Dell XPS 13 9360
This article is for the new model of the Dell XPS 13 released late 2016. For the older model released in 2015, see Dell XPS 13 9343.
The Dell XPS 13 Late 2016 (9360) is the fourth-generation model of the XPS 13 line. It comes with 7th generation Kaby Lake or 8th generation Kaby Lake R processors. Firmware is required in order to get Wi-Fi and Bluetooth operational.
- Intel Kaby Lake or Kaby Lake R processor.
- 13.3" InfinityEdge display (QHD+ 3200x1800 touch display or FHD AG 1920x1080 display).
- Intel HD Graphics 620.
- 4-16 GB LPDDR3 1866 MHz RAM (soldered in to motherboard).
- 128-512 GB NVM Express SSD.
- 2x USB 3 ports.
- USB Type-C port.
- SD card reader.
- Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi (requires firmware) and Bluetooth 4.1 (requires firmware).
Overview
Printout of lspci:
root #lspci00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Device 5904 (rev 02) 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Device 5916 (rev 02) 00:04.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Device 1903 (rev 02) 00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Device 9d2f (rev 21) 00:14.2 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Device 9d31 (rev 21) 00:15.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Device 9d60 (rev 21) 00:15.1 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Device 9d61 (rev 21) 00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Device 9d3a (rev 21) 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d10 (rev f1) 00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d14 (rev f1) 00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d15 (rev f1) 00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d18 (rev f1) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9d58 (rev 21) 00:1f.2 Memory controller: Intel Corporation Device 9d21 (rev 21) 00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Device 9d71 (rev 21) 00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Device 9d23 (rev 21) 3a:00.0 Network controller: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 32) 3b:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Device 525a (rev 01) 3c:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Toshiba America Info Systems Device 0115 (rev 01)
Printout of lsusb (builtin devices, no external devices connected):
root #lsusbBus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:568b Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0cf3:e300 Atheros Communications, Inc. Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Installation
Kernel
USB
USB 3.0 support needs to be enabled for the USB bus to function. USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 can be disabled. Failure to add support for the USB 3.0 bus to the kernel will prevent other hardware from functioning (Bluetooth, SD card reader etc.).
Device Drivers --->
[*] USB support --->
<*> xHCI HCD (USB 3.0) support
...
< > EHCI HCD (USB 2.0) support
...
< > OHCI HCD (USB 1.1) support
NVM Express SSD
In the BIOS set the SATA Controller to AHCI. The default for models pre-loaded with Windows is RAID and Linux will not detect the device unless the BIOS setting is changed.
For required kernel options, see NVMe.
Wireless
SD card reader
Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS525A PCI Express Card Reader.
Device Drivers --->
Multifunction device drivers --->
<M> Realtek PCI-E card reader
<M> MMC/SD/SDIO card support --->
<M> Realtek PCI-E SD/MMC Card Interface Driver
Device Drivers --->
Misc devices --->
<M> Realtek PCI-E card reader
<M> MMC/SD/SDIO card support --->
<M> Realtek PCI-E SD/MMC Card Interface Driver
Integrated webcam
Enable UVC and V4L.
Device Drivers --->
<M> Multimedia support --->
[*] Cameras/video grabbers support
<M> USB Video Class (UVC)
[*] V4L platform devices --->
[*] Autoselect ancillary drivers (tuners, sensors, i2c, frontends)
USB Type-C and Thunderbolt
The USB Type-C root hub is only enabled when a device is connected to the port and requires PCI-hotplug support to function. This should also allow hotplugging Thunderbolt devices.
Bus options (PCI etc.) --->
[*] PCI support
[*] PCI Express Port Bus support
[*] PCI Express Hotplug driver
[*] Support for PCI Hotplug --->
[*] ACPI PCI Hotplug driver
Configuration
make.conf
/etc/portage/make.confCHOST="x86_64-pc-linux-gnu"
CFLAGS="-O2 -pipe -march=native"
CXXFLAGS="${CFLAGS}"
MAKEOPTS="-j5"
CPU_FLAGS_X86="mmx sse sse2 sse3 ssse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 aes mmxext avx avx2 fma3 f16c"
GRUB_PLATFORMS="efi-64"
VIDEO_CARDS="intel i965"
INPUT_DEVICES="evdev synaptics" # Alternatively use libinput
Most users will probably want to enable tap-to-click if libinput is used as the Xorg device driver.
Troubleshooting
No sound card detected
If the "Audio device" doesn't appear in lspci command. You may need to cold boot (no reboot, but actual cold boot) to fix it.
ACPI error in syslog
If an ACPI error similar to below is logged to syslog a BIOS update might be required. An update from 1.0.7 to 1.3.2 solved the problem in at least one case.
[ 0.017217] ACPI Error: [\_SB_.PCI0.XHC_.RHUB.HS11] Namespace lookup failure, AE_NOT_FOUND (20150930/dswload-210)
[ 0.017220] ACPI Exception: AE_NOT_FOUND, During name lookup/catalog (20150930/psobject-227)
[ 0.017248] ACPI Exception: AE_NOT_FOUND, (SSDT:xh_rvp08) while loading table (20150930/tbxfload-193)
[ 0.022535] ACPI Error: 1 table load failures, 7 successful (20150930/tbxfload-214)
The easiest way to perform a firmware update under Linux is by using the firmware update functionality built into the BIOS. Place the .exe firmware update file on the EFI boot partition, hit F12 at boot and select BIOS Update from the one-time boot selection screen. When prompted select the downloaded firmware update file.
Thermal control
If you are unhappy with the default thermal control (fan speed), you may use install sys-libs/libsmbios with the python USE flag and change the thermal mode with smbios-thermal-ctl.