Sunday 8 November 2015

QCA6174 Linux WiFi Support ath10k

The drivers in the Debian 4.2 and 4.3 kernels do not currently work reliably with the QCA6174 card even with the latest WiFi card firmware.

I have seen some proposed kernel patches and will see if I can get an externally built module to work.

I am hoping that there will be kernel support soon as even if it does work, maintaining an out of tree driver will be a pain.

For now, I am using an external USB wifi dongle .In the worst case, I can replace the wifi card with a better supported one, but I find that a non-working wifi card isn't as big a problem as I thought because:


  • I can use wired lan
  • When I am on the move, I anyway USB tether to my phone which has a wireless plan
  • I can use a USB wifi dongle

4 comments:

  1. You could swap your atheros wifi card with an old laptop card until the driver issue is resolved. What about battery life?

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    Replies
    1. I haven't tested battery life enough yet, but it seems reasonable. I expect 6-7 hours with it.

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    2. I would also note that the laptop uses an M.2 slot for wifi, so you're not likely to have a compatible card lying around unless you have a second relatively new laptop.

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  2. I'm using a USB dongle for now, but my plan is to wait for drivers to mature and if that doesn't arrive, I will replace the internal WiFi card.

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