There many resources to help you with the Kubuntu Focus.
Please read the disclaimer before proceeding. We review and update guided solutions like this regularly. If you have suggestions or requests, please write support@kfocus.org.
All Kubuntu Focus devices run standard Kubuntu 22.04 LTS AND KDE Plasma LTS. The Focus team adds tools, hardware optimization, and curation on top of this instead of creating a separate distribution. This means almost all articles, tutorials, and guides found on the web for Kubuntu, KDE, and non-GUI Ubuntu issues also apply to Focus systems.
If you can't search and find your answer on the Support Page, or if you simply insist on rolling-your-own solutions, here are some great resources available from the KDE and Kubuntu communities:
We highly recommend you use the Welcome Guide first to explore the unique capabilities of your device. Here are some other areas that can help you quickly achieve success:
Q: My drop-down menus are disappearing. This happens when I place the mouse cursor over them. What might be causing this?
A: Navigate to System Settings > Window Management > Window Behavior and then on the Focus tab, ensure the Window activation policy is set to Click to focus. Apparently other settings can cause the menus to disappear.
Q: How can I access the GRUB menu? I tried pressing the right-shift key, but it didn't show up.
A: The most reliable method we have used it to press and hold the right-shift key immediately after the BIOS splash screen on most of our models. This is typically the Kubuntu Focus logo, but may include our hardware partners graphics as well. Some report that the escape key with the Focus XE works better for that model. You may edit /etc/default/grub to change to:GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menuGRUB_TIMEOUT=3
and then run sudo update-grub. This will allow you to see the GRUB menu briefly on every boot.
Q: I lost my laptop PSU. Can I replace it with another?
A: Yes, but it must have the same specifications, otherwise you can run into odd behavior or broken hardware. Recently, for example, we were using an Ir14 and accidentally used the wrong PSU with low amperage. The result was the speakers stopped working! Using battery power and using the correct PSU both resolved the issue. To play it safe, write or call customer service and get the OEM specifications or replacement.
Q: My wireless (Wi-Fi) connection keeps dropping. What can I do?
A1: All Focus systems are tested for Wi-Fi connectivity before they are shipped. However, because routers and networks vary, problems like this do occur. The most reliable solution we have found is to turn off IPv6. Go to System Settings > Connections and select the connection. Select the IPv6 tab, and in under Method at the top, select Disabled and then click Apply at the bottom right. Then restart the connection.
A2: In some cases, downgrading the protocol may help. First test this by opening a terminal and running sudo modprobe -r iwlwifi; sleep 30; sudo modprobe iwlwifi 11n_disable=1. If this solves the problem, and the speed is acceptable, add this string, options iwlwifi 11n_disable=1 to the file /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf. Use a browser internet speed test to determine transmission speed. A value of 11n_disable=8 may provide better speed.
A3: Power management can also be too agressive at times and result in dropped connections. One can edit /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf and set wifi.powersave = 2 or less (the default is 3) to reduce or eliminate dropped connection in some circumstances.
Q: I would like to change the wallpaper. How can I do this?
A: Right click on desktop > Configure Desktop > Wallpaper.
Q: I would prefer a different sign-in screen. How can I configure this?
A: Use System Settings > Startup and Shutdown > Login Screen (SDDM) and then click on Background in the bottom right corner. Then select your desired image (see /usr/share/wallpapers for system images).
Q: I would prefer a different lock screen. Is this possible?
A: Use System Settings > Workspace Behavior > Screen Locking > Appearance (tab) and then select your desired image.
Q: I would like to change the size of text and icons on my screen. What can I do?
A: See this guide on scaling.
Q: I need help with keyboard shortcuts. Where can I find this?
A: The hint widget on the top right of the desktop explains keyboard controls. This includes the use of Function keys to control the keyboard LEDs.
Q: I want Numlock set on startup. How can I do this?
A: Use System Settings > Input Devices > Keyboard > Hardware (tab) > Numlock on Plasma Startup (checkbox). Be aware that numlock must be turned off for some keyboard shortcuts to work.
Q: I want Mac-like keyboard bindings. How can I acheive this?
A: See Kinto. Inspect the script content before use!
Q: I have some icons in the panel I'd like to always see and others I'd like to remove. What steps do I need to take?
A1: When you run an app, it appears as an icon in the Task Manager area of the panel. When the app is closed, the icon is normally removed. However, you may keep it in the task manager even if it is not running by using a right-click to open a contextual menu. Then click on Pin to Task Manager near the bottom. To unpin an app, use the same procedure but select Unpin from Task Manager.
A2: It is also possible an icon is not a part of the task manager and is a widget instead. If this is the case, right-click on it to see a contextual menu with these options: Properties, Add Widgets, Add Panel and Edit Panel. Select Edit Panel and then hover over the icon. You should see options to Configure or Remove. Click on Remove to delete the icon from your panel. Then click on the close button to exit panel editing as shown in the image.
Q: A lot of apps are autostarting when I sign in. I want to turn some or all of them off. How can this be accomplished?
A: There are two mechanisms that autostart apps. First, there is the autostart list. You may toggle or remove apps in this list using System Settings > Startup and Shutdown > AutoStart. The second mechanism is the session manager which reopens apps you were running the last time you signed out. If you do not want to see apps again, exit them and then explicitly sign-out by using App Launcher > Leave > Log Out. When you sign-in again, the apps should not reappear.
Sometimes apps can be tenacious, and both mechanisms must be used. For example, to prevent Dropbox from autostarting, first toggle the autostart off, then click on the Dropbox icon in the system tray and select Quit Dropbox, and then log out. The steps for KeePassXC are similar. Of course, if you do not need an app that autostarts you can simply remove it using the Discover software center.
Q: I would like to change the fonts in Virtual Terminals (TTYs). How can I do this?
A: This article shows how. We do not add this as default because this would deviate from the stock Kubuntu installation.
Q: I would like to dual-boot with Windows. Would this be possible with the Kubuntu Focus?
A: Yes, it is possible, but we do not provide Windows licenses, which would have to be purchased separately. For this purpose, we recommend adding a second NVMe drive when purchasing your Kubuntu Focus. Additionally, we do not support installation of Windows.
Q: What is your advice regarding updates to the Kubuntu? Should I upgrade to 23.04 or similar regular releases, or should I stick with LTS?
A: We only deliver and support Kubuntu LTS releases. While we very much understand the desire to upgrade to the latest non-LTS releases, there are numerous reasons we stick to LTS-only:
You should not need to reinstall the OS unless (A) the system gets corrupted or (B) it is time to update to 22.04 LTS. When you do, please see the Clean Install Guided Solution.
Q: But I really want to upgrade to a non-LTS release. Can I do this?
A: Of course you can: It is your computer and your time. But we do not support it for the reasons listed above. If you need everything to just work to the greatest degree possible, the safest thing to do is stick with the latest LTS release (22.04 LTS at the time of this writing).
If you insist on upgrading, we recommend testing all your workflows on a virtual machine before committing to installing on hardware. You can use the Upgrade Guided Solution as a starting point. Many 3rd party repositories will require some twiddling and research to use compatible "hopefully close enough" releases. Focus repos, for example, should still point to "jammy". Even if everything works in a VM, recognize there will still be hardware-related risks. For example, a switch to the Wayland display server could cause trouble. Always back up your data and be prepared to roll back to 22.04 if something goes wrong. NVMe drives are inexpensive enough these days that we recommend using a separate drive to try non-LTS releases. Using this strategy, one can revert to the stable LTS OS on the other drive whenever needed.
Q: I get an error on my encrypted drive if I click on it in the Dolphin file manager. How do I fix this?
A: This is a quirk of Dolphin. You can easily right-click on it and hide it, and do not worry: your drives will still be available in / and /home.
Q: I am seeing the following warnings when updating from the command line. Is there any solution for this?
A: Those are just warnings and should not affect your system. You may safely ignore them. There is no easy action you can take to disable them. These are usually fixed by Ubuntu upstream developers. Similar warnings will appear occasionally during kernel updates. The only time to be concerned is if you see ERRORs during the update-initramfs process.
Q: I changed my password, and now the KDE Wallet keeps asking for my password after logging-in. How do I fix this?
A: After changing your password, the KDE Wallet password must also be changed because your new password will not automatically unlock it at login. To change your password, go to System Settings > KDE Wallet > Launch Wallet Manager, click Change Password.
Q: Krunner links to out of date apps. How can i fix this?
A: You can fix this issue by clearing the cache:
Q: I would like to dock my Focus. What do you recommend for a docking station?
A: We use the WavLink WL-UG69DK1 Rev B1. It works well, but the display overhead is pretty big, and it can lag when running Intel graphics. The best display is to use dGPU-owned NVIDIA ports, as shown in the External Displays Guided Solution.
Q: I would like to charge using USB-C on the M2. What do I need to do?
A: The M2 Gen 5 has limited USB-C charging up to a maximum of 100 W. There is no USB charging on the M2 Gen 1 through 4. This is a workstation replacement with high peak power demands (scoring 36K on Geekbench 4). The PSU is rated for 180 W, and the GPU + CPU can pull over 120 W during peak load (possibly more if using the RTX3080 or RTX2080)
Q: I would like to use an Ultra-High Definition (UHD) display. Is the Kubuntu Focus available with a UHD option?
A: The Kubuntu Focus M2 GEN 4 is available with a 2560 x 1440 (QHD) display at up to 165 Mhz (when used with the MUX). We find this to be a good balance between pixel density and power draw. We also use up to three 4K external displays when at our desks.
Q: Sometimes pressing a key does not always wake from sleep. How can I fix this?
A: After the screen powers off, the laptop will Sleep (suspend to RAM) after some time. By default, this is 10 minutes while on battery. After this, the guaranteed way to wake the system is to press fn + f12. Other methods include closing and reopening the lid. Pressing a key may also work, but only if you haven't swiped the touchpad first.
Q: I have found that websites on chrome-based browsers can show text have corrupted or missing characters. The screen can also flicker when playing some games. Is there some way to fix this?
A: You can find the answer for both issues in iGPU troubleshooting. See the answers for i915 graphics to resolve.
Q: Occasionally, when I wake my XE, certain keys don't respond. What can I do?
A: We haven't been able to determine the root cause, but the work-around is simple: Close the lid, wait 2 seconds, and then open it again. This "reawakening" has always fixed the issue for us and only takes a few seconds.
Q: When using a wireless mouse, I have found the pointer sometimes hangs or skips when I move the cursor. This usually occurs only when I have USB storage attached. What can I do to fix this?
A: We have found that changing where the Wireless USB connection is usually resolves this issue. For example, moving the receiver from the front USB-3 port to the rear USB-2 port solves this issue. This appears to be less likely with the latest kernels (5.19+).
Q: I have found that websites on chrome-based browsers can show text have corrupted or missing characters. The screen can also flicker when playing some games. Is there some way to fix this?
A: You can find the answer for both issues in iGPU troubleshooting. See the answers for i915 graphics to resolve.
This is a partial revision history. See the git repository for all entries.
2024-02-02 3c8ed5dc Add PSU Notice2023-11-18 e770b1c6 Add search and help bar2023-06-06 f627e550 Update m2g5 references, game guides, images, dedox2023-03-31 c8e68318 Update to support newsletter content2023-03-21 3efce1f9 Update help for XE sleep-wake bug; fix XE typos2023-03-18 02f6dfd6 Add help for i915 (iGPU) graphic issues2023-03-10 e527cd3a Add system-specific FAQ section2022-07-11 19b39e5a Add 22.04 Known Issues2022-07-08 f43e561c Revis images to 22.042021-10-10 5728326e Reformat to 2-column2021-09-22 dc862884 Update link and headline colors2021-08-23 681261b4 Review and update codeblocks2021-08-16 add4b857 Update for XE model2021-06-05 2ead0f0b Add many FAQs2021-03-21 9bc91641 Add guide for app icon, normalize FAQ format2021-03-17 ba2d09c9 First publicationWe try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.
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