Linux driver Wifi 6 AX210 NGW

[BrokenClock]

I've just upgraded my desktop's Wifi card to an Intel AX210 NGW. After manually installing drivers, it works fine in windows.

In linux however, it doesn't, and I can't seem to find the drivers for it.

The product specification lists Linux support (https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-briefs/wi-fi-6e-ax210-product-brief.pdf page 2), however, the latest wireless adapter listed on the Linux support page is the AX201 (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005511/network-and-io/wireless.html and https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/iwlwifi).

Are there resources I'm missing ?

Running Mint 20.1, Kernel 5.8

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello BrokenClock,

Thank you for posting in the Intel* Community.

I will proceed to check this internally, please expect a response soon.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[BrokenClock]

Hi,

Do you have any news on this ?

A beta build of ilwifi, or an ETA, or even a description of the current situation ?

Currently using an external wifi adapter while I'm waiting for a resolution.

[Tremain]

I gave up. I tested kernel 5.11 rc5, which actually works with the ax210 but it didn't resolve the pulsar of my buying the ax210, which was because of the ax201 not connecting to the third gen white xfinity xFi. Neither the ax201 or ax210 can reliably connect to it via 5Ghz channel regardless of kernel. Sometimes it will actually connect with amazing speeds but after one reboot it will no longer work.

I purchased today a TP Link wireless extender with the latest ax/ac updates and the same issue is happening. With kernel 5.11 rc5 I cannot establish a valid connection to the 5 Ghz on that Wi-Fi device either so it's definitely an issue with the Intel cards, both ax201 & ax210.

Since kernel 5.11 rc5 allows the Intel cards to connect but not establish a proper 5 Ghz connection, it might just get a firmware update in Ubuntu or a tweak in the 5.11 kernel.

[n_scott_pearson]

Which tp-link device are you referring to?

I originally cheaped-out and purchased the AX10 (AX1500). It worked great for a while, but then Intel released a slew of (Windows) driver updates and the connections started getting worse and worse. In a very short time, I went from nice 5GHz AX connections to awful 2.4GHz N connections.

I wanted better whole-house coverage, so I purchased a second unit, this time the AX20 (AX1800, 150MHz channels width), but only because 'I got a deal' (I am way too frugal (ok, cheap) for my own good). Originally, I put the AX20 upstairs, mostly because I didn't want the hassle of having to reconfigure the AX10. I found that, despite the distance away, connecting to the AX20 upstairs was better than connecting to the AX10 downstairs (just a few feet away).

I read a post here that indicated that the 150MHz channel width made all the difference, so I swapped the two routers. The AX10 is just fine upstairs (where, frankly, it will be used mostly for smartphone and tablet connections) and the AX20 is better downstairs (covering my office and rec room, where I test with various PCs, Laptops, Compute Sticks and NUCs). This has made a night and day difference in AX200 performance. Back are the nice 5GHz AX connections.

...S

[Tremain]

It's the tp-link AX-1500 dual band. I can actually get the 5 Ghz connection, receive DHCP addresses and establish the initial connection, but then nothing happens and I can't even ping the gateway/router/extender. In the arp table is shows that the HWaddress is (incomplete). Very frustrating. Since it is the same exact error as connecting to the Xfiniti Xfi 3rd gen gateway I'm returning the AX-1500, it definitely appears to be an Intel and/or kernel issue.

[Tremain]

Same here. Ubuntu 20.04, 5.8.0-40. Bluetooth flickers on and off and no Wi-Fi card detected at all.

Shutting down I recurve this error multiple times:

bluetooth: hci0: readying Intel information failed (-22)

bluetooth: hci0: Intel read version failed (-22)

[Tremain]

Partial progress. I upgraded my kernel to 5.10.0-1008-oem. This allows the ax210 to now see wifi networks and the bluetooth isn't resetting every second although I didn't test any bluetooth devices. Unfortunately, regardless of what band I use, the ax210 will not actually connect to a wifi channel. I tested multiple wifi repeaters and gateways but no joy. Ironically, the purpose for my purchasing the ax210 is now resolved, lol. I was using an ax201 but it wouldn't connect properly to the xfinity gateway we just had installed. The ax201 would connect to 2.4Ghz but not 5.0 and when it did with different firmware versions then it wouldn't even transfer at 1/10th the speed of 2.4. The 5.10 kernel fixed the ax201 5.0Ghz issue so I'll just have to stick with that for now until it is resolved.

[Tremain]

Well, I spoke too fast. After a reboot, the ax201 is back to not connecting to 5.0, only 2.4 signals. Hopefully Intel will come up with something for the ax210.

[Maria_R_Intel]

HelloTremain,

Thank you for the information you shared, we are still looking into this. Please expect an update soon.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Tremain]

Thank you very much. If I could get either the ax201 or ax210 to make a stable connection to the Xfiniti 5 Ghz I would be excited, lol. I can now establish the connection and even get a DHCP address but no connection outside of the nic and something appears wrong with the mac in the arp table. 

On a side note, is it possible to find the exact WPA settings or would that be the Xfiniti gateway? I saw a reference of someone doing a WPA 'Enterprise' connection instead of the normal WPA2 in order to allow additional settings. Not sure if that's worth it but I figured I'd throw it in the mix.

If you by chance can find an employee using Xfiniti xfi gen 3 gateway, could you send them home with a laptop with an ax201 or ax210? Having a tech savoy employee seeing the issue might help the process. 

[BrokenClock]

Right looks like the AX210 has now been listed on the wiki (https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/iwlwifi) as of Kernel 5.10 .I'll give that a go.

Interestingly, the Linux Support page doesn't yet list the AX210.(https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005511/network-and-io/wireless.html)

[BrokenClock]

I installed Kernel 5.10.13 on Mint 2.1, and my AX210 seems to be working fine. I'll mark the post as solved in a few days if I don't have trouble with it

[BrokenClock]

So, after Kernel 5.10, systemd-udev is binding and unbinding the bluetooth device in a loop.
it pins a cpu core in the background permamently.

Spoiler

UDEV [27815.638703] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0/bluetooth/hci0/rfkill6403 (rfkill)
UDEV [27815.639414] unbind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.1 (usb)
KERNEL[27815.780237] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0/bluetooth/hci0/rfkill34569 (rfkill)
KERNEL[27815.780271] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0/bluetooth/hci0 (bluetooth)
KERNEL[27815.780293] unbind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.1 (usb)
KERNEL[27815.780314] unbind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[27815.780339] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[27815.780364] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.1 (usb)
KERNEL[27815.793364] unbind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
KERNEL[27815.793406] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
UDEV [27815.873124] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0/bluetooth/hci0 (bluetooth)
UDEV [27815.873304] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.1 (usb)
UDEV [27816.106743] unbind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0 (usb)
UDEV [27816.337753] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.396564] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.414504] change /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.414547] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.414566] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0/bluetooth/hci0 (bluetooth)
KERNEL[27816.414586] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0/bluetooth/hci0/rfkill34570 (rfkill)
KERNEL[27816.414614] bind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.414641] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.1 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.414667] bind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.1 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.414696] bind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.576155] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0/bluetooth/hci0/rfkill34570 (rfkill)
KERNEL[27816.576189] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0/bluetooth/hci0 (bluetooth)
KERNEL[27816.576212] unbind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.1 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.576232] unbind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.576258] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.0 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.576304] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8/1-8:1.1 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.589438] unbind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
KERNEL[27816.589479] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
UDEV [27816.590725] unbind /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
UDEV [27816.797533] remove /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
KERNEL[27817.195660] add /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)
KERNEL[27817.213326] change /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.3/0000:03:00.0/usb1/1-8 (usb)

Not sure what to do. Kernel 5.10.13, Mint 20.1, installed through the mainline utility

[BrokenClock]

Seems like it's having trouble initialising the Bluetooth side of the card :
Here's a dmesg snippet

Spoiler

[ 39.582682] usb 1-8: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
[ 39.607092] Bluetooth: hci0: Reading Intel version information failed (-22)
[ 39.607097] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel Read version failed (-22)
[ 39.607121] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel reset sent to retry FW download
[ 39.611339] usb 1-8: USB disconnect, device number 47
[ 39.611974] xhci_hcd 0000:03:00.0: WARN Set TR Deq Ptr cmd failed due to incorrect slot or ep state.
[ 40.048374] usb 1-8: new full-speed USB device number 48 using xhci_hcd
[ 40.383797] usb 1-8: New USB device found, idVendor=8087, idProduct=0032, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 40.383800] usb 1-8: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
[ 40.407174] Bluetooth: hci0: Reading Intel version information failed (-22)
[ 40.407179] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel Read version failed (-22)
[ 40.407209] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel reset sent to retry FW download
[ 40.411421] usb 1-8: USB disconnect, device number 48
[ 40.412073] xhci_hcd 0000:03:00.0: WARN Set TR Deq Ptr cmd failed due to incorrect slot or ep state.
[ 40.848405] usb 1-8: new full-speed USB device number 49 using xhci_hcd
[ 41.183886] usb 1-8: New USB device found, idVendor=8087, idProduct=0032, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 41.183890] usb 1-8: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
[ 41.207274] Bluetooth: hci0: Reading Intel version information failed (-22)
[ 41.207279] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel Read version failed (-22)
[ 41.207303] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel reset sent to retry FW download
[ 41.211506] usb 1-8: USB disconnect, device number 49
[ 41.212141] xhci_hcd 0000:03:00.0: WARN Set TR Deq Ptr cmd failed due to incorrect slot or ep state.
[ 41.648373] usb 1-8: new full-speed USB device number 50 using xhci_hcd
[ 41.983973] usb 1-8: New USB device found, idVendor=8087, idProduct=0032, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 41.983976] usb 1-8: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
[ 42.007359] Bluetooth: hci0: Reading Intel version information failed (-22)
[ 42.007364] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel Read version failed (-22)
[ 42.007388] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel reset sent to retry FW download
[ 42.011586] usb 1-8: USB disconnect, device number 50
[ 42.012242] xhci_hcd 0000:03:00.0: WARN Set TR Deq Ptr cmd failed due to incorrect slot or ep state.
[ 42.448368] usb 1-8: new full-speed USB device number 51 using xhci_hcd
[ 42.781998] usb 1-8: New USB device found, idVendor=8087, idProduct=0032, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 42.782002] usb 1-8: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
[ 42.805430] Bluetooth: hci0: Reading Intel version information failed (-22)
[ 42.805434] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel Read version failed (-22)
[ 42.805463] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel reset sent to retry FW download
[ 42.809679] usb 1-8: USB disconnect, device number 51
[ 42.810326] xhci_hcd 0000:03:00.0: WARN Set TR Deq Ptr cmd failed due to incorrect slot or ep state.
[ 43.248369] usb 1-8: new full-speed USB device number 52 using xhci_hcd
[ 43.583802] usb 1-8: New USB device found, idVendor=8087, idProduct=0032, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 43.583806] usb 1-8: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
[ 43.606525] Bluetooth: hci0: Reading Intel version information failed (-22)
[ 43.606530] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel Read version failed (-22)
[ 43.606554] Bluetooth: hci0: Intel reset sent to retry FW download

As you can read, it seems like it fails to initialise the bluetooth side.

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello BrokenClock,

Thank you very much for the details. We are still working on this.

Tremain,

To avoid mixing information and effort we would like to assist you with your specific system and details, in this case, we will keep working with BrokenClock, as he is the original thread owner, so we encourage you to open a new thread where we can request more specific information of your environment.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello BrokenClock,

We need some information to keep working on your thread.

1) May we know if you swap out an older WLAN card with a Wi-Fi 6E AX210 card from your system?

We always suggest checking with the motherboard manufacturer to ensure the system is upgradeable and compatible with the Wi-Fi 6E AX210 module. Users may encounter functionality or performance issues because the antennas or the system are not designed and optimized to meet the standard of the Wi-Fi 6E AX210 module.

I will send you an email to the e-mail address associated with your community profile. Please reply to the email in order to provide us with some reports to avoid exposing sensitive information in the communities.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[BrokenClock]

I upgraded from an Intel AC3168 in an MSI gaming plus B450i.

Hardware compatibility seems to be ok, given Windows performance and behaviour is as expected.

I moved back to one of my distro's supported kernels, with iwlwifi-backports installed.

Wifi is now stable, but bluetooth doesn't seem to work, I've got to try a few things before I can come back to you on this.

[Abhi]

I'm using an Intel AX210 in an old Dell Latitude 7450 with Ubuntu 20.10 and Kernel 5.11, no issues with 5Ghz on it.  Yeah that is definitely odd, in regards to your case.          

I simply copied the driver from the link below and pasted it to /lib/firmware:

https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/iwlwifi (AX210 driver showed up here before the official site)

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005511/wireless.html

Kernel 5.11 also happens to enables 6Ghz, in the event you 6E router, though rare at the moment.

[BrokenClock]

I restored my system to pre kernel upgrade times, installed backport drivers and I don't think I can see any issues with the wifi component.

How's bluetooth for you on 5.11 ?
Still can't get it to work

[jlim]

it took a while for me to resolve the wifi AND bluetooth issue for this particular intel AX210 card, but bottomline:

1. updated my linux kernel (debian 11) to 5.14 (bpo version as of the writing of this solution) which solved the wifi issue
2. replaced ibt-0040-0041.sfi file inside /lib/firmware/intel folder with the latest version found in the linux firmware git repository then do cold reboot (shutdown and turn on computer again, not reboot only) to make bluetooth work.

Hope this helps the others that could be finding this concern.. cheers!