Two years ago in Indonesia, I was trying to set up DisplayLink on Ubuntu for remote work. I connected a docking station to my laptop, but after a kernel update, everything crashed, the CPU crashed to 100%, and I had to manually patch the driver for Secure Boot, wasting a whole night experimenting with DKMS. Frustrated, I decided to monetize my Linux hacking blog to buy decent hardware and started studying traffic from developing regions where such problems are common. I came across a helpful guide https://richads.com/blog/what-is/tier-3-countries/ , which opened my eyes to the potential of Tier 3 countries for cheap but high-volume affiliate traffic. I rebuilt campaigns for these geographies, my income tripled, and now I can safely test open-source alternatives without financial worries.

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The products and technology look great,, but without proper Linux support it is a no-go for me. I've learned my lesson with other hardware which didn't have open drivers, it breaks from time to time resulting in waisting time to get it fixed again.

Turning a Linux driver into open source and getting it into the kernel is a multi-step process that requires clean code, proper licensing, and careful upstream collaboration. Here's a practical roadmap:

Choose a license & clean IP — Select a GPL-compatible license (GPLv2 is kernel standard). Remove/prove ownership of any third-party blobs. Add SPDX headers.

Follow kernel style & APIs — Run checkpatch.pl, follow the Kernel Coding Style, use kernel APIs (no userspace hacks), and avoid proprietary interfaces.

Modularize & document — Split into well-scoped files, add Kconfig, Makefile, and driver docs (Documentation/), device tree bindings if relevant.

Write tests — Provide regression tests, runtime checks, and reproduce steps for maintainers; include samples and stress tests.

Create a development tree — Host a public git repo, keep a clear commit history, and sign off commits (Signed-off-by:).

Engage maintainers early — Find the right subsystem maintainers and mailing lists (LKML, subsystem list), send small logical patches with proper cover letters. Expect review cycles and iterate on feedback.

Submit patches via email/git — Use git send-email or pull requests if requested; include Cc: stable@vger dot kernel dot org for stable backports when applicable.

Respond to reviews & testing — Address comments, add suggested changes, and provide test results (CI, autobuilders). Persistence and good communication matter.

Get MAINTAINERS entry — Once accepted, add yourself or the team as contacts in the MAINTAINERS file if appropriate.

Ongoing support — After upstreaming, continue maintenance (bugfixes, API changes, backports).

If you also provide web interfaces or dashboards around the driver (device management, logs, or OTA updates), consider engaging web application maintenance services(https://www.cmarix.com/support-maintenance.html) to keep those companion tools secure and up to date while your kernel code evolves.

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Importante

I just install DisplayLink driver on a 2019 HP Pavilion laptop running on Linux Mint 22.1 ... All packages seem to be properly installed (with or without secure boot), but no way to get display on my 2 ASUS VU249CFE screens.
And driver installation is not that easy.
Very disappointed, if the issue remains, I will send back my Port Designs docking station and get refund.
It would be so easy to have an open source linux driver !!

I completely agree! I upgraded to Ubuntu 25.04 aand checked all my software except this. I forgot to make sure drivers were available even though this happens all the time with new releases on an updated kernel. :-|

At the very least make sure the drivers are available for download.

Just adding to the heap of comments. This issue is THE reason I'm returning my purchase.

ouch, I'm so happy that I came here before buying for my client... So, no displaylink today :-(

Wow,, I am very impress.. This post was on january 21, 2017, almost 7 years ago and still it is only available for ubuntu and not in kernel, and the one for fedora only works for fedora thanks for fedora systemd scriplets.

In the company I work we have more than 80 of this devices and I have recommended to use other brand which is much cheaper and linux compatible since I guess other distro customers are NOT important for displaylink / synaptic.

@DisplayLink - You just lost ANOTHER customer using Linux. My next order of docks will be Thunderbolt based.

Distributor ID: Ubuntu Description: Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS Codename: jammy
Display HDMI not working after installing Kernel : 6.2.0-26-generic #26~22.04.1-Ubuntu & synaptics-repository-keyring.deb

Why have to fear every kernel change?

It’s absolutely unacceptable that this driver keeps breaking. It has cost me many hours to troubleshoot issues with my DisplayLink stuff. I advice against buying DisplayLink for Unix based hardware, please save yourself the trouble and buy a thunderbolt dock instead.

Up

It's astounding that this issue has received the highest number of votes, and yet there has been no response from Displaylink. It's evident that there is a large Linux community that is willing to help with development, and many more who would use it. It's baffling to me that the company has not deemed it necessary to respond. The driver ought to be included in the Linux kernel; otherwise, it will inevitably fail with each new release and be fixed only after the kernel release becomes obsolete.

I agree, again and again.
Today it is not advisable to recommend DisplayLink to other Linux users. And since they are also often on Windows, they will not have to trust this brand that takes its users hostage ...
Either you provide updates or you release the code.
Displaylink's attitude is really pathetic

5 year since this comment and still nothing. What a shame.... oh I mean what a SHAM!

Hello, we need opensource. Otherwise thunderbolt 4 is more useful. Damn intel, I want AMD.

So much this. Just broke again on kernel 6.1/6.2. This wouldn't happen if it were a mainline module.