How to Install AMD Drivers on Ubuntu 26.04 – Check, ROCm & Fixes

Update Ubuntu and reboot

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

sudo reboot

AMD driver updates reach Ubuntu this way, with the kernel, Mesa and firmware. Keep installing updates and the driver stays current.

Check that the card uses the amdgpu driver

lspci -k | grep -EA3 'VGA|3D|Display'

mike@ubuntu:~$ lspci -k | grep -EA3 'VGA|3D|Display'
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Navi 32 [Radeon RX 7700 XT / 7800 XT] (rev c8)
	Subsystem: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Navi 32 [Radeon RX 7700 XT / 7800 XT]
	Kernel driver in use: amdgpu
	Kernel modules: amdgpu

Kernel driver in use: amdgpu is the line that matters. A Ryzen laptop or desktop with a graphics card can show two entries, one for the graphics inside the processor. Both should say amdgpu.

If it says radeon, see older Radeon cards. If there is no driver line at all, see the first fix.

Confirm OpenGL and Vulkan use your card

The two test tools are not installed by default. Add them:

sudo apt install mesa-utils vulkan-tools

glxinfo -B | grep 'OpenGL renderer'

mike@ubuntu:~$ glxinfo -B | grep 'OpenGL renderer'
OpenGL renderer string: AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (radeonsi, navi32, ...)

vulkaninfo --summary | grep -E 'deviceName|driverName'

mike@ubuntu:~$ vulkaninfo --summary | grep -E 'deviceName|driverName'
	deviceName         = AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (RADV NAVI32)
	driverName         = radv
	deviceName         = llvmpipe (LLVM 21.1.8, 256 bits)
	driverName         = llvmpipe

Your card name in both means you are done. The extra llvmpipe entry in the Vulkan list is normal. It is a software fallback, and games use the real card.

If the OpenGL line says llvmpipe instead of your card, the desktop is running without the GPU. Go to the fix.

Check which formats your card decodes

sudo apt install vainfo
vainfo

mike@ubuntu:~$ vainfo
vainfo: VA-API version: 1.23 (libva 2.23.0)
vainfo: Driver version: Mesa Gallium driver 26.0.8-1ubuntu0.3 for AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (radeonsi, navi32, ...)
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
      VAProfileH264High               : VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileH264High               : VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileHEVCMain               : VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain               : VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileVP9Profile0            : VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileAV1Profile0            : VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileAV1Profile0            : VAEntrypointEncSlice

Each VAEntrypointVLD line is a format the card decodes. VAEntrypointEncSlice means it can also encode that format, which screen recorders such as OBS Studio can use. Older cards list fewer formats.

Apps that support VA-API use it on their own. There is nothing to switch on.

Using Ollama or LM Studio? You do not need ROCm

Both bring their own copy. The Ollama installer detects an AMD card and downloads what it needs, and LM Studio ships its own ROCm and Vulkan engines. Install them and they use the card.

Install ROCm from Ubuntu when you build software with it, or run a tool that asks for a system copy.

Give your account access to the GPU

ROCm talks to the card through a device only the render group can open. Add yourself, then log out and back in:

sudo usermod -aG render $USER

Install ROCm

sudo apt install rocm-dev

This is the developer set: the HIP compiler, the maths and AI libraries, and the tools below. It needs about 3 GB of disk space. sudo apt install rocm adds AMD’s test suites on top and needs about 7 GB.

Check that ROCm sees the card

rocminfo | grep -E 'Marketing Name|gfx'

mike@ubuntu:~$ rocminfo | grep -E 'Marketing Name|gfx'
  Marketing Name:          AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 8-Core Processor
  Name:                    gfx1101
  Marketing Name:          AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
      Name:                    amdgcn-amd-amdhsa--gfx1101

Your card and a gfx code mean ROCm is working. The processor always appears in the list too.

Ubuntu lists these cards for its ROCm packages:

Other recent Radeon cards may work but are not on the list. If a tool rejects your card, check its own documentation before changing anything system-wide.

The desktop uses llvmpipe instead of your card

llvmpipe is software drawing on the processor. The desktop works but feels slow and games will not run. Two causes cover almost every case. First, check the boot options:

cat /proc/cmdline

If you see nomodeset, the graphics driver is being switched off at boot, usually by an old fix that was never undone. Open the boot settings, delete nomodeset from the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT line, save with Ctrl + O, exit with Ctrl + X, and apply:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub
sudo update-grub
sudo reboot

If there is no nomodeset, look for a missing firmware file:

sudo dmesg | grep -i amdgpu | grep -i firmware

A line that says a firmware file failed to load means the package is damaged or incomplete. Reinstall it and reboot:

sudo apt install --reinstall linux-firmware-amd-graphics
sudo reboot

An older Radeon card uses the radeon driver

Radeon HD 7700 to 7900, R7 and R9 200 series and other cards of that generation now use the amdgpu driver by default. That gives them Vulkan, which Steam needs for most Windows games, and better speed.

If lspci -k still shows radeon for one of these cards, an older guide probably forced it. Look for leftover settings:

grep -rE 'si_support|cik_support' /etc/default/grub /etc/modprobe.d/

Delete every line or boot option it finds. For a result in /etc/default/grub, edit it as in the fix above and run sudo update-grub. For a file in /etc/modprobe.d/, remove the line, then run sudo update-initramfs -u and reboot.

Cards older than that, such as the Radeon HD 6000 series and the low-end HD 7000 models built on the same design, stay on the radeon driver. The desktop works, but there is no Vulkan.

rocminfo says permission denied or no GPU found

Your account is not in the render group yet, or you have not logged out since joining it. Check:

groups

If render is missing, run sudo usermod -aG render $USER. Either way, log out completely and back in, then run rocminfo again.

The screen is black after installing AMD’s driver

Restart and open the boot menu: hold Shift as the machine starts, or tap Esc on most newer PCs. Choose Advanced options, then a recovery mode entry, then root. Remove AMD’s packages and restart:

mount -o remount,rw /
apt purge amdgpu-dkms amdgpu-dkms-firmware amdgpu-install
update-initramfs -u
reboot

Ubuntu comes back on its own amdgpu driver.

What it adds, and what it costs

For Ubuntu 26.04, it installs one thing: AMD’s own build of the amdgpu kernel driver, compiled on your machine. It adds no control panel, no gaming speed and no ROCm. Ubuntu already includes the driver, signed and tested with its kernel.

The cost is real. With Secure Boot on, you have to enrol a key at the next boot, and the driver is rebuilt after every kernel update. When a rebuild fails, the result is often a black screen.

It mainly serves AMD Instinct servers and software that needs AMD’s exact driver version. For a desktop or laptop, stay with Ubuntu’s.

Remove AMD’s driver

sudo apt purge amdgpu-dkms amdgpu-dkms-firmware amdgpu-install
sudo update-initramfs -u
sudo apt update
sudo reboot

After the reboot, lspci -k still shows amdgpu, now Ubuntu’s own. If the screen is black instead, use the recovery steps.