Enabling Access Point Mode on AzureWave AW-CM276NF with i.MX 8M Plus

[Niranjan123]

Hello,

I am working on a project where one i.MX 8M Plus board acts as an Access Point (AP) and another acts as a Station (client). The goal is to share Wi-Fi credentials and files via direct Wi-Fi communication between the boards.

I have successfully brought up Wi-Fi on the boards using the steps described here:
https://community.nxp.com/t5/i-MX-Processors-Knowledge-Base/How-to-connect-to-a-Wi-Fi-network-on-i-M...

Steps Taken:

1.Configured /etc/hostapd.conf with the following settings:

interface=mlan0
driver=nl80211
ssid=MyAP
hw_mode=g
channel=6

2.Attempted to start hostapd using:

 hostapd -dd /etc/hostapd.conf

3.Observed the error messages mentioned below.

Questions:

1.Is the nl80211 driver supported by the mwifiex driver for AP mode?
2.Are there any specific firmware or driver configurations required to enable AP mode on the AW-CM276NF?
3.Are there alternative tools or methods (e.g., mlanutl, hostapd_moal) recommended for configuring AP mode on this module?

Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[weidong_sun]

Hello @Niranjan123 ,

The document is just for you reference on how to use uap of 88W8997 on linux platform.

For wifi driver , it has been supported in i.MX8MP-EVK linux bsp.

you only need to run the following command to load wifi driver.

# modprobe moal mod_para=nxp/wifi_mod_para.conf

# ifconfig -a

you will see all interfaces of Wireless network. by default, you will see mlan0, uap0 & wfd0, they are STA, uAP & wifi directly interfaces.

[Note]

If you want to use other version of wifi driver, you can follow these command to get it from github.

--Driver

#git clone https://github.com/nxp-imx/mwifiex.git

#cd mwifiex

#git tag

Then linux kernel version will be listed, you can select the version higher than yours.

For example, select the driver version for kernel lf-6.12.20_2.0.0

#git checkout lf-6.12.20_2.0.0

Then build it to get mlan.ko & moal.ko, and copy them to your board.

--Firmware & parameter file

Then download firmware & wifi_mod_para.conf

#https://github.com/nxp-imx/imx-firmware/tree/lf-6.12.20_2.0.0/nxp

then copy firmware & wifi_mod_para.conf to /lib/firmware/nxp folder of your board.

--Loading driver

# insmod mlan.ko

# insmod moal.ko mod_para=nxp/wifi_mod_para.conf

parameter, drv_mode's default value is 7, that is (drv_mode=7), so 3 interfaces will be created under linux platform.

Thanks!

Reagards,

weidong

[Niranjan123]

Hi,

thank you for your reply. 

I have followed the steps mentioned in the document to configure the Access Point (uap0) on my i.MX8MP board. However, after starting hostapd, I am getting the following error, and the uap0 SSID is not visible on mobile or laptop

I have built the mlan.ko and moal.ko modules from the NXP Wi-Fi driver source and copied them to the board.
When I try to insert them using insmod, I get:

So, I am not sure whether the modules are correctly inserted or already loaded.
Could you please help me confirm if the driver modules are loaded properly and guide me on how to fix the hostapd error?

regards,
Niranjan 

[weidong_sun]

Hi @Niranjan123 ,

i.MX8MP-EVK DEMO image supports Wi-Fi driver, After you start i.MX8MP-EVK board,  you can run 

the command to load wifi driver.

# modprobe moal mod_para=nxp/wifi_mod_para.conf

# ifconfig -a

So you don't need to build driver manually and loaded it.

Please share the logs after running above commands.

Regards,

weidong

[Niranjan123]

Hi,

thank you for your reply.

Yes, the i.MX8MP-EVK demo image supports the Wi-Fi driver. After starting the i.MX8MP-EVK board, I am able to load the Wi-Fi driver using:

# modprobe moal mod_para=nxp/wifi_mod_para.conf

# ifconfig -a

The Wi-Fi on my board is working fine — it can connect to networks and ping successfully.

However, when I try to use the Wi-Fi as a host access point (uap0), it does not work. Could you please clarify whether the AW-CM276NF Wi-Fi module on the i.MX8MP-EVK board supports host access point (uap0) mode?

To enable host access point, I followed the steps in the document you shared:
88W8997-Software-Access-Point-Application-L5.4.70_2.3.0.pdf

When I run: systemctl start hostapd
I encounter the following error:

Could you please guide me on how to properly configure and enable host access point (uap0) on the i.MX8MP-EVK board?

Regards,
niranjan

[weidong_sun]

Hello @Niranjan123 ,

>>Could you please clarify whether the AW-CM276NF Wi-Fi module on the i.MX8MP-EVK board supports host access point (uap0) mode?

Sure, AP mode has been supported. 

From your logs, your hostapd.conf file contains illegal characters, so hw_mode is not recognized. You need to ensure that your hostapd.conf is a plain text file.

Let me share mine with  you.

1. hostapd.conf

Please back up yours, the copy it to /etc/

2. udhcpd.conf

back up yours , then copy it to /etc

check if /etc/udhcpd.leases exists, if no, use "touch /etc/udhcpd.leases" to create it.

3.. Starting uap0

# ifconfig uap0 192.168.6.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 up

# hostapd -d /etc/hostapd.conf -B

Then you can run "dmesg" to see if uap0 has been enabled.

4.. Starting udhcpd

# udhcpd -S /etc/udhcpd.conf &

last step , use your mobile to connect the uap0 , the SSID named '8997-uap0_2G'.

Try it, please!

Thanks!

Regards,

weidong

[weidong_sun]

Hi @Niranjan123 ,

You can refer to the attached document to enable uap of 88W8997.

Regards,

weidong

[Niranjan123]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply.

I have checked the Wi-Fi driver location mentioned on the NXP page:

https://community.nxp.com/t5/Wi-Fi-Bluetooth-802-15-4/Wi-Fi-Software-Drivers-Locations/ta-p/1940604?....

However, I’m unable to find the following directories in the source package:

• bin_wlan

• FwImage

Also, I couldn’t locate this specific driver package:

Generic_PCIE-WLAN-UART-BT-8997-LNX_6_1_55-IMX8-16.92.21.p84.4-16.92.21.p84.4-MM6X16423.P6-GPL

Because of this, I’m unable to proceed with the Wi-Fi Access Point (hostapd) configuration for the AzureWave AW-CM276NF (88W8997) module on the i.MX 8M Plus EVK.

Could you please help me with:

1. The correct download link or package name for the Wi-Fi driver containing bin_wlan and FwImage.

2. Steps or instructions to integrate it with the NXP Embedded Linux image (L5.4.70_2.3.0).

Thank you very much for your guidance and support.

Best regards,
Niranjan M