How to install Wifi firmware so it's not overwritten?
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I installed Fedora 32 on an SD card on my MS Surface GO. I can get it to
boot up fine (but the surface has a funky UEFI bios) but no Wifi. The only
leads I can find are:
https://support.killernetworking.com/knowledge-base/installing-the-killer...
https://hackmd.io/@dasgeek/ryA5i5Dor
Which both ask you to install a new firmware, but that would be overwritten
the next time the package is updated...
Is there another method that would work better?
Thanks,
Richard
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On Sat, 30 May 2020 at 13:17, Richard Shaw <hobbes1069(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I installed Fedora 32 on an SD card on my MS Surface GO. I can get it
to
boot up fine (but the surface has a funky UEFI bios) but no Wifi.
Normally dmesg should give some indication of why the wifi fails.
The only leads I can find are:
https://support.killernetworking.com/knowledge-base/installing-the-killer...
https://hackmd.io/@dasgeek/ryA5i5Dor
Which both ask you to install a new firmware, but that would be
overwritten the next time the package is updated...
Have you tried this? Does it work?
It would be useful to find out why your system needs a different board
file. https://github.com/kvalo/ath10k-firmware/tree/master/QCA6174 was
updated more recently than the links, so the update might not break
anything.
You can try the board files from github the same way you would with above
links (and compare them to see if they
really are different).
Is there another method that would work better?
Submit a board file that works to upstream:
https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/ath10k/boardfiles
--
George N. White III
On Sat, May 30, 2020 at 12:36 PM George N. White III <gnwiii(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 30 May 2020 at 13:17, Richard Shaw
<hobbes1069(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> I installed Fedora 32 on an SD card on my MS Surface GO. I can get it to
> boot up fine (but the surface has a funky UEFI bios) but no Wifi.
>
Normally dmesg should give some indication of why the wifi fails.
Yeah, but it's a known issue that you need the board file from
killernetworking. I went ahead and ordered a USB-C to Ethernet adapter
which also give you 3 regular USB ports. I was having to use Fedora Media
Writer to put F32 on my ONLY USB-C compatible stick and then restore it so
I could copy the board file over. Got too tedious. Ethernet will make it a
lot easier to get updates and perhaps install reFIND so I can get it to
boot linux without having to use the Windows Advanced Recovery method.
It would be useful to find out why your system needs a different board
file. https://github.com/kvalo/ath10k-firmware/tree/master/QCA6174
was
updated more recently than the links, so the update might not break
anything.
You can try the board files from github the same way you would with above
links (and compare them to see if they
really are different).
> Is there another method that would work better?
>
Submit a board file that works to upstream:
https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/ath10k/boardfiles
I'll take a look, thanks.
Thanks,
Richard
So the short version...
The current linux firmware package doesn't work with the Wifi on the MS
Surface GO, and the instructions to copy the downloaded board.bin and copy
over firmware-4.bin were incorrect. It actually saw the Wifi adapter after
I did that and it tried scanning for wireless networks but never got any
further.
Since the Killerwifi board.bin and the linux firmware board.bin were the
exact same size (whereas the firmware files were orders of magnitude
larger), I tried replacing board.bin instead and can report after rebooting
that the Wifi now works.
So one thing I am wondering is what is the naming convention for these
files? Could I just save it as board-2.bin and it work? Is there some sort
of search hiearchy?
From what I can tell it looks like udev takes care of it but I don't know
enough about udev to intuit what kind of naming scheme might work without
overriding the existing board file.
Thanks,
Richard
On Wed, 10 Jun 2020 at 11:55, Richard Shaw <hobbes1069(a)gmail.com> wrote:
So the short version...
The current linux firmware package doesn't work with the Wifi on the MS
Surface GO, and the instructions to copy the downloaded board.bin and copy
over firmware-4.bin were incorrect. It actually saw the Wifi adapter after
I did that and it tried scanning for wireless networks but never got any
further.
Since the Killerwifi board.bin and the linux firmware board.bin were the
exact same size (whereas the firmware files were orders of magnitude
larger), I tried replacing board.bin instead and can report after rebooting
that the Wifi now works.
Did you try a newer file from the githhub link? Are there any license
restrictions on Killerwifi's board.bin that prevent you from sending the
link to the upstream URL I posted.
So one thing I am wondering is what is the naming convention for these
files? Could I just save it as board-2.bin and it work? Is there some sort
of search hiearchy?
From what I can tell it looks like udev takes care of it but I don't know
enough about udev to intuit what kind of naming scheme might work without
overriding the existing board file.
The best outcome would be to get upstream to add support for the
"Killerwifi" board (if they don't already have by now) so you don't have
to
worry about losing wifi with each update.
--
George N. White III
On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 11:27 AM George N. White III <gnwiii(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jun 2020 at 11:55, Richard Shaw
<hobbes1069(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> So the short version...
>
> The current linux firmware package doesn't work with the Wifi on the MS
> Surface GO, and the instructions to copy the downloaded board.bin and copy
> over firmware-4.bin were incorrect. It actually saw the Wifi adapter after
> I did that and it tried scanning for wireless networks but never got any
> further.
>
> Since the Killerwifi board.bin and the linux firmware board.bin were the
> exact same size (whereas the firmware files were orders of magnitude
> larger), I tried replacing board.bin instead and can report after rebooting
> that the Wifi now works.
>
Did you try a newer file from the githhub link? Are there any license
restrictions on Killerwifi's board.bin that prevent you from sending the
link to the upstream URL I posted.
Not yet but I can. No clue on the license. Killerwifi provides a direct
link to the board.bin file.
Thanks,
Richard
On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 11:27 AM George N. White III <gnwiii(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jun 2020 at 11:55, Richard Shaw
<hobbes1069(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> So the short version...
>
> The current linux firmware package doesn't work with the Wifi on the MS
> Surface GO, and the instructions to copy the downloaded board.bin and copy
> over firmware-4.bin were incorrect. It actually saw the Wifi adapter after
> I did that and it tried scanning for wireless networks but never got any
> further.
>
> Since the Killerwifi board.bin and the linux firmware board.bin were the
> exact same size (whereas the firmware files were orders of magnitude
> larger), I tried replacing board.bin instead and can report after rebooting
> that the Wifi now works.
>
Did you try a newer file from the githhub link? Are there any license
restrictions on Killerwifi's board.bin that prevent you from sending the
link to the upstream URL I posted.
Tried the latest board.bin, but it didn't work. Verified in journalctl that
it couldn't load the board file.
So one thing I am wondering is what is the naming convention for these
> files? Could I just save it as board-2.bin and it work? Is there
some sort
> of search hiearchy?
>
> From what I can tell it looks like udev takes care of it but I don't know
> enough about udev to intuit what kind of naming scheme might work without
> overriding the existing board file.
>
The best outcome would be to get upstream to add support for the
"Killerwifi" board (if they don't already have by now) so you don't
have to
worry about losing wifi with each update.
Unfortunately they don't provide any details or license information... I
looked at the method of posting new firmware files and I can't provide all
the required information.
Thanks,
Richard
On 6/10/20 7:54 AM, Richard Shaw wrote:
So one thing I am wondering is what is the naming convention for
these
files? Could I just save it as board-2.bin and it work? Is there some
sort of search hiearchy?
That is up to the kernel driver. Most have only one specific filename
they're looking for.
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