Ubuntu

Scope:

Officially supported Ubuntu releases
Corresponding Linux Mint releases but not LMDE – refer to Debian instead

Package Repository

Add the TLP PPA to your package sources with the commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp
sudo apt update

Note

TLP and ThinkPad-related packages below are available via the official Ubuntu repository. Nevertheless it is recommended to use the TLP PPA to stay with the latest TLP version.

Package Installation

Install the packages

tlp (PPA or universe) – Power saving
tlp-rdw (PPA or universe) – optional – Radio Device Wizard

either with your favorite package manager or the command:

sudo apt install tlp tlp-rdw

Version 1.5 only: due to a bug in the Ubuntu packages (official and PPA) it is necessary to enable the service manually after installation:

sudo systemctl enable tlp.service

The problem is resolved for version 1.6.

Legacy ThinkPads only: External Kernel Module for Battery Care

Important

As of version 5.17, the Linux kernel in combination with TLP 1.5 or later offers full battery care support (i.e. charge thresholds and recalibration) for ThinkPads from model year 2011 onwards. Ubuntu 23.10 and 24.04 meet this requirement, 22.04 can be upgraded to the 6.8 kernel (HWE) from the official repositories.

An external kernel module (also referred to as an “out-of-tree” module) is not required in these cases, and the following steps are not necessary. However, if your model is from 2011 or older, read on.

Only if the bottom of the output of tlp-stat -b, section ‘Recommendations’, shows the line

Install tp-smapi kernel modules for ThinkPad battery thresholds and recalibration

then install the required package

tp-smapi-dkms (main) – optional – External kernel module providing battery charge thresholds and recalibration for ThinkPads before model year 2011 as well as specific tlp-stat -b output until model year 2011

either with your favorite package manager or the command

apt install tp-smapi-dkms

Warning

In Ubuntu 23.10 and 24.04 the tp-smapi-dkms package from the official repositories is currently broken and does neither build nor install the kernel module.

Workaround: download the working package from Debian Sid and install manually

wget -P /tmp http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/main/t/tp-smapi/tp-smapi-dkms_0.44-1_all.deb
sudo apt install /tmp/tp-smapi-dkms_0.44-1_all.deb