Apple M1 is the first chip for Macs from Apple itself. It is one of the most powerful chips till now for any computer. And the Apple M1 chip already available on some of the recent Macs including MacBook Air 2020, Mac Mini 2020, and MacBook Pro 2020. It is a new chip and so there will be many incompatible Apps, Games, OS for some duration. But you can still follow some workaround. And here is a workaround on how to install Linux on M1 Macs.
Although the new M1 Mac doesn’t officially support Apps and Games of different platforms, there are some guides with workarounds. We have also shared different guides for Mac M1 Apps, Games, and Windows. And in this guide will know how to run Linux on M1 Macs.
Apple Silicon M1 chip comes with a different architecture than the Intel chip that Apple was using on its older Macs. And this leads to incompatible issues. It can take some time for developers to adapt to its environment for Games, Apps, OS that supports ARM architecture. Many common apps like browsers, editors, and more.
Linux is a secure OS just like macOS, but it is different in UI as well as performance. And if you like to use commands for managing the OS, then Linux is the better option. Fortunately, you can install Ubuntu on your Mac M1.
Thanks to Corellium team for porting the Raspberry Pi which makes it easier to install Linux on M1 Macs. The latest port brings the latest version of Ubuntu on M1 based Macs. However, there will be some bugs as this is the first port. But on later updates, you can expect better performance. You can follow this guide to get Linux on M1 Macs.
You need to follow some prerequisites before you start the process.
After going through the requirements mentioned above, you can proceed with the given steps to get Linux on Mac M1.
Step 1: First download the Ubuntu POC rootfs from here.
Step 2: Copy the file to your Mac, then extract the bz2 file. You can use the below command to extract the file. You can also extract it with normal procedure.
tar -xjvf ubuntu-20.10-preinstalled-desktop-arm64+raspi.img.bz2
Step 3: Connect and find out the name of your external USB drive. Then copy the image to the USB drive following the below command. Make sure to rename YOURUSBDISK with the real name of your USB drive.
sudo dd if=ubuntu-20.10-preinstalled-desktop-arm64+raspi.img of=/dev/rYOURUSBDISK bs=1m
Step 4: Now connect the USB drive using a dongle via the USB C port to your Mac M1.
Step 5: Boot your M1 Mac to 1TR/Recovery. Turn off your Mac, and then hold the Power button until you see the loading options. Select the Options icon in the next step.
Step 6: Now select the terminal option from the menu bar.
Step 7: In the terminal install the custom kernel using the script given below:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://downloads.corellium.info/linuxsetup.sh)"
Step 8: It will ask for the username and password. Enter the details and it will show ‘Kernel Installed’. Now you can reboot your Mac with the Reboot command.
Step 9: It will boot into Ubuntu, enter Pi as username, and raspberry in the password tab to login.
That’s it, now you can use Linux on your M1 Mac. Most of the program works fine on Linux but there are also some bugs. The known bug in Linux on Mac M1 is you cannot access the internet directly. You need a USB-C dongle to use the internet.
You can enjoy Linux on your Mac with an M1 chip. But what if you want to use macOS after using Linux. Well, it is very easy and simple to get back the macOS.
Reboot your Mac into 1TR/Recovery and open Terminal. Then enter the bputil -n in the terminal and then it will revert back to macOS. Reboot your Mac to access macOS.
So, there you have it, the guide on how to install Linux on M1 Macs like M1 Mac Mini. If you find the guide useful and want more guides related to M1, then let us know in the comment section. Also, share if you have any queries.
[su_button url=”https://t.me/getdroidroms” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#0064c9″ size=”7″]Join us on telegram[/su_button]
