So...
I have piCorePlayer 3.20 running here. Not sure if the solution applies to piCorePlayer (I hope you don't mind me posting here, as the symptoms are very similar). And the same adapter, TL-WN722N.
Error messages (this is now, with the "custom" firmware applied - same as before):
tc@piCorePlayer:~$ dmesg | grep -i error
[ 17.858679] usb 1-1.2.5: Direct firmware load for ath9k_htc/htc_9271-1.4.0.fw failed with error -2
[ 17.858884] usb 1-1.2.5: Direct firmware load for htc_9271.fw failed with error -2
As I said, I copied htc_9271.fw from a Raspbian image (late 2015). Copied it to /tmp/dst/usr/local/lib/firmware/ath9k_htc/, and on another try, to /tmp/dst/usr/local/lib/firmware/.
Created myfirmware.tcz as suggested. It is there:
tc@piCorePlayer:~$ ls -l /mnt/mmcblk0p2/tce/optional/my*
-rw-rw-r-- 1 tc staff 32768 Jun 16 23:54 /mnt/mmcblk0p2/tce/optional/myfirmware.tcz
tc@piCorePlayer:~$ cat /mnt/mmcblk0p2/tce/onboot.lst
pcp.tcz
slimserver.tcz
firmware-atheros.tcz
firmware-brcmwifi.tcz
firmware-rpi3-wireless.tcz
firmware-ralinkwifi.tcz
firmware-rtlwifi.tcz
wifi.tcz
squashfs-tools.tcz
myfirmware.tcz
And the fw file is where I expected (is this the right place?):
tc@piCorePlayer:~$ ls -l /lib/firmware/htc*
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 51272 Jun 15 23:08 /lib/firmware/htc_9271.fw
Output from lsusb:
tc@piCorePlayer:~$ sudo lsusb
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0781:5571 SanDisk Corp. Cruzer Fit
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0cf3:9271 Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9271 802.11n
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 08bb:2902 Texas Instruments PCM2902 Audio Codec
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 1a40:0201 Terminus Technology Inc. FE 2.1 7-port Hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:ec00 Standard Microsystems Corp. SMSC9512/9514 Fast Ethernet Adapter
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:9514 Standard Microsystems Corp. SMC9514 Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
And this is from pCP diag page, I don't know what is the command to get this:
Module Size Used by Not tainted
ath9k_htc 61269 0
mac80211 655416 1 ath9k_htc
ath9k_common 29430 1 ath9k_htc
ath9k_hw 451961 2 ath9k_htc,ath9k_common
ath 23073 3 ath9k_htc,ath9k_common,ath9k_hw
cfg80211 543027 4 ath9k_htc,mac80211,ath9k_common,ath
rfkill 20851 1 cfg80211
fixed 3285 0
Also, I had a different adapter installed with a Realtek chipset, not sure if this can mess up the TP-Link installation. I replaced it with the TP-Link before booting and getting all the data pasted above.
Any help is appreciated. Again, if this is the wrong place, my apologies - please let me know. This thread is really the closest one I found to my issue, so I thought I should ask.
Thank you,
VMat