MacBook Pro 13" 2017 — Ubuntu / Xubuntu 26.04 Hardware Guide

Complete hardware support guide and drivers for MacBook Pro 13" 2017 (MacBookPro14,1) running Ubuntu 26.04 (GNOME) or Xubuntu 26.04 (Xfce 4.20).

Covers: Audio · GPU · Bluetooth · WiFi · Camera · Thunderbolt · Battery · Fan · Touchpad · Suspend · Color Calibration

Hardware Status

Component	Chip	Status	Fixed by
Audio (speakers + headphones)	Cirrus CS8409 / CS42L83	✅ Works	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 0
Audio (microphone)	Cirrus CS8409	✅ Works	PipeWire filter-chain DSP (noise gate + autogain) — `macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 0
Intel GPU	Iris Plus 640 (Kaby Lake GT3)	✅ Works + VA-API	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 1
WiFi	Broadcom BCM4350	✅ Works	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 3
Bluetooth	Broadcom BCM4350C0 (UART)	⚠️ SMC Reset needed once; firmware patch not installed (no measured effect)	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 2 · `bluetooth/bluetooth.sh`
FaceTime HD Camera	Broadcom 720p PCIe 14e4:1570	⚠️ Needs driver	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 4
Thunderbolt 3	Intel Alpine Ridge 4C (JHL6540)	✅ Works	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 5
Battery & Thermal	Intel i5-7360U + applesmc	✅ Works	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 6
Fan control	applesmc + mbpfan	✅ Works (max cooling profile: 4500 RPM min, 30°C trigger)	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 7
Keyboard backlight	Apple SPI LED	✅ Works	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 7
Touchpad	Apple SPI Touchpad	✅ Works	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 8
Apple SPI Keyboard	Apple SPI Keyboard	✅ Works	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 8
Screen brightness	Intel i915 backlight	✅ Works	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 9
Suspend/Sleep	Intel S0ix / s2idle	✅ Works (s2idle + NVMe d3cold fix)	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 9
NVMe Storage	Apple SSD AP0256J	✅ Works natively	—
USB 3.0	Intel xHCI	✅ Works natively	—
Display color calibration	Apple factory ICC profile	✅ Works	`macbook_hardware_fixer.sh` step 11

Known Limitations

Battery life: expect under 4 hours. Panel Self-Refresh (PSR), NVMe APST, and Thunderbolt power management are not fully working — these components consume more power than on macOS.
Audio microphone input: raw level is very low (CS8409/CS42L83 outputs the signal without hardware amplification). Fixed automatically by the PipeWire filter-chain DSP installed by macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 0 — the virtual source "MacBook Pro Mic (DSP)" applies noise gate + auto-gain and is set as default capture device.
Bluetooth A2DP audio: choppy A2DP is usually the baud rate, fixed by the one-time SMC Reset (see Bluetooth section below). Basic scan and pairing work without firmware, and the firmware patch has no measured effect on A2DP — see firmware/README.md.
Suspend/resume: works with s2idle + NVMe d3cold fix (both applied by macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 9). Even so, resume may be slow in some cases.

Auto-boot on lid open: the MacBook Pro 2016/2017 powers on automatically when the lid is opened. To disable this from Linux:

sudo sh -c 'printf "\x07\x00\x00\x00\x00" > /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/AutoBoot-7c436110-ab2a-4bbb-a880-fe41995c9f82'

If you get "No space left on device", first clean up stale EFI dump variables:

for i in $(find /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/ -name 'dump-type0*'); do sudo chattr -i "$i" && sudo rm "$i"; done

Fresh Install Quick Start (Ubuntu 26.04)

On a brand new Ubuntu 26.04 installation on a MacBook Pro 13" 2017, run in order:

Step 1 — Install build dependencies:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y \
    build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r) make patch wget git dwarves

dwarves provides pahole, required for BTF generation when building the kernel module. Without it the build still succeeds but emits a "pahole version differs" warning. macbook_hardware_fixer.sh installs it automatically if missing.

Step 2 — Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/vrilutza/MacBookPro14.1.git
cd MacBookPro14.1

Step 3 — Install all hardware drivers (Audio, GPU, Bluetooth, WiFi, Camera, Thunderbolt, Battery, Fan, Keyboard backlight, Touchpad, Suspend, Display color calibration):

sudo ./macbook_hardware_fixer.sh

Step 4 — Reboot:

sudo reboot

Step 5 — Verify everything was applied correctly:

# Full hardware check (all 12 steps including audio + color calibration):
./tests/verify-hardware.sh
sudo ./tests/verify-hardware.sh   # for complete Bluetooth config check

# Audio-only check:
./tests/verify-installation.sh

Collect debug logs for troubleshooting

If verification reports a missing CS8409 module, generate a full diagnostics file with:

sudo ./tests/collect-logs.sh /tmp/macbook-diag-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).txt

That file includes the CS8409 module layout and a suggested fix when the driver is present only in updates/dkms.

Hardware Components

1. Intel GPU — Iris Plus 640 (VA-API)

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 1

Installs VA-API drivers for hardware-accelerated video decoding (H.264, HEVC):

sudo apt-get install -y intel-media-va-driver i965-va-driver vainfo

Verify:

vainfo   # should list VAProfileH264*, VAProfileHEVC* entries

2. Bluetooth — BCM4350C0

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 2 · standalone: bluetooth/bluetooth.sh

The chip self-identifies as BCM4350C0 (macOS marketing name: BCM2E7C). It is a UART chip (not USB) — connected via serial0/ttyS4, and it works from internal ROM.

No firmware patch is installed, by this script or any other in the repo. Across three cold boots the controller's HCI fingerprint was byte-identical with and without it, and a build with the wrong launch address takes the controller off the UART entirely. The blob and its converter stay in firmware/bluetooth/ for anyone who wants to experiment; firmware/README.md has the numbers and the manual steps.

If you do install one by hand, note that a mainline kernel requests /lib/firmware/brcm/BCM.hcd and no other name on this machine — a file called BCM4350C0.hcd is never read.

SMC Reset — required ONCE after migrating from macOS

The BCM4350C0 chip retains the baud rate set by macOS (3 Mbaud). Linux uses 115200 baud → the driver times out → hci0 never appears. This is the most common cause of "no Bluetooth after Ubuntu install".

Fix (done once — never needed again):

Shut down completely (not restart)
Hold simultaneously for 10 seconds: Shift(left) + Ctrl(left) + Option(left) + Power
Release all keys, press Power normally to start

After SMC Reset the chip resets to factory baud rate and hci0 will appear.

Important: Never apply USB firmware (files with 0a5c in the name) to this chip. USB firmware corrupts the UART baud rate and makes BT non-functional until another SMC Reset. macbook_hardware_fixer.sh automatically removes any such wrong symlinks.

What the script fixes:

Removes wrong USB firmware symlinks (BCM4350C5-0a5c-*.hcd) that break the UART chip
bluez 5.65+ config bug: AutoEnable moved from [General] to [Policy]
Creates /etc/udev/rules.d/60-bluetooth-macbook.rules to bring hci0 up automatically
WirePlumber: disables A2DP → HFP/HSP auto-switch (prevents AirPods Pro dropouts)

Firmware patch — not installed, opt-in only. No measured effect on this chip, and a wrong build costs you the controller. See firmware/README.md before trying it.

Verify:

hciconfig hci0           # should show: UP RUNNING
rfkill list bluetooth    # Soft blocked: no
journalctl -b -k | grep "hci0.*BCM"   # should NOT show "firmware Patch file not found"

3. WiFi — Broadcom BCM4350

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 3

Works out of the box with the brcmfmac kernel driver. The script applies optimisations:

Disables WiFi power save (causes latency spikes) via NetworkManager: /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/99-wifi-powersave-off.conf
Sets roamoff=1 via /etc/modprobe.d/brcmfmac-macbook.conf (power_save removed in kernel 6.x)
Installs macOS NVRAM (board-specific RF calibration) from firmware/wifi/:
- brcmfmac4350-pcie.Apple Inc.-MacBookPro14,1.txt (model-specific, kernel prefers this)
- brcmfmac4350-pcie.txt (generic fallback)
- Symlinks for kernel 6.6+ which reports the chip as brcmfmac4350c2-pcie (BCM4350 rev C2): brcmfmac4350c2-pcie.Apple Inc.-MacBookPro14,1.txt → model-specific NVRAM brcmfmac4350c2-pcie.txt → generic fallback
The macOS NVRAM is calibrated for boardid=0x170 (hawaii platform) and improves WiFi range, 5 GHz stability, and regulatory compliance vs the generic Linux NVRAM.
5 GHz band preference: set per-connection (the wifi.band=a key is invalid in NetworkManager conf.d files — NM ignores it and logs a warning):
```
nmcli connection modify "YourWiFiName" 802-11-wireless.band a
```

Set regulatory domain (if channels are limited):

sudo iw reg set RO   # replace RO with your country code

Verify:

lsmod | grep brcmfmac
ip link show          # should show wlp* interface UP

4. FaceTime HD Camera — Broadcom PCIe

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 4

The camera (PCIe 14e4:1570) requires the third-party facetimehd driver:

Firmware downloaded from Apple CDN via patjak/facetimehd-firmware
Kernel module compiled from patjak/facetimehd

If the module fails to compile (kernel too new), check https://github.com/patjak/facetimehd for kernel compatibility.

Verify:

lsmod | grep facetimehd    # module loaded
ls /dev/video*             # /dev/video0 should exist

5. Thunderbolt 3 — Intel Alpine Ridge 4C

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 5

Works out of the box. The bolt daemon handles device authorisation:

boltctl list                      # list connected TB3 devices
boltctl enroll <device-uuid>      # authorise a device permanently

Or use GNOME Settings → Privacy → Thunderbolt.

Note: Thunderbolt power management is incomplete — TB ports consume power even with no devices attached, contributing to reduced battery life.

6. Battery & Thermal — TLP + thermald + RAPL limits

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 6

Why Linux runs hotter than macOS

The i5-7360U has a 15W TDP. macOS Ventura enforces PL1=15W / PL2=25W (Intel spec). Linux BIOS defaults leave PL1=100W / PL2=125W — the CPU can sustain turbo boost (3.5 GHz) indefinitely, generating much more heat than on macOS.

The script fixes this with two mechanisms:

Fix	What it does
`macbook-rapl-limits.service`	Sets PL1=20W, PL2=40W on every boot, runs after `thermald`
`/etc/tlp.d/50-macbook-pro14-1.conf`	Disables turbo on battery, sets HWP to `balance_power` on battery / `performance` on AC

Note — thermald interaction: thermald dynamically adjusts RAPL limits via DPTF. The service is ordered After=thermald.service so it always applies last and its values are not overridden at boot. If you later run systemctl restart thermald, re-run systemctl restart macbook-rapl-limits to restore the correct limits.

Why PL1=20W and not the stock 15W or cTDP-up 28W:

15W: leaves performance on the table — CPU throttles to 2.3 GHz under load
28W: exceeds heatsink capacity (thermal resistance ~2.0°C/W at max fan → 81°C sustained → thermal throttle)
20W sweet-spot: sustains 2.8–3.0 GHz continuously at ~65°C with aggressive fan — no throttle, no overheating

Expected result after reboot: 10–20°C lower at sustained load vs BIOS defaults (100W).

# Check current RAPL limits:
cat /sys/class/powercap/intel-rapl/intel-rapl:0/constraint_0_power_limit_uw   # should be 20000000 (20W)
cat /sys/class/powercap/intel-rapl/intel-rapl:0/constraint_1_power_limit_uw   # should be 40000000 (40W)

# Check RAPL time windows (Intel Kaby Lake U spec):
cat /sys/class/powercap/intel-rapl/intel-rapl:0/constraint_0_time_window_us   # should be 976563  (~1s)
cat /sys/class/powercap/intel-rapl/intel-rapl:0/constraint_1_time_window_us   # should be 27343000 (~28s)

# Check RAPL service:
systemctl status macbook-rapl-limits

# Check TLP config applied:
sudo tlp-stat -p | grep -E "HWP|BOOST|PERF"

# Check CPU temperature:
sensors | grep "Package\|Core"

# Per-process power usage:
sudo powertop

TLP configuration (/etc/tlp.d/50-macbook-pro14-1.conf):

Setting	AC	Battery
CPU governor	powersave	powersave
HWP policy	performance	balance_power
HWP dynamic boost	ON	OFF
Platform profile	performance	low-power
Turbo boost	ON	OFF (−10–15°C)
PCIe ASPM	default	powersupersave
Runtime PM	on	auto

Configure battery charging thresholds (extend long-term battery health):

sudo nano /etc/tlp.conf
# Add:
BAT0_CHARGE_THRESH_START=20
BAT0_CHARGE_THRESH_STOP=80
sudo tlp start

Note: power-profiles-daemon (GNOME default) conflicts with TLP. The script removes it automatically.

7. Fan Control, Temperature Sensors, Keyboard Backlight — applesmc

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 7

Read temperatures and fan speed:

sensors        # CPU temp, chassis temp, fan RPM (after reboot)

Fan control: mbpfan is installed with an aggressive cooling profile tuned for the i5-7360U. The profile (tested on Ubuntu 26.04) keeps the Mac cooler than the default:

Setting	Value	Reason
`min_fan1_speed`	4500 RPM	Always spinning fast — maximum baseline cooling
`low_temp`	30°C	Fan ramps at even minor load — catches any workload early
`high_temp`	40°C	Ramps up quickly
`max_temp`	48°C	Full speed above this — CPU rarely exceeds 70°C
`polling_interval`	1 s	Fast response to temperature spikes

Config at /etc/mbpfan.conf. Combined with the RAPL 20W limit (step 6), this keeps the Mac at ~65°C sustained under full load. Fan noise is constant (~4500–6000 RPM) — by design: cooling priority over silence.

Live monitor (run manually in any terminal):

macbook-monitor   # colour-coded fan RPM + CPU temps, Ctrl+C to quit

Keyboard backlight:

# Read current / max brightness:
cat /sys/class/leds/spi::kbd_backlight/brightness
cat /sys/class/leds/spi::kbd_backlight/max_brightness

# Set brightness (0–255):
echo 255 | sudo tee /sys/class/leds/spi::kbd_backlight/brightness

The script sets maximum brightness on every boot via systemd-tmpfiles (/etc/tmpfiles.d/macbook-kbd-backlight.conf).

8. Touchpad & Keyboard — libinput

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 8

Configured automatically for both Wayland (via gsettings) and X11 (via /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/40-macbook-libinput.conf):

Tap-to-click
Natural scroll
Two-finger scroll
Clickfinger (1-finger = left, 2-finger = right, 3-finger = middle)
Disable-while-typing
PalmDetection — prevents cursor jumps when palms touch the trackpad while typing
TappingButtonMap = lrm — 1-finger tap = left, 2-finger = right, 3-finger = middle

Fn key behaviour (set via hid_apple fnmode):

# Current mode:
cat /sys/module/hid_apple/parameters/fnmode

# F1-F12 as function keys (default after script): fnmode=1
# F1-F12 as media keys (Apple default): fnmode=0
# Change persistently: edit /etc/modprobe.d/hid-apple-macbook.conf

9. Screen Brightness + Suspend/Sleep

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 9

Screen brightness (no root needed after adding user to video group):

brightnessctl set 50%
brightnessctl set +10%
brightnessctl set 10%-

Lid-open auto-boot (step 9): macOS sets an EFI variable that causes the MacBook Pro to power on automatically when the lid is opened. The script disables this:

printf '\x07\x00\x00\x00\x00' | sudo tee /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/AutoBoot-7c436110-ab2a-4bbb-a880-fe41995c9f82

Applied once at install time. If you see "No space left on device", clear stale EFI dump variables first (see Known Limitations).

Suspend: MacBook Pro 14,1 requires two fixes for reliable suspend/resume:

Fix	What it does	Applied by
`mem_sleep_default=s2idle` in GRUB	Uses Intel S0ix instead of broken S3	script + `update-grub`
NVMe d3cold disabled (`macbook-nvme-d3cold.service`)	Prevents NVMe from entering D3cold, which breaks resume	systemd service

# Check current sleep mode (should show [s2idle]):
cat /sys/power/mem_sleep

# Check NVMe d3cold status (should be 0):
cat /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:01:00.0/d3cold_allowed

# Check service:
systemctl status macbook-nvme-d3cold

Reference: https://github.com/Dunedan/mbp-2016-linux#suspend--hibernation

Hibernate / SuspendThenHibernate (optional — not configured by the script):

macOS uses hibernatemode=3 (hybrid sleep): RAM stays powered AND is saved to disk. After ~3 hours on battery (standbydelaylow=10800) the machine enters full hibernate.

On Linux this is not configured because:

Hibernate requires a swap partition or swap file ≥ RAM size (16 GB for this Mac)
The Apple SSD NVMe controller's behaviour under hibernation is not well tested
s2idle (mem_sleep_default=s2idle) works reliably and is sufficient for daily use

If you want to enable SuspendThenHibernate manually on Ubuntu 26.04:

# 1. Create a swap file >= your RAM size (e.g., 16 GB)
sudo fallocate -l 16G /swapfile && sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile && sudo swapon /swapfile
echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

# 2. Get swap file offset (needed for hibernation resume)
sudo filefrag -v /swapfile | awk 'NR==4{print $4}' | tr -d '.'

# 3. Add to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub:
#    resume=/dev/nvme0n1p2 resume_offset=<offset_from_step_2>
# 4. Enable SuspendThenHibernate
sudo systemctl enable systemd-hibernate-resume@$(findmnt -n -o SOURCE /)
echo 'HandleLidSwitch=suspend-then-hibernate' | sudo tee /etc/systemd/logind.conf.d/hibernate.conf
sudo mkdir -p /etc/systemd/logind.conf.d
sudo tee /etc/systemd/sleep.conf.d/hibernate.conf << 'EOF'
[Sleep]
HibernateDelaySec=10800
EOF

Note: On MacBook Pro 14,1 the NVMe controller is Apple-proprietary (not standard NVMe). Hibernate has not been tested on this specific hardware. Proceed at your own risk.

10. Audio — Cirrus Logic CS8409

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 0 (calls install.cirrus.driver.sh internally)

The internal speakers and headphone jack use a Cirrus Logic CS8409 HDA codec with CS42L83 / MAX98706 / SSM3515 / TAS5764L amplifiers. This requires a custom out-of-tree kernel module.

Install:

sudo ./install.cirrus.driver.sh

DKMS (auto-rebuilds module on kernel upgrades — recommended):

sudo ./install.cirrus.driver.sh -i    # install with DKMS
sudo ./install.cirrus.driver.sh -r    # remove DKMS registration

The installer now ensures the built module is present in /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates/codecs/cirrus/ even when DKMS stores the active module under updates/dkms.

Remove driver:

sudo rm /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates/codecs/cirrus/snd-hda-codec-cs8409.ko
sudo depmod -a

GNOME sound settings:

Output: set to Analogue Stereo Output
Input: set to Analogue Stereo Duplex

Microphone: the recorded level is low (same as macOS raw level — CS8409/CS42L83 outputs the raw signal; Apple applies DSP in CoreAudio, not in hardware). The script installs a system-level PipeWire filter-chain (no GUI required) with:

Noise gate (LADSPA gate_1408, threshold −26 dB — removes fan noise between speech)
Auto-gain compressor (LADSPA sc4_1882, makeup +18 dB — normalises input level)

The virtual source "MacBook Pro Mic (DSP)" is set as the default capture device via WirePlumber — transparent to all applications (video calls, recording software, etc.). To bypass DSP and use the raw mic, select the original source in your audio settings.

NOTA BENE: The direct hardware device hw:0,0 and plughw:0,0 have NO volume control and will be VERY loud.

Test audio:

aplay tests/StereoTest32.wav                              # normal (respects volume)
aplay -D hw:0,0 tests/StereoTest32_reduced_m24dB.wav     # direct hardware (-24 dB)

Supported kernels: Ubuntu 26.04 kernel 6.17+ and 7.0+. The install script handles the 6.17 source directory reorganisation automatically.

Technical notes (audio hardware internals): see NOTES.md.

11. System & Development Optimizations

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 10

Applied automatically — no extra tools needed. All settings are persistent across reboots.

Optimization	Config file	Impact
ZRAM (lz4, 50% RAM)	`/etc/systemd/zram-generator.conf`	No more freezes during `cargo build` / `docker pull`
vm.swappiness = 10	`/etc/sysctl.d/60-macbook-dev.conf`	Keeps data in RAM 6× longer before swapping
inotify = 524288	same	VSCode / IntelliJ / webpack HMR work without error
BBR TCP	same	30-50% faster `git clone`, `npm install`, `docker pull` over WiFi
TCP buffers	same	Better throughput for large transfers
NVMe I/O scheduler: none	`/etc/udev/rules.d/61-nvme-scheduler.rules`	Lowest possible disk latency
fstab noatime	`/etc/fstab`	Reduces NVMe write amplification on every file read
earlyoom	`/etc/default/earlyoom`	Kills hungry processes at 10% free RAM → no freeze
ulimits (nofile=65536)	`/etc/security/limits.d/60-macbook-dev.conf`	Node.js / Docker / JVM open many file descriptors
i915 FBC + PSR	`/etc/modprobe.d/i915-macbook.conf`	Saves 1-2W GPU power → cooler, longer battery
HiDPI 2× scaling	gsettings (GNOME) / xfconf-query (Xfce)	2560×1600 Retina display — without this text is microscopic
Fractional scaling	gsettings mutter (GNOME/Wayland only); `MACBOOK_XFCE_FRACTIONAL_SCALE=1` for Xfce/X11	Enables 150%/175% options in GNOME Display Settings; Xfce/X11 fractional xrandr scaling is optional and may be slightly blurry
Power settings	gsettings (GNOME) / xfconf-query (Xfce)	Power button=suspend, lid=suspend, AC=never-sleep, screen-blank=5min
intel-microcode	apt package	CPU security patches + errata fixes for i5-7360U (Kaby Lake)

Xfce fractional scaling: Run MACBOOK_XFCE_FRACTIONAL_SCALE=1 sudo bash macbook_hardware_fixer.sh to enable 1.75× scaling on Xfce/X11. This uses an xrandr autostart script plus DPI 170 so the Retina display offers more usable space than the default 2× mode. | fstrim.timer | systemd timer | Weekly NVMe TRIM — sustained write speed + SSD longevity | | journald limit | /etc/systemd/journald.conf.d/ | Caps logs at 1GB / 2 weeks — prevents disk fill during dev | | coredump limit | /etc/systemd/coredump.conf.d/ | 512MB cap per dump — JVM/Chromium crashes won't fill NVMe | | git fsmonitor | ~/.gitconfig | git status 10× faster in large repos (React, monorepo, Django) |

Verify:

sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_watches      # 524288
sysctl vm.swappiness                    # 10
sysctl net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control  # bbr
zramctl                                 # /dev/zram0 present
cat /sys/block/nvme0n1/queue/scheduler  # [none]
systemctl is-active earlyoom            # active
systemctl is-enabled fstrim.timer       # enabled
dpkg -l intel-microcode | grep ^ii      # installed
gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.interface scaling-factor  # uint32 2
git config --global core.fsmonitor      # true

Live monitor (fan + temps):

macbook-monitor   # colour-coded RPM + CPU temps, Ctrl+C to quit

12. Display Color Calibration — Apple factory ICC profile

Script: macbook_hardware_fixer.sh step 11

The MacBook Pro 13" 2017 display is factory-calibrated by Apple at the unit level. macOS ships a per-display ICC profile that encodes:

Data	What it does
RGB primaries (rXYZ, gXYZ, bXYZ)	Describes the panel's actual gamut — wider than sRGB
Tone response curves (rTRC/gTRC/bTRC)	1024-point factory gamma curves per channel
White point (D65)	Ensures neutral whites match the calibrated D65 standard
Apple vcgt/vcgp	Video card gamma table metadata

Without this profile, Ubuntu uses a generic sRGB assumption: colors appear oversaturated (especially reds and greens) and the white point is wrong.

The profile is included in this repo at firmware/display/Color-LCD-MacBookPro14-1.icc (3.3 kB), extracted from macOS Ventura at:

/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays/Color LCD-<UUID>.icc

What the script does:

Installs colord (Linux color management daemon)
Copies the profile to /usr/share/color/icc/macbook/ (system-wide)
Copies to ~/.local/share/icc/ (per-user — GNOME Color Manager lists it here)
Installs /usr/local/bin/macbook-color-profile.sh — assigns the profile to the built-in eDP display via colormgr on each login
Creates ~/.config/autostart/macbook-color-profile.desktop — runs the script automatically on every GNOME session start

Verify:

# Check profile files are installed
ls /usr/share/color/icc/macbook/
ls ~/.local/share/icc/

# Check colord knows about the profile (after login)
colormgr get-profiles | grep Color-LCD

# Check the built-in display device
colormgr get-devices

# Manually assign (if autostart didn't fire yet):
/usr/local/bin/macbook-color-profile.sh

# GNOME GUI: Settings → Color → built-in display → select 'Color-LCD-MacBookPro14-1'

Notes:

The autostart script runs after every login — colord resets profile assignments between sessions, so it must be re-applied each time.
If you use a display manager other than GDM, add macbook-color-profile.sh to your session startup manually.
For dual-boot: the profile is already on the macOS partition at /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays/Color LCD-*.icc if you ever need to re-extract it.

Testing

Before running on real hardware you can catch most errors in Docker or a VM. The three layers cover progressively more of the script:

Layer	What it catches	Time	Command
Syntax	bash errors, typos	5s	`make test-syntax`
Docker	missing packages, config logic, file writing	3-5 min	`make test-docker`
Multipass VM	systemd services, GRUB, sysctl, fstab	5-10 min	`make test-vm`
Real hardware	applesmc, Bluetooth, RAPL, NVMe	—	`sudo ./macbook_hardware_fixer.sh`

Syntax check (no tools needed)

make test-syntax
# or directly:
bash tests/test-docker.sh --syntax

Checks bash syntax on all scripts. Runs in seconds, no dependencies.

Docker test (Ubuntu 26.04 container)

# Install Docker if not present:
sudo apt-get install docker.io
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER   # log out and back in after this

# Run:
make test-docker

# Run and remove image afterwards:
make test-docker-clean

What Docker tests: package availability (apt-get install), all config files written correctly, script logic, Python sections, sysctl syntax.

What Docker cannot test: systemd services (mocked), kernel modules, hardware paths (/sys/devices/platform/applesmc, /sys/class/powercap/...), GNOME gsettings — all mocked with stubs that log and return 0.

Multipass VM test (full Ubuntu 26.04 with systemd)

# Install Multipass:
sudo snap install multipass

# Run (creates a fresh Ubuntu 26.04 VM, runs the full script):
make test-vm

What Multipass tests: everything Docker tests, plus: real systemctl enable/start, real sysctl -p, real GRUB file modification, real fstab editing, real journald config.

# After test-vm completes, run the verifier inside the VM:
multipass exec macbook-test -- sudo bash /project/tests/verify-hardware.sh

# Destroy VM when done:
multipass delete macbook-test && multipass purge

CI — GitHub Actions

Every push and pull request automatically runs:

Bash syntax check on all scripts
Docker integration test (Ubuntu 26.04)
Generated config file validation

See .github/workflows/ci.yml.

Verification

Full hardware check (on real machine)

./tests/verify-hardware.sh          # run as normal user
sudo ./tests/verify-hardware.sh     # run as root for complete check
# or via make:
make verify

Checks all 10 steps: GPU · Bluetooth · WiFi · Camera · Thunderbolt · Battery/Thermal · applesmc · Touchpad/Keyboard · Suspend/Sleep · Dev optimizations · Audio

Audio-only check

./tests/verify-installation.sh

Checks: driver .ko binary · module loaded · dmesg probe · ALSA playback · ALSA capture

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
bluetooth		bluetooth
fan		fan
firmware		firmware
makefiles		makefiles
patch_cirrus		patch_cirrus
patches		patches
tests		tests
.gitignore		.gitignore
Dockerfile.test		Dockerfile.test
LICENSE		LICENSE
Makefile		Makefile
NOTES.md		NOTES.md
README.md		README.md
dkms.conf		dkms.conf
dkms.sh		dkms.sh
install.cirrus.driver.pre617.sh		install.cirrus.driver.pre617.sh
install.cirrus.driver.sh		install.cirrus.driver.sh
macbook_hardware_fixer.sh		macbook_hardware_fixer.sh
patch_cs8409.c.diff		patch_cs8409.c.diff
patch_cs8409.h.diff		patch_cs8409.h.diff
patch_patch_cirrus.c.diff		patch_patch_cirrus.c.diff
patch_patch_cirrus_apple.h.diff		patch_patch_cirrus_apple.h.diff
patch_patch_cs8409.c.diff		patch_patch_cs8409.c.diff
patch_patch_cs8409.h.diff		patch_patch_cs8409.h.diff

Navigation Menu

Repository files navigation

MacBook Pro 13" 2017 — Ubuntu / Xubuntu 26.04 Hardware Guide

Hardware Status

Known Limitations

Fresh Install Quick Start (Ubuntu 26.04)

Collect debug logs for troubleshooting

Hardware Components

1. Intel GPU — Iris Plus 640 (VA-API)

2. Bluetooth — BCM4350C0

SMC Reset — required ONCE after migrating from macOS

3. WiFi — Broadcom BCM4350

4. FaceTime HD Camera — Broadcom PCIe

5. Thunderbolt 3 — Intel Alpine Ridge 4C

6. Battery & Thermal — TLP + thermald + RAPL limits

Why Linux runs hotter than macOS

7. Fan Control, Temperature Sensors, Keyboard Backlight — applesmc

8. Touchpad & Keyboard — libinput

9. Screen Brightness + Suspend/Sleep

10. Audio — Cirrus Logic CS8409

11. System & Development Optimizations

12. Display Color Calibration — Apple factory ICC profile

Testing

Syntax check (no tools needed)

Docker test (Ubuntu 26.04 container)

Multipass VM test (full Ubuntu 26.04 with systemd)

CI — GitHub Actions

Verification

Full hardware check (on real machine)

Audio-only check

About

Releases

Packages

Contributors

Languages

Latest commit

History

Folders and files

Repository files navigation

MacBook Pro 13" 2017 — Ubuntu / Xubuntu 26.04 Hardware Guide

Hardware Status

Known Limitations

Fresh Install Quick Start (Ubuntu 26.04)

Collect debug logs for troubleshooting

Hardware Components

1. Intel GPU — Iris Plus 640 (VA-API)

2. Bluetooth — BCM4350C0

SMC Reset — required ONCE after migrating from macOS

3. WiFi — Broadcom BCM4350

4. FaceTime HD Camera — Broadcom PCIe

5. Thunderbolt 3 — Intel Alpine Ridge 4C

6. Battery & Thermal — TLP + thermald + RAPL limits

Why Linux runs hotter than macOS

7. Fan Control, Temperature Sensors, Keyboard Backlight — applesmc

8. Touchpad & Keyboard — libinput

9. Screen Brightness + Suspend/Sleep

10. Audio — Cirrus Logic CS8409

11. System & Development Optimizations

12. Display Color Calibration — Apple factory ICC profile

Testing

Syntax check (no tools needed)

Docker test (Ubuntu 26.04 container)

Multipass VM test (full Ubuntu 26.04 with systemd)

CI — GitHub Actions

Verification

Full hardware check (on real machine)

Audio-only check

About

Resources

Stars

Watchers

Forks

Releases

Packages

Contributors

Languages