Wi-Fi® + Bluetooth® + 802.15.4中的主题 Re: Drivers for 88W8964

Drivers for 88W8964

tiago_gaspar_tg — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 16:58:06 GMT

Hey everyone!

I'm one of may OpenWRT contributors and I'm also a owner of a Linksys WRT3200ACM witch has a NXP 88W8964 wifi chip.

Before being NXP bought all the wireless solutions from Marvell, they were developing a driver called mwlwifi (1). This driver was very buggy and the development was very slow, but since the acquisition, the driver never had more fixes.

I have seen that NXP now has a repository over on github (2) that has the "latest" (last edited by marvell) firmwares but is missing firmwares for the following devices:

88W8964
88W9064
88W9098
88W9097
88W9068
88W8987
88W8962

So I'd like to ask NXP what's your plan for this devices? Will you provide us with the drivers?

Here at OpenWRT we'd appreciate if you could provide us with the drivers for us to support correctly devices based on your chips.

Thanks.

(1) GitHub - kaloz/mwlwifi: mac80211 driver for the Marvell 88W8864 802.11ac chip

(2) GitHub - NXP/mwifiex-firmware

Re: Drivers for 88W8964

alabard — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 07:52:05 GMT

up for mwlwifi!

Re: Drivers for 88W8964

alabard — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:29:51 GMT

there is as well an openwrt forum post:

Is there a NXP.com developer that is also an openwrt lover? (related to Linksys WRT and MWLWIFI) - For Developers - Open…

Re: Drivers for 88W8964

johnny2 — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 02:45:12 GMT

I hope to see it coming for years as well

Re: Drivers for 88W8964

willowen100 — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 01:05:24 GMT

I too am an OpenWrt user and contributor to their community. I have owned a WRT1900ACv1 which later got upgraded to the WRT1900ACSv2 I currently own. It's almost the perfect wireless router with one huge exception that sadly holds it back, and that is the closed wireless drivers.

Linksys have been led by a couple of companies now, first owned by Cisco and now currently Belkin. They are both respectively large companies and while Linksys have rebooted the WRT series of routers following the famous WRT54G router, Linksys have a dedicated page specifying the WRT Wi-Fi routers being "open-source ready" which is partially false. https://www.linksys.com/us/wrt-performance-perfected/

The OpenWrt and dd-wrt open-source firmware do indeed work on the Linksys WRT Wi-Fi routers, but the closed wireless drivers is limiting it's full potential. These could arguably be some of the best wireless routers out there.

Linksys continues to sell these routers with the claim of being "open-source ready" on their website, but I feel they don't seem to have the drive to push Marvell (now NXP) to release the wireless drivers to the public and let developers of the OpenWrt and dd-wrt communities work on them. Until this happens I personally think Linksys shouldn't state the WRT routers are "open-source ready". On this web page https://nerdtechy.com/linksys-wrt3200acm-review they quote "Usually custom firmware isn’t released until after WRT routers have been on the market for a few months. If you want to be ahead of the curve, there is no reason you have to wait. OpenWRT, one of the most popular custom firmwares, is already out and tested for full compatibility." The custom firmware community fully well know that it isn't fully compatible as I point out the limitations below.

Below is a small list of common problems regarding the wireless driver issues that get discussed time and time again on the OpenWrt forums:-

Dynamic Frequency selection (DFS) doesn't stay up very long as is sceptical to random interference which jumps the 5GHz channel back to 36.
Can't change the TX power and is locked to the original region of purchase. This means moving countries you could potentially break regulation laws for that country
The third radio on the WRT3200ACM doesn't work so tri-stream at 160MHz channel bandwidth isn't possible
802.11s (mesh point) doesn't work due to limited driver, though the hardware is more than capable of handling it

At the end of day the open-source community are the users that use this in commercial or home environments on a day-to-day basis so we have already uncovered the flaws and limitations, but Linksys (Belkin) and NXP don't seem to want address this. To overcome these issues is not solely focusing on the hardware being the bottleneck, but in fact the software. You will hear a lot of people say "the software is only as good as the hardware". In this case it is the other way around... Reliability and stability needs to be its highest, and so when problems have occurred relating to the wireless radios, as a community we have work adapted with workarounds. This is less than ideal, so all we ask is for NXP to fully release the wireless drivers. With enterprise-grade hardware continued to be manufactured by NXP and Belkin, along with fully working open-source firmware, this would be one heck of a router and partnership!

I want to continue to buying the WRT series of routers in the future because the hardware that goes into them is bleeding edge and the top of its game. The fastest router currently out there is the Nighthawk X10 (R9000) with 1.7GHz quad-core CPU and 802.11ad. On paper it's very quick but 802.11ad clients haven't hit mainstream yet. This means the router will be held back until it has clients that can take full potential of the next-get Wi-Fi technology. This leaves me wondering what do Linksys have planned next for their WRT router line-up? Hopefully 802.11ad and quad-core CPU's are on the agenda, but we will have to wait and see. Whatever they do, the wireless drivers need to be accessible so that it can be 100% compatible with custom firmware.

Re: Drivers for 88W8964

wrt3200acm — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 01:00:58 GMT

I would like to say that please release the drivers for the Openwrt community for mwlwifi.

Re: Drivers for 88W8964

johnny2 — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 16:13:42 GMT

I am sure a lot of users / developers out there would like to work on this. Hopefully NXP can do something.

Re: Drivers for 88W8964

wrt3200acm — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 03:21:25 GMT

Hopefully someone from NXP can open source the firmware and drivers or fix some pending issues like WPA3.

Re: Drivers for 88W8964

Sanjeev_ — Sun, 16 May 2021 12:52:16 GMT

Hey @tiago_gaspar_tg ,

Did you find the driver for 88w9098?

If yes please do share the link or any guide.

Thanks

Re: Drivers for 88W8964

TheKillerBee — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 14:33:33 GMT

Hi NXP Team and Community,

I’m writing this as a frustrated but hopeful user of the Linksys WRT1900ACS and a member of the OpenWRT community. These routers, powered by the Marvell 88W8964 chipset, are still incredibly capable pieces of hardware. But let’s be honest—they’re being held back by the mwlwifi driver, and it’s such a shame to see them slowly becoming obsolete because of software limitations.

Back in 2015, Marvell released an open-source version of the mwlwifi driver, which was a great step forward. But since then, development has pretty much stalled. The OpenWRT community has tried to keep things going, but without access to the full source code or support from NXP (as the successor to Marvell’s wireless division), it’s been an uphill battle.

The Issues

WiFi instability: Random disconnections, the 5GHz band disappearing, and other quirks make using these routers a headache.
Security vulnerabilities: The stock firmware has known issues, and without updated drivers, these routers are sitting ducks for exploits.
Wasted potential: The hardware is still solid, but the lack of driver support is forcing people to replace these routers prematurely.

Why This Matters

Environmental Impact: Throwing away perfectly good hardware because of software issues is just wasteful. Supporting open-source drivers could keep these routers out of landfills for years.
User Trust: Many of us bought the WRT1900ACS because it was marketed as “open-source ready.” It’s disappointing to see that promise unfulfilled.
Community Goodwill: By helping out the OpenWRT community, NXP could build a lot of goodwill and show that it’s committed to innovation and sustainability.

What We’re Asking

It would mean the world to us if NXP could:

Release the full source code for the mwlwifi driver, including any proprietary bits, so the community can fix the issues and keep these routers alive.
Provide documentation for the 88W8964 chipset to help developers better understand and optimize the hardware.
Engage with the community—even just a little!—to help us figure out how to resolve the most critical issues.

The Bigger Picture

The WRT1900ACS and similar routers are still widely used by enthusiasts, small businesses, and regular folks. By supporting open-source development, NXP could ensure these devices stay relevant and secure, while also setting a positive example for the industry.

I know there might be legal or business hurdles, but I truly believe the benefits outweigh the costs. The OpenWRT community is ready to collaborate, and we’d love to see NXP step up and make a difference.

Thanks for reading, and I hope we can work together to save these routers from becoming e-waste!