AX210 6 GHz on Linux

[Artim]

For all I know, there shouldn't be a reason 6 GHz shouldn't be allowed in my country. I know it did work a couple of months ago, but it stopped working at some point. For all I know, the regulatory.db shouldn't prohibit it in my region, but then I have no idea how to read my local copy of it. Though if I look into this repo and read the db.txt, this is what it says for my country:

DFS-ETSI
(2400 - 2483.5 @ 40), (100 mW)
(5150 - 5250 @ 80), (200 mW), NO-OUTDOOR, AUTO-BW, wmmrule=ETSI
(5250 - 5350 @ 80), (100 mW), NO-OUTDOOR, DFS, AUTO-BW, wmmrule=ETSI
(5470 - 5725 @ 160), (500 mW), DFS, wmmrule=ETSI
# short range devices (ETSI EN 300 440-1)
(5725 - 5875 @ 80), (25 mW)
# WiFi 6E
(5945 - 6425 @ 320), (23), NO-OUTDOOR, wmmrule=ETSI
# 60 GHz band channels 1-4 (ETSI EN 302 567)
(57000 - 66000 @ 2160), (40)

I use the newest firmware fom https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/ and Kernel 6.14.2. Also, my Android phone has no issues sending 6 GHz either for all I can tell, another reason this shouldn't be an issue with regulations. The only "solution" I could find in this thread was this one, but I wouldn't call unplugging the antenna a solution. So how can I have my device see 6 GHz networks again?

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello Artim,

Thank you for posting in Intel Communities.

Please allow me some time to review this internally, and I will provide an update once it's available.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello Artim,

Please be advised that I am still currently working on this request. To investigate this issue further, please provide your the exact make and model of your system device, as we need to verify whether 6 GHz is fully supported.

Additionally, I would like to set your expectations regarding 6 GHz by checking this helpful article, "How to Enable 6 GHz Band Using Intel® Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 Products."

I hope to hear from you soon, so I can proceed with the investigation.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Artim]

Hi Jeannette,

I'm on a Framework 16, which comes natively with a WiFi 6E chip. Though, due to the horrible quality of MediaTek products, I replaced it with a "Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax) AX210/AX1675* 2x2 [Typhoon Peak] (rev 1a)".

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello Artim,

Thank you for this update. I'll look further into this and will share an update once available.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello Artim,

Please check the following:

1) If you are using an AP/router for the 6GHz SSID, please ensure that the firmware for the AP/router (brand and model) is updated to the latest version.

2) You may try the following options to see if there is any improvement:

1. Try using a different 6GHz wireless router to see if the AX210 can detect it under Windows 11 OS?
2. For Linux OS, the Intel wireless device requires firmware to operate. Firmware is typically included with your Linux OS distribution, or it can be downloaded from the Firmware git tree. Each download provides firmware under its own license. You may try configuring the router to use non-DFS channels.
3. Reduce the channel width of the wireless router to "20MHz" or "40MHz," and keep the PC closer to the router with no obstacles in between.

If the above options still do not work, check the dmesg log to see if the firmware version is listed. Here are the steps:

Type: # dmesg | grep “no suitable firmware found!”​

If the result is not empty, it means that you don't have a suitable FW (api mentioned in the dmesg).

Therefore, please visit this link:​ h​ttps://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/iwlwifi ​for supported FW,  or here​ ​https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/ for the latest versions, because you need to look for a stable kernel version 6.14.

I hope this helps.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Artim]

Hi,

I wasn't able to log in the past few days and I didn't see the notification for this message. 

I do not use Windows and I don't own any 6 GHz capable devices running Windows. And as Microsoft doesn't provide any "Live USB" image like most Linux distros do, I can't just test it (and I'm not convinced that I can just pass through my WiFi module to a VM running Windows.

I already use the latest firmware from 10th of April, downloaded from https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/. The only 6 GHz capable AP I have is my Pixel 9, so I can't select which channel it uses (at least not to my knowledge), same for the channel width.

dmesg doesn't see any entries about not found firmware. These are the entries for just grep'ing for "firmware":

[    2.488918] [drm] Loading DMUB firmware via PSP: version=0x08004E00
[    2.489271] [drm] Found VCN firmware Version ENC: 1.23 DEC: 9 VEP: 0 Revision: 15
[   10.791089] tee tee0: Direct firmware load for /amdtee/f29bb3d9-bd66-5441-afb88acc2b2b60d6.bin failed with error -2
[   10.791092] failed to load firmware /amdtee/f29bb3d9-bd66-5441-afb88acc2b2b60d6.bin
[   10.806902] iwlwifi 0000:01:00.0: loaded firmware version 89.4d42c933.0 ty-a0-gf-a0-89.ucode op_mode iwlmvm
[   10.964793] Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014
[   10.967075] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-0041-0041.sfi
[   10.967089] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware Version: 200-48.24
[   12.225444] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete
[   12.225765] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware loaded in 1229186 usecs
[   12.278381] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware timestamp 2024.48 buildtype 1 build 81864
[   12.278398] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware SHA1: 0xc115e35a

That should give you all information about the firmware used.

[BobDobbs]

@Artim I am having a similar problem.  I installed Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS on my desktop PC with an AX210. WiFi works except 6 GHz.

I am in the US, and my router supports WiFi 7, so there is no reason 6 GHz WiFi 6E should not work on the AX210.

In fact, 6 GHz WiFi does work, on a second machine which also has an AX210, but which is running Windows 11.  So, I am fairly sure I have the router configured correctly.

I do not think this is a signal strength problem.  The Ubuntu PC is perhaps 20 feet from the router, through one wall.  Ordinary residential, drywall and wood construction. During the brief periods where the Ubuntu machine detects the 6 GHz SSID (see below), signal strength is shown as good to excellent.

My situation is still more confusing because sometimes, the Ubuntu PC does detect a special, 6 GHz-only SSID that I set up on the router, and will connect to it.  It will only stay connected for something like 10 minutes, then it switches over to a 5 GHz connection on a different SSID.  At that point the 6 GHz SSID no longer shows up in the network GUI.

I have a second SSID on the router that offers 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands.  The Ubuntu machine does detect the presence of 6 GHz signal on that SSID (in the network config GUI), but will only connect at 5 GHz.  There does not seem to be any way to force a connection on a particular frequency band.

I tried kernel 6.14.3 and had the same results, so I went back to the 6.11.x kernel that came with Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS.

In theory, both of us should be able to use the full capabilities of our AX210's.  I don't know what the problem is.

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello BobDobbs,

Thank you for posting in Intel Communities.

I understand that you are facing the same problem with your desktop PC with an AX210 running with Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS. However, I kindly request that you create a new thread for your case. This will allow us to focus on your specific problem and provide you with better assistance.  

Sincerely,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[BobDobbs]

I did.  Days ago.  Still waiting for a reply.

[BobDobbs]

@Artim what Linux distribution are you using?

My 6 GHz problem seems to have been with Ubuntu, not the Intel AX210.

I tried a live session of Fedora 42 Workstation instead of Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, and 6 GHz WiFi worked fine, straight away. 

With this good result, I did a full install, and am monitoring it for a stable connection @ 6 GHz.  So far, so good, though it hasn't yet been 24 hours.

[Artim]

I'm on Debian Testing. But the only ways I see this can be distro dependent is the difference being in the Kernel (but I am already running on 6.14.4, which is at least as new as Fedora's Kernel), or difference in firmware (where I also am already running on the April dump from the upstream git repo) or in the package giving the regulatory.db. But the only version of the package available is 2025.02.20, and the question is if there even was an update to the upstream database after that date. According to this page, there wasn't. And checking the regulatory.db file from the package found on that page with the one present on my system with sha256sum, they are identical.

[BobDobbs]

Correct, Fedora 42 has the 6.14.4 kernel as well.

Any 6.x kernel should allow full use of an AX210, yet this is not the case for you with Debian, or for me with the latest two versions of Ubuntu.  Yet, it works in Fedora 42.  Also, Linux Mint 22.1, more on that below.

If you like Debian-ish distros, and you need a working 6 GHz solution right away, may I suggest Linux Mint?  I tried a live session of the latest Mint release (22.1, released 16 Jan 2025) and 6 GHz worked.  Kernel version is older (6.8.x), but it works.

[Artim]

I'm most certainly not switching distros just because Intel must have messed something that's preventing some combinations in the stack not enabling 6 GHz.

Like originally explained, it's not that it never worked, it merely stopped working. So the question is what has changed?

[BobDobbs]

What do the Debian folks have to say about this?

I have yet to get a useful response from anyone on the Ubuntu side, so I'm happy to switch distros.

I don't see the problem with switching distros.  Unless there is a specific regulatory or compliance need tying you to a particular distro, why make yourself miserable?  Find something that works.

Given that nothing has changed with the regulatory.db file, and that 6 GHz works fine under other Linuxes, it doesn't seem like your current difficulty is actually Intel's fault.  

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello Artim,

Did you have a chance to review the previous post?

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello Artim,

I wanted to let you know that we're still investigating the issue you brought to our attention. I've sent you a private message via email, so please check your inbox as well as your spam and junk folders, as the message might have been directed there.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello Artim,

Thank you for providing these valuable insights. I will continue to investigate this issue internally and will update you as soon as new information becomes available.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello Artim,

Thank you for providing these valuable insights. I will continue to investigate this issue internally and will update you as soon as new information becomes available.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello Artim,

After deliberate investigation of this issue, you need to contact your laptop manufacturer regarding this integration of the wireless card due to the following reasons:

1. Installation or use of Intel® Wireless Adapters is subject to country-specific legal regulations. If the device you have was not certified by your laptop manufacturer to use Intel wireless cards for 6 GHz, usage of this frequency may result to performance, stability issues, or the laptop not being able to use the frequency at all.
2. An Intel® Wireless Adapter installed in a system that is being sold on the market doesn't necessarily mean that same wireless adapter can be used or installed in any other systems for the above mentioned reason.
3. As each country may have different regulatory requirements, before you install/change the Intel® Wireless Adapter in a system, you must contact the system manufacturer to determine if the Intel® Wireless Adapters you plan to install is approved for use in your system and country. You are required to follow the manufacturer's post-approval requirements.
4. While MediaTek and Intel both use an M.2 connector, please note that each wireless card may have different pin assignments and connection protocols for example the Intel® Integrated Connectivity (CNVi). It's still best to coordinate with the laptop manufacturer to check if there would be conflicting technologies or protocols after switching from MediaTek to an Intel Wireless card that you should be aware or need to address in order to have his laptop working with no issues. it is also important to understand that it the wireless card change may not work due to hardware or software compatibility issues or dependencies.
5. Please note that in case the laptop manufacturer doesn't have the necessary approvals, the party installing the device is responsible for approvals. Installing adapters in an unauthorized system may be illegal. The end user is not authorized to install the Intel® Wireless Adapters. Only the manufacturer or its authorized representative can install the adapters.

Please coordinate with your laptop manufacturer regarding the 6 GHz connection issue. 

I will now proceed in closing this thread. Should you need assistance in the future, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Sincerely,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Artim]

As to 1.: This can not be the case, as the Laptop not only is officially sold in Germany, but also by default equipped with a 6 GHz WiFi module

As to 2: see as to 1, it's a non-issue

As to 3: as the module is officially sold here in Germany, it's impossible that this is an issue.

As to 5: see above, it's just not a thing.

So no, you may not proceed in closing this thread, I literally told you via email, the the firmware you mentioned that was necessary is present but isn't loaded by the Kernel. So blaiming regulations is just a straw man argument. Please consider fixing this bug!