Run Wifi (Intel AX210) with Single Antenna (Linux)

[johnnyb61820]

Is it possible to run an Intel AX210 chip using a single antenna? I've got an embedded project where a single antenna would be optimal. With a single antenna, I get almost perfect data connectivity, but the connection is failing because, I think, the chip is only sending Wifi Beacons out of one antenna at a time, and it isn't always the one I'm using!

The device connecting to it is repeatedly disconnecting due to beacon loss in a single-antenna configuration.

I'm assuming that this is some artifact of MIMO. If it is, is there any way to disable MIMO on these devices? I'm on Linux using the iwlwifi driver, but I'm not seeing any option to disable MIMO, either in the driver parameters or in the wpa_supplicant config file. I'm running Linux 5.15.32.  Is there any other thing I should check?

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @johnnyb61820  

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities. I will gladly assist you here. 

As you can verify in the article below, note that these are 2x2 Wi-Fi adapters. This means both antennas need to be connected to achieve the optimal Wi-Fi performance.  

What Is the Antenna Connector Functionality for Intel® Wireless Adapters?

In any case, I do some more research. As soon as I have updates, I will post them here. 

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[johnnyb61820]

That's weird - according to this document, Antenna **2** is the main antenna!?!?  That's so strange.  I'll try some testing on Antenna 2 and see if that helps.

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @johnnyb61820  

Thank you for your time. 

We recommend you to contact your System Manufacturer or OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for assistance, as the antenna is hardware and we can't guarantee that will work as expected.  

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[johnnyb61820]

Doing more testing, it seems like with all power modes disabled (including on iwlmvm), we can get Wifi beacons, but only out of one antenna.  Is this behavior documented somewhere?

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @johnnyb61820  

As previously recommended, please contact your System Manufacturer or OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for assistance, as the antenna is hardware and we can't guarantee that will work as expected.  

This thread will no longer be monitored. Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician.