WiFi 6E / 6 GHz Support in Germany

[Spacefish]

Hello,

could you please enable the 6GHz Band in the AX210/AX211 in it´s firmware embeeded regulatory database?

This is the regulator information regarding the 6GHz Band for Wifi from the "Bundesenetzagentur" in Germany: www.bnetza.de/wlan6ghz

basically 5945 - 6425 MHz is allowed with up to 200mW (indoor)

Best regards,

Timo

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello Spacefish, 

Thank you for the information provided 

I will proceed to check the issue internally and post back soon with more details. However, bear in mind that in some countries this feature is blocked/limited by the laptop/motherboard manufacturer.

Best regards, 

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello Spacefish, 

Before we continue further, I would like to confirm the following:

1. Are you asking Intel to enable 6GHz Band in Germany?

2. Are you looking for any kind of regulatory information?

3. Are you having issues trying to enable the 6GHz Band?

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[Spacefish]

Number 1.

I am asking intel to update the firmware embeeded regulatory database, such that 6GHz Band can be used in germany.

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello Spacefish, 

Thanks for the information, 

I will perform research on this matter, however, bear in mind that this may be a restriction place either by the laptop/motherboard manufacturer or the government.

As soon as I have any details I will let you know?

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello Spacefish, 

I would like to let you know that EU countries should support the WIFI 6E 6GHZ band however those countries will follow local regulations to enable WIFI 6E as soon as possible.

Please consider the following:

1. Run the latest wireless drivers.

2. Run the latest Windows 11 update.

3. Update the "Access Point" to one that supports a 6GHz band.

Also, the wireless card used the Dynamic Regulatory Solution technology (DRS) to determine if the adapter is located in a country that supports specific bands based on the country's regulations. This is automatic and doesn't require any configuration.

- Dynamic Regulatory Solution technology: https://blogs.intel.com/technology/2015/01/intel-drs-wi-fi-trouble-international-travelers/#gs.diwimt

As the last recommendation, try to check with the laptop or motherboard manufacturer (if desktop computer) for compatibility and instructions.

Regards,    

Deivid A. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Spacefish]

Hello,

yes i know the card uses DRS, i use the latest driver / firmware, but in this latest driver firmware you (intel) have not enabled 6 GHz Bands for germany, so i ask you to update your firmware to allow 6Ghz for the DRS detected Region "DE", as the regulatory body (the Bundesnetzagentur) opened the 6 Ghz Band in germany for WiFi Usage since this spring.

There is no "laptop" manufacturer to contact, i bought the AX210 without a laptop, furthermore this setting is a 100% in intels control and not in the control of any laptop manufacturer.

I attached the document from the regulatory body (Bundesnetzagentur) which states, that 5945 MHz - 6425 may now be used by WiFi, it´s in german though.

So please raise a ticket in your internal systems, such that someone updates the allowed bands for germany and adds 6 GHz!

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello Spacefish, 

If you bought the wireless card separately and planned to install it in your system, you may need to consider the following:

1. If it is a laptop, bear in mind that the original adapter is the one authorized by the manufacturer of the laptop and supported by the unit. If you install a different one, this may not work as it supposes to. 

2. If it is a desktop computer, the motherboard must support the wireless card technology and the BIOS must support the 6GHz bands as well.

For both cases, the Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 (Gig+)supports the 6GHz band but the computer manufacturer must support it and allow it through the BIOS. That is why a recommend you to check with them for further information.

Regards,   

Deivid A. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[dbardua]

"2. If it is a desktop computer, the motherboard must support the wireless card technology and the BIOS must support the 6GHz bands as well."

This is simply not true.

As long as a card that fits the standard it can be used.

The rest is up to the kernel, the drivers or the firmware in the actual card - and the antennas in this example.

I don't need to enable the BIOS to use the latest videocard, nor does anyone hardwire fully fledged network-drivers into a BIOS -  It's in the name: BASIC Input Outut System.

[n_scott_pearson]

Here we go again, more blather from someone who (incorrectly) thinks he is an expert...

[dbardua]

I'm sorry, but BIOS is simply wrong.

The closest thing would be an EFI or UEFI so what?

And since other users show that the Intel-firmware is actually blocking it

(https://community.intel.com/t5/Wireless/6-GHz-Wifi-with-AX210/m-p/1329556#M38784 )

I guess we don't need a update of neither those.

[n_scott_pearson]

While it can (and will!) be argued semantically, BIOS is still the term generally used, though many hate its use simply because, as you say, what is supported is a heck of a lot more than the Basic I/O System as originally implemented. Tiano (EFI) and it's successor UEFI are simply the building blocks that are used to build the BIOS (as you might have guessed, I am NOT in the camp that accepts UEFI as the overarching term). Regardless, we are not here to discuss semantics.

The important thing is that both of your original assertions are incorrect. The Video card *is* initialized by the BIOS, though by an extension, called the Video BIOS in older, non-UEFI BIOS or as a driver for UEFI BIOS (or both if they're covering their bases) in an OpROM provided separately by add-in cards or as part of the BIOS for embedded. As for Wireless, well, the BIOS is indeed one of the homes for country and band information.

...S

[dbardua]

Why so salty? You miss the point.

You are in fact telling people that bought a desktop PC once they can never upgrade because to 6Ghz, 5Ghz or even WiFi at all, because supposedly the OEM didn't include stuff in the BIOS - and this is just simply not the case.

My VGA is spoken to by the "BIOS" - it gives me 1 of my 3 monitors - ok - my OS boots up and I get Kernel/Driver-support and voila: a picture across 3 devices. With the power of driver-support - or sheer magic, as you would call it.

Intel is doing a bad job at supporting the 6Ghz-Band in EU, since they still lock it firmwarewise - funny though that Qualcomm powered mobile devices see my 6Ghz... Thanks Intel® DRS

[Spacefish]

I know that the EFI can provide the location information (optionally) as well as an LTE Modem the MCC Code and all of that is taken into consideration by the driver and firmware to do the location determination. (i have read the driver source code the command is LAR_UPDATE_MCC_CMD_API_S_VER_2 )

There are different "Sources" for the location information as follows:

enum iwl_mcc_source {
	MCC_SOURCE_OLD_FW = 0,
	MCC_SOURCE_ME = 1,
	MCC_SOURCE_BIOS = 2,
	MCC_SOURCE_3G_LTE_HOST = 3,
	MCC_SOURCE_3G_LTE_DEVICE = 4,
	MCC_SOURCE_WIFI = 5,
	MCC_SOURCE_RESERVED = 6,
	MCC_SOURCE_DEFAULT = 7,
	MCC_SOURCE_UNINITIALIZED = 8,
	MCC_SOURCE_MCC_API = 9,
	MCC_SOURCE_GET_CURRENT = 0x10,
	MCC_SOURCE_GETTING_MCC_TEST_MODE = 0x11,
};

However none of these things are done in my EFI as the platform i am using the card in is neither an Intel platform nor has a LTE modem nor set´s the info which the WiFi card could interpret.

I would prefer if Intel could just update the Firmware Internal regulatory DB and enable all allowed bands / modi in the regdomain they detected if no other infor is supplied by the EFI or the platform.

Why go "locked by default" and rely on the platform / pc manufacturer to enable specific bands / modi via a propriatary EFI interface? I don´t get it.. 

Are there any regulatory reasons preventing you from doing that? Or is this just Intel having very outdated FW embeeded RegDBs?

The reg DB is in the PNVM, i tried to patch it, but it seems signed or at least there is some sort of hash to check it´s integrity which i did not find.. The firmware does not load my modified PNVM...
The driver has some mechanism that loads any BIOS embeeded PNVM preferably over the one delivered with the driver.. This is probably intels way of allowing their system integrators to build a custom PNVM for their machines.. 

Probably there is a tool for system integrators to edit that PNVM, but it might have to be signed by intel later on.. 
Maybe we can extract a PNVM from a bios which allows 6GHz in Europe and just try to load that it should have a correct signature (if there is any)