First, I am using an unsupported kernel sys-kernel/zen-sources-6.2.5 as the rtw89 wifi drivers for rtw_8852be are now in the 6.2 kernel. Second, the affected firmware is not an issue on sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230210 and below (wifi works): sudo dmesg | grep firmware [ 8.786565] Loading firmware: rtw89/rtw8852b_fw.bin After upgrade to sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230310-r1 (wifi does not work/no devices found): [] loading firmare: rwt89/rtw8852b_fw.bin [] rtw89_8852be 0000:03:00.0: no suitable firmware found [] rtw89_8852be 0000:03:00.0: failed to recognize firmware This issue also affects the unstable version sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230310. Copying the affected file, rwt89/rtw8852b_fw.bin to /usr/lib/firmware does not fix the issue but replacing the entire firmware folder from a backup directory fixes the issue so that I can reboot and downgrade appropriately. Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1.Upgrade to sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230310 and above 2. Reboot 3.Wifi does not work, devices not found, dmesg reports firmware not loaded/not recognized (rwt89/rtw8852b_fw.bin) 4. Downgrade to previous version, sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230210 5. Reboot 6. Wifi working, dmesg reports firmware loaded, no errors (rwt89/rtw8852b_fw.bin) Actual Results: Wifi did not work after upgrade, worked before upgrade and worked after downgrading. Expected Results: Wifi would continue to work after upgrade, firmware would load normally after upgrade, firmware would be recognized after upgrade Network controller [0280]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Device [10ec:b852]
Created attachment 857757 [details] emerge --info emerge --info
Correction: Replacing the files in /usr/lib/firmware/rtw89, specifically rtw8852b_fw.bin from a backup of the previous working version of sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230210 does indeed fix the problem. I suspect this is an upstream bug but I do not know how I would report my issue there. There were two commits made upstream on 2-24-23 to the rtw8852b firmware binary: "rtw89: 8852b: update fw to v0.29.26.0 New fimrware type 5 to support hardware scan, P2P-PS and etc." "rtw89: 8852b: update fw to v0.29.29.0 Correct channel report of hardware scan." "--- a/rtw89/rtw8852b_fw.bin +++ b/rtw89/rtw8852b_fw.bin . . .Binary files differ" This newest binary blob version does not work for my machine.
Update: I can confirm this is most likely an upstream bug. Using the firmware binary in question (rtw8852b_fw.bin) from archive downloaded from linux-firmware git repository (linux-firmware-20230310.tar.gz) results in the same error - no suitable firmware found/firmware not recognized.
This bug has been addressed upstream but in the interim may still affect Gentoo users under certain configurations. After confirming it was likely an upstream bug, I reported upstream at Kernel.org. Per Ping-Ke (Realtek): "The firmware format is changed, and wireless-next tree or upcoming 6.3 will support it. I will also post this information on the bug." Linux Kernel bugzilla bug 217207
In Conclusion: As a test, I installed the Linux mainline kernel 6.3.0-rc2. Previous version of rtw8852b firmware from sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230210 works in the 6.3 kernel as does new version in sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230310. With the 6.2 kernel versions, only the previous firmware version works (20230210) and the newer firmware version (20230310) does not.
(In reply to rab0171610 from comment #5) > In Conclusion: > As a test, I installed the Linux mainline kernel 6.3.0-rc2. > > Previous version of rtw8852b firmware from > sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230210 works in the 6.3 kernel as does new > version in sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20230310. > > With the 6.2 kernel versions, only the previous firmware version works > (20230210) and the newer firmware version (20230310) does not. Thanks for this, I imagine a warning might be helpful until that fix works it's way down. I'll look at the fix and see if we can incorporate it ourselves.
Sorry for the spam
(In reply to Mike Pagano from comment #7) > Sorry for the spam You can get the fix from linux-firmware-99999999 or wait until the April release.
The bug has been closed via the following commit(s): https://gitweb.gentoo.org/repo/gentoo.git/commit/?id=149c7a90e16bc254785e16fc25452daaf052a44c commit 149c7a90e16bc254785e16fc25452daaf052a44c Author: Mike Pagano <mpagano@gentoo.org> AuthorDate: 2023-04-05 14:52:57 +0000 Commit: Mike Pagano <mpagano@gentoo.org> CommitDate: 2023-04-05 14:52:57 +0000 sys-kernel/linux-firmware: add 20230404 Closes: https://bugs.gentoo.org/901255 Signed-off-by: Mike Pagano <mpagano@gentoo.org> sys-kernel/linux-firmware/Manifest | 1 + .../linux-firmware/linux-firmware-20230404.ebuild | 403 +++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 404 insertions(+)
