IWX(4)

💖 IWX(4) — like, the Intel WiFi 6 driver, bestie 💖

okay so picture this: it's the amd64 Kernel Interfaces Manual, and we're talking about iwx — the Intel WiFi 6 IEEE 802.11ax wireless network driver. yes that's a mouthful, no I will not be shortening it, it's iconic 💅

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✨ NAME ✨

iwx — the Intel WiFi 6 IEEE 802.11ax wireless network driver 🦋

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

so if you wanna compile this driver into the kernel (very main character of you), you drop these lines into your kernel configuration file:

device iwx
device pci
device wlan

orrrr, if you'd rather load the driver as a module at boot time, put this in loader.conf(5):

if_iwx_load="YES"

both are valid, pick your fighter 🎀

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🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

okay so the iwx driver supports the Intel Wi-Fi 6 series of M.2 wireless network adapters. and here's the vibe: if the appropriate hardware is detected, and iwlwifi(4) is blacklisted in rc.conf(5), the driver will be automatically loaded with devmatch(8). literally automatic, you don't have to do a thing 🫶

you can configure iwx at runtime with ifconfig(8), or at boot with rc.conf(5). your call, bestie.

now, these are the modes the iwx driver can operate in:

• station mode — this is what you use when associating with an access point, through which all traffic passes. background scanning is supported in this mode, see ifconfig(8). and fun fact: station mode is the default ⭐
• monitor mode — in this mode the driver is able to receive packets without associating with an access point. it disables the internal receive filter and enables the card to capture packets from networks which it wouldn't normally have access to, or to scan for access points. lowkey spy behaviour but make it legal 👑

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👑 HARDWARE 👑

the iwx driver supports the following M.2 wireless network adapters:

• Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
• Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 CNVi
• Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX210
• Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX211 CNVi

that's the whole roster. four icons, no notes 💜

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⭐ SYSCTL VARIABLES ⭐

the iwx driver supports the following sysctl(8) variables:

• dev.iwx.?.debug — specify debug level as a bitmask. default 0. (so like, quiet by default, chatty when you tell it to be 🙈)

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🎀 FILES 🎀

the iwx driver requires firmware from ports/net/wifi-firmware-iwlwifi-kmod. and good news — this firmware package will be installed automatically with fwget(8) if the appropriate hardware is detected at installation or runtime. no cap, it just handles it for you ✨

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💀 DIAGNOSTICS 💀

these are the messages you might see, and what they mean, because i would never leave you confused:

• iwx0: device timeout — a frame dispatched to the hardware for transmission did not complete in time. the driver will reset the hardware. this should not happen. (so if you see it… 😭)
• iwx0: fatal firmware error — for some reason, the firmware crashed. the driver will reset the hardware. this should not happen. (again with the not-supposed-to-happen energy 💀)
• iwx0: radio is disabled by hardware switch — the radio transmitter is off and thus no packet can go out. the driver will reset the hardware. make sure the laptop radio switch is on. like… check the switch bestie 🫶
• iwx0: could not read firmware ... (error N) — for some reason, the driver was unable to read the firmware image from the filesystem. the file might be missing or corrupted. rip 🙈
• iwx0: firmware too short: N bytes — the firmware image is corrupted and can't be loaded into the adapter. it's giving damaged goods 😭
• iwx0: could not load firmware — an attempt to load the firmware into the adapter failed. the driver will reset the hardware. </p>

none of these are a vibe, but now you know exactly what each one means 💅

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

intro(4), iwlwifi(4), iwlwififw(4), wlan(4), networking(7), fwget(8), ifconfig(8), wpa_supplicant(8)

go read them, i'll wait 🦋

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🧚 HISTORY 🧚

the iwx driver appeared in FreeBSD 15.0. a fresh icon, honestly 👑

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🍓 CAVEATS 🍓

okay, important, no skipping:

• the iwx driver does not support hardware encryption offload. periodt.
• the iwx driver does not support 802.11ax. additional work is required in ieee80211(9) before those features can be supported. so like, the name says 802.11ax but the features are still in their development era — don't come for me, i'm just the messenger 😭

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fr fr, that's the whole page. every option, every error, every caveat — nothing skipped, just with way better vibes 💖

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and that's a wrap, bestie! this one's from Debian, dated November 14, 2025 — so like, thank the Debian girlies for the docs, mwah 💋🎀✨🫶