AX210 Wi-Fi Card User Guide

1. Introduction

The Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 (Gig+) adapter is designed to support Wi-Fi 6E technology. The product supports dual-stream Wi-Fi in the 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz bands as well as Bluetooth® 5.3. Combined with Intel® Core™ processors and exceptional Intel wireless innovations, the Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 module can dramatically improve your connected experience at home, work, or on the go.

2. Specifications

3. Usage Instructions

Quick Operation Steps:
A. Insert the AX210 card into the ZimaBoard.
B. Update the AX210 driver.
C. Open the CasaOS system and connect to Wi-Fi.

STA Mode
Required Equipment:

• ZimaBlade / ZimaBoard × 1
• AX210 Wi-Fi card × 1
• Ethernet cable × 1
• Power adapter × 1
  Optional:
• miniDP cable × 1
• Monitor × 1
• Keyboard × 1
  Connection Diagram
  

Step 1: Check if the AX210 Wi-Fi card is detected

1. Access your device via Terminal.
   
   

2. Switch to root mode su
   

3. Run the command lspci
   

   You should see the Intel Device listed, confirming it is connected to the ZimaBoard.

Step 2: Install the AX210 driver

Note:
If you are using CasaOS pre-installed on ZimaBoard or ZimaBlade with kernel version 5.10, you can skip directly to Step 3.
You can also get this version from the provided link.

1. Check your kernel version. If it is below 6.10, it is recommended to upgrade. In this guide, we will use the backports kernel.
   

2. Add the backports repository:

   echo "deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-backports main contrib non-free non-free-firmware" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list

3. Update package lists:

   sudo apt update

   

4. Add the Debian archive keyring:

   sudo apt install -y debian-archive-keyring

   

5. Update package lists again:

   sudo apt update

   

6. Upgrade the kernel and install firmware:

   sudo apt install -y -t bookworm-backports linux-image-amd64 firmware-iwlwifi

   

7. Reboot:

   sudo reboot

   After rebooting, confirm that the kernel version is 6.12 or higher.
   

Step 3: Connect to Wi-Fi using nmtui

We will use the nmtui tool to connect.

sudo nmtui

If the system does not recognize the nmtui command, please refer to the FAQ section for installation instructions.

1. Select Activate a connection.
   

2. Choose your Wi-Fi network (SSID).
   

3. Enter the password and press Enter.
   

4. Verify IP address and connectivity
   Save & Exit the nmtui tool and using ip a to check the status of your wireless interface:

ip a

If you are using the GUI version of CasaOS, simply open the Wi-Fi menu and select your desired network.

Compatible Router Operating Systems

• OpenWRT
  1. You should install iwlwifi, which is the official driver for ax210.
  2. go to intel [official website](https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005511/wireless.html 383) to download the firmware.
  3. Unzip the iwlwifi-ty-59.601f3a66.0.tgz and copy the file to the /lib/firmware/
  4. Use lspci command to check the ax210 path.
  5. go to the /sys/bus/pci/devices, and you will see the device id.
  6. enter the dictionary and use pwd command to get the absolute path.
  7. edit the /etc/config/wireless

     config wifi-device 'radio0'
             option type 'mac80211'
             option country 'US'
             option cell_density '0'
             option path 'pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.0/0000:03:00.0'
     
     config wifi-device 'radio1'
             option type 'mac80211'
             option path 'pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.0/0000:03:00.0'
             option band '5g'
             option htmode 'HE80'
             option cell_density '0'
             option country 'US'

  8. reboot ! And you will find the driver works well.

FAQ

• Network Speed Test from Zima device to LAN device
  

• AP Mode (2.4 GHz Only)

• 1. Install required packages:
     sudo apt update
sudo apt install hostapd iw
• 2. Configure the wireless network:
     Edit /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

     interface=wlp1s0  # Replace according to your network adapter name
     driver=nl80211
     ssid=mylove   # Replace "YourSSID" with your desired network name
     hw_mode=a
     channel=36      # Select your preferred channel
     country_code=US
     ieee80211ac=1
     wmm_enabled=1
     auth_algs=1
     wpa=2
     wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
     rsn_pairwise=CCMP
     wpa_passphrase=YourPassphrase  # Replace "YourPassphrase" with your Wi-Fi password
     logger_stdout=-1
     logger_stdout_level=2

• 3. Start hostapd:
     sudo systemctl start hostapd
     
• 4. Test your Wi-Fi network by connecting from another device.

• Installing nmtui Tool
  nmtui is included in the network-manager package:

  sudo apt install network-manager