I agree with the Ubuntu based suggestions but if you're ok waiting towards the end of this month 26.04 LTS is about to come out. That should provide a better long term experience.
If it needs to be now the older 24.04 LTS version is fine.
this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2026
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I have a 2013 MacBook running Ubuntu. No wifi drivers so I bought an Ethernet dongle off of eBay for $10. Runs immich pretty well.
I had 2015 macbook running Ubuntu with barely any support for WiFi drivers. $10 dongle would save a headache figuring out WiFi standards, with the caveat that Apple built theirs closed source. If it uses bcwa43 Ubuntu has a depreciated package that will supply the right drivers.
Kubuntu should run just fine. You could go for a low-spec distro such as Xubuntu but I think you'll find it surprisingly capable.
You could also look into Puppy Linux which is specifically targeted at older machines but with a machine like that you should be absolutely fine.
Of course the best part is it's free and there's no commitment, just install one, see if you vibe with it, and if not try another :)
I usually go with Kubuntu.
Set up flatpak, share internet from my phone via usb to install broadcom wifi drivers, and modify the KDE desktop to work more like MacOS (add top bar with search widget and alt menu, turn bottom taskbar into a dock, move window buttons to top left).
Hand it back to the post-MacOS-user. No complaints so far. In fact one came back with another Mac and asked me to do it again.
Intel based? If so, just pick a distro to your fancy. I'm running LMDE on my 2012 MacBook Pro, and it runs flawlessly.
MX will run great on it. I've installed it on even older Macs than that.
I'll take a look. Thanks!
I use Kubuntu for old hardware. It’s a pain to have to install Flatpak and Flathub every time, but once you do, it’s great.
I'm still running a 2012 mbp, and found even windows 11 will run on it.
Tbh it doesn't matter the distro! (I also use mint for the stability and user friendliness and the driver support is amazing!)
this macbook isn't that old, it'll run anything you throw at it including Win11 and macOS Tahoe...
that being said, those two are obviously not good options and I recommend installing Debian or Devuan.
I have Mint running on a 2007 (I think) MacBook. Runs great.
If that MacBook is old enough that it's part of the first generation of Intel Mac products, you may have to do a few extra things to account for the 32-bit EFI -- not UEFI; that would come later -- that those machines used. I recall dealing with this myself, back when older versions of Ubuntu provided the ISO for specifically this scenario. Instead, you might want to review this page which describes the problem and how to address it: https://ctrl-alt-rees.com/2024-08-13-operating-system-options-for-32-bit-efi-mac-macmini-11-21-macbook-imac-64-bit-usb-install.html
Note that a 32-bit EFI does not prevent you from installing a modern 64-bit OS. The complexity is just with getting the system to boot from the installer disc.
Naw, 32-bit EFI was back before 2010. By 2012, Apple had gone fully 64-bit.
That's fair, but since OP doesn't have the machine to immediately check the model number, and 2010 is within spitting distance of 2012, I figured I'd provide some additional info, just in case it's older than originally estimated.
That said, a 2010 machine would be fairly ancient. But then again, it's 2026 and DDR3 is somehow relevant again....
Pretty much only the very first year of Intel Macs had 32 bit EFIs. Coincidentally the only 2007 machine with a 32 bit EFI was the Mac Pro. But the 07 Mac Pro was basically identical to the OG 06.
Yes, the fuckwit is right.
(I just wanted to say that.)
Hey thanks for this. It is indeed a 2015 laptop.
specs: Macbook Air, 13 inch, from early 2015. 1.6 GHz Dual Core Intel i5. 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3. Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 Mb.
even my early 2008 macbook has 64bit efi.
I have a 2012 macbook pro, the battery life of apple products is notoriously bad under Linux. I got a new battery and still couldn't get 3 hours of usage out of it.
That aside, linux runs great when you get it to boot. I didn't have any luck getting Ubuntu to boot but Fedora and Manjaro run really well. I'm a fan of Gnome, I'd recommend walking your friend through different desktop environments.
I use fedora on a 2011 mbp, its performant enough to run an android emulator, chrome and an electron app at the same time.
You could also use opencore legacy patcher to upgrade to a more modern macos version. Monterey works well.