Proceed with an install. Caveat if using the GUI installer (not the same as installing a desktop environment/GUI – just a visually easier' way to install), the mouse doesn't work out of the box (use tab key to move around)

If you've installed via USB + kept the ethernet adapter plugged in, your setup should work as-expected, out of the box (except for wifi)

After Installation

The new install should have installed Grub and will boot straight into Debian.

Check for network interfaces:

ip a

If you only see:

1: lo: mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00

inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo

valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

lo is the loopback/localhost interface. If its the sole interface, grab a Microsoft ethernet adapter and stick it in the USB port (the Mac USB adapters did not work). Re-running the command should then show the presence of eth0 (but renamed, to something like: enxf01dbcf51610) – general rule of thumb: ‘e' = ethernet, 'w’ = wifi

If you see the wifi interface, skip all of the below!

Now that the ethernet is present:

Configure the ethernet networking bash pico /etc/network/interfaces

Add the following:
auto enxf01dbcf51610
allow-hotplug enxf01dbcf51610
iface enxf01dbcf51610 inet static
address 172.16.1.21
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 172.16.5.1
If you want to have dhcp rather than static, on line 3 change static to dhcp and omit lines 4-6.

Test it:
ping 1.1.1.1
user@debian# ping 1.1.1.1

PING 1.1.1.1 (1.1.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data.

64 bytes from 1.1.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=56 time=9.47 ms

64 bytes from 1.1.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=56 time=9.89 ms

.. network connectivity is active; but no DNS (try pinging a ‘friendly’ name)

Add DNS capability:
pico /etc/resolv.conf
Append the following:
nameserver [your dns ip here]
nameserver [your failover dns ip here]
search [your dns domain]
Test it:

ping [your dns domain]

PING your dns domain 56(84) bytes of data.

Total network capabilities are now active (except wifi). ... if you had a dual adapter, you could have installed them during setup!

To fix that, we needed the network connectivity so we can use apt. But first, we need to figure out what drivers were needed:

Check the kernel logs

su - and switch to root user (assuming the sudo package isn’t installed, of course. Either/or will work)
dmesg | grep wifi
You'll see logs referencing missing firmware, the important component is the piece referencing the firmware binary the kernel is looking for: mrvl/xxx_uapsta.bin (Changed as I don't know if all models use the same firmware, so do your own legwork on this part)

With that info, plop it into a search engine: xxx uapsta debian and you'll encounter this page: https://packages.debian.org/buster/firmware-libertas - CNTRL +F the page for the above filename and when found, you’ll know this is the missing package you need.

Adding the Proper APT Repo

For whatever reason, the initial install only had the security repos in /etc/apt/sources.list which would prevent us from ever downloading the drivers (the nonfree repos aren't there).

Simple fix:
pico /etc/apt/sources.list
Append the following:
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ buster main non-free contrib
deb-src http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ buster main non-free contrib
Check your Debian version! If you are not running buster (10.x), then you need to adjust the codename from buster to whatever OS version you have (stretch is 9.x, for example).

Do not ever mix OS repos unless you want a broken system!

Don't add Ubuntu repos, either. Ubuntu and Debian are not the same, despite Ubuntu being based on Debian.

After the apt list is saved, update the apt cache:
apt update
You’ll see the repo’s now being pulled in.

Install the missing wifi firmware

The firmware-libertas package located earlier is now ready to be installed via apt:
apt install firmware-libertas
The firmware is loaded at boot time, so do a simple reboot of the OS.

When it loads back up:
ip a
3: wlp3s0: mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000

Wifi interface is now active!

install-debian-surface-tablet.md 5.8 KB Historik Rå