Linux 5.5 Brings Logitech G15 Driver, Better Windows Precision Touchpad Support

The HID area of the kernel is always eventful when it comes to improving the input device support for newer hardware. With Linux 5.5 the HID story means a new Logitech driver and other enhancements.

The Linux 5.5 HID pull was sent in on Friday and some of the highlights consist of a new Logitech driver for gaming keyboards like the G15 and G510. This driver is used for fixing some behavior around the "G" keys, buttons below the keyboard's LCD panel now properly generating key events, backlight controls, and other key handling improvements. This driver was worked on by Red Hat's Hans de Goede.

Also notable for modern hardware support are improvements around Windows Precision Touchpad detection. This should improve the Linux input handling for Microsoft Surface products and more.

There is also a fix for the HP MSU1465 PIXART OEM mouse as up to now on Linux the mouse would connect/disconnect... Yep, a pretty basic mouse for having quirky behavior. This HP OEM mouse that has ~60 second disconnect behavior is similar to a Microsoft OEM mouse that also exhibited similar problems and was fixed up in the Linux kernel last year.

Other Linux HID changes are outlined here.