[REGRESSION] rtw89: RTL8922AE Wi-Fi broken in Kernel 7.0 (and 6.18+) due to mac80211 API changes

[REGRESSION] rtw89: RTL8922AE Wi-Fi broken in Kernel 7.0 (and 6.18+) due to mac80211 API changes

[Gmail]

Hi,

I am reporting a regression regarding the Realtek RTL8922AE Wi-Fi 
adapter (rtw89) on a Gigabyte X870M Aorus Elite Wifi7 motherboard.

The adapter works perfectly on Kernel 6.17.7, but it fails to initialize 
or is not recognized in newer kernels, specifically 6.18, 6.19, and the 
current 7.0.x series used in the Bazzite (Fedora-based) testing branch.

Technical details:
The issue seems related to recent architectural changes in the mac80211 
subsystem:

1. Signature changes in 'struct ieee80211_ops': Several callbacks 
(including .config, .stop, and .set_rts_threshold) now require the 
'radio_idx' parameter to support multi-radio wiphy/MLO. It appears the 
rtw89 driver in these kernel builds might not have been fully updated to 
match these new signatures, leading to incompatible pointer type errors 
or initialization failures.

2. Removal of init_dummy_netdev: The driver code seems to still 
reference init_dummy_netdev, which was replaced by alloc_netdev_dummy() 
in the wireless-next/net-next trees.

Hardware Info:
- Chipset: Realtek RTL8922AE
- PCI ID: [10ec:8922] (Please verify this ID on your system using 'lspci 
-nn')
- Working Kernel: 6.17.7
- Broken Kernels: 6.18.x, 6.19.x, 7.0.x

I am using the OGC Kernel from the Bazzite project, but the issue 
appears to stem from the upstream driver synchronization with the new 
mac80211 API.

Are there any pending patches in the rtw-next tree that address these 
specific ieee80211_ops signature changes for the 8922AE?

Best regards,

Helder Bertoldo

RE: [REGRESSION] rtw89: RTL8922AE Wi-Fi broken in Kernel 7.0 (and 6.18+) due to mac80211 API changes

[Ping-Ke Shih]

Gmail <helder.bertoldo@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am reporting a regression regarding the Realtek RTL8922AE Wi-Fi
> adapter (rtw89) on a Gigabyte X870M Aorus Elite Wifi7 motherboard.
> 
> The adapter works perfectly on Kernel 6.17.7, but it fails to initialize
> or is not recognized in newer kernels, specifically 6.18, 6.19, and the
> current 7.0.x series used in the Bazzite (Fedora-based) testing branch.

Please share kernel log of 6.17.7 (work well) and 6.18 (failed to initialize).

I checked the change of the rtw89 driver from 6.17 to 6.18, but I can't
find the obvious change for RTL8922AE though.

> 
> Technical details:
> The issue seems related to recent architectural changes in the mac80211
> subsystem:
> 
> 1. Signature changes in 'struct ieee80211_ops': Several callbacks
> (including .config, .stop, and .set_rts_threshold) now require the
> 'radio_idx' parameter to support multi-radio wiphy/MLO. It appears the
> rtw89 driver in these kernel builds might not have been fully updated to
> match these new signatures, leading to incompatible pointer type errors
> or initialization failures.

Are you sure? The changes of API will be compatible with existing
functionalities.

> 
> 2. Removal of init_dummy_netdev: The driver code seems to still
> reference init_dummy_netdev, which was replaced by alloc_netdev_dummy()
> in the wireless-next/net-next trees.

It has been alloc_netdev_dummy() already.

If you are using out-of-tree driver, please just use in-tree driver. 

> 
> Hardware Info:
> - Chipset: Realtek RTL8922AE
> - PCI ID: [10ec:8922] (Please verify this ID on your system using 'lspci
> -nn')
> - Working Kernel: 6.17.7
> - Broken Kernels: 6.18.x, 6.19.x, 7.0.x
> 
> I am using the OGC Kernel from the Bazzite project, but the issue
> appears to stem from the upstream driver synchronization with the new
> mac80211 API.

Can you use 6.17.7 and then apply patches of the rtw89 driver one by one
from 6.18.x? That can find the cause. 

> 
> Are there any pending patches in the rtw-next tree that address these
> specific ieee80211_ops signature changes for the 8922AE?

The number of rtw89 patches between 6.17 and 6.18 is about 40.
Trying above suggestion will be easier to address problem.