[Help]: MT7927

[trip1]

Checklist

• I acknowledge that support is provided on a best-effort basis.
• I acknowledge that the authors and contributors to this repository cannot be held responsible for the results of my use of any information contained in or linked from this repository.

uname

NA

lsusb

NA

rfkill

NA

dkms

NA

iw

NA

What happened?

So I bought a TP Link Archer wifi card to go super fast. The reviews mentioned Linux support and I assumed it'd be fine, it was not.

So how can I help? I see on the readme it's pending in the the kernel but curious if there's more to do or where I should be looking.

I completely understand kernel ( and driver ) code is super complex, but I just wanna see it honestly and understand the process.

Thanks for any info, and for this repo! Super helpful.

[morrownr]

Hi @trip1

So I bought a TP Link Archer wifi card to go super fast.

Is that a PCIe or m.2 card? Are you saying that TP-Link has made a card with a Mediatek mt7927 chip?

So how can I help?

There is not much us mere mortals can do until Mediatek adds the driver to the kernel. Mediatek has a Linux programming staff that handles development and we can't help until the driver is in the kernel. I wish I had a timeline but I don't.

I have a mt7925 based M.2 card and it does go fast. I don't have a WiFi 7/ 6Ghz router yet but it handles 1 Gbps and more easily with my WiFi 6 dual band router using 160 MHz channel width.

[Kiwimannen]

Its an M.2 card - the TP-Link card is called: TP-Link Archer TBE550E- BE9300 WIFI 7 / Bluetooth 5.4 PCIe Adapter

Here is a review where you can see the mt7927 M.2 card:

https://einfoldtech.com/2024/02/tp-link-archer-tbe550e-be9300-wifi-7-bluetooth-5-4-pcie-adapter/

It also comes bundled with some motherboards, but as far as I know its never been sold only as a M.2 card.

And there is only Windows drivers available.

[trip1]

Ah ok thanks for the info. I should've double checked the drivers, not trust the reviews.

Guess I'll just watch for the driver to drop.

[morrownr]

@Kiwimannen

Your card is a good looking product. If the M.2 card was based on the mt7925 chip, you would be in business right now. The mt7927 chip is simply not supported yet. This slow support for the mt7927 seems to be an anomaly for Mediatek as they have been doing a good job of getting their drivers in the kernel with enough time before product is available that products are supported on launch... kinda like Intel and AMD. Hopefully the driver comes soon.

This is not an isolated issue. I have heard from a couple of Linux users who bought Realtek rtl8912au (WiFi 7) based adapters because Linux support was advertised by the seller. There is no Linux support for the rtl8912au unless it is really well hidden.

I have a M.2 card based on the mt7925 and works well in managed mode but I see no reason that it would not work well in AP or monitor modes since previous Mediatek drivers do so. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the mt7925 and mt7927 is the mt7925 can do 160 MHz channel width and the mt7927 can do 320 MHz channel width. My little M.2 card connecting to my WiFi 6 router using 160 MHz channel width can easily exceed 1 Gbps.

[castillofrancodamian]

Es una tarjeta M.2: la tarjeta TP-Link se llama: TP-Link Archer TBE550E- BE9300 WIFI 7 / Bluetooth 5.4 PCIe Adapter

A continuación os dejamos una review donde podéis ver la tarjeta M.2 mt7927:

https://einfoldtech.com/2024/02/tp-link-archer-tbe550e-be9300-wifi-7-bluetooth-5-4-pcie-adapter/

También viene incluido con algunas placas base, pero hasta donde yo sé, nunca se vendió solo como una tarjeta M.2.

Y solo hay controladores de Windows disponibles.

The person who made that post put MediaTek as "Cons". He doesn't know what he's talking about 😂😂😂

[IanWorrall]

Its an M.2 card - the TP-Link card is called: TP-Link Archer TBE550E- BE9300 WIFI 7 / Bluetooth 5.4 PCIe Adapter

Here is a review where you can see the mt7927 M.2 card:

https://einfoldtech.com/2024/02/tp-link-archer-tbe550e-be9300-wifi-7-bluetooth-5-4-pcie-adapter/

It also comes bundled with some motherboards, but as far as I know its never been sold only as a M.2 card.

And there is only Windows drivers available.

One of those motherboards is my Gigabyte X670E Aorus Pro X.
I'd swap it out for something that works, but it's buried under the VRM heatsink.

[Fear113]

How are things going with drivers? I also have an MT7927 and I'm also sitting without wi-fi and bluetooth... :(

[morrownr]

I'm watching. I'll post a new issue when the driver goes in.

I started a new list last week. It is for Bluetooth adapters. I only have one adapter listed so far but it does not cost much and I think it pretty good:

https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/home/Recommended_Bluetooth_Adapters_for_Linux.md

[jdecoste]

Commenting here to get notified when this gets updated.

Built a PC with an asus proart x870e MB, and it ships with MT7927. The board has been on sale for awhile now, so disappointing its taking this long to get the linux driver for it.

[pacak]

Commenting here to get notified when this gets updated.

Commenting here to get notified when this gets updated too.

There's a big button in the right column that says "Subscribe", this way you can get your notifications without notifying everybody else.

[morrownr]

Here is an update on what I think that I know:

In preparation for the start of the kernel 6.14 cycle, many patches for Mediatek based cards and adapters have been flowing in. Unfortunately nothing for the mt7927 chip. The mt7925 chip seems to be maturing nicely. The driver has been in the kernel since 6.7 and the bluetooth support has been in the kernel since 6.12. Not sure what happened there.

The mt7925 can be found in M.2 and PCIe formats. I have a M.2 card. I only use it in managed mode currently. It seems to be super dependable and fast.

If you are interested in mt7927 support, it might speed things along if you mention Linux support to the place where you buy your product.

Cheers

[M3t4Data]

Hi everyone,

Could this be good news for MT7927 support ? I came across this patch that seems to address an interoperability issue with the MT7927 chipset: https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-wireless/patch/[email protected]/

[morrownr]

Hi @M3t4Data

I saw that but I'm not sure if it is a hint. The person submitting the patch is not a known Mediatek employee or contractor but how would he know what he says without having a copy of the 7927 driver. Maybe he is a tester?

[kudos]

Hi @M3t4Data

I saw that but I'm not sure if it is a hint. The person submitting the patch is not a known Mediatek employee or contractor but how would he know what he says without having a copy of the 7927 driver. Maybe he is a tester?

Reverse engineering (even partial) is very common for hardware support in Linux.

[morrownr]

Hi @kudos

Reverse engineering (even partial) is very common for hardware support in Linux.

Generally you see that in cases where the device to be reversed is relatively simple and when the maker of the product does not support Linux. In my opinion, neither apply to this situation. WiFi 7 is a lot of things but simple is not one of them and Mediatek's Linux support has basically been right up there with Intel and AMD over the last few years. The support for the 7925 chip was in the kernel 6 months before we saw product. Mediatek has to do Linux right. If you look at their offerings, there are several that are basically Linux only. Mediatek is a big player in the smartphone market. They need good Linux drivers and support for the SoCs to include wireless. It would be a waste of time to make Windows drivers. Same thing with their hardware for WiFi routers and the like. They are also a big supplier to TV and other appliance makers. Many markets where Linux dominates and Windows has basically zero presence.

I can't explain the delay with the mt7927 driver but I see a lot of evidence that the Mediatek devs are going as fast as they can. A lot of new products have been released over the last year so it may simply be a matter of "we'll get to it when we can?" You can't just hire good Linux wireless devs off of the street. We'll see.

[Bouska]

Hi everyone,

Could this be good news for MT7927 support ? I came across this patch that seems to address an interoperability issue with the MT7927 chipset: https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-wireless/patch/[email protected]/

Hello,

I'm the author of that patch. Unfortunately, this patch is not related to the support of the MT7927 chipset in the kernel. Its purpose is for a AP based on Linux to support correctly the Association Request that a Windows STA using a MT7927 chipset sends.

[IanWorrall]

The networking pull request for kernel 6.14 has appeared.
MT7927 owners can continue crying. No mention of it whatsoever.

https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/[email protected]/

[markmann447]

The networking pull request for kernel 6.14 has appeared. MT7927 owners can continue crying. No mention of it whatsoever.

https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/[email protected]/

I hope we get it by summer at this point.

[morrownr]

@markmann447

The amount of wireless driver improvements and specifically the improvements and additions for USB WiFi adapters has been large over the last year. With the recent addition of the new drivers for rtl8812au and rtl8821/11au chips and the soon to go in driver for rtl8814au, that will pretty much mean full support for Realtek WiFi 5 class adapters. Mediatek's drivers continue to improve as well and Mediatek has the lead on Realtek in that Mediatek has good driver for their WiFi 6 chips and for the mt7925 WiFi 7 chip.

What we want and expect to see sometime this year:

• driver for the mt7927 chip

• USB WiFi adapters based on the mt7925 chip (M2 and PCIe cards are already available).

I think is too much to expect Realtek WiFi 6 and 7 USB support in the kernel this year. Realtek is making big improvements with their support for their chips for cards but not so much with USB. That is unfortunate.