Lenovo has provided BIOS updates for the 900 and 710S Yoga models to allow changing of the SSD mode from RAID to AHCI.

Are there any plans to also provide BIOS updates for the Yoga 910? I'd really like to buy this machine, but I cannot do so without a BIOS update (unless a BIOS update isn't necessary to change the SSD mode?).

According to Lenovo http://news.lenovo.com/news-releases/updated-lenovo-statement-on-linux-support-for-yogas-ideapads.htm the 910 doesn't need this patch.  

If you do get the 910 working under Linux please post something about it.  (I'm also interested in buying one for Linux as my Yoga 2 Pro is getting a bit old.)

peter

---

wrote:

According to Lenovo http://news.lenovo.com/news-releases/updated-lenovo-statement-on-linux-support-for-yogas-ideapads.htm the 910 doesn't need this patch.  

 

If you do get the 910 working under Linux please post something about it.  (I'm also interested in buying one for Linux as my Yoga 2 Pro is getting a bit old.)

 

peter

 

 

 

---

I actually talked with a developer who has been testing the Yoga 910 with Linux, and I can confirm that Lenovo added this option back to the BIOS. So Linux can be installed on the Yoga 910.

However, here are some issues he noted...

    I am using that laptop right now with Fedora 24. The 4.9 kernel
when it comes out will contain my patch. For the time being, I have to
run a kernel that I compiled myself in order to use WiFi.

   In order for Linux to see the hard drive, you'll need to go to the
BIOS and change the hard drive mode to AHCI. You can access the

BIOS by pushing the tiny recessed button next to the power button

when the system is turned off.

1) In order to use the F keys, I need to hold down the Fn key. So in
   order to close a window, I need to press Alt Fn F4. The BIOS does not
   expose a way to change the hotkey behavior. One of my coworkers has
   a Yoga 900 and it has the option to change the hotkey behavior. I
   tried remapping the keys in GNOME, however the keypresses did not
   make it to user space. I tracked it down to the ideapad-laptop
   platform driver in the kernel eating the keypress. I attached a
   patch that I use to allows the F4 keypress to come through to
   userspace. I can then remap the key in GNOME to use Alt F4
   correctly.

   I tried contacting Lenovo about this issue but got no where on the
   phone. I managed to get through to a manager and he suggested taking
   this issue to the forums. I haven't done that yet due to lack of
   time.

2) I sometimes have issues with the laptop locking up when I lock the
   screen. When I come back to it, the fans will be at full speed and
   the system won't respond to any key presses. I haven't tried to see
   if the system is accessible over the network. For the time being,
   I turned off the auto lock screen feature. I can let it sit overnight
   with the lid closed (but not suspended) with no issues.

And as for battery life...

The battery life hasn't been great under Linux so far since I have the
power management disabled in the BIOS due to the locking up issue. It'll
easily last 3-4 hours like I have it configured right now.

And then we found that adding a boot param fixes the suspend issues...

   The i915.enable_rc6=0 option appears to have fixed the freezing issue
when the laptop screen is locked. The link says i915.i915_enable_rc6,
but it is now named i915.enable_rc6 in the latest upstream kernel.

   I also previously had an issue with lots of PCI warnings from the
kernel. Adding the boot option 'pci=noaer' fixes the issue.

Hi,

    I am the one that wrote the blurb that Chad quoted above. Two days in, the i915.i915_enable_rc6=0 kernel boot options has fixed the lockup issues that I encountered on suspend. I need to submit a bug report to the i915 developers with a register dump.

    The only remaining issue with running Linux on the Yoga 910 is the lack of an option in the BIOS to disable the hotkeys. Lenovo: Please release an updated BIOS that adds this option back. Other Yogas (the 900) has the hotkey option. To close a window, I don't want to press 'Fn Alt F4', just 'Alt F4'. Otherwise, the 910 is a great laptop.

Brian Masney

FWIW, I tried out the Yoga 900 (with this AHCI-enabling BIOS), and the Yoga 910. The 910 has the AHCI option out of the box. Everything in my setup, using Arch, Xorg, libinput, has worked as well on the 910 as on the 900. Both are great machines, and my only real complaints have to do with the keyboards.

---

wrote:
Hi pls let know you are still here. ^_^
We designed the "Fn" hotkey mode option in the Lenovo Setting.
Because if we both leave the option in the lenovo setting and bios there will be some logic problem.
If you still need this, I will check internally.

---

Quote

i consider function keys pretty essential to my workflow

---

wrote:

---

wrote:
Hi pls let know you are still here. ^_^
We designed the "Fn" hotkey mode option in the Lenovo Setting.
Because if we both leave the option in the lenovo setting and bios there will be some logic problem.
If you still need this, I will check internally.

---

Quote

 

i consider function keys pretty essential to my workflow

---

Hi Kxra,

        So, you are working on linux and want function key option key in bios setting, right?

Yes, that's correct.