Running Samsung Notes on Linux via a Windows VM

A complete guide to accessing your Samsung Notes (synced via Samsung Cloud) from a Linux machine, using a KVM/QEMU virtual machine running Windows 11.

My Setup

Host OS: Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish) on Wayland
Hardware: x86_64 desktop with 32+ GB RAM, NVIDIA GPU
Goal: Access Samsung Notes synced from Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S9 FE
Final solution: Windows 11 in KVM/QEMU with Samsung Notes UWP from Microsoft Store

Why This Method?

Several approaches were tested and failed before settling on a Windows VM:

Approach

Why it failed

Waydroid (Android container)

Samsung Notes APK requires com.samsung.device shared library, which only exists on Samsung One UI ROMs. LineageOS-based Waydroid cannot provide it.

Wine

Samsung Notes for Windows is a UWP (Universal Windows Platform) app. Wine has no meaningful UWP support.

Android emulators (BlueStacks, Genymotion, AVD)

Same com.samsung.device problem as Waydroid, they're all AOSP-based, not Samsung One UI.

OneNote sync

Samsung is discontinuing this integration in July 2026. Also requires sync to have been previously set up. Plus tried it before and was not convinced...

Samsung Notes web

Doesn't exist (despite some incorrect claims online).

The Windows VM approach works because the Samsung Notes UWP officially runs on any Windows 10/11 PC since May 2025.

Prerequisites

Linux host with virtualization enabled in BIOS (VT-x for Intel, AMD-V for AMD)
At least 16 GB RAM (8 GB allocated to VM)
At least 60 GB free disk space
A working Samsung account with notes synced via Samsung Cloud
Patience and a willingness to read logs 🤣🤣

Step 1: Install KVM and Virtualization Stack

# Verify virtualization works
egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo  # should be > 0
sudo apt install cpu-checker -y
sudo kvm-ok  # should output "KVM acceleration can be used"

# Install KVM, libvirt, virt-manager, and OVMF (UEFI firmware)
sudo apt install -y qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon-system libvirt-clients \
                    bridge-utils virt-manager ovmf

# Add your user to the necessary groups
sudo usermod -aG libvirt,kvm $USER

# Enable libvirt service
sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd

Log out and back in (or reboot) for the group changes to take effect.

Note on VirtualBox: KVM and VirtualBox cannot use hardware acceleration simultaneously, but they can coexist. Just don't run a VirtualBox VM and a KVM VM at the same time.

Step 2: Download Windows 11 ISO

Download the official ISO from Microsoft:

👉 https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11

Choose Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices) in your preferred language. The file is ~6 GB.

mkdir -p ~/VMs/iso
mv ~/Downloads/Win11_*.iso ~/VMs/iso/

Step 3: Create the VM in virt-manager

Launch virt-manager
File → New Virtual Machine → "Local install media"
Browse to your Windows 11 ISO
RAM: 8192 MB (8 GB), CPUs: 4
Disk size: 64 GB
Name: win11-samsung-notes
✅ Check "Customize configuration before install" (required)

Critical config before first boot:

Firmware (UEFI is mandatory for Windows 11):

Overview → Firmware → UEFI x86_64: /usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE_4M.fd

TPM 2.0 (also mandatory):

Add Hardware → TPM → Type: Emulated, Model: TIS, Version: 2.0
⚠️ Make sure there's only ONE TPM device

CPU:

CPUs → check "Copy host CPU configuration"

Click Begin Installation.

Step 4: Install Windows 11

If the VM lands in a UEFI shell instead of booting the ISO:

Force-off the VM
View → Details → Boot Options → check CDROM, move it to top → Apply
Restart and press a key when "Press any key to boot from CD" appears

During install:

Product key: Click "I don't have a product key" (Windows runs unactivated indefinitely; only cosmetic features are limited)
Edition: Windows 11 Pro
Type: Custom (not Upgrade)

Skipping the Microsoft account requirement:

When Windows 11 demands a Microsoft account, press Shift + F10 to open a command prompt, then run:

start ms-cxh:localonly

This opens the local account creation dialog. (The older oobe\BypassNRO no longer works in recent Windows 11 builds.)

If Shift+F10 doesn't reach the VM, try Send Key menu in virt-manager.

Disable telemetry/Cortana/etc.

Decline everything during the privacy questions (you can re-enable later if you want).

Step 5: Install SPICE Guest Tools (clipboard, drag-and-drop)

Once on the Windows desktop, in Edge inside the VM, download:

👉 https://www.spice-space.org/download/binaries/spice-guest-tools/spice-guest-tools-latest.exe

Run the installer. Reboot Windows.

After reboot:

Bidirectional clipboard (Ctrl+C/V between host and VM) works
Drag-and-drop files from host to VM works
Auto-resize when you resize the virt-manager window

In virt-manager: View → Scale Display → Auto resize VM with window

Step 6: Spoof Galaxy Book SMBIOS (the critical step)

This is what makes Samsung Account work. Without it, Samsung Account fails with Catastrophic failure (HRESULT 0x8000FFFF) because the app tries to read a hardware ID that doesn't exist on a generic QEMU system.

Shut down the VM cleanly, then on the Linux host:

virsh --connect qemu:///system edit win11-samsung-notes

(Replace win11-samsung-notes with your VM name. Check with virsh list --all if unsure.)

Modify the `<os>` block:

Add <smbios mode='sysinfo'/> inside it:

<os>
  <type arch='x86_64' machine='pc-q35-...'>hvm</type>
  <loader .../>
  <nvram>...</nvram>
  <boot dev='hd'/>
  <smbios mode='sysinfo'/>
</os>

Add the `<sysinfo>` block right after `</os>`:

<sysinfo type='smbios'>
  <bios>
    <entry name='vendor'>American Megatrends Inc.</entry>
    <entry name='version'>P11RGF.057.230927.JJ</entry>
    <entry name='date'>09/27/2023</entry>
  </bios>
  <system>
    <entry name='manufacturer'>Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.</entry>
    <entry name='product'>NP960XFG-KC4UK</entry>
    <entry name='version'>P11RGF</entry>
    <entry name='serial'>GBFA12345678</entry>
    <entry name='sku'>SCAI-MWB14-DECEMBER22</entry>
    <entry name='family'>Galaxy Book4 Pro</entry>
  </system>
  <baseBoard>
    <entry name='manufacturer'>Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.</entry>
    <entry name='product'>NP960XFG-KC4UK</entry>
    <entry name='version'>P11RGF</entry>
    <entry name='serial'>GBFA12345678</entry>
  </baseBoard>
  <chassis>
    <entry name='manufacturer'>Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.</entry>
    <entry name='version'>P11RGF</entry>
    <entry name='serial'>GBFA12345678</entry>
    <entry name='asset'>No Asset Tag</entry>
    <entry name='sku'>Notebook</entry>
  </chassis>
</sysinfo>

⚠️ Common pitfall: UUID mismatch

Do NOT add a <entry name='uuid'> line in <system>. If you do, libvirt will reject the config with "UUID mismatch between domain and sysinfo" because the domain already has its own UUID at the top of the XML. Just omit the UUID entry — libvirt will use the domain UUID automatically.

Save and exit (:wq in vi, or Ctrl+O / Ctrl+X in nano).

Step 7: Verify the SMBIOS Spoofing

Boot the VM. In Windows, open PowerShell (admin) and run:

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_ComputerSystem | Select-Object Manufacturer, Model
Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System\BIOS" |
    Select-Object SystemManufacturer, SystemProductName, BaseBoardManufacturer, BaseBoardProduct

You should see:

Manufacturer: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Model: NP960XFG-KC4UK

These values now persist across reboots because they come from the actual virtual firmware, not just registry tweaks.

Step 8: Install Samsung Account and Samsung Notes

In the VM, open Microsoft Store:

Search for "Samsung Account" → Install
Search for "Samsung Notes" → Install

Launch Samsung Account (or directly Samsung Notes). Click Sign in.

You should now be redirected to a working Samsung login page where you can enter your credentials.

Once signed in, your notes will sync down from Samsung Cloud automatically. The first sync may take a few minutes depending on how many notes you have.

Troubleshooting

This is the symptom that requires the SMBIOS spoofing from Step 6. Verify:

The Samsung Account log:

Get-Content "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages\SAMSUNGELECTRONICSCO.LTD.SamsungAccount_*\LocalState\logs\SamsungAccount_*.log" -Tail 100

Look for: Failed during URL (startUri & endUri) generation: Catastrophic failure (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8000FFFF)
If present → Step 6 was incomplete or didn't apply.

apt install hangs / no internet during package downloads

If you have a VPN client running on the host (e.g., NordVPN with the nordlynx interface), it may break routing for apt. Disconnect the VPN, install KVM, then reconnect.

iptables rules dropped after reboot (Docker conflict)

If you have Docker installed, it may rewrite the FORWARD chain to DROP, which can break VM networking later. Quick fix:

sudo iptables -P FORWARD ACCEPT

For a permanent solution, use iptables-persistent.

VM is slow

Edit VM config: change disk bus to virtio, network to virtio
CPU mode: host-passthrough (instead of generic CPU)
Allocate more vCPUs (4-6 is fine on a modern host)

Display doesn't auto-resize

Make sure SPICE is selected in virt-manager (not VNC)
View → Scale Display → Auto resize VM with window
Verify QXL or virtio video driver is loaded in Windows Device Manager

Maintenance Notes

Windows unactivated: The VM works fine without a Windows license. Cosmetic limitations only (watermark, no theme customization). No forced reboots or time limit.
VM startup: The VM doesn't start automatically. Open virt-manager and start it when you need Samsung Notes.
Samsung updates: Samsung occasionally tightens detection on their server. If sign-in stops working in the future, check the log file for new error patterns and adjust SMBIOS values accordingly.

Credits

This solution emerged from a long debugging session.

Special thanks to the kellwinr/galaxybook_mask repository (now archived) for the original concept of presenting a Windows machine as a Galaxy Book (although the registry-only approach doesn't survive reboots in a VM), leading to the SMBIOS-level spoofing documented here.

The breakthrough insight: Samsung Account fails before any network call when hardwareID is empty. The SMBIOS sysinfo block populates it correctly, allowing the URL builder to succeed.

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Last updated 1 month ago