Comparison of open-source wireless drivers
This article needs to be updated . Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2022 )
Wireless network cards for computers require control software to make them function (firmware , device drivers ). This is a list of the status of some open-source drivers for 802.11 wireless network cards.
Linux
Marvell's "Libertas" runs an RTOS on an ARM9 and interfaces over a shim with the actual operating system.[ 1] [ 2]
Status
Driver family
Driver
Chipsets
Chipset PHY Modes
Integration mainline
Non-free [ note 1]
License
Development
adm8211
adm8211
ADMtek ADM8211 (802.11b MAC/BBP)
b
Yes
Yes
GPLv2
With support from Infineon / ADMtek
at76c50x‑usb
at76c50x-usb
Atmel AT76C503 / AT76C505 based USB WLAN adapters
b
Yes
Depends on the model
GPLv2
?
acx100
acx1xx
Texas Instruments ACX100, ACX111, TNETW1450
b/g
No
Yes
Dual BSD /MPL
Reverse-engineered
airo
airo airo
Cisco Systems Aironet 4500/4800 and 340/350
b
Yes
No
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
?
ath atheros
ar5523
Atheros AR5523 based USB dongles
a/b/g
Yes
Yes
ISC
Reverse-engineered
ath5k
Atheros AR2413, AR2414, AR2417, AR2425, AR5210, AR5211, AR5212, AR5213, AR5413, AR5414, AR5423, AR5424
a/b/g
Yes (since 2.6.25)
—[ 3]
Dual GPL /BSD
Reverse-engineered
ath6kl
Atheros AR6003, AR6004 (SDIO), AR6004 (USB)
a/b/g
Yes
Yes
ISC
Written by Atheros
ath9k
Atheros chips with 802.11n support
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 2.6.27)
—[ 3] Purism / NovaCustom )
ISC
Written by Atheros
ath9k_htc
Atheros AR9271, AR7010 (USB-PCIe bridge with AR928x chips)
b/g/n
Yes (since 2.6.35)[ 4] [ 5]
No[ 6]
ISC
Written by Qualcomm Atheros
ath10k
Qualcomm Atheros chips with 802.11ac support
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 3.11)[ 7]
Yes[ 8]
ISC
Written by Qualcomm Atheros
ath11k
Qualcomm Atheros chips with 802.11ax support
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 5.6)[ 9]
Yes[ 10]
ISC
Written by Qualcomm Atheros
ath12k
Qualcomm Atheros chips with 802.11be support
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 6.0)
Yes
ISC
Written by Qualcomm Atheros
carl9170
Atheros AR9170 (802.11n USB)
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 3.0)
No[ 11]
GPL
Qualcomm Atheros-supported
wil6210
Wilocity wil6210, 802.11ad 60GHz
ad
Yes
Yes
ISC
Written by Qualcomm Atheros
atmel
atmel
Atmel at76c502 at76c504 and at76c506 wireless cards
b
Yes
Yes
GPLv2+
Reverse-engineered
b43
b43 b43
Broadcom BCM43xx SoC
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 2.6.24)
Experimental [ 12]
GPL
Reverse-engineered
b43legacy
b43legacy bcm43xx
Broadcom BCM4301, BCM4303, and BCM4306 rev 1 and 2
a/b/g
Yes (since 2.6.24)
Experimental [ 12]
GPL
Reverse-engineered
brcm80211
brcmfmac brcm80211
PCIe devices: Broadcom 4356, 43567, 43570, 4358, 4359, 43602, 4365, 4366 Broadcom 4329, 4330, 4334, 43340, 43341, 43241, 4335, 4339, 43362, 43430, 43455, 4354, 43143 Broadcom 43235, 43236, 43238, 43143, 43242, 43566, 43569
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 3.2)
Yes
ISC
Written by Broadcom
brcmsmac
Broadcom BCM4313, BCM43224, BCM43225
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 3.2)
Yes
ISC
Written by Broadcom
cw1200
cw1200
ST-Ericsson CW1100 & CW1200 WLAN chipsets
?
Yes (since 3.11)[ 13]
Yes[ 14]
GPLv2
?
hostap
hostap HostAP
Intersil PRISM -II, PRISM-2.5, PRISM 3
?
Yes
Depends on the model[ 15]
GPLv2
ipw2x00
ipw2100 ipw2200
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 and 2200 Network Connection (802.11b)
?
Yes
Yes[ 16]
GPL
Written by Intel
iwlegacy
iwlegacy iwl3945 iwl4965
Intel Wireless Wi-Fi 3945ABG, 4965AGN
?
Yes
Yes
GPL
iwlwifi
iwlwifi
Intel Wireless WiFi Next Gen AGN - a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPL /BSD
Written by Intel
libertas
libertas
Marvell 88W8686 SDIO Libertas 8388 (USB) 802.11b/g, 8385 (CompactFlash) 802.11b/g, 8385/8686/8688 (SDIO) 802.11b/g, 8686 (SPI) 802.11b/g, 88W8388
?
Yes
Yes[ 17]
GPL
Marvell-supported
libertas_tf
libertas_tf
Marvell 8388 (USB) WLAN Thinfirm Driver (OLPC)
b/g
Yes
Yes
GPL
cozybit, Marvell-supported
mt76
mt76
MediaTek MT76xxx, MT79xxxx
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 4.19[ 18]
Yes
ISC
With support from MediaTek
mt7601u
mt7601u
MediaTek MT7601U
b/g/n
Yes (since 4.2)
Yes
GPLv2
mwifiex
mwifiex
WiFi-Ex Driver for Marvell SD8786/SD8787/SD8797 (SDIO), 8766/8897 (PCIe) and 88W8797 (USB)
?
Yes
Yes[ 19]
GPLv2
Written by Marvell
mwl8k
mwl8k
Marvell TopDog 802.11 Wireless cards:
?
Yes
Yes
GPLv2
Written by Marvell
orinoco
orinoco
Lucent Hermes (WaveLAN/ ORiNOCO ); Intersil PRISM -II, PRISM-2.5; Symbol Spectrum24 802.11b
?
Yes
Required for WPA support[ 20]
p54 prism54
p54
Prism54 : Intersil/Conexant ISL3877, ISL3880, ISL3886, ISL3887, ISL3890
?
Yes 2007)
Experimental [ 21]
prism54
?
Yes (before 2.6.12)
Reverse-engineered; obsoleted by p54.
rt2x00
rt2400pci
MediaTek (Ralink ) RT2460
b
Yes (since 2.6.24)
No[ 22]
GPLv2+
rt2x00.serialmonkey.com;
rt2500pci
Ralink RT2560
b/g
Yes
No
GPLv2+
rt2x00.serialmonkey.com
rt61pci
Ralink RT2561, RT2561S, RT2661
?
Yes
Yes
GPLv2+
rt2x00.serialmonkey.com
rt2800pci
Ralink RT2760, RT2790, RT2860, RT2880, RT2890, RT3052, RT3090, RT3091, RT3092?
Yes
Yes
GPLv2+
rt2x00.serialmonkey.com
rt2500usb
Ralink RT2571 & RT2572
b/g
Yes
No
GPLv2+
rt2x00.serialmonkey.com
rt73usb
Ralink RT2571W, RT2573 & RT2671
?
Yes
Yes
GPLv2+
rt2x00.serialmonkey.com
rt2800usb
Ralink RT2770, RT2870, RT3070, RT3071, RT3072?
Yes
Yes
GPLv2+
rt2x00.serialmonkey.com
rtl818x
rtl8180
Realtek RTL8180, RTL8185, RTL8187SE
b/g
Yes
No
GPL
rtl8187
Realtek RTL8187, RTL8187B
a/b/g
Yes
No
GPL
rtl8xxxu
rtl819x
Realtek RTL8723AU, RTL8723BU, RTL8188CUS, RTL8192CU, RTL8191EU, RTL8192EU, RTL8188EU, RTL8188RU, RTL8188FU, RTL8192FU
b/g/n
Yes
Yes
GPLv2
fan-made, based on open source drivers released by Realtek
rtlwifi rtl‑wifi
rtl8188ee
Realtek RTL8188EE
?
Yes (since 2.6.38)[ 23]
Yes
GPL
Written by Realtek et al. Forked from rtl8180-sa2400 project.
rtl8192c
Realtek RTL8192C
?
Yes
GPL
Written by Realtek et al.
rtl8192ce
Realtek RTL8192CE
?
Yes
Yes
GPL
Written by Realtek et al.
rtl8192cu
Realtek RTL8192CU
?
Yes
Yes
GPL
Written by Realtek et al.
rtl8192de
Realtek RTL8192DE
?
Yes
Yes
GPL
Written by Realtek et al.
rtl8192se
Realtek RTL8192SE
?
Yes
Yes
GPL
Written by Realtek et al.
rtl8723ae
Realtek RTL8723AE
?
Yes
Yes
GPL
Written by Realtek et al.
rtl8188eu
Realtek RTL8188EU (TP-Link TL-WN725N)
?
Yes (since 3.12[ 24] [ 25]
Yes
GPL
Written by Realtek et al.
rtl8821ae
Realtek RTL8812AE, RTL8821AE
a/b/g/n
Yes (since 3.16)
Yes
GPL
?
rtw88 rtw89
rtw88_8822ce
Realtek RTL8822CE
a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw88_8822be
Realtek RTL8822BE
a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw88_8821ce
Realtek RTL8821CE
a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw88_8723de
Realtek RTL8723DE
b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw88_8822cu
Realtek RTL8822CU
a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw88_8822bu
Realtek RTL8822BU
a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw88_8821cu
Realtek RTL8821CU
a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw88_8723du
Realtek RTL8723DU
b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw89 rtw89
rtw89_8852ae
Realtek RTL8852AE
a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw89_8852be
Realtek RTL8852BE
a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rtw89_8852ce
Realtek RTL8852CE
a/b/g/n
Yes
Yes
Dual GPLv2 and BSD
Written by Realtek et al.
rsi9113
rsi9113
Redpine Signals SDIO and USB adapters
Yes
GPL
Written by Redpine Signals Inc.
ti
wl1251
Texas Instruments TI wl1251 (SDIO/SPI)
?
Yes
Yes[ 26]
GPL
Written by Nokia
wl12xx
Texas Instruments TI wl1271, wl1273, wl1281 and wl1283
?
Yes (Only up to 3.2[ 27]
Yes[ 26]
GPL
Written by Nokia and Texas Instruments
wl18xx
Texas Instruments TI WiLink 8
?
Yes
Yes[ 26]
GPL
Written by Texas Instruments
zd1211rw
zd1211rw
ZyDAS ZD1211/ZD1211B (USB)
?
Yes
Yes[ 28]
GPL
various
Driver capabilities
Driver
802.11
Bus
Wireless Security
Monitor
MasterAP ) mode
Ad-Hoc
a b g n ac ad ax WEP
WPA
WPA2
acx1xx
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
PCI , Mini PCI , PC card , USB
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
?
adm8211
No
Yes
No
No
No
?
?
PCI
Yes
?
?
Yes
No
Yes
carl9170
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
?
?
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ath5k
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
PCI , Mini PCI , PC card , AHB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ath9k
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
?
?
PCI , Mini PCI , Mini PCIe , AHB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ath9k_htc
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
?
?
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ath10k
No
No
No
No
Yes
?
?
PCI , Mini PCI , AHB , Mini PCIe
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
b43
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
PCI , Mini PCI , SDIO ?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
bcm43xx
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
PCI , Mini PCI ,Cardbus , PC card
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
?
brcmfmac
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
?
?
USB , SDIO ,PCI Express
Yes
Yes
Yes
Exp. [ 29]
Yes [ 30]
No
brcmsmac
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
?
?
PCI , Mini PCI ,Mini PCIe
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes [ 31]
Yes [ 32]
hostap
No
Yes
No
No
No
?
?
PCI , Mini PCI ,PC card
Yes
Yes [ 33]
Yes [ 33]
Yes
Yes
Yes
ipw2100
No
Yes
No
No
No
?
?
Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
?
ipw2200
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
ipw2200-ap
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
Mini PCI
?
?
?
Yes
Yes
?
ipw3945
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
Mini PCI ,Mini PCIe
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
islsm (p54u) ?
?
?
?
?
?
?
PCI , USB
No
No
No
?
No
?
iwlwifi Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
?
Mini PCI , Mini PCIe , M.2
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
2.4 GHz only[ 34] [ 35]
Yes
libertas No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
USB , CF , SDIO
?
?
?
?
No
?
madwifi Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
PCI , PC card ,Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
mt76
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
?
PCIe , USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
mt7601u
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
?
?
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
?
orinoco
No
Yes
No
No
No
?
?
Mini PCI ,PC card
Yes
Yes [ 36]
No
Yes
No
Yes
p54
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
Mini PCI , USB ,Cardbus
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
prism54
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
PCI
Yes
No
?
Yes
Yes
?
rndis_wlan
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
rt2x00
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
PCI , USB ,Mini PCI
Yes
Yes [ 37]
Yes [ 38]
Yes
Yes [ 39]
Yes
rtl8180
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
PCI , PC card ,Mini PCI
?
?
?
?
Yes
?
rtl8187
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
?
rtl8xxxu
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
Yes [ 40]
No
rtw88
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
M.2 , USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
rtw89
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
M.2
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
zd1201
No
Yes
No
No
No
?
?
USB
Yes
No [ 41]
No [ 41]
Yes
Yes
?
zd1211
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
zd1211rw
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
?
?
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes [ 42]
Yes
DragonFly BSD
Driver name
Chipset
Integration
Non-free
License
Original/Primary
Development
acx
Texas Instruments Integrated
Yes
BSD
Reverse
an
Aironet Integrated
On Device
BSD
Bill Paul
ath
Atheros AR5210/Integrated
On Device
BSD
bwi
Broadcom Integrated
Yes
BSD
Sepherosa
Reverse
iwi
Intel PRO/WirelessIntegrated
Yes
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse
iwl
Intel PRO/WirelessIntegrated
Yes
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse
iwm
Intel Dual Band Wireless AC
3160/7260/8260/9260/9270/9560
Integrated
Yes
BSD
OpenBSD
iwn
Intel 4965/1000/5000/Integrated
Yes
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse
ral
Ralink RT2500/Integrated
On Device
BSD
Damien
Ported from
rtw
Realtek Integrated
On Device
BSD
Ported from
rum
Ralink Integrated
On Device
BSD
Damien
Ported from
wi
Lucent HermesORiNOCO );Intersil PRISM -II, -2.5; Symbol Spectrum24 802.11b
Integrated
On Device
BSD
Bill Paul
Documentation
wpi
Intel Integrated
On Device
BSD
Damien
Ported from
FreeBSD
Status
Driver
Chipset
Integration
Non-free firmware [ note 1]
License
Original/ Primary
Development
acx
Texas Instruments Separate project
Yes
BSD
Reverse
an
Aironet 4500/4800, Cisco Aironet 340/350, Integrated
On Device
BSD
Bill Paul (FreeBSD)
arl
Aironet Arlan 655
Integrated /
On Device
BSD
ath
Atheros AR5210/ AR5211/ AR5212/ Integrated
No
BSD
Originally by Atheros via
Documentation
awi
AMD PCnetMobile
Integrated /
On Device
BSD
Bill Sommerfeld (NetBSD),
bwi
Broadcom BCM43xx/4318
Integrated since 8.0
Yes
BSD
Sepherosa Ziehau
Ported from
bwn
Broadcom Integrated since 8.1
Yes
BSD
Weongyo Jeong
?
cnw
Netwave AirSurfer
Integrated /
On Device
BSD
Imported from NetBSD
ipw
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100
Integrated
Yes
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse
iwi
Intel PRO/Wireless Integrated
Yes
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse
iwm
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC
?
?
?
?
iwn
Intel PRO/Wireless 4965 ABGN/ Intel Centrino 6000/ 6150/
Integrated since 8.0 /
Yes
BSD
Damien Bergamini,
Reverse engineering
malo
Marvell 88W8335
Integrated
Yes
BSD
Weongyo Jeong (FreeBSD),
mwl
Marvell 88W8363
Integrated since 8.0
Yes[ 43]
BSD
Sam Leffler (FreeBSD)
?
ral
Ralink RT2500/ RT2501/ Integrated
On Device
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Based on partial
ray
Raytheon Raylink/
Integrated /
On Device
BSD
Imported from NetBSD
rsu
Realtek Integrated since 10.0
Yes
BSD
Damien Bergamini
?
rum
Ralink Integrated
No[ 44]
BSD
Niall O'Higgins,
Based on partial
run
Ralink RT2700U/ Integrated since 8.1
No[ 44]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Based on partial
uath
Atheros Integrated since 8.0
Yes[ 45]
BSD
Weongyo Jeong (FreeBSD),
?
upgt
GW3887 (Conexant /
Integrated since 8.0
Yes
BSD
Imported from OpenBSD
Reverse
ural
Ralink RT2500USB
Integrated
On Device
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Based on partial
urtw
Realtek Integrated since 8.0
—[ 46]
BSD
Weongyo Jeong
?
urtwn
Realtek RTL8188CU/ Integrated since 10.0
Yes
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse
wi
Lucent Hermes (WaveLAN/ ORiNOCO ); Intersil PRISM -2, PRISM-2.5, PRISM-3; Symbol Spectrum24 802.11b Integrated
On Device
BSD
Bill Paul (FreeBSD)
Documentation
wpi
Intel PRO/ Wireless 3945ABG
Integrated
Yes
BSD
Damien Bergamini,
Reverse
zyd
ZyDAS ZD1211/ ZD1211B
Integrated
No
BSD
Florian Stoehr,
Documentation
Driver capabilities
Driver
802.11
Bus interface
WEP
WPA
WPA2
Monitor mode
Master mode
Ad-Hoc mode
acx
802.11a ?, 802.11b , 802.11g
Cardbus , PCI
Yes
?
?
?
?
Yes
an
802.11b
Cardbus , PCI , ISA
Yes
?
?
?
?
Yes
arl
N/A
ISA
?
?
?
?
?
?
ath
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g , 802.11n
Cardbus , PCI , Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
awi
N/A
PC Card
?
?
?
?
Yes
Yes
bwi
802.11b , 802.11g
Cardbus , PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
cnw
N/A
Cardbus
?
?
?
?
?
?
ipw
802.11b
Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
iwi
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
iwn
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g , 802.11n
Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
malo
802.11b , 802.11g
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
mwl
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g , 802.11n
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
ral
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
Cardbus , PCI , Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ray
N/A
PC Card
?
?
?
No
No
Yes
rum
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
run
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
uath
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
upgt
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
ural
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
urtw
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
wi
802.11b
PC Card , Cardbus , PCI
Yes
Yes (since 8.0)
Yes (since 8.0)
Yes (since 8.0?)
Yes
Yes
wpi
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
zyd
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
NetBSD
Driver
Chipset
Integration
Free firmware[ note 2]
License
Original/Primary developer
Development methodologies
Free software [ note 3]
an
Aironet 4500/4800, Cisco Aironet 340/350
Integrated
—
BSD
Bill Paul (FreeBSD)
Ported from FreeBSD
Yes
ath
Atheros AR521*/ AR2413/ AR2417/ AR5413/ AR5416/ AR5424/ AR9160
Integrated
—
BSD
Sam Leffler (FreeBSD)
Binary blobs ported from FreeBSD
Yes
athn
Atheros AR5008 up to the AR9287
Integrated
—
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
atu
Atmel at76c503/ at76c503a/ at76c505/ at76c505a
Integrated
—
BSD
Dan Vreeken (FreeBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
atw
ADMtek ADM8211
Integrated
—
BSD
David Young (NetBSD)
Yes
awi
AMD PCnetMobile
Integrated
—
BSD
Yes
bwi
Broadcom BCM430x/4318
Integrated
—
BSD
Sepherosa Ziehau (DragonflyBSD)
Ported from Dragonfly BSD
Yes
cnw
Netwave AirSurfer
Integrated
—
BSD
Yes
ipw
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100
Integrated
No
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
iwi
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG/2915ABG
Integrated
No
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
iwm
Intel Wireless WiFi 7260, 7265, 3160
Integrated
No
BSD
Antti Kantee (NetBSD)
Yes
iwn
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965/ 5000/ 1000/ 6000
Integrated
No
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
malo
Marvell 88W8335/88W8310
Integrated
No
BSD
Claudio Jeker (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
otus
Atheros AR9001U
Integrated
No
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
ral
Ralink RT2500/ RT2501/ RT2600/ RT2500USB/RT3592
Integrated
—
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
ray
Raytheon Raylink / WebGear Aviator
Integrated
—
BSD
Christian E. Hopps (NetBSD)
Yes
rtw
Realtek RTL8180L
Integrated
—
BSD
David Young (NetBSD)
Yes
rtwn
Realtek RTL8188CE and RTL8192CE
Integrated
—
BSD
Stefan Sperling (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
run
Ralink RT2700U, RT2800U and RT3000U
Integrated
—
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
upgt
Conexant/Intersil PrismGT SoftMAC USB IEEE 802.11b/g
Integrated
—
BSD
Marcus Glocker (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
urtw
Realtek RTL8187B/L
Integrated
No
BSD
Weongyo Jeong (FreeBSD)
Ported from FreeBSD
Yes
urtwn
Realtek RTL8188CUS, RTL8188CE-VAU, RTL8188EUS, RTL8188RU, and RTL8192CU
Integrated
No
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
wi
Lucent Technologies WaveLAN/IEEE and PRISM-II 802.11
Integrated
No
BSD
Bill Paul
Yes
wpi
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
Integrated
No
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
zyd
ZyDAS ZD1211/ ZD1211B
Integrated
No
BSD
Damien Bergamini (OpenBSD)
Ported from OpenBSD
Yes
OpenBSD
The following is an incomplete list of supported wireless devices:
Status
Driver
Chipset
Integration
Free firmware[ note 2]
License
Original/Primary developer
Development
Free software [ note 3]
acx
Texas Instruments ACX100/ACX111
Integrated
No[ 47]
BSD
Ported from DragonFlyBSD
Reverse engineering
Yes
an
Aironet 4500/4800, Cisco Aironet 340/350
Integrated
—
BSD
Yes
ath
Atheros AR5210/ AR5211/ AR5212
Integrated
—[ 3]
BSD
Reverse engineering
Yes
athn
Atheros AR5416/AR9160/AR928X
Integrated (since 4.7)
Yes[ 48]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Partly based on the ath9k driver for Linux
Yes
atu
Atmel AT76C503/ AT76C503A/ AT76C505/ AT76C505A
Integrated
Yes[ 49]
BSD
Reverse engineering
Yes
atw
ADMtek ADM8211
Integrated
—
BSD
Documentation based
Yes
awi
BayStack 650
2.7 to 4.3
—
BSD
Yes
bwfm Broadcom and Cypress IEEE 802.11a/ac/ax/b/g/n wireless network device
6.3+
BSD
Patrick Wildt
Yes
bwi
Broadcom BCM430x/4318
Integrated
No
BSD
Sepherosa Ziehau
Ported from DragonFly BSD
Yes
cnw
NetWave AirSurfer
2.6 to 6.0
—
BSD
Yes
ipw
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100
Integrated
No[ 50]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse engineering
Yes
iwi
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG/ 2225BG/ 2915ABG
Integrated
No[ 51]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse engineering
Yes
iwn
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965/ 5000/ 1000/ 6000
Integrated
No[ 52]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse engineering
Yes
iwm
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 3160ac/ 7260ac/ 7265ac
Integrated (since 5.8)
No[ 53]
BSD
Antti Kantee,[ 54]
Based on iwn, and iwlwifi driver released by Intel for Linux under dual GPLv2/BSD license[ 55]
Yes
malo
Marvell 88W8335/ 88W8310
Integrated
No[ 56]
BSD
Marcus Glocker and Claudio Jeker
Reverse engineering[ 57]
Yes
otus
Atheros AR9170
Integrated (since 4.6)
No[ 58]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Based on source code released by Atheros for Linux under the ISC
Yes
pgt
Conexant /Intersil Prism GT Full-MAC ISL3877, ISL3880, and ISL3890 chips
Integrated
No[ 59]
BSD
Ported from FreeBSD
Reverse engineering[ 60]
Yes
ral /ural
Ralink RT2500, RT2501, RT2600, RT2700, RT2800, RT3090, RT3292, RT3592 and RT5390 (ral), RT2500USB (ural)
Integrated
Yes[ 61]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Documentation based
Yes
ray
Raytheon Raylink/WebGear Aviator IEEE 802.11FH
2.7 to 5.4
—
BSD
Yes
rsu
Realtek RTL8188SU/RTL8191SU/RTL8192SU
Integrated (since 4.9)
No
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse engineering
Yes
rtw
Realtek RTL8180L
Integrated
—
BSD
Ported from NetBSD
Documentation based
Yes
rtwn
Realtek RTL8188CE/RTL8192CE
Integrated
No[ 62]
BSD
Stefan Sperling
Based on urtwn driver.
Yes
rum
Ralink RT2501USB/ RT2601USB
Integrated
Yes[ 44]
BSD
Niall O'Higgins and Damien Bergamini
Documentation based
Yes
run
Ralink RT2700U/ RT2800U/ RT3000U
Integrated
Yes[ 44]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Documentation based
Yes
uath
Atheros AR5005UG/ AR5005UX
Integrated
No[ 63]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse Engineering[ 60]
Yes
upgt
GW3887 (Conexant /Intersil PrismGT series)
Integrated
No[ 64]
BSD
Marcus Glocker
Reverse engineering
Yes
urtw
Realtek RTL8187L
Integrated
—
BSD
Weongyo Jeong (FreeBSD)
?
Yes
urtwn
Realtek RTL8188CU/RTL8192CU
Integrated (since 4.9)
No
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse engineering
Yes
wi
Lucent Hermes (WaveLAN/ ORiNOCO ); Intersil PRISM -2, PRISM-2.5, PRISM-3; Symbol Spectrum24
Integrated
Yes for Spectrum24[ 65]
BSD
Bill Paul
Documentation based
Yes
wpi [ 66] Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
Integrated
No[ 67]
BSD
Damien Bergamini
Reverse engineering
Yes
zyd
ZyDAS ZD1211/ZD1211B
Integrated
Yes[ 68]
BSD
Florian Stoehr, Damien Bergamini, and Jonathan Gray
Documentation based
Yes
Driver capabilities
Driver
802.11
Bus interface
WEP
WPA
WPA2
Monitor mode
Master mode
Ad-Hoc mode
acx
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
Cardbus , PCI
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
an
802.11b
PC Card , PCI , ISA
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
ath
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
Cardbus , PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
athn
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g , 802.11n
Cardbus , PCI-E , Mini PCIE
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
atu
802.11b
USB
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
atw
802.11b
Cardbus , PCI
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
bwfm 802.11a/ac/ax/b/g/n
PCI, USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
bwi
802.11b , 802.11g
Cardbus , PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
cnw
N/A
PC Card
No
No
No
No
No
No
ipw
802.11b
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
iwi
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
iwn
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g , 802.11n
PCI-E , Mini PCIE
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
iwm
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g , 802.11n
PCI-E , Mini PCIE
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
malo
802.11b , 802.11g
Cardbus , PC Card , PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
otus
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
pgt
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
Cardbus , PCI
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
ral
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
Cardbus , PCI , Mini PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ray
N/A
PC Card
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
rtw
802.11b
Cardbus , PCI
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
rtwn
802.11b , 802.11g
Mini PCIE
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
rum
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
run
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
uath
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
upgt
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
ural
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
urtw
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
urtwn
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
wi
802.11b
PC Card , PCI , USB
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
wpi
802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g
PCI
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
zyd
802.11b , 802.11g
USB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Solaris and OpenSolaris
Notes
^ a b 'On Device' means firmware is stored in device at all times
^ a b c d 'N/A' means firmware is stored in device at all times, 'yes' means firmware is available for totally free redistribution, 'no' means you have to get into non-free-software contract with the manufacturer to get access to the firmware
^ a b c in terms of no binary-only requirements that are posed by the driver, i.e. you can modify all code that is run on your CPU
References
^ "Marvel Libertas" .^ "Ticket #46" . Archived from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2007-01-07 .^ a b c d The card doesn't have a host CPU and so it doesn't require a firmware source Archived June 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ "ath9k_htc" . debian.org . Retrieved 1 May 2015 .^ https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 commit of ath10k to kernel 2.6.35^ "qca/open-ath9k-htc-firmware" . GitHub . Retrieved 1 May 2015 .^ https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=5e3dd157d7e70f0e3cea3f2573ed69fb156a19d5 commit of ath10k to Kernel 3.11^ The chipsets do require a non-free firmware, as of 12/8/2013, volunteer developers should contact Luis R. Rodriguez, mcgrof at frijolero.org to help with changing this, code clean ups, and release) ^ https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d ath11k: driver for Qualcomm 802.11ax devices^ The chipsets do require a non-free firmware ^ "en:users:drivers:carl9170 [Linux Wireless]" . kernel.org . Retrieved 1 May 2024 .^ a b See openfwwf project for open-source firmware. This firmware lacks support for QoS and hardware cryptography.
^ http://kernelnewbies.org/Linux_3.11-DriversArch#head-55b108ef9d4cab96ff8a30e9906a6079628c49d3 Kernel Newbies 3.11 network driver documentation.^ https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/LICENCE.cw1200 CW1200 Licence file at linux-firmware.^ "Why does my D-Link DWL-650 rev. P1 or D-Link DWL-520 rev. E1 (or any other card with small flash) card fail?" – Host AP driver – Frequently Asked Questions" .^ "Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 Driver Firmware" . sourceforge.net . Retrieved 1 May 2015 .^ "#46 (Eliminate dependency on licensed code in Marvell firmware) – One Laptop Per Child" . Dev.laptop.org. 2006-12-14. Archived from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2013-07-12 .^ Phoronix, Intel IWLWIFI Adding 802.11ax Support In Linux 4.19 , 5 August 2018
^ "README\mwifiex\marvell\wireless\net\drivers - kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git - Linux kernel stable tree" . kernel.org . Retrieved 15 September 2018 .^ "orinoco - Linux Wireless" . Wireless.kernel.org. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ There is a Free software firmware called FreeMAC
^ see the license of the firmware Archived 2017-01-05 at the Wayback Machine to see which chipsets need a firmware
^ https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi?id=0c8173385e549f95cd80c3fff5aab87b4f881d8d 2010-12-15: add rtl-wifi and support for RTL8192CE^ "rtl8188eu" .^ "rtl8188eu header files" .^ a b c "ti-connectivity - kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git - Repository of firmware blobs for use with the Linux kernel" . git.kernel.org . Retrieved 23 March 2018 .^ "Configuring WL1271 for a 3.13 kernel (devicetree) - WiLink WiFi + Bluetooth Forum - Wireless Connectivity - TI E2E Community" . ti.com . Retrieved 1 May 2015 .^ http://sourceforge.net/projects/zd1211/files/zd1211-firmware/ ZD1211 USB WLAN Linux Driver Firmware^ "seemoo-lab/nexmon" . GitHub . Retrieved 23 March 2018 .^ "Supports SoftAP" . kernel.org . Retrieved 19 Sep 2017 .^ https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=492b71e8d468102372969705b65845f5e57038c5 2013-03-27 brcmsmac: activate AP support^ "kernel/git/next/linux-next.git - The linux-next integration testing tree" . kernel.org . Retrieved 1 May 2015 .^ a b Requires station firmware 1.7.4 or later.
^ "en:users:drivers:iwlwifi [Linux Wireless]" . kernel.org . Retrieved 1 May 2015 .^ "en:users:drivers:iwlwifi [Linux Wireless]" . wireless.wiki.kernel.org . Retrieved 23 March 2018 .^ WPA+TKIP with Hermes (Lucent/Agere Systems) chipsets only. Requires 2.6.28-rc1 or later kernel and v9.42 or later firmware from userspace.
^ except for the rt2400 chipset; only the rt2500 chipset and the rt2570 chipset are supported
^ "one user reported that WPA2 works with rt61pci" . My.opera.com. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers Archived 2007-10-26 at the Wayback Machine and also at least two users reported success with master mode [1] Archived 2014-12-05 at the Wayback Machine [2] ^ "[PATCH v4 17/18] wifi: rtl8xxxu: Declare AP mode support for 8188f" . lore.kernel.org. Retrieved 2024-01-08 .^ a b "Bug 5631 – zd1201 and wpa support" . Bugzilla.kernel.org. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "Master mode supported in zd1211rw since 2.6.39" . Git.kernel.org. Retrieved 2018-09-15 .^ "[base] Contents of /head/sys/contrib/dev/mwl/LICENSE" . Svn.freebsd.org. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ a b c d "rum-license (covers rum-rt2573 for rum(4), as well as run-rt2870 and run-rt3071 for run(4))" . BSD Cross Reference, OpenBSD .^ "[base] Contents of /head/sys/contrib/dev/uath/ar5523.bin.uu" . Svn.freebsd.org. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "[base] Contents of /head/sys/dev/usb/wlan/if_urtw.c" . Svn.freebsd.org. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "Manual Pages: acx" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ " . Openbsd.org. 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-02-05 .^ "atu-license" . BSD Cross Reference, OpenBSD .^ "Manual Pages: ipw" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "Manual Pages: iwi" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "Manual Pages: iwn" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "Manual Pages: iwm" . Openbsd.org.^ "I was contracted to write a driver for the Intel 3160/726x wireless chips, a driver which became iwm(4)" . beastie.pl. 2015-10-14. Archived from the original on 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2016-02-21 .^ "Add iwm(4), a new driver for Intel 7260 wifi cards" . Openbsd.org. 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2016-02-21 .^ "Manual Pages: malo" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "Developer Blog – mglocker@: New WLAN drivers on the upswing" . Undeadly.org. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "Manual Pages: otus(4)" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "Manual Pages: pgt(4)" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ a b "OpenBSD reverse engineers more wireless drivers" . Undeadly.org. 2004-04-02. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "ral-license" . BSD Cross Reference, OpenBSD .^ "Manual Pages: rtwn" . Openbsd.org.^ "Manual Pages: uath" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "Manual Pages: upgt(4)" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "symbol-license" . BSD Cross Reference, OpenBSD .^ There is more details about the port at kerneltrap Archived 2012-07-13 at archive.today
^ "Manual Pages: wpi" . Openbsd.org. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .^ "zd1211-licence" . BSD Cross Reference, OpenBSD .^ it's not the same driver that the OpenBSD ath driver it's a port from Madwifi to OpenSolaris
^ source Archived 2006-05-16 at archive.today , I don't know if the HAL can be replaced with OpenHAL^ "Seattle Wireless WirelessDriver Support Wiki" . Seattlewireless.net. 2010-08-15. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2012-12-09 .
External links
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