Static hostname: Macbuntu
       Icon name: computer-laptop
         Chassis: laptop 💻
Operating System: Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS              
          Kernel: Linux 7.0.0-14-generic
    Architecture: x86-64
 Hardware Vendor: Apple Inc.
  Hardware Model: MacBookPro11,4
Hardware Version: 1.0

To access the boot device selection, hold the alt (option) key right after pressing the power button. Once loaded, wait a little to load the usb key often marked as uefi

26.04 is a no-go as of this date for Macbookpro11,4 from 2017. The recent kernel and driver configuration associated make writing on SSD highly unstable. To avoid damage, Ubuntu will regularly turn the whole disk read-only.

Any kernel above Linux 7.0.0-14-generic seems to break the system. So when installing from live usb 26.04.1, keep it offline so it does not fetch a new kernel. And once you've booted in properly installed system, block any upgrade of the linux kernel like this:

sudo apt-mark hold linux-headers-*

There might be kernels between 7.0.0-14 and the current 7.0.0-31 that work. But haven’t taken the time to figure out which ones. Internet seem to complain about the ones starting from 28. — Julien Deswaef 2026/09/20 10:11

After further use and inspection. Could be more an issue in the driver for the SSD. I see a lot of IO errors with the disk even with the 7.0.0-14 kernel although smartmon tells me the disks are sane. Need further investigation. — Julien Deswaef 2026/09/22 11:27

Reverted back to the 22.04 installer. So far, none of the SSD errors seems to have appeared. Kernel 6.8 is the latest one available. 22.04 is valid till April 2027. — Julien Deswaef 2026/09/24 16:40

Upgraded from 22.04 to 24.04 as I remembered that version once worked quite smoothly on the system before. And so far, still no IO errors with the SSD. Still on kernel 6.8. Ubuntu 24.04 is going to be maintained till 2029 so that’s already a better system to keep for now. What is curious is that the 24.04.5 installer did produce errors mostly because I believe it tried to install the 7.0.0 kernel. Something works better installing from 22.04 and then dist-upgrading to 24.04. — Julien Deswaef 2026/09/25 10:12

Installing Ubuntu 22.04 LTS was rather easy. Longest time was downloading the ISO image and burning it on a USB key.

• Launch the installation by pluging the USB key in an open port. Start the computer and keep the Command key pressed.

Things that worked out of the box:

• wifi
• bluetooth
• keyboard & trackpad
• screen detection

Things not recognized out of the box:

• webcam

Following these instructions got the camera working: https://github.com/patjak/facetimehd/wiki

Things that confuse me:

• Command key on MacOS is used to do copy-paste. Ubuntu uses the Control key. Need to see if I can get used to or do some remapping.