---
title: "Installing Linux on a Microsoft Surface Go"
language: en
topics: ["experiment", "linux", "tablet"]
full_article_url: https://willem.com/en/2020-03-09_making-my-own-tablet-os/
---
# Installing Linux on a Microsoft Surface Go

*From creating a bootable USB to a working touch-friendly Linux tablet.*

> The Surface Go is a compact Windows tablet that makes an excellent Linux machine — if you know how to set it up. Here's the practical guide: creating a bootable USB, choosing the right distro, and getting touch input working properly.

The Surface Go's compact size, decent screen, and USB-C port make it a surprisingly good Linux tablet. Willem chose **Debian GNU/Linux** for stability and control.

**Creating the bootable USB:** Download the Debian netinstall ISO and write it to a USB stick using `dd` or Etcher. Boot the Surface Go from USB by holding Volume Down during startup.



**Touch input works out of the box** on recent Linux kernels — the Surface Go's touchscreen is well-supported. The main challenge is choosing a window manager that's touch-friendly: Willem experimented with tiling window managers and custom launchers.

**WiFi and firmware:** The Surface Go's WiFi chip requires proprietary firmware. Install `firmware-atheros` from Debian's non-free repository.

From Willem's full series on [building a tablet OS from scratch](https://willem.com/en/building-a-tablet-os-what-happens-when-you-reject-the-mainstream/).