Comparison of open-source wireless drivers

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

Status

Driverfamily Driver Chipsets Chipset PHY Modes Integration in mainline Non-free firmware required 'On Device' means firmware is stored in device at all times License Development adm8211 adm8211 ADMtek ADM8211 (802.11b MAC/BBP) b GPLv2 With support from Infineon / ADMtek at76c50x‑usb at76c50x-usb Atmel AT76C503 / AT76C505 based USB WLAN adapters b Depends on the model GPLv2 acx100 acx1xx Texas Instruments ACX100, ACX111, TNETW1450 b/g Dual BSD/MPL Reverse-engineered airo airoairo Cisco Systems Aironet 4500/4800 and 340/350 b Dual GPLv2 and BSD athatheros ar5523 Atheros AR5523 based USB dongles a/b/g ISC Reverse-engineered ath5k Atheros AR2413, AR2414, AR2417, AR2425, AR5210, AR5211, AR5212, AR5213, AR5413, AR5414, AR5423, AR5424 a/b/g (since 2.6.25) The card doesn't have a host CPU and so it doesn't require a firmware source Dual GPL/BSD Reverse-engineered ath6kl Atheros AR6003, AR6004 (SDIO), AR6004 (USB) a/b/g ISC Written by Atheros ath9k Atheros chips with 802.11n support a/b/g/n (since 2.6.27) proprietary blob only required for Bluetooth (Purism / NovaCustom) ISC Written by Atheros ath9k_htc Atheros AR9271, AR7010 (USB-PCIe bridge with AR928x chips) b/g/n (since 2.6.35)https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 commit of ath10k to kernel 2.6.35 ISC Written by Qualcomm Atheros ath10k Qualcomm Atheros chips with 802.11ac support a/b/g/n/ac (since 3.11)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) ISC Written by Qualcomm Atheros ath11k Qualcomm Atheros chips with 802.11ax support a/b/g/n/ac/ax (since 5.6)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 ISC Written by Qualcomm Atheros ath12k Qualcomm Atheros chips with 802.11be support a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be (since 6.0) ISC Written by Qualcomm Atheros carl9170 Atheros AR9170 (802.11n USB) a/b/g/n (since 3.0) GPL Qualcomm Atheros-supported wil6210 Wilocity wil6210, 802.11ad 60GHz ad ISC Written by Qualcomm Atheros atmel atmel Atmel at76c502 at76c504 and at76c506 wireless cards b GPLv2+ Reverse-engineered b43 b43b43 Broadcom BCM43xx SoC a/b/g/n (since 2.6.24) Experimental OSS firmware See openfwwf project for open-source firmware. This firmware lacks support for QoS and hardware cryptography. GPL Reverse-engineered b43legacy b43legacybcm43xx Broadcom BCM4301, BCM4303, and BCM4306 rev 1 and 2 a/b/g (since 2.6.24) Experimental OSS firmware GPL Reverse-engineered brcm80211 brcmfmacbrcm80211 PCIe devices: Broadcom 4356, 43567, 43570, 4358, 4359, 43602, 4365, 4366 SDIO devices: Broadcom 4329, 4330, 4334, 43340, 43341, 43241, 4335, 4339, 43362, 43430, 43455, 4354, 43143 USB devices: Broadcom 43235, 43236, 43238, 43143, 43242, 43566, 43569 a/b/g/n/ac (since 3.2) ISC Written by Broadcom brcmsmac Broadcom BCM4313, BCM43224, BCM43225 a/b/g/n (since 3.2) ISC Written by Broadcom cw1200 cw1200 ST-Ericsson CW1100 & CW1200 WLAN chipsets (since 3.11)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. GPLv2 ? hostap hostapHostAP Intersil PRISM-II, PRISM-2.5, PRISM 3 Depends on the model GPLv2 ipw2x00 ipw2100ipw2200 Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 and 2200 Network Connection (802.11b) GPL Written by Intel iwlegacy iwlegacyiwl3945iwl4965 Intel Wireless Wi-Fi 3945ABG, 4965AGN GPL iwlwifi iwlwifi Intel Wireless WiFi Next Gen AGN - Wireless-N/Advanced-N/Ultimate-N: 6250AGN, 6200AGN, 6300AGN, 1000BGN, 5150AGN, 5100AGN, 5300AGN, 5350AGN, 6005, 6030, 6150BGN, 100BGN, 130BGN, AX200, AX210 and BE200 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be 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 GPL Marvell-supported libertas_tf libertas_tf Marvell 8388 (USB) WLAN Thinfirm Driver (OLPC) b/g GPL cozybit, Marvell-supported mt76 mt76 MediaTek MT76xxx, MT79xxxx a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be (since 4.19Phoronix, Intel IWLWIFI Adding 802.11ax Support In Linux 4.19, 5 August 2018) ISC With support from MediaTek mt7601u mt7601u MediaTek MT7601U b/g/n (since 4.2) GPLv2 mwifiex mwifiex WiFi-Ex Driver for Marvell SD8786/SD8787/SD8797 (SDIO), 8766/8897 (PCIe) and 88W8797 (USB) GPLv2 Written by Marvell mwl8k mwl8k Marvell TopDog 802.11 Wireless cards: 88W8366, 88W8863, 88W8687, 88W8764 GPLv2 Written by Marvell orinoco orinoco Lucent Hermes (WaveLAN/ ORiNOCO); Intersil PRISM-II, PRISM-2.5; Symbol Spectrum24 802.11b Required for WPA support p54prism54 p54 Prism54: Intersil/Conexant ISL3877, ISL3880, ISL3886, ISL3887, ISL3890 (~Aug2007) Experimental OSS firmwareThere is a Free software firmware called FreeMAC prism54 (before 2.6.12) Reverse-engineered; obsoleted by p54. rt2x00 rt2400pci MediaTek (Ralink) RT2460 b (since 2.6.24) see the license of the firmware to see which chipsets need a firmwareGPLv2+rt2x00.serialmonkey.com; From partial documentation and GPL drivers by Ralink rt2500pci Ralink RT2560 b/g GPLv2+rt2x00.serialmonkey.com rt61pci Ralink RT2561, RT2561S, RT2661 GPLv2+rt2x00.serialmonkey.com rt2800pci Ralink RT2760, RT2790, RT2860, RT2880, RT2890, RT3052, RT3090, RT3091, RT3092RT3390, RT3060, RT3062, RT3290, RT3562, RT3592, RT5390, RT5392 GPLv2+rt2x00.serialmonkey.com rt2500usb Ralink RT2571 & RT2572 b/g GPLv2+rt2x00.serialmonkey.com rt73usb Ralink RT2571W, RT2573 & RT2671 GPLv2+rt2x00.serialmonkey.com rt2800usb Ralink RT2770, RT2870, RT3070, RT3071, RT3072RT3370, RT3572, RT5370, RT5572 GPLv2+ rt2x00.serialmonkey.com rtl818x rtl8180 Realtek RTL8180, RTL8185, RTL8187SE b/g GPL rtl8187 Realtek RTL8187, RTL8187B a/b/g GPL rtl8xxxu rtl819x Realtek RTL8723AU, RTL8723BU, RTL8188CUS, RTL8192CU, RTL8191EU, RTL8192EU, RTL8188EU, RTL8188RU, RTL8188FU, RTL8192FU b/g/n GPLv2 Community written, based on open-source drivers released by Realtek rtlwifi rtl‑wifi rtl8188ee Realtek RTL8188EE (since 2.6.38)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 GPL Written by Realtek et al. Forked from rtl8180-sa2400 project. rtl8192c Realtek RTL8192C GPL Written by Realtek et al. rtl8192ce Realtek RTL8192CE GPL Written by Realtek et al. rtl8192cu Realtek RTL8192CU GPL Written by Realtek et al. rtl8192de Realtek RTL8192DE GPL Written by Realtek et al. rtl8192se Realtek RTL8192SE GPL Written by Realtek et al. rtl8723ae Realtek RTL8723AE GPL Written by Realtek et al. rtl8188eu Realtek RTL8188EU (TP-Link TL-WN725N) (since 3.12) GPL Written by Realtek et al. rtl8821ae Realtek RTL8812AE, RTL8821AE a/b/g/n/ac (since 3.16) GPL rtw88rtw89 rtw88_8822ce Realtek RTL8822CE a/b/g/n/ac Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw88_8822be Realtek RTL8822BE a/b/g/n/ac Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw88_8821ce Realtek RTL8821CE a/b/g/n/ac Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw88_8723de Realtek RTL8723DE b/g/n Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw88_8822cu Realtek RTL8822CU a/b/g/n/ac Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw88_8822bu Realtek RTL8822BU a/b/g/n/ac Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw88_8821cu Realtek RTL8821CU a/b/g/n/ac Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw88_8723du Realtek RTL8723DU b/g/n Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw89rtw89 rtw89_8852ae Realtek RTL8852AE a/b/g/n/ac/ax Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw89_8852be Realtek RTL8852BE a/b/g/n/ac/ax Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rtw89_8852ce Realtek RTL8852CE a/b/g/n/ac/ax Dual GPLv2 and BSD Written by Realtek et al. rsi9113 rsi9113 Redpine Signals SDIO and USB adapters GPL Written by Redpine Signals Inc. ti wl1251 Texas Instruments TI wl1251 (SDIO/SPI) GPL Written by Nokia wl12xx Texas Instruments TI wl1271, wl1273, wl1281 and wl1283 (Only up to 3.2) GPL Written by Nokia and Texas Instruments wl18xx Texas Instruments TI WiLink 8 GPL Written by Texas Instruments zd1211rw zd1211rw ZyDAS ZD1211/ZD1211B (USB) https://sourceforge.net/projects/zd1211/files/zd1211-firmware/ ZD1211 USB WLAN Linux Driver Firmware GPL various

Driver capabilities Driver802.11BusinterfaceWireless SecurityMonitormodeMaster(AP) modeAd-Hocmode a b g n ac ad ax WEP WPA WPA2 acx1xx PCI, Mini PCI, PC card, USB adm8211 PCI carl9170 USB ath5k PCI, Mini PCI, PC card, AHB (2.6.31) ath9k PCI, Mini PCI, Mini PCIe, AHB ath9k_htc USB ath10k PCI, Mini PCI, AHB, Mini PCIe ath11k PCI, Mini PCI, AHB, Mini PCIe ath12k PCI, Mini PCI, AHB, Mini PCIe b43 PCI, Mini PCI, SDIO ? bcm43xx PCI, Mini PCI,Cardbus, PC card brcmfmac USB, SDIO,PCI Express Exp. brcmsmac PCI, Mini PCI,Mini PCIe https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=492b71e8d468102372969705b65845f5e57038c5 2013-03-27 brcmsmac: activate AP support hostap PCI, Mini PCI,PC card Requires station firmware 1.7.4 or later. ipw2100 Mini PCI ipw2200 Mini PCI ipw2200-ap Mini PCI ipw3945 Mini PCI,Mini PCIe islsm (p54u)(archive) PCI, USB iwlwifi (archive) Mini PCI, Mini PCIe, M.2 2.4 GHz onlyExp. libertas (archive) USB, CF, SDIO madwifi (archive) PCI, PC card,Mini PCI mt76 PCIe, USB mt7601u USB orinoco Mini PCI,PC card 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. p54 Mini PCI, USB,Cardbus prism54 PCI rndis_wlan USB rt2x00 PCI, USB,Mini PCI except for the rt2400 chipset; only the rt2500 chipset and the rt2570 chipset are supported http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers and also at least two users reported success with master mode rtl818x PCI, USB, PC card,Mini PCI rtl8xxxu USB rtw88 M.2, USB, SDIO rtw89 M.2 zd1201 USB USB zd1211rw USB

DragonFly BSD Driver name Chipset Integration Non-free firmware required License Original/Primary developer Development acx Texas InstrumentsACX100/ACX111 Integrated since 1.5 BSD Reverse engineering an Aironet4500/4800 Integrated BSD Bill Paul(FreeBSD) ath Atheros AR5210/AR5211/AR5212/AR5416 Integrated BSD bwi BroadcomBCM430x/4318 Integrated BSD SepherosaZiehau Reverse engineering iwi Intel PRO/Wireless2200BG/2915ABG Integrated BSD Damien Bergamini(OpenBSD) Reverse engineering iwl Intel PRO/Wireless2100 Integrated BSD Damien Bergamini(OpenBSD) Reverse engineeringiwmIntel Dual Band Wireless AC 3160/7260/8260/9260/9270/9560 Integrated BSDOpenBSD iwn Intel 4965/1000/5000/5150/5300/6000/6050 Integrated BSD Damien Bergamini(OpenBSD) Reverse engineering ral Ralink RT2500/RT2501/RT2600 Integrated BSD Damien Bergamini Ported fromFreeBSD rtw RealtekRTL8180L Integrated BSD Ported from NetBSD rum RalinkRT2501USB/RT2601USB Integrated BSD Damien Bergamini Ported fromFreeBSD wi Lucent Hermes(WaveLAN / ORiNOCO);Intersil PRISM-II, -2.5; Symbol Spectrum24 802.11b Integrated BSD Bill Paul (FreeBSD) Documentation based wpi Intel3945ABG Integrated BSD Damien Bergamini Ported from OpenBSD

FreeBSD

Status