JODY-W2 Disable 80211N/HT40

[elton]

Good day!

I am currently tasked to check a device with below configuration.

[Software Configuration]

Kernel: 6.2.0

Yocto: TDX Wayland

[Hardware Configuration]

SOM: Toradex i.MX6ULL Colibri

WiFi: UBLOX JODY-W2 SD8987 (STA+uAP mode)

[Problem]

When the device is connected to a mobile router with HT40 support, Wi-Fi scan messages are shown on the terminal endlessly even after the device had already connected to the mobile router.

Since the phenomenon only occurs when it is connected to a mobile router that supports HT40, I have tried below countermeasures to disable IEEE80211n and/or HT40 feature on the user space level but failed - see error messages in red italic text.

1. Added "ht_capab" network field on wpa_supplicant.conf.
    wpa_supplicant[754]: Line 10: unknown network field 'ht_capab'.

2. Added "ieee80211n" network field on wpa_supplicant.conf.
    wpa_supplicant[754]: Line 10: unknown network field 'ieee80211'.

3. Force WiFi station to use HT20 via command: "iw dev mlan0 set channel 2 HT20"
    command failed: Device or resource busy (-16)

I am now trying to add driver parameters on "/etc/modprobe.d/jody-w2-module.conf" and/or "/etc/modprobe.d/mwifiex.conf" but don't know which parameters correspond to ieee80211n and ht40. The parameters are listed on this link.

Does anyone know those driver parameters and what values need to be set to disable IEEE80211N or HT40 on the user space level?

Regards,

Elton

[Christine_Li · Accepted solution]

Hi, @elton 

Thanks for creating case to us.

To disable IEEE80211N or HT40, you can use our mlanutl to configure httxcfg or htcapinfo to implement it.

I know you might not have secure files access to get our mlanutl tool, but you can ask our module partner U-Blox for help about how to use mlanutl. 

For our company's confidential policy, I could not post it on the public community, sorry for the inconvenience to you.

Best regards,

Christine.

[elton]

Hello @Christine_Li ,

Thanks for your prompt response.

To disable IEEE80211N or HT40, you can use our mlanutl to configure httxcfg or htcapinfo to implement it.

I found the README file containing instructions on how to use mlanutl to configure httxcfg and htcapinfo. However, mlanutl tool is not deployed in the userspace.

Is there any other way to do the same in userspace without using mlanutl - i.e. via driver parameters(modprobe)?  If not, I am thinking to disable it during driver compilation, this is possible right? I'm currently setting up my Yocto environment, so I haven't tried it yet. 

Regards,

Elton

[elton]

Hello @Christine_Li ,

Regarding mlanutl, we are using the driver version lf-6.1.22_2.0.0 where mapp source codes are deleted, please check this commit. mapp source code exists on driver version lf-5.10.y_1.0.0.

Regards,

Elton

[Christine_Li]

Hi, @elton 

Yes, in our newer releases on github, there is no Wi-Fi tools(mlanutl/uaputl) source code.

That is why I mentioned that for these tools, you can ask our module partner U-Blox for help.

Otherwise, you need to sign NDA with our NXP and also apply for secure files access specially for 88W8987. It might need long time for you. I think asking help from U-Blox is much more convenient to get these tools.

Best regards,

Christine.

[Christine_Li]

Hi, @elton 

Thanks for your reply.

If you want to disable HT40 in wpa_supplicant.conf, please try to add below para to have a try:

disable_ht40 =1

# disable_ht40: Whether HT-40 (802.11n) should be disabled.
	# 0 = HT-40 enabled (if AP supports it)
	# 1 = HT-40 disabled

The original info is from below link for your reference.

https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/wpa_supplicant_8/+/master/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supp...

Best regards,

Christine.

[elton]

Hello @Christine_Li ,

Thanks for your response.

I forgot to mention that I have already tried adding "disable_ht40=1" and "disable_ht=1" as global/network field but the same error, "unknown global/network field", occured.

Regards,

Elton 

[Christine_Li]

Hi, @elton 

Thanks for your feedback.

Did you mean you  tried adding "disable_ht40=1" and "disable_ht=1"  to wpa_supplicant.conf file?

Can you please share to me your wpa_supplicant.conf to check further?

Best regards,

Christine.

[elton]

Hello @Christine_Li ,

Yes. I added "disable_ht40=1" and tested,  unknown network field error occurred. Then I replaced  "disable_ht40=1" with "disable_ht=1" and tested,  unknown network field error also occurred.

Below are the contents of my wpa_supplicant.conf file.

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=0
update_config=1
bgscan=""

network={
        ssid="Elton-Laptop"
        psk="11223344"
        key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
        #ieee80211n=0
        #ht_capab="[HT20][SHORT-GI-20]"
        #disable_ht=1
        disable_ht40=1
}

Below are the error messages of wpa_supplicant:

Dec 09 09:50:26 colibri-imx6ull-15102395 systemd[1]: Started WPA supplicant.
Dec 09 09:50:26 colibri-imx6ull-15102395 wpa_supplicant[1152]: Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
Dec 09 09:50:26 colibri-imx6ull-15102395 wpa_supplicant[1152]: Line 13: unknown network field 'disable_ht40'.
Dec 09 09:50:27 colibri-imx6ull-15102395 wpa_supplicant[1152]: Line 14: failed to parse network block.
Dec 09 09:50:27 colibri-imx6ull-15102395 wpa_supplicant[1152]: Failed to read or parse configuration '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'.
Dec 09 09:50:27 colibri-imx6ull-15102395 wpa_supplicant[1152]: : CTRL-EVENT-DSCP-POLICY clear_all
Dec 09 09:50:27 colibri-imx6ull-15102395 systemd[1]: wpa_supplicant.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=255/EXCEPTION
Dec 09 09:50:27 colibri-imx6ull-15102395 systemd[1]: wpa_supplicant.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.

Regards,

Elton

[Christine_Li]

Hi, @elton 

Thanks for your feedback.

I tried on my side and met same error with yours.

Please see below for my logs:

==========

root@imx8mnevk:~# wpa_supplicant -d -B -i mlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Dnl80211
wpa_supplicant v2.10
random: Trying to read entropy from /dev/random
Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
Initializing interface 'mlan0' conf '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf' driver 'nl80211' ctrl_interface 'N/A' bridge 'N/A'
Configuration file '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf' -> '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'
Reading configuration file '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'
ctrl_interface='/var/run/wpa_supplicant'
ctrl_interface_group='0'
update_config=1
Line 10: unknown network field 'disable_ht40'.
Line 11: failed to parse network block.
Failed to read or parse configuration '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'.
Failed to add interface mlan0

Then I tried to find any commands related to wpa_supplicant to disable ht40, but found below reply in one of our previous customer's case:

We can not handle bandwidth using wpa_supplicant. 
Based on AP it will connect and select the bandwidth based on its ability.

You can try to disable it on your AP side to see whether is OK.

Otherwise, we suggest you to use our mlanutl to configure it.

I am sorry for the inconvenience to you.

Best regards,

Christine.

[elton]

Hello @Christine_Li ,

Thanks for verifying it on your side.

I marked using mlanutl as the solution. I will try to cross-compile the tool and update you about the results.

Regards,

Elton

[Christine_Li]

Hi, @elton 

Thanks for marking my answer as a solution.

Please do not hesitate to create a new case after you verified and still have any issue.

Have a nice reset of your day!

Best regards,

Christine.