How to Install Linux on an Old Mac (2026)

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Apple stopped updating my old 2017 iMac at macOS 13 Ventura. That was a few years ago. And since macOS 27, no Intel Mac gets a new macOS at all.

The hardware is still great, though. Quad-core i7 with 4.2 GHz, 32 GB of RAM, a 27-inch 5K screen. So in October, I installed Ubuntu on it. Next to macOS, not instead of it.

This is how I did it. Including the things that didn't work right away.

Which Macs

Not every old Mac is equally easy.

Intel Macs up to 2017 are the easy ones. My iMac is one of them. So is my dad's 2012 MacBook Pro, which now runs Zorin OS. For Linux, these are pretty much regular PCs. Mostly.

Macs from 2018 to 2020 have Apple's T2 security chip. Linux runs on them too, but it usually takes extra steps: a special kernel, changed startup security settings, Wi-Fi firmware copied over from macOS. The t2linux project has guides for that. I haven't tried it myself.

Apple silicon Macs, M1 and newer, are a different story. Asahi Linux runs on many of them, with gaps. But that's another topic.

So, generally speaking, the older the Intel Mac, the easier.

Best distro

Linux comes in many versions, called distributions or distros. For an old Mac, I would pick one of two… right now. That can change...

Ubuntu is on my iMac. Version 24.04 LTS, the long-term support release. It's one of the most used distros, so almost every guide and every developer tool has Ubuntu instructions. On mine: Brave, Git, the GitHub CLI, Docker, Claude Code.

Zorin OS is on my dad's MacBook. It's based on Ubuntu, but friendlier. It has a macOS-style layout with a dock, and it found the missing Wi-Fi driver by itself. For parents, or anyone who just wants the computer to work, I'd recommend it.

Linux Mint gets recommended a lot too. I haven't run it on a Mac. Elementary OS I tried on my dad's Mac first, then we switched to Zorin.

Installation

Claude Code did the terminal work for me: the USB stick, the disk, and later some of the fixes. The clicking I did myself.

1. Back up the Mac. Time Machine or whatever you use. Changing partitions is the one step that can go badly wrong.

2. Download the ISO. From ubuntu.com, or zorin.com for Zorin.

3. Write it to a USB stick. Claude Code did that right from the Mac's terminal. For my dad's Zorin install, I used balenaEtcher. Works just as well.

4. Make room for Linux. I wanted to keep macOS, so the disk needed free space for Ubuntu. Claude Code prepared the disk for that. If you don't need macOS anymore, skip this step. The installer can erase the whole disk instead.

5. Restart and hold the Option key. The Mac shows its boot menu. Pick the USB stick, usually called "EFI Boot".

6. Try it first. Ubuntu runs from the stick without touching the disk. Check keyboard, mouse, screen.

7. Install. If you keep macOS, pick the free space in the installer, not the macOS partition. Then restart.

From then on, holding Option at startup lets you choose between macOS and Ubuntu.

Fixes

Three things didn't work right away. Plus one that was just slow.

Wi-Fi. Of course. Intel Macs use Broadcom Wi-Fi chips, and many distros don't ship that driver by default because of its license. In Ubuntu, you find it under Additional Drivers in Software & Updates. To download it, the Mac needs internet first. The iMac has an Ethernet port, which helps.

The 5K screen. The scaling needed work. Ubuntu's fixed steps didn't fit, so I turned on fractional scaling in the display settings and picked a value in between.

Sound. No sound at first. Claude Code fixed that in the terminal. Without an AI tool, search for your exact Mac model plus "Ubuntu no sound". Someone had the same problem before.

Snaps. Ubuntu installs many apps as Snap packages. Snap packages start slow on that old Fusion Drive. The .deb versions don't. So I install everything as .deb where I can. Brave, for example.

A cold start still takes about 40 seconds. Not fast. But fine.

Downsides

The Apple stuff is gone on the Linux side, obviously. No iMessage, no AirDrop, no Apple Notes. With dual-boot, macOS is one restart away. But it's a restart.

No Microsoft Office app either. Microsoft 365 runs in the browser, though, and that covers a lot.

Dual-boot takes disk space away from macOS. And preparing the disk is risky. If an AI tool does it for you, look at which disk it's about to change before you say yes. One wrong disk number and the wrong drive is gone.

On a MacBook, Linux usually costs some battery life. macOS knows Apple's hardware better. But actually, Linux is pretty damn solid at this. Also on the iMac, Ubuntu runs smoother than macOS Ventura.

But the newer the Mac, the more work. T2 Macs need extra steps, Apple silicon Macs a different project altogether. Which I wouldn't tackle with Linux at this time.

The Bottom Line

My 2017 iMac is a working computer again. Not my main one, that's still the Mac. But a second machine that gets updates again and does a lot.

And macOS is still on it, one restart away.

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