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Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

bugzilla.kernel.org

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Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#71

Post by Avamander »

the_pwner224 wrote: post #59
boppo1 wrote: post #57

Ouch, I just bought a gigabyte b650 because reddit told me the intel wifi would play nicer with ubuntu than a realtek card. I don't know who to believe anymore.

This bug is for using the Intel card as a WiFi access point. For using it as a WiFi client, Intel cards still "just work," and there aren't any other good WiFi options afaik. Realtek and Broadcom do suck. Atheros used to be good a long time ago with ath9k, but I don't think they're really around anymore (?).

I'm relatively certain that the regulatory locale non/misdetection will affect station mode (power) limits as well, people will probably just notice that less often (as the main hindrance to ap mode is the "no IR" flags).

Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#72

Post by ChuckNorris89 »

ajoseps wrote: post #13
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #7

Ironically, I run a machine with a Realtek Wifi 6 chip and it works great on Linux, despite everything I read online was that Realtek is to be avoided on Linux and Intel should be the go-to. In a similar fashion, I was also luckier with Nvidia proprietary drivers on Linux than with AMD open source drivers. Seems like HW on Linux really is a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

do you by chance have any experience with the realtek ethernet? I too have seen the conventional wisdom around avoiding the realtek chips. I'm looking to build a linux box (hopefully) soon and filtering out mobos with realtek chips is difficult

My old Intel laptop from 2016 had a Realtek ethernet gigabit chip and Linux rand fine on it. I don't have it anymore to confirm which chip exactly, nor do I think they still sell that today.

Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#73

Post by jodrellblank »

mjevans wrote: post #56
stefan_ wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was the patch that removed it: https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/f06021a18fcf8d8a1e7... But this commit message is burying the lede a bit. There are two problems here: 1) you can revert the change, but a large part of the regulatory logic lives in the firmware blob running on the chip and you can not change this. 2) the FCC doesn't look kindly upon functionality that ignores regulatory limits being availa…

But what if someone moves or simply uses hardware in a different region that's sold? What if the laws change? The correct 'work around' is to build a kernel with a DEFAULT regulatory domain, abstract from any vendor's specific implementation, allow that domain to be updated at runtime (particularly for mobile devices), and follow the laws there in. I also advocate (in this post) for wifi_regulations=BREAKTHELAWANDDIS…

If you aren't breaking any laws transmitting like that in International Waters, why call it BREAKTHELAW and call out that use case? If you are breaking laws transmitting like that in International Waters, why would this setting be called out as specifically useful in International Waters?

Neither seems to make sense. (And does this come from the Microsoft team who came up with

    setup.exe /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataOFF
?)

Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#74

Post by AndroidKitKat »

NewJazz wrote: post #70
throwaway5959 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

You use a Mac as your AP‽ Sounds expensive.

I did this in undergrad when the Wifi in my dorm room was abysmal. I used an old Mac mini and hardwired it with the in-room Ethernet and then used the Wifi hotspot mode to make a nice fast wireless network for my roommate and I.

The Mac also pulled double duty as an AirPlay receiver and Plex server. Pretty handy.

Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#75

Post by eptcyka »

wtallis wrote: post #36
eikenberry wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Intel was the last reliable wifi chip maker I knew. What are good, well supported (on linux) wifi chipsets these days?

Try anything that's well-supported by OpenWRT. Even if you don't need support for AP mode, using a chip+driver pair that meets that standard (i.e. has mature AP mode support from an open-source driver that works on multiple architectures) usually means the client mode is also fully-supported (though maybe not Bluetooth). For 802.11ac, that generally means Qualcomm-Atheros ath10k or Mediately mt76 devices, with the la…

Is there anything that's current and supported by OpenWRT? Whilst I love OpenWRT, it's support is more on the level of it works enough to tx/rx packets and not necessarily all of the hardware functionality is enabled and works as per the specification.

Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#76

Post by stefan_ »

mjevans wrote: post #56
stefan_ wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was the patch that removed it: https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/f06021a18fcf8d8a1e7... But this commit message is burying the lede a bit. There are two problems here: 1) you can revert the change, but a large part of the regulatory logic lives in the firmware blob running on the chip and you can not change this. 2) the FCC doesn't look kindly upon functionality that ignores regulatory limits being availa…

But what if someone moves or simply uses hardware in a different region that's sold? What if the laws change? The correct 'work around' is to build a kernel with a DEFAULT regulatory domain, abstract from any vendor's specific implementation, allow that domain to be updated at runtime (particularly for mobile devices), and follow the laws there in. I also advocate (in this post) for wifi_regulations=BREAKTHELAWANDDIS…

Keep in mind that for stations only (e.g. mobile devices most of the time), the rules are relaxed: if the station sees an AP operating on some channel, it is allowed to assume that it can operate on that channel. And of course passively scanning a channel to check for the presence of an AP is not transmitting, so no regulatory problem there.

But don't worry, for 6 GHz the FCC has come up with even more insane stuff: if you want to unlock more channels and power, your AP will have to (1) geolocate itself and (2) contact a central server to determine regulatory restrictions for that location. They are calling this Automatic Frequency Coordination (AFC). See page 13 of https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-363490A1.pdf:

> We will require the AFC to use a centralized model where each standard-power access point remotely accesses an AFC to obtain a list of available frequency ranges in which it is permitted to operate and the maximum permissible power in each frequency range

Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#77

Post by magila »

eikenberry wrote: post #21
amiga-workbench wrote: post #14

I'm so relieved to find that its not just me going crazy all this time. Its gotten so bad that I've had to install a bloody MediaTek WiFi card in my ThinkPad just to make it work reliably. I remember when the 8000 series radios were the gold standard for mobile wireless, all the newer AX cards have been nothing but pain and suffering.

And Intel was the last reliable wifi chip maker I knew. What are good, well supported (on linux) wifi chipsets these days?

Qualcomm's Atheros descended chips are generally the best bet for Linux support, especially for use in an AP. In other words you want a chip supported by the ath10k or ath11k driver depending on which generation of wifi you want. 10k = 802.11ac, 11k = 802.11ax.

Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#78

Post by culturestate »

sofixa wrote: post #66
throwaway5959 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Macs are not a replacement for a Linux desktop, laptop or a server. They do not provide the same options nor allow you do the same things. There is some overlap, but same as you wouldn't use a Linux desktop to run the Adobe suite, Macs are poorly suited for servers, development , power users, etc. - outside of the Apple ecosystem of course, because it's literally the only choice. For anything else, any recent Linux d…

> Macs are poorly suited for … development, power users…

Am I misunderstanding you or does this not describe the vast majority of Mac users in Silicon Valley?

Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#79

Post by jeffbee »

throwaway5959 wrote: post #64
phoronixrly wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What insane lengths are people prepared to go to to work around this issue, and still... > since it does not disable LAR at all, it inherits the issue of requiring a 5GHz access point to be active and near the card in order to detect a 5GHz-able country.

[flagged]

My M1 mac Mini had constant wifi headaches, effectively the wifi did not work since disconnecting every few seconds wrecks your Zoom experience. Both Location Services and a thing called AWDL would just come in and destroy your wifi link over and over again. It took Apple over 2 years to ship a fix.

https://systemstatus.ucla.edu/status?id=status_record&servic...

Re: Linux Intel WiFi driver broken with 5&6GHz bands for longer than three years

#80

Post by silisili »

amiga-workbench wrote: post #14

I'm so relieved to find that its not just me going crazy all this time. Its gotten so bad that I've had to install a bloody MediaTek WiFi card in my ThinkPad just to make it work reliably. I remember when the 8000 series radios were the gold standard for mobile wireless, all the newer AX cards have been nothing but pain and suffering.

Hey same! My last minipc had intel, and it was so bad I just ran it in 2.4ghz mode.

My latest one has an MTK chip by no choice of my own, and it works fantastic. Shame on Intel.

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