Installing Manjaro on 2021 Macbook Pro

I am trying to install linux (Manjaro) onto my 2021 Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro (1.4GHz quad-core 8th-gen intel core i5), and I cannot find any resources that expound on how to properly do this. Can anyone assist me? (I am willing to change distros if there is a compatibility issue)

Please - do our all the favor of searching.

2021 - likely means M1 or M2 - arm architecture- and thus unsupported

Don’t ask obvius questions.

I know you mention Intel cpu - that is not a sign o quality - as Apple branded hardware is cursed in the sense of unsupported

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Is this a possible solution? [see video on youtube: FINALLY! Linux on the Macbook M1 (bare-metal)]

(also there are no obvious questions for those who simply dont know)

fingers crossed but i doubt there is a succesful solution. this company-policy is always preventing other use than the original. that should be clear known before buying that hardware-brand. this company is a pain in the ass (i’m also a apple owner). everyone you had to clean the ribbon-cable of his magic-mouse will understand. a product that is 100% build not to be maintanenced nor repaired.
why have you bought that apple and now you want to use it with different OS ? If mac-os drive you nuts then sell it. that’s the only tip i can give to apple users. you get what you buy and nothing else.

I may still be able to boot linux on it, and got some tips. My macbook doesnt have a proprietary m1 chip which is good news. Its the intel chip. I will report back later today.

good luck and fingers crossed, but keep in mind that even the peripherals are modified to the usual consumer-integratedcircuits. additional they like to change sillicon-suppliers in the same model. by this it’s almost impossible to support this brand. that’s the reason why a lot people are no longer interested in creating alternatives to mac-os, it’s wasted time.

do you have any suggestions for good laptops for running linux that I could sell my mac and then buy?

this is strict against the forum rules. but let me explain something i’m always checking:

  1. in linux you don’t need the brand-newest hardware, linux can run even on older systems. a 1-year old hardware is still new in linux and pretty good

  2. use common hardware and check for intel and amd hardware. this is always well supported

  3. keep hands off exotic chipsets ( in this case ask the forum if they know the chipset and what are the experiences)

There is no 2021 intel macbook pro and there is no 13" 2021 mbp either, it’s probably a 2020 MacBookPro 16,3. MacBook Pro 13-Inch "Core i5" 1.4 2020 2 TB 3 Specs (2020 13" (2 TB 3), MXK62LL/A*, MacBookPro16,3, A2289, 3456): EveryMac.com

Use these apple instructions to allow booting of other os. About Startup Security Utility on a Mac with the Apple T2 Security Chip - Apple Support

After that you can try booting a manjaro usb by holding down the ‘option’ key and picking ‘efi’.

If that works and you want to go ahead installing, research around “linux macbook pro 16,3”. plenty of info: Arch Linux on MacBook Pro with T2 | VHSblog , a little outdated but good links, eg: https://wiki.t2linux.org/

Note: Always shrink mac partitions under OSX! Then boot manjaro and use the unused space to create linux partitions and install.

No fear.

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I was able to add manjaro to my Mac by adding a partition on mac side SSHD disk utility and booting with usb. So it works well now.

I have Manjaro on my Macbook Pro 13 inch (bought in 2021) [intel cpu], partitioned and usb booted, and it works well, but the problem I’m having now is that the touchpad and the keyboard are unresponsive.

I would prefer not carrying around a mouse and keyboard to plug into my laptop, especially while I’m on the go, and so I am wondering how I would go about getting the appropriate drivers to allow the touchpad and keyboards to work.

Well done.

https://wiki.t2linux.org/ >> GitHub - t2linux/apple-bce-drv: Apple BCE (Buffer Copy Engine) and associated subsystems drivers for T2-based Macs
“A driver for MacBook models 2018 and newer, implementing the VHCI (required for mouse/keyboard/etc.) and audio functionality.”

Touchbar and Ambient Light GitHub - t2linux/apple-ib-drv: Apple iBridge devices support (Touchbar/ALS) for MacBook Pro 2018 and onward.

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