Bug 2387486 - Changing the region setting in ath12k for WCN785x
Summary: Changing the region setting in ath12k for WCN785x
Keywords:
Status: CLOSED NEXTRELEASE
Alias: None
Product: Fedora
Classification: Fedora
Component: kernel
Version: 42
Hardware: x86_64
OS: Linux
unspecified
medium
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Kernel Maintainer List
QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2025-08-10 14:39 UTC by Petros Christopoulos
Modified: 2025-08-14 04:57 UTC (History)
15 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed: 2025-08-13 17:19:18 UTC
Type: ---
Embargoed:


Attachments (Terms of Use)

Description Petros Christopoulos 2025-08-10 14:39:35 UTC
The 6 GHz band for this controller (Qualcomm Technologies, Inc WCN785x Wi-Fi 7(802.11be) 320MHz 2x2 [FastConnect 7800] [17cb:1107] (rev 01); Hardware name: wcn7850 hw2.0) is disabled, however the 00 region setting in phy#1 is "self-managed" and impossible for me to change so far (please see at the end).
Supposedly there are patches available for this (e.g. https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-wireless/patch/20250401020840.357-5-quic_kangyang@quicinc.com/, https://patchew.org/linux/20250521-ath12k-fix-ah-regd._5Fupdated-v1-0-9737de5bf98e@oss.qualcomm.com/), 
but this does not seem to be integrated in my system with current kernel 6.15.9-201.fc42.x86_64 and recent firmware 0x1108811c fw_build_timestamp 2025-05-17 00:21 fw_build_id QC_IMAGE_VERSION_STRING=WLAN.HMT.1.1.c5-00284.1-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-3

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

$ iw reg get
global
country DE: DFS-ETSI
(2400 - 2483 @ 40), (N/A, 20), (N/A)
(5150 - 5250 @ 80), (N/A, 23), (N/A), NO-OUTDOOR, AUTO-BW
(5250 - 5350 @ 80), (N/A, 20), (0 ms), NO-OUTDOOR, DFS, AUTO-BW
(5470 - 5725 @ 160), (N/A, 26), (0 ms), DFS
(5725 - 5875 @ 80), (N/A, 13), (N/A)
(5945 - 6425 @ 320), (N/A, 23), (N/A), NO-OUTDOOR
(57000 - 66000 @ 2160), (N/A, 40), (N/A)

phy#1 (self-managed)
country 00: DFS-UNSET
(2402 - 2472 @ 40), (N/A, 20), (N/A)
(2457 - 2482 @ 20), (N/A, 20), (N/A), PASSIVE-SCAN
(5170 - 5330 @ 160), (N/A, 20), (N/A), AUTO-BW, PASSIVE-SCAN
(5490 - 5730 @ 160), (N/A, 20), (N/A), AUTO-BW, PASSIVE-SCAN
(5735 - 5895 @ 160), (N/A, 20), (N/A), AUTO-BW, PASSIVE-SCAN


Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
With Qualcomm Technologies, Inc WCN785x Wi-Fi 7(802.11be) 320MHz 2x2 [FastConnect 7800] [17cb:1107] (rev 01); Hardware name: wcn7850 hw2.0:
1.iw list
2.iw reg get
3.sudo iw reg set DE has no effect
4.creating /etc/modprobe.d/ath12k.conf with "options ath12k country_code=DE" and reloading the module has no effect
Actual Results:
The region code remains 00 and the 6GHz band deactivated

Expected Results:
The region code should be changeable (e.g. to DE for me) and the 6GHz band activated

Comment 1 Justin M. Forbes 2025-08-11 16:23:12 UTC
Correct, this support should have gone upstream in 6.16.x kernels... We are currently in test week, so there is a 6.16.0 kernel available in koji at the moment if you wish to use it. If all goes well, I expect to rebase Fedora 42 to 6.16.x sometime next week.

Comment 2 Petros Christopoulos 2025-08-11 16:56:23 UTC
This is great, thank you very much for the prompt reply.
Does this mean that kernel 6.16.0 already includes this fix?
And how does it work: can one then change the region of WCN785x using sudo iw reg set?
Many thanks

Comment 3 Petros Christopoulos 2025-08-11 22:07:28 UTC
OK, I have now seen the commit dcfebfd4c8dc0bec9b6649104cecc09f5978c4cb corresponds to the revision v6.16-rc1~132^2~157^2~16^2~62, so it should appear already in 6.16.0. 
I will get back after testing, thank you.

Comment 4 Petros Christopoulos 2025-08-12 22:05:03 UTC
Dear Justin, I installed and tested the kernel 6.16.0 today.
No regressions, however the behavior regarding the Wifi module has not changed:
despite  sudo iw reg set DE
phy#0 remains self managed (see below at the end)

In the ath12k emailing list they suggested I should try with CONFIG_ATH_REG_DYNAMIC_USER_REG_HINTS enabled 
https://lore.kernel.org/ath12k/6492c438-7cff-400a-80f2-cf17e298569f@gmail.com/T/#u

I see that this option is not enabled in the fedora kernel, could you please take a look and enable it before the rebasing next week if there is no reason against it?
It is indeed relevant for some code in the ath12k:
$ grep -r CONFIG_ATH_REG_DYNAMIC_USER_REG_HINTS drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/
drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/reg.c:  if (!IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_ATH_REG_DYNAMIC_USER_REG_HINTS)) {

Is there anything else I can do?
Thank you very much



global
country DE: DFS-ETSI
        (2400 - 2483 @ 40), (N/A, 20), (N/A)
        (5150 - 5250 @ 80), (N/A, 23), (N/A), NO-OUTDOOR, AUTO-BW
        (5250 - 5350 @ 80), (N/A, 20), (0 ms), NO-OUTDOOR, DFS, AUTO-BW
        (5470 - 5725 @ 160), (N/A, 26), (0 ms), DFS
        (5725 - 5875 @ 80), (N/A, 13), (N/A)
        (5945 - 6425 @ 320), (N/A, 23), (N/A), NO-OUTDOOR
        (57000 - 66000 @ 2160), (N/A, 40), (N/A)

phy#0 (self-managed)
country 00: DFS-UNSET
        (2402 - 2472 @ 40), (N/A, 20), (N/A)
        (2457 - 2482 @ 20), (N/A, 20), (N/A), PASSIVE-SCAN
        (5170 - 5330 @ 160), (N/A, 20), (N/A), AUTO-BW, PASSIVE-SCAN
        (5490 - 5730 @ 160), (N/A, 20), (N/A), AUTO-BW, PASSIVE-SCAN
        (5735 - 5895 @ 160), (N/A, 20), (N/A), AUTO-BW, PASSIVE-SCAN

Comment 5 Petros Christopoulos 2025-08-13 06:56:52 UTC
Update:
with the new kernel (6.16.0) when I connect to an AP in DE, the Wifi module switches to DE and keeps the DE region even after disconnection and reboot.
This was not possible with the previous kernel 6.15.9 (I had already tested it with the same AP as now, but no success).
Thus, the basic problem is indeed solved now, thank you very much.
In case you could also enable the option CONFIG_ATH_REG_DYNAMIC_USER_REG_HINTS during compilation, this would simplify things further, but this is not absolutely necessary for 6 GHz functionality (this parameter is absolutely necessary for the ability to manually set the region using sudo iw reg set).
Many thanks, also for the continuous work on Fedora kernels and smooth experience during transition to 6.16.x.

Comment 6 Petros Christopoulos 2025-08-13 06:57:55 UTC
The result, persistent even after rebooting and offline
global
country DE: DFS-ETSI
        (2400 - 2483 @ 40), (N/A, 20), (N/A)
        (5150 - 5250 @ 80), (N/A, 23), (N/A), NO-OUTDOOR, AUTO-BW
        (5250 - 5350 @ 80), (N/A, 20), (0 ms), NO-OUTDOOR, DFS, AUTO-BW
        (5470 - 5725 @ 160), (N/A, 26), (0 ms), DFS
        (5725 - 5875 @ 80), (N/A, 13), (N/A)
        (5945 - 6425 @ 320), (N/A, 23), (N/A), NO-OUTDOOR
        (57000 - 66000 @ 2160), (N/A, 40), (N/A)

phy#0 (self-managed)
country DE: DFS-ETSI
        (2402 - 2482 @ 40), (N/A, 20), (N/A)
        (5170 - 5250 @ 80), (N/A, 23), (N/A), AUTO-BW
        (5250 - 5330 @ 80), (N/A, 23), (0 ms), NO-OUTDOOR, DFS, AUTO-BW
        (5490 - 5590 @ 80), (N/A, 30), (0 ms), DFS, AUTO-BW
        (5590 - 5650 @ 40), (N/A, 30), (600000 ms), DFS, AUTO-BW
        (5650 - 5710 @ 40), (N/A, 30), (0 ms), DFS, AUTO-BW
        (5735 - 5855 @ 80), (N/A, 14), (N/A), AUTO-BW
        (5855 - 5875 @ 20), (N/A, 14), (N/A), AUTO-BW
        (5945 - 6425 @ 320), (N/A, 23), (N/A), NO-OUTDOOR, AUTO-BW

Comment 7 Justin M. Forbes 2025-08-13 17:19:18 UTC
This setting is not appropriate for a global general purpose distro to enable.  Even the help text says so:

config ATH_REG_DYNAMIC_USER_REG_HINTS
        bool "Atheros dynamic user regulatory hints"
        depends on CFG80211_CERTIFICATION_ONUS
        default n
        help
          Say N. This should only be enabled in countries where
          this feature is explicitly allowed and only on cards that
          specifically have been tested for this.

As the original bug has been resolved with 6.16, I am going to go ahead and close this issue.

Comment 8 Petros Christopoulos 2025-08-14 04:57:15 UTC
OK, thank you for looking into this.
On additional piece of information just for the history in case anyone else bumps into the same issue:
The region set automatically after connecting to an AP is retained after disconnection and reboot,
but seems to be reset with firmware updates (there were firmware updates yesterday evening from Fedora and now the region is 00 again).


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