Rebranding the Atheros 928x cards - The guide

[Ludacrisvp]

Well good and bad news...

The latest change does load WiFi. However I can't find any networks.
I was able to create an ad-hoc network from the laptop and joined it from my phone but not able to get the laptop to see any of the ~20 wifi networks around me and i tried turning on the hotspot on the iPhones that I have and it didn't pick them up either no matter how close to the laptop they are.

When I have the ad-hoc connection setup this is what I see for the WiFi interface:

en3: flags=8963<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	ether 00:26:b6:19:df:a2
	inet6 fe80::226:b6ff:fe19:dfa2%en3 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5
	inet 169.254.30.179 netmask 0xffff0000 broadcast 169.254.255.255
	nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
	media: autoselect
	status: active

I can only guess that the antennas are not effective as is.

Side Note:
DPCIManager does not give the "built-in" check mark for the card.

  Interfaces:
en3:
  Card Type:	AirPort Extreme  (0x8086, 0xC270)
  Firmware Version:	Atheros 9280: 4.0.74.0-P2P
  MAC Address:	00:26:b6:19:df:a2
  Locale:	Unknown
  Country Code:	
  Supported PHY Modes:	802.11 a/b/g/n
  Supported Channels:	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165
  Wake On Wireless:	Supported
  AirDrop:	Supported
  Status:	Connected
  Current Network Information:
Erik’s MacBook Air:
  Channel:	6
  Country Code:	
  Security:	None
  Transmit Rate:	0

 

[RehabMan]

Well good and bad news...

The latest change does load WiFi. However I can't find any networks.
I was able to create an ad-hoc network from the laptop and joined it from my phone but not able to get the laptop to see any of the ~20 wifi networks around me and i tried turning on the hotspot on the iPhones that I have and it didn't pick them up either no matter how close to the laptop they are.

Could be a regdomain issue. Did you set the regdomain on the card to an appropriate value for your locale?

...
Side Note:
DPCIManager does not give the "built-in" check mark for the card.

Somewhat expected (due to no ACPI node and PCI bridge situation). Not important if you have built-in Ethernet.

 

[Ludacrisvp]

No, I didn't set any regulatory domain or country code etc...

Console shows:
2/6/15 11:11:52.000 AM kernel[0]: 1757.096102: ATHR: unknown locale: 69

 

[RehabMan]

No, I didn't set any regulatory domain or country code etc...

Console shows:
2/6/15 11:11:52.000 AM kernel[0]: 1757.096102: ATHR: unknown locale: 69

See here: http://www.tonymacx86.com/hp-probook/97428-ar9280-athr-unknown-locale-xx-eeprom-mod.html

Use the Linux guide. Don't forget to to set the checksum.

You should also test the card on Linux to be certain it works.

If your laptop has a special switch/keys to toggle WiFi power, make sure it is powered up.

 

[Ludacrisvp]

I'll look at re-flashing the eeprom based on the guide here http://blog.asiantuntijakaveri.fi/2014/08/one-of-my-atheros-ar9280-minipcie-cards.html

What checksum are you talking about? as part of the ath9k driver?

Is there an injection method alternative to test first?

 

[RehabMan]

I'll look at re-flashing the eeprom based on the guide here http://blog.asiantuntijakaveri.fi/2014/08/one-of-my-atheros-ar9280-minipcie-cards.html

What checksum are you talking about? as part of the ath9k driver?

It is covered at the guide you just linked.

Is there an injection method alternative to test first?

No.

 

[Ludacrisvp]

Well I've done that and still am unable to detect any WiFi access points...
I can only assume the antenna configuration is not working for me.

that is unless you have some other ideas first.

 

[RehabMan]

Well I've done that and still am unable to detect any WiFi access points...
I can only assume the antenna configuration is not working for me.

that is unless you have some other ideas first.

Which regdomain did you set it to? Did you set it to one used by Apple?

Have you verified the rebranded card works in Linux? Did you verify the card worked in Windows or Linux before rebranding?

 

[Ludacrisvp]

Which regdomain did you set it to? Did you set it to one used by Apple?

Have you verified the rebranded card works in Linux? Did you verify the card worked in Windows or Linux before rebranding?

I set it to 64 which should be the correct one for Apple in the usa.

The unmodified card worked fine in my toshiba laptop.
In Linux after setting the regdomain it was still unable to detect any wifi access points.
This leads me to believe that it's an antenna issue as I'm not able to connect to the stock antennas in this Lenovo as the Ngff and mpcie antenna connectors are different sizes.
I'll try to relocate the antennas that I added. Or maybe try alternate ones.

 

[RehabMan]

I set it to 64 which should be the correct one for Apple in the usa.

If you mean 0x64 (100), not 64 (decimal) that's good...

The unmodified card worked fine in my toshiba laptop.
In Linux after setting the regdomain it was still unable to detect any wifi access points.
This leads me to believe that it's an antenna issue as I'm not able to connect to the stock antennas in this Lenovo as the Ngff and mpcie antenna connectors are different sizes.
I'll try to relocate the antennas that I added. Or maybe try alternate ones.

So Linux is showing the same issue. Probably an antenna/installation issue then... Maybe some kind of adapter is necessary for NGFF->half mini PCIe coax antenna connectors.