Dell XPS 15 9560

Standard
Regarding the unsupported fingerprint reader, according to arch wiki, "The fingerprint reader is a Validity/Synaptics model with USB id 138a:0090. There currently is no Linux driver but an open source Linux driver is being developed by reverse engineering the Windows driver.". This implies some or earlier versions have the 138a:0090 version, which a driver is now functional for, however mine has the 138a:0091 version, which is unsupported. See driver development github repository for further information.

Accessories
Some models have touch screens. Some models are 2-in-1 (break apart). I tested on a conventional (non break apart) model with touch screen, however the touch screen has not been tested. A dock exists however I have never seen it and wouldn't personally make use of it. Other reports have described docks in this series as functional, however.

Firmware
BIOS version on receipt was  with.

We need the package to operate the wireless chipset and to provide firmware to upload to the Intel graphics controller to enable things like proper power management.

make.conf
We want to enable a few things in ...

Touchpad
Synaptics touch pad.

You can tune this with a tool, see the arch linux page on synaptics touchpad for more details.

Bumblebee / Primus
Hyrbid Graphics (GPU Switching) is available on the XPS 15 9560. Follow the Gentoo Bumblebee Wiki guide to installing it.

Slow 2D graphics
According to this page slow 2D performance attributed to a BIOS setting can be identified via:

If any line contains the word "uncachable" apparently you need to reboot, enter BIOS, and change an MTRR setting from 'continuous' to 'discrete'. However, on my machine while this is certainly the case, I cannot find such an option in the BIOS.

X11 fails to start with "No Screens Found"
This can be because you have enabled the  EFI Framebuffer Driver in the kernel. Disable it. Only  (Simple Framebuffer) is OK to leave enabled!

Crash on X11 startup
This can occur you have the  driver enabled. You can work around it by adding nomodeset to the kernel command line.

External resources

 * https://www.anandtech.com/print/11670/the-dell-xps-15-9560-review-infinity-edge-part-two
 * https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_XPS_15_9560
 * https://github.com/strelec/dell-xps-15-kernel-config
 * https://browser.geekbench.com/geekbench3/8250863
 * https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-8114160.html
 * https://grahamc.com/blog/nixos-on-dell-9560