Why Disable the Wayland Display Server?
In recent releases, Ubuntu uses the Wayland display server by default instead of the older, traditional X11 (X.Org) server. While Wayland offers superior security and smoother graphical performance, it still suffers from compatibility issues with certain screen recording software, remote desktop applications, and older proprietary graphics drivers.
If you are experiencing black screens when trying to share your screen on a video call, or if a specific graphical application refuses to launch, reverting to the battle-tested X11 display server will usually solve the problem instantly.
How to Revert to X11 on the Ubuntu Login Screen
You do not need to uninstall Wayland; you can simply choose which display server to use from the lock screen.
- Save any open work and Log Out of your current Ubuntu desktop session, or restart your computer.
- When you arrive at the login screen, click on your Username.
- Before typing your password, look in the bottom-right corner of the screen for a small Gear icon. Click it.
- A small menu will pop up. You will likely see “Ubuntu” (which uses Wayland) and “Ubuntu on Xorg”.
- Select Ubuntu on Xorg.
- Enter your password and log in normally.
Your session is now running on the X11 server. Ubuntu will remember this choice and continue to use X11 for all future logins until you manually change it back using the same gear icon.
Alternative: Force X11 by Editing Configuration Files
If you want to disable Wayland system-wide (for example, on a shared machine), you can edit the GDM3 login manager configuration.
- Open the Terminal (
Ctrl + Alt + T). - Edit the configuration file with root privileges:
sudo nano /etc/gdm3/custom.conf- Find the line that says
#WaylandEnable=false. - Remove the
#symbol to uncomment it. - Save (
Ctrl + O) and exit (Ctrl + X). - Restart your computer. The system will now force the use of X11 for all users.