timeStamp: 12 March 2022

** updated for Linux Mint 20.3 Cinnamon**
** updated for power consumption issue fix **

Linux-Mint-on-Lenovo-Legion-5 💻

How to install Linux Mint on Legion 5 to have proper hardware drivers and screen brightness control

Linux Mint is forked from Debian and similar to Ubuntu so this may work for Ubuntu OS as well.
I did try to install Ubuntu 21.xx OS and it created a custom NVIDIA driver that didnt quite work properly so be warned.

I hope this will help someone else that might be going down this same path.
It took me a while to figure it out so hopefully I can same you some time.

Laptop: Lenovo Legion 5 15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) Display, AMD Ryzen 7 5800H Processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050Ti
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3s9NQcC

Linux Mint OS: https://linuxmint.com/

these are the steps I took to get Linux Mint 20.3 Cinnamon on a Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

• (text in perenthesis is what worked for me at the time of writing this)

OS installation:

• READ THE DOCS: https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
• install linux mint OS onto thumb drive
• insert thumbdrive into laptop
• boot laptop while pressing F12 - this will let you choose boot device
• select thumbdrive to boot OS installer
• select install Linux Mint on live media Desktop

STEPS to get Hardware operating properly:

[NOTE: hybrid graphics started working in Mint 20.3. For older versions, see older commits for discrete graphics only setup]
1: select hybrid graphics [NOTE: you can select Discrete Graphics if you want]

• boot laptop while pressing F2 on keyboard
• once in UEFI firmware settings, select hybrid graphics
• select Exit and save settings

2: install latest linux kernel (kernel: 5.13.0-21-generic)

• cli cmd: sudo mintupdate ➡ Mint Update Manager GUI
• write up for 'Update Manager' gui : credit: https://www.makeuseof.com/upgrade-kernel-linux-mint/
• GUI steps: Update Manager ➡ View ➡ Linux Kernels ➡ (5.13) ➡ install
• reboot laptop ➡ cli cmd: reboot

3: install latest nvidia graphics drivers (510.47.03)
using "driver manager" gui update graphics drivers to latest nvidia driver version

• cli cmd: sudo mintdrivers ➡ Mint Driver Update GUI
• then install latest NVIDIA proprietary driver
• reboot laptop ➡ cli cmd: reboot
• [--NOTE: if you selected DISCRETE graphics, stop here--]
• after reboot and login, click on NVIDIA On-Demand icon in lower right applet panel
• click NVIDIA Settings
• click PRIME Profiles
• click NVIDIA On-Demand
• after authentication and changes made, select Quit
• reboot laptop ➡ cli cmd: reboot

4: update all packages to latest versions

• GUI: select Update Manager in App Menu
• cli cmd: sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
• clean out garbage and fix links: sudo apt autoremove && sudo apt autoclean

STEPS to get screen brightness to work correctly and brightness keys to actually change screen brightness:

** update for Mint 20.3 Cinnamon, script updated to fix device name convention bug **
NOTE: brightness keys still not working so use this repository to control brightness in software

TLDR cli magic (copy and paste into your cmd line):

wget https://github.com/wottreng/Linux-Mint-on-Lenovo-Legion-5/archive/refs/heads/main.zip && unzip main.zip && cd Linux-Mint-on-Lenovo-Legion-5-main && chmod 777 setupBrightnessControlKeys.sh && ./setupBrightnessControlKeys.sh

git setup:

1: download this repository ➡ cli cmd:

git clone https://github.com/wottreng/Linux-Mint-on-Lenovo-Legion-5.git 

2: change directory ➡ cli cmd:

cd Linux-Mint-on-Lenovo-Legion-5/

3: make setupBrightnessControlKeys.sh excutable ➡ cli cmd:

chmod 777 setupBrightnessControlKeys.sh

4: run setup script ➡ cli cmd:

./setupBrightnessControlKeys.sh

5: test your brightness keys, they should work properly now! If not see trouble shooting below

[-- NOTES -- ]

• Read setupBrightnessControlKeys.sh for comments on how this works and how to remove key bindings if needed
• run brightnessControl.py -h for help output and supported arguments
• for TROUBLE SHOOTING or changes see Keyboard in App Menu ➡ Shortcuts ➡ Custom Shortcuts
• Common issue with script is it finding the wrong device name. Run brightnessControl.py -v to see what device names its finding and you may need to set default in your key bindings like so: brightnessControl.py -d DEVICE-NAME -c 5

Realtek wifi 6 working with proper drivers:

⚠ NOTE: wifi driver is now included in Mint 20.3. If you still need drivers then look at older commits for manual install process ⚠

Battery Saver mode

• batterySaverMode.py puts laptop into battery saver mode when plugged in
• limits charging above 60% capacity

TLDR cli magic (copy and paste into your cmd line):

wget https://github.com/wottreng/Linux-Mint-on-Lenovo-Legion-5/archive/refs/heads/main.zip && unzip main.zip && cd Linux-Mint-on-Lenovo-Legion-5-main && chmod 777 batterySaverMode.py && sudo mv ./batterySaverMode.py /bin/

1: make it excutable ➡ cli cmd:

chmod 777 ./batterySaverMode.py

2: add script to $PATH (ie. your /bin folder) ➡ /bin/batterySaverMode.py

• cli cmd:

sudo mv ./batterySaverMode.py /bin/batterySaverMode.py

3: call it from a command line ➡ cli cmd:

batterySaverMode.py

Power Consumption Configuration

(credit goes to O491dogan)
Higher than normal power consumption has been reported after proper drivers and updates.
The issue seems to be the dGPU not being turned off when not in use.

• check power consumption with powertop
  • sudo apt install powertop
  • optimize system consumption with sudo powertop --auto-tune
  • launch with sudo powertop with power cable unplugged
    • with nothing running, power consumption should be about 10w.
    • if dGPU is running, power consumption is about 25w.
• Make sure dGPU is set to on-demand
  • set dGPU to adaptive in BIOS
  • set dGPU to On-Demand in NVIDIA settings
    • nvidia-settings then select PRIME Profiles, then select NVIDIA On-Demand
• Confirm dGPU is set to On-Demand
  • cmd: cat /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:01:00.0/power/control
    • should output auto for dGPU on-demand
    • on your dGPU is always on
• Battery Life
  • with dGPU always on, about 2 hours
  • with dGPU on-demand, about 4 to 5 hours

NOTES:
more info, see discussion

Other helpful tips

• F2 : open BIOS during boot
• Ctrl + Alt + F1 or Ctrl + Alt + F2: change to basic command line interface
• Ctrl + Alt + F7 : change back to GUI 'desktop' interface
• hold Shift during boot to open up grub for advanced options like recovery mode
• open cli: CTRL + ALT + T

another great reference for legion 5: https://github.com/antony-jr/lenovo-legion5-15arh05-scripts

Please contribute 📥 or message me if there is a better way! Lets help the Linux Community! 👌

Noted Issues

• check Issues tab

Cheers everyone 🍺