Today the Intel AX200 desktop kit arrived as well as the shorter pigtails. I must confess that it was a bit tricky to handle all the tiny parts but everything seems to be installed properly. When I start Gnome in Tumbleweed on my Radxa Rock 5B (aarch64) all I get is an in-flight mode that can’t be turned off. No wifi and no bluetooth.
Any suggestions?
@hukka Have you checked the logs for the device and missing firmware? Does it show as device in lspci or lsusb output?
not all AX200s are born equal unfortunately, I’ve read in the past of compatibility issues with some of these adapters, so I suggest you swap it out with a different model, this is the one I have and it’s working like a charm, maybe at least verify serial numbers from the images if you don’t want to buy from amazon https://tinyurl.com/y7eedhf9
log
kernel: Intel(R) Wireless WiFi driver for Linux
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: pci_enable_msi failed - -19
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: Detected crf-id 0x3617, cnv-id 0x100530 wfpm id 0x80000000
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: PCI dev 2723/0080, rev=0x340, rfid=0x10a100
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: TLV_FW_FSEQ_VERSION: FSEQ Version: 89.3.35.37
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: loaded firmware version 77.ad46c98b.0 cc-a0-77.ucode op_mode iwlmvm
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: Detected Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz, REV=0x340
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: reporting RF_KILL (radio disabled)
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: Detected RF HR B3, rfid=0x10a100
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: base HW address: c8:5e:a9:c2:92:c3
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: timeout waiting for FW reset ACK (inta_hw=0x0)
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: Start IWL Error Log Dump:
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: Transport status: 0x0000007A, valid: 6
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: Loaded firmware version: 77.ad46c98b.0 cc-a0-77.ucode
:
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: WRT: Collecting data: ini trigger 4 fired (delay=0ms).
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: Hardware error detected. Restarting.
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0: WRT: Failed to dump region: id=22, type=10
kernel: iwlwifi 0002:01:00.0 wlP2p1s0: renamed from wlan0
lspci
0002:01:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (rev 1a)
sudo rfkill list wlan
phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: yes
:
The card you have is AX210.NGW (wifi 6E) and the one I have is AX200.NGWG (wifi 6). Both should be fairly safe bets, afaik…
@hukka and what about the output from rfkill I suspect it maybe soft blocked.
@malcolmlewis While I edited my earlier post you asked for the stuff I was adding…
@hukka So that’s the issue, that means there is there a physical wifi switch somewhere…
I also have the “200” on another notebook, they cost about the same and 6e is backward compatible with 6.
This one has a better Bluetooth.
@LaloKP I picked the AX200 because it was available locally and it offered the external antennas I would need. The long MH4 to SMA adapters have been replaced by shorter (10cm) ones.
@malcolmlewis I honestly can’t find a physical switch for the wireless. 
@hukka only the AX210 is supported?
https://docs.radxa.com/en/rock5/rock5b/accessories/wifi_bt_access
You do know antennas are available to purchase on their own, right? High gain 8dB are €8-9, cables cost cents.
Yes, I know that there are antennas available out there. It’s an absolute jungle of alternatives so I played it safe. I thought that “if the antennas are sold with the m.2 module then they should work”. The antennas are dual band units (2.4 and 5.0 GHz) about 12cm long and trust me, that is large enough for the tiny computer. The width of the pico-ITX case (without antennas) is about 10cm. Using the included long adapter cables (also called “pigtails”) would have been a nightmare to fit inside the case. That’s why I replaced the pigtails. I simply had to. …but it took me hours to figure out what connectors the pigtails should have. The answer I arrived at was that I needed the pigtails to be MHF4 to SMA . I had luck picking the right genders for the connectors. Honestly, I still don’t know which ones they are. I looked dozens of times at the minuscule MHF4 connectors before I dared to apply enough pressure to make it snap in place.
Radxa forum user LapisLazuli33 posted:
You’re describing one of my nightmares, those tiny connectors 
@hukka just because something works (and it’s bluetooth, not wifi) on a different distribution does not equate to how it works on another… openSUSE follows upstream, unfortunately there are a lot of hacks that are done and either not upstreamed or upstream will not accept.
Time to head back to the ARM Mailing list and ask there, or figure out why the card is hard-blocked… Perhaps that card requires a physical switch (or jumper) to unblock, but that is a real hardware issue, not software related.
They look small in the photos but in reality they’re even smaller. After all, the AX200 module itself is just 22×30mm…
Could the UEFI boot (I have it on SD memory) be involved somehow?
@hukka Not that I’m aware of, like I say hard blocked is a hardware issue, not software/operating system. Ask the Radxa folks, but I suspect the card…
