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How to install DisplayLink software on legacy Ubuntu versions

← Troubleshooting: Ubuntu
The latest software for Ubuntu can be downloaded from the DisplayLink website. This will download a .zip file which also includes Release Notes. 

The supported kernel version range is from 4.15 to 5.5, minimum supported Xorg version is 1.16 and minimum supported Mutter (Wayland) is 3.32.

If you are using secure boot, please refer to this article first.
  1. IMPORTANT: Make sure your Ubuntu distibution is up to date by running sudo apt-get update and then sudo apt-get dist-upgrade from a Terminal. If the distribution is not up to date, you may find issues with blank or corrupted USB displays.
  2. Extract the .run file from the .zip file.
  3. Make the .run file executable by right clicking on the file and choose "Properties".

    Check the "Allow executing file as a program" box.
  4. Install the DKMS framework from a Terminal using the command sudo apt-get install dkms
  5. Install the libdrm-dev library from a Terminal using the command sudo apt-get install libdrm-dev
  6. Execute the DisplayLink .run file using the Terminal, by cding to the directory containing the .run file and running the command sudo ./displaylink-driver-xxxxx.run (where xxxx is the version number)
  7. The DisplayLink software should install as shown below.

    You can now connect your DisplayLink products to the computer.
  8. For uninstallation procedure see here.
Note: The DisplayLink .run file just provides support for the video outputs. Audio and Ethernet support are provided by the native Ubuntu drivers.

Please note that we have not tested compatibility with newer kernel versions, and changes in DRM they include. It is possible that the evdi kernel module would need modifications to work properly. Contributions to evdi are welcome.

Wayland use


Current version supports Wayland and it is recommended to use it. To do this, one should select Wayland session on the login screen as shown here:




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