Questions we actually get asked.

No. We do not manufacture laptops, and we do not “build” a white-box chassis. We source new OEM machines from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Asus — the same name-brand hardware you would buy with Windows — wipe the factory OS, install the Linux distribution you pick, and test it before it ships.

You keep the manufacturer hardware warranty. When a hinge or a keyboard fails, you are talking to HP or Dell, not a boutique no-name.

Brand-new. We do not sell used, refurbished, or open-box machines as laptops. Linux is installed here, on the East Coast of the USA, then the machine is tested and packed.

Yes. That is the product. We do not ship a laptop whose Wi-Fi, GPU, audio, webcam, Bluetooth, or touchscreen failed testing. If it does not work, it does not leave.

Anyone who has spent a Saturday on a Broadcom card or an NVIDIA blob already knows why that sentence is on this page.

That is ours. Tell us within 30 days. We fix it or take the machine back. No restocking fee. We send the return label.

A hinge or a keyboard is still the manufacturer. We stand behind the install and the radios we tested. They stand behind the chassis.

Yes. Hardware warranty stays with Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, or Asus. Installing Linux does not void a U.S. manufacturer hardware warranty. We stand behind the Linux install; they stand behind the chassis.

About 3–5 business days. We source the OEM unit, install your distro and desktop, test Wi-Fi and the rest of the hardware, then send it UPS Ground from the East Coast of the USA. We ship inside the United States only.

Yes. The RAM and storage options on the product page are configurations we can source. Pick one, we install Linux, and it ships.

No. Catalog is x86 — Intel and AMD. Snapdragon and other ARM “Copilot+” PCs are a different world for Linux, and we will not pretend otherwise. If a listing looks like Windows Copilot marketing, it is not ours.

Yes. If you are not ready to commit 100% to Linux, dual-boot is an optional add-on on every laptop. Pick it while you configure the machine. We partition the drive, keep Windows on one side, and install Linux on the other. Each time it starts, the BIOS boot menu asks which OS to load.

We can also dual-boot two Linux distributions the same way. Call and we will set it up before it ships if you would rather talk it through.

On the NVIDIA machines in the catalog — Victus, TUF, Nitro, G16 — we install the proprietary NVIDIA driver with Linux so the GPU is actually usable: Steam, Proton, Blender, ffmpeg. Plenty of titles run well that way. Native Linux games on Steam still exist too.

Integrated graphics (Intel, AMD Radeon 780M and friends) will play older and lighter games. AAA at ultra is not why you buy an iGPU laptop. If the product page says RTX, that is the card we tested.

No. Installing Linux on a random OEM laptop is the part that is hard. That is the work we already did. Ubuntu LTS with GNOME is the default: a dock, an app store, Firefox, LibreOffice. It looks like a computer.

If you have never heard the word “distro,” you are allowed here. If you already compile kernels, you can still pick Arch or Debian and skip the weekend of firmware. Either way, when you call, you talk to someone who already lives on the same kind of machine.

Ubuntu LTS with GNOME. Current upstream image, not a spin we invented. If you already have a favorite — Fedora, Mint, Debian, Kali, Bazzite, CachyOS, Arch, and others — pick it on the product page. Same radio testing. Same manufacturer warranty.

Office documents, PDFs, email, browsers, Zoom — yes. LibreOffice opens the .docx from school. Firefox and Chromium are first-class. Steam Proton runs a surprising amount of Windows games.

Adobe Photoshop, iTunes, and some industry-only Windows apps are not native. Wine can get you part of the way. If a specific Windows program is a deal-breaker, tell us before you order and we will be honest about it — or set up dual-boot.

Use the Software / App Center that ships with Ubuntu or Mint, the same way you would on a phone. Packages come from the distro’s repositories, which is why we prefer that over random .exe downloads from the web. Most of it is free.

If you already live in a terminal, apt, dnf, or pacman is there too. You do not have to start there.

You do not need to pay for Windows-style antivirus. Keep the system updated — Ubuntu and Mint will offer that — use a unique password, and do not run random scripts from strangers. That is most of it.

Linux is not magic. It is just not a business model built on ads, Copilot, and a Microsoft account standing between you and your own files.

Yes. The major distros we install already include the common languages and keyboard layouts. You do not buy a separate SKU. Tell us the language at order if you want it set before it ships; you can also switch it later in Settings.

No ads in the Start menu. No Microsoft account required to use your own computer. No Copilot or Recall watching so they can “help.” Updates on your calendar, not theirs. The OS is free, and the source is public.

Windows 11 can still run Excel. It also spends a lot of your CPU and attention on Microsoft’s other products. Linux does not. Longer version is on the Why Linux page.

LINN-ucks. Short i, as in Finland — Linus Torvalds is Finnish — not “lie-nux.” It rhymes with cynics. You will hear it both ways. This is the one Linus uses.

The Linux Laptop Company is a small side business. Parent company is KIRE LLC. This shop is KIRE LLC doing business as The Linux Laptop Company — also TLL or TLLC. Same company. KIRE has been in the Linux world since 1998. We have been shipping machines since 2007 — more than 5,000 of them — from the East Coast of the USA.

When you call 877-547-3638 or email [email protected], you are not in a ticket queue. You are talking to someone who already lives on the same kind of machine we just shipped you.

No. Lifetime Linux help for the laptop we sold you is included. Phone and email, for as long as you still have that machine and we are still in business.

It is not a hardware warranty. It is not on-site service. It is not a ticket queue. When a hinge fails in year two, you still call Lenovo or Dell. When the desktop we configured forgets the Wi-Fi, you call us.

Call us first: 877-547-3638. Email [email protected]. Lifetime Linux support is included with a laptop we sold you. It is not a paid SKU. It is not hardware repair. We installed the machine; we would rather hear from you than send you to a forum.

Ubuntu, Mint, and Fedora also have huge communities if you like to poke around. That is extra, not a substitute for us.

No. We install Linux, test the radios, and ship the machine. We do not keep a disk image. What leaves is on the laptop, not in a clone farm here.

Contact us before you ship anything back. You have 30 days from shipment. We send an RMA and a UPS return label — you do not pay the return freight. Keep the boxes it arrived in.

Change of mind: a $50 restocking fee comes off the refund. We do not refund the outbound shipping you already paid to get the machine to you.

If the Linux we installed, or a radio we tested, fails as shipped, that is ours. We fix it or take it back. No restocking fee.

A hinge, panel, or keyboard is the manufacturer’s warranty. We will help you start that ticket.

The full terms are on Shipping & Returns and Conditions of Use.

No. Checkout is WooCommerce. Cards go to PayPal or Authorize.Net. We may see the last four digits and whether the charge cleared. We do not keep the card number.

No. We do not run Google Ads on this shop. We use Google Analytics so we can see how the site is used. We do not sell mailing lists.

The laptop we ship is a local login. No Copilot. No Recall. That is the machine, not a slogan on this page. Longer version: privacy-first Linux and the Privacy Notice.