I usually login to my Fedora 26 workstation using the default “Gnome” option in GDM which is supposed to launch Gnome under Wayland. However, when I check using loginctl both GDM and my current Gnome session show as Type=x11.
The only thing I did with my system since the last time I checked, was to install i3 and install an old GTX 770 that I run with nouveau drivers. I heard that the nVidia proprietary drivers don’t work with Wayland yet and therefore it will fallback to XOrg, but that shouldn’t affect me since I am using the open-source drivers that, from what I read, support Wayland 100%.
Now I am wondering if maybe installing i3 overwrote some configuration files, since i3 is XOrg-only. Can someone give me a tip on how I can trouble-shoot this and figure out why my system won’t run under Wayland anymore?
Since I was planning to do it anyways, I wiped my SSD and reinstalled Fedora 26 from the DVD. Right after installing the OS, I checked again and it’s the same situation (both Type=x11).
Is there some compatibility issue that makes GDM/Gnome run in X11? Maybe it detects some configuration/application that prevents Wayland? Does someone know what the requirements are?
There were issues in the past where GNOME/wayland would not work on nvidia cards. Work has been done on that front though, so I’m not sure what the current status is.
The cards support wayland but while all other drivers use the same protocol to expose it nvidia has come up with their own. Many desktop environments didn’t feel like supporting a second protocol because there were no major benefits.