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

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.

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 the entry names Intel instead, see how to install Intel graphics drivers on Ubuntu. If there is no driver line at all, see the first fix.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.