IWM(4)

💖 NAME 💖

okay so bestie, this is iwm(4) — the Intel IEEE 802.11ac wireless network driver — and the manual name is folded right in near the top like a little bow. 🎀 No cap, this is the page you want when your Intel Wi-Fi card needs to get into the group chat. 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

To compile this driver into the kernel, include the following lines in your kernel configuration file:

device iwm
device pci
device wlan
device firmware

You also need to select a firmware for your device. Choose one from:

device iwm3160fw
device iwm3168fw
device iwm7260fw
device iwm7265fw
device iwm7265Dfw
device iwm8000Cfw
device iwm8265fw
device iwm9000fw
device iwm9260fw

Or you can use

device iwmfw

to include them all. 💅

Alternatively, to load the driver as a module at boot time, place the following lines in loader.conf(5):

if_iwm_load="YES"
iwm3160fw_load="YES"
iwm3168fw_load="YES"
iwm7260fw_load="YES"
iwm7265fw_load="YES"
iwm7265Dfw_load="YES"
iwm8000Cfw_load="YES"
iwm8265fw_load="YES"
iwm9000fw_load="YES"
iwm9260fw_load="YES"

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

The iwm driver supports running most Intel Wireless AC series network devices in station mode operation. Only one virtual interface may be configured at any time — yep, one, so don’t try to make it multitask like it’s in five group chats at once. 😭

This driver requires the firmware built with the iwmfw(4) module to work. For more information on configuring this device, see ifconfig(8). 🫶

🌸 HARDWARE 🌸

The iwm driver supports the following PCIe Wi-Fi devices:

• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 3160
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 3165
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 3168
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 7260
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 7265
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 8260
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 8265
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 9260
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 9270
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 946X
• Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 9560

🎀 EXAMPLES 🎀

Join an existing BSS network (i.e., connect to an access point):

ifconfig wlan create wlandev iwm0 inet 192.0.2.20/24

Join a specific BSS network with network name my_net:

ifconfig wlan create wlandev iwm0 ssid my_net up

Join a specific BSS network with 64-bit WEP encryption:

ifconfig wlan create wlandev iwm0 ssid my_net \
    wepmode on wepkey 0x1234567890 weptxkey 1 up

Join a specific BSS network with 128-bit WEP encryption:

ifconfig wlan create wlandev iwm0 wlanmode adhoc ssid my_net \
    wepmode on wepkey 0x01020304050607080910111213 weptxkey 1

🚨 DIAGNOSTICS 🚨

• iwm%d: device timeout — The driver will reset the hardware. This should not happen.
• iwm%d: firmware error — The onboard microcontroller crashed for some reason. The driver will reset the hardware. This should not happen.
• iwm%d: timeout waiting for firmware initialization to complete — The onboard microcontroller failed to initialize in time. This should not happen.
• iwm%d: could not load firmware image '%s' — The driver failed to load the firmware image using the firmware(9) subsystem. Verify the iwmfw(4) firmware module is present.
• iwm%d: could not load boot firmware — An attempt to upload the boot firmware image to the onboard microcontroller failed. This should not happen.
• iwm%d: could not load microcode — An attempt to upload the microcode image to the onboard microcontroller failed. This should not happen.
• iwm%d: could not load main firmware — An attempt to upload the main firmware image to the onboard microcontroller failed. This should not happen.

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

iwlwifi(4), iwmfw(4), pci(4), wlan(4), wlan_ccmp(4), wlan_tkip(4), wlan_wep(4), networking(7), ifconfig(8), wpa_supplicant(8) — go read these when you want the full lore. 👑

💀 BUGS 💀

🚨 Currently, iwm only supports 802.11a/b/g modes. It will not associate to access points that are configured to operate only in 802.11n/ac modes.

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🎀 That’s the whole page, bestie — brought to you by Debian, dated November 10, 2024, and filed under IWM(4). Stay connected, stay iconic. 💅✨