Installing a Newer Linux Kernel on Debian Stable

The Linux kernel version available in the official Debian 13 repository is still 6.12.x (an LTS kernel). If you want to install a newer version of the kernel, you have a few options: use the backports repository (if a newer kernel version is available there) or compile it yourself from the source code.

Another, often easier, alternative is to use the mainline kernel builds from Ubuntu: https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/. These come with ready-to-install .deb packages. Although they’re built by the Ubuntu team, they can also be installed on Debian-based distributions without issues.

I tested this by installing kernel 6.17 from Ubuntu’s mainline repository on Debian Trixie, and after about two weeks of daily use, everything has been running smoothly. One noticeable improvement was that the new kernel properly detected my Intel AX101 Wi-Fi card, which wasn’t recognized before. Previously, I had to manually install its driver through DKMS. I’ve since updated to version 6.17.1, and it continues to work perfectly.

Debian Trixie using kernel 6.17.1 from Ubuntu mainline kernel

If you want to make installing mainline kernels even easier, you can use the mainline tool available here: https://github.com/bkw777/mainline

This handy tool lets you browse and install available kernel versions directly through a simple interface—no manual downloading required.

mainline-gtk tool used to install Ubuntu mainline kernel in Debian-based distro 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Contoh Inheritance (Pewarisan) di Java

Review Singkat Pilihan Transportasi Umum Rute Solo - Wonosobo

List Jurnal Ilmu Komputer / Informatika Terakreditasi SINTA