WiFi on Guix System

Device Information

02:00.0 Network controller: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 32)
    Subsystem: Dell Device 0310

Current Status

WiFi does NOT work.

Why

The driver (ath10k_pci) is loaded and hardware is detected, but:

  1. No firmware files - The QCA6174 requires proprietary firmware to operate
  2. Firmware files are missing:
  3. No wireless interface created - wlan0 does not exist

Firmware Requirements

The QCA6174 needs these firmware files: - ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-6.bin - ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/board-2.bin

These are proprietary (not free) and excluded from Linux-libre kernels.

Verification Commands

# Check PCI device
lspci -k -s 02:00.0

# Check kernel modules
lsmod | grep ath

# Check firmware location
ls /lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA6174/

# Check for wireless interface
ip link show wlan0
iw dev

# Check rfkill
rfkill list all

Working Network

The ethernet adapter works:

2: enp3s0f3u2: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 state UP
    link/ether 00:50:b6:ec:62:9f

Workarounds

  1. Use ethernet - The USB-C adapter (AX88179) works fine
  2. USB WiFi adapter - Use a device with libre firmware (Atheros-based)
  3. Add non-free firmware - If Guix system configuration permits
  4. Fake firmware - Some distros include only the bare minimum firmware headers
CONFIG_ATH10K=m            # Atheros 10k driver
CONFIG_ATH=m              # Atheros common driver
CONFIG_MAC80211=m        # IEEE 802.11ad mac80211 module
CONFIG_CFG80211=m        # cfg80211 - wireless configuration
CONFIG_NL80211_TESTMODE=m

References