Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14" 81x20005us
Summary
In the first part of my review I went over the good and bad I found using Ubuntu 20.04 on the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14" laptop. This laptop a a definite buy and all features of the laptop can be used with Ubuntu 20.04 (and probably any other distro).
I'll provide a quick update on the Good and the Bad list that I want to highlight. Then I'll add some of the steps needed to get the laptop fully working on Ubuntu 20.04.
Follow up
- Battery life is well over 4 hours with heavy use.
- Fan blows out to the rear and under load it isn't noticeable
- Brightness control works but requires Linux Kernel 5.7*
- Brightness control keys are probably in need of some tuning but totally functional
- 16GB RAM (Not Upgradeable)
- NVME SSD 256GB (Single Slot Upgradeable)
- WiFi Module/Card (Looks like a mini pcie slot and is Upgradeable)
- Web Camera (works with boltgolt/howdy facial unlock tool but need a well lit area, no IR)
- Stylus registers as a Wacom HID 5217 device
- HDMI port works with External Display (Registered as Device: AMD RENOIR)*
- Fan can be noisy if you have the laptop in stand mode and under heavy load
- Sleep is working now with the new Kernel*
- More photos below of the Hardware
- See Instructions for updating the Kernel
- Battery life is well over 4 hours with heavy use.
- Fan blows out to the rear and under load it isn't noticeable
- Brightness control works but requires Linux Kernel 5.7*
- Brightness control keys are probably in need of some tuning but totally functional
- 16GB RAM (Not Upgradeable)
- NVME SSD 256GB (Single Slot Upgradeable)
- WiFi Module/Card (Looks like a mini pcie slot and is Upgradeable)
- Web Camera (works with boltgolt/howdy facial unlock tool but need a well lit area, no IR)
- Stylus registers as a Wacom HID 5217 device
- HDMI port works with External Display (Registered as Device: AMD RENOIR)*
- Fan can be noisy if you have the laptop in stand mode and under heavy load
- Sleep is working now with the new Kernel*
- More photos below of the Hardware
- See Instructions for updating the Kernel
Instructions
Installing 5.7 Kernel
Use the mainline tool to update the kernel. Originally described here- sudo apt-add-repository -y ppa:cappelikan/ppa
- sudo apt update
- sudo apt install mainline
- Open up the application mainline and select the 5.7 kernel
In order to boot into this kernel, you will need to set the Laptop to boot "Legacy Mode" because this kernel is not signed yet.
Installing missing firmware, follow the instructions in this post.You should be able to use all the features tagged with '*' from the follow up list.
Photos
Instructions
Installing 5.7 Kernel
Use the mainline tool to update the kernel. Originally described here
- sudo apt-add-repository -y ppa:cappelikan/ppa
- sudo apt update
- sudo apt install mainline
- Open up the application mainline and select the 5.7 kernel
In order to boot into this kernel, you will need to set the Laptop to boot "Legacy Mode" because this kernel is not signed yet.Installing missing firmware, follow the instructions in this post.You should be able to use all the features tagged with '*' from the follow up list.Photos
