Hello,
I’m experiencing a WiFi driver issue on Rocky Linux 10.1 where my Intel AX201 WiFi adapter fails to initialize due to the driver loading incorrect firmware.
PROBLEM SUMMARY:
The iwlwifi driver is loading firmware for the wrong Intel WiFi chipset. It loads “so-a0-hr-b0-89.ucode” (for AX211/AX411) instead of “ty-a0-gf-a0-89.ucode” (for AX201), causing firmware initialization to fail with timeout errors. As a result, no WiFi interface is created.
SYSTEM INFORMATION:
- Distribution: Rocky Linux 10.1 (Red Quartz)
- Kernel: 6.12.0-124.21.1.el10_1.x86_64
- Firmware Package: linux-firmware-20251111-19.1.el10_1.noarch
HARDWARE:
- Device: Intel Corporation Alder Lake-P PCH CNVi WiFi [8086:51f0] (rev 01)
- Subsystem: Intel AX201 160MHz 2x2 [Harrison Peak] [8086:0074]
- PCI Bus: 0000:00:14.3
WHAT HAPPENS:
- The driver detects the AX201 chipset correctly
- But loads wrong firmware: so-a0-hr-b0-89.ucode (for AX211/AX411)
- Firmware initialization fails with timeout errors (-110)
- Driver retries multiple times but continues to fail
- No wireless interface (wlan0) is created
KERNEL MESSAGES (dmesg):
[ 9.037966] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Loaded firmware version: 89.7207fc64.0 so-a0-hr-b0-89.ucode
[ 9.038168] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Failed to start RT ucode: -110
[ 11.607963] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Failed to run INIT ucode: -110
The driver keeps retrying with the same wrong firmware and failing.
EXPECTED BEHAVIOR:
The driver should load: iwlwifi-ty-a0-gf-a0-89.ucode (for AX201)
But it’s loading: iwlwifi-so-a0-hr-b0-89.ucode (for AX211/AX411)
FIRMWARE FILES:
The correct firmware files ARE present in the system:
- /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-ty-a0-gf-a0-89.ucode.xz
- /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-ty-a0-gf-a0.pnvm.xz
The modinfo output shows the driver knows about the correct firmware:
$ modinfo iwlwifi | grep firmware.*ty
firmware: iwlwifi-ty-a0-gf-a0.pnvm
firmware: iwlwifi-ty-a0-gf-a0-89.ucode
But at runtime, it’s loading the wrong one.
LOADED MODULES:
iwlmvm 602112 0
mac80211 1495040 1 iwlmvm
iwlwifi 479232 1 iwlmvm
cfg80211 1413120 3 iwlmvm,iwlwifi,mac80211
NETWORK INTERFACES:
Only loopback and ethernet (enp44s0) are present. No wireless interface appears.
STEPS TO REPRODUCE:
- Boot system with Intel AX201 WiFi (8086:51f0)
- Kernel auto-loads iwlwifi driver
- Check: dmesg | grep iwlwifi
- See wrong firmware being loaded
- Check: ip link show (no wlan interface)
ATTEMPTS MADE:
- Unloaded and reloaded iwlwifi/iwlmvm modules
- Verified firmware files are present
- Checked rfkill (not blocked)
ROOT CAUSE:
The driver’s device ID to firmware mapping logic appears to have a bug. Device ID 8086:51f0 (AX201) is being incorrectly mapped to firmware for a different chipset (AX211/AX411).
IMPACT:
WiFi is completely non-functional. No workaround found yet.
Has anyone else experienced this issue? Any suggestions for a workaround or fix? Should I report this to the Rocky Linux bug tracker or upstream kernel maintainers?
Thanks in advance for any help!