Question about the new QubesOS Certified Laptop NV41 Series

General Discussion
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So I saw the new high-end laptop that is now certified for the use of QubesOS, which is great, but I really wanted a key that can verify on each boot that the laptop has not been tampered with, just like NitroKey does with every laptop they sell, and I checked, and I saw that NitroKey has the exact same laptop that NovaCustom has, same pictures, same specs, both are gonna be delivered in August and everything is the same (They call it NitroPad NV41 for those who want to check it out) AND it comes with the key I wanted to check the tamper thing.

The thing is, I dont see their laptop being mentioned anywhere in the certified post, which got me scared thinking it might not be certified and therefore MIGHT not be as compatible as the NovaCustom one, from what I see everything is the same apart from the BIOS, NovaCustom laptop comes with “Dasharo coreboot” while NitroKey’s laptop comes with “Coreboot, Heads” and I dont want to spend 2000+ euros only to not have a certified laptop for the use I want it for, please let me know your thoughts on this, thank you.

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The link for the certified announcement is here, the system doesnt let me post more than 2 links at a time.

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Certified means the OEM has provided the computer to the Qubes OS team which incorporates it into their testing setup to make sure any issues are caught early. The NitroPad NV41 not being certified means that Nitrokey either hasn’t asked for it to be certified, hasn’t provided that computer (yet) or that’s in progress but there wasn’t any announcement yet. I don’t know but I suppose the last is the most likely scenario.

I personally would prefer the version with Heads and measured boot by using the external Nitrokey. I see they offer it with Qubes OS preinstalled.

Long story short: there is no guarantee but chances are this NV41 will work just as well as the already certified one and Nitrokey has a good track record and a business interest in making Qubes OS users happy. Why don’t you email them and ask if they are going for certification? I emailed them about other topics in the past and have always received an answer after a few days.

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Thank you for your reply.

You made a small typo at your sentance, the NV41 is already certified, and the NitroPad NV41 is not certified (yet, I will ask if they are in process of doing so) but I am probably gonna go with the NitroPad NV41 since it has heads and measured boot just like you said.

Have a fine day.