Intel® CSME 11.8 : activate Wifi support in firmware for Intel® Wireless-AC 9260 ?

[Hassan-O]

Dear Intel Community Members / CSME Experts,

I have a (some may say) quite old desktop motherboard built on Q170 chipset with vPro capabilities:

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/90587/intel-q170-chipset.html

everything is working flawlessly.

I am posting this question because I would like to understand and possibly fix something in my setup.

To cut the story short, I like wireless technologies (network, Bluetooth, etc...) because I dislike wires.

A home office is really cleaner without numerous wires going everywhere, and since day 1, I have installed and used a PCIe Wifi adapter based on Intel WiFi products to benefit from great Wifi performance.

I am regularly updating that PCIe WiFi adapter with latest Intel wireless chip when it can benefit from an upgrade of my Wifi internet box.

So right now I have Intel® Wireless-AC 9260 which is also vPro compliant

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/99445/intel-wireless-ac-9260.html

It seems my CSME 11.8 firmware was once capable of recognizing and use an Wifi Adapter

Wireless Micro-code Mismatch No
Wireless Micro-code ID in Firmware 0x24F3
Wireless LAN in Firmware Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/86068/intel-dual-band-wireless-ac-8260.html

and I confirm I previously had an 8260 in my system.

But after I upgraded to 9260, my CSME firmware was no more able to use WiFi, as it does NOT detect the 9260.

[. . .]
FW Capabilities value is 0x7DFE5147
Feature enablement is 0x7DFE5147
Platform type is 0x42221422
No Intel Wireless device was found
[. . .]
Wireless Micro-code Mismatch No
Wireless Micro-code ID in Firmware 0x24F3
Wireless LAN in Firmware Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
Wireless Hardware ID No Intel WLAN card installed
Wireless LAN Hardware No Intel WLAN card installed

see full ME Info attached.

My question is therefore simple:

without infringing any Intel Intellectual Property, is there anything I can do to make my CSME 11.8 firmware working again with an 9260 wifi adapter ?

I am comfortable with any operation on firmware, so don't be afraid to be very technical if necessary.

Thanks very much in advance for your assistance.

Hassan

[Emeth_O_Intel]

Hello Hassan-O, 

Thank you for contacting Intel AMT Community. 

I would like to ask you the following questions in order to have a better understanding of this case: 

• Is this a laptop or desktop? What is the brand-name and model?
• What is the operating system you have installed? 
• If you downgrade the component is the WI-FI working? Or still persist the issue? 
• Have you confirmed if the Intel® Wireless-AC 9260 is totally compatible with this machine? 
• Have you tried to update to the latest Intel® Management Engine (Intel® ME) version?
• Does your system detect the component? Or is it not detected at all?

I will be looking forward to your response. 

Regards, 

Emeth O. 
Intel Server Specialist. 

[Hassan-O]

Hi Emeth,

please find below the answers to your question.

1°) it is a *desktop* *no name* brand computer, built around the ASRock Q170M vPro motherboard

https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Q170M%20vPro/index.asp

2°) Windows 10 x64, latest 20H2 release

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19042.630]

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-information/

3°) I cannot downgrade as I don't have the previous WiFi PCIe adaptor

4°) as I wrote, the Intel® Wireless-AC 9260 (mounted on a PCIe 1x Adapter) is totally supported under Intel vPro® Technology, see

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/99445/intel-wireless-ac-9260.html

and is perfectly working with Windows 10 using latest Windows® 10 Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel® Wireless Adapters, see

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29902/

5°) as far as I can tell, I am usig latest version of  Intel® CSME firmware 11.8 which is:

11.8.81.3781 CORPORATE (*NOT* Consumer)

6°) the Intel® Wireless-AC 9260 (mounted on a PCIe 1x Adapter) is perfectly working on Windows 10.

Only the Intel® CSME firmware 11.8 is ignoring.

Hope this helps.

Please advise.

Hassan

[IntelSupport]

Hello Hassan-O,

Thank you for providing additional details your setup.

If we understand correctly, after installing an Intel® Wireless-AC 9260 in your motherboard, it has no Wi-Fi connectivity due to the Intel® Converged Security and Management Engine (Intel® CSME). Could you please confirm this?

Have you confirmed with ASRock if this adapter is compatible with the motherboard?

Wanner G.

Intel Server Specialist

[Hassan-O]

Dear Intel Community Support,

I must confess I am a bit confused with your line of questioning.

It seems to me that we have hard time understanding each other.

So allow me to explain again a little bit.

When I log into Windows 10, I have perfect WiFi connectivity which right now allows me to write my response to you.

My question is about Intel CSME 11.8 firmware embedded in my system that delivers the 'vPro' capabilities.

That specific Intel CSME 11.8 firmware is not recognizing my current PCIe WiFI adapater using Intel® Wireless-AC 9260, therefore restricting usage of some vPro functionalities.

And with your assistance I would like to fix that.

Also I don't understand why you're trying to defer (deflect ?) the question to ASRock.

Everything is Intel technology and/or product:

the CPU Intel® Core™ i7-6700 Processor with vPro technology,

the chipset Q170 with vPro technology,

the Wireless-AC 9260 with vPro technology,

the Intel CSME 11.8 firmware for leveraging vPro capabilities.

So it seems to me that you are the best to assist me in solving my problem.

ASRock is merely an integrator in that picture.

SO if we agree that you are the best ones to help me, could you please articulate in plain and simple english

why would my Intel CSME 11.8 seem capable of recognizing an Wireless-AC 8260 but seems unable to recognize an Wireless-AC 9260 ?

***Once I understand that***, if there is something either I or ASRock can do to fix it, I'll be more than happy to follow through.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Hassan

[IntelSupport]

Hello Hassan-O,

Thank you for providing additional details about your inquiry. 

We are currently reviewing this information to better assist you.

We will update this thread soon.

Wanner G.

Intel Server Specialist

[IntelSupport]

Hello Hassan-O,

After reviewing the issue described on this thread, our recommendation is that you contact the motherboard manufacturer to obtain additional information about this behavior since it is related to the firmware, drivers, and BIOS settings running on your system. Since only your system manufacturer is familiar with your motherboard BIOS and firmware provided for this component, the best course of action is to obtain support from ASRock*.

This could also be related to the wireless hardware upgrade performed. It is worth mentioning that ASRock* can also confirm if the Intel® Wireless-AC 9260 has been tested with the motherboard.

Regards,

Wanner G.

Intel Server Specialist