Ubuntu 25.04 on Snapdragon X Still Plagued by Endless Boot Loops, Despite Latest Build

Canonical has released updated test builds of Ubuntu 25.04 for laptops powered by Snapdragon X, integrating support for the Linux 6.16 kernel and expanding hardware compatibility. However, in practice, system stability and functionality remain far from satisfactory.

The latest ISO image, labeled plucky-desktop-arm64+x1e-20250725, marks the third release in recent times and was intended to address one of the critical issues encountered by testers. Previous builds lacked a Device Tree file for the Acer Swift 14 AI laptop featuring the Snapdragon X Elite chip, rendering the system unable to boot. In this new release, the missing component has finally been included, enabling successful boot from USB media and access to the Ubuntu desktop environment.

Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends. Once the system is installed to disk and the laptop is rebooted, it enters an endless restart loop, never reaching the installed system. This issue has persisted across earlier test builds and, so far, lacks an apparent solution. Meanwhile, booting from a Live-USB continues to function without error.

The reviewer, who has dedicated this laptop specifically for Linux testing, noted that even several months after the device’s launch, stable support remains elusive. The system still demands various “workarounds” and the extraction of firmware from the Windows partition just to achieve partial operability. Such circumstances are disheartening, especially in light of the platform’s touted compatibility.

Those eager to experiment with the latest Ubuntu 25.04 build for Snapdragon X may download the ISO images via the appropriate link in Canonical’s official archive.