WiFi¶

Issue¶

On desktops and laptops, several WiFi chips don't require non-free firmwares to be loaded.

Several cases exist:

• The WiFi chip doesn't need a firmware, and the driver talks directly to the hardware (ath5k and ath9k compatible chips)
• The WiFi chip has a free software firmware (ath9k_htc, carl1970, and some b43 compatible chips)
• The WiFi chip has a non-free firmware in a flash chip and don't need loadable firmware.

On phones, the only WiFi chip that don't requires a non-free firmware that we know of is the OpenMoko FreeRunner wifi chip. The firmware is in a flash chip.

Summary of devices currently targeted by Replicant¶

Device	WiFi chip	driver(s)	USB OTG Host
GTA04	Marvell 8686 (W2CBW003)	libertas_sdio(mainline, cfg80211)	Yes(?mA)
		libertas_tf_sdio(patches, mac80211)
LG Optimus Black	Broadcom BCM4329		Yes(?mA)

With wifi driver, either the firmware implements the wifi operations (scanning, association, and so on), either the driver implements it.
When the driver implements it, the

Internal WiFi chips on devices currently targeted by Replicant¶

Available Internal WiFi chips for smartphones and tablets¶

External Wifi solution¶