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[Solved] is there support for Ralink RT5370 chipset in TCL?
GNUser:
I'm considering getting this device for my wireless router, which is powered by TCL11 x86_64:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01KWQAQ00
The device uses the Ralink RT5370 chipset, which apparently on GNU/Linux is supported by the rt2800usb driver (per https://wiki.debian.org/rt2800usb).
wireless-KERNEL.tcz provides rt2800usb.ko.gz but firmware-ralinkwifi.tcz does not seem to contain any relevant firmware. I've seen situations where a relevant kernel module exists but it can't do what it needs to do unless the appropriate firmware is also present on the system.
My question is simple: Is the device I'm considering, which uses the Ralink RT5370 chipset, supported on TCL11 x86_64?
GNUser:
This table says that the rt2800usb kernel module requires non-free firmware:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_open-source_wireless_drivers
Does the firmware need to be loaded by the user, or does stock kernel itself already contain the firmware? I guess it's also possible that the device itself contains the needed firmware. Please pardon my ignorance.
curaga:
The kernel doesn't contain firmware, and most devices don't contain it to save money. So it's in most cases external.
Unless someone with such a device chimes in, here's how you can check:
- look up the usb id
- in the 2800usb sources, there will be a mapping from the id to required firmware
You can probably get it to work, but may require downloading firmware or customizing the kernel. Atheros wireless cards are a bit more expensive, but they tend to have good support.
GNUser:
--- Quote from: curaga on November 29, 2021, 03:14:20 AM ---The kernel doesn't contain firmware, and most devices don't contain it to save money. So it's in most cases external.
--- End quote ---
Thank you, curaga. Good to know. When the firmware is free (as in freedom), is it contained in the kernel module then? Because in my experience, free software-friendly peripherals almost never require downloading any firmware.
I did a bit more research. Someone mentioned here that the firmware for the RT5370 chipset is rt2870.bin. So it seems that if I load wireless-KERNEL.tcz (which contains the driver, rt2800usb.ko.gz) and firmware-ralinkwifi.tcz (which contains the firmware, rt2870.bin) this thing should work. (It's frustrating how none of the numbers match--RT5370, rt2800usb, rt2870. Oh, well. It seems very few things in life are as simple as one would expect.) I'll order this thing and will add a reply once I've had a chance to test it out.
P.S. I much prefer Atheros chipsets because they do not require anything proprietary to work. However, USB wireless adapters with Atheros chipsets support only 7-8 clients when used in AP mode (I know this from years of living with this limitation). Supposedly, USB wireless adapters with the RT5370 chipset are able to handle 20+ clients in AP mode.
Rich:
Hi GNUser
--- Quote from: GNUser on November 29, 2021, 09:41:19 AM --- ... the firmware for the RT5370 chipset is rt2870.bin. ...
--- End quote ---
I don't remember where, but I stumbled across a similar statement.
--- Quote from: curaga on November 29, 2021, 03:14:20 AM --- ... - look up the usb id ...
--- End quote ---
According to this:
https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/rt2800usb/devices
the usb id is 0x148f:0x5370.
Since I had them handy, I checked this Kconfig in the TC10 kernel sources:
kernel64/linux-4.19.10/drivers/net/wireless/ralink/rt2x00/Kconfig
It listed this option:
--- Code: ---config RT2800USB_RT53XX
bool "rt2800usb - Include support for rt53xx devices (EXPERIMENTAL)"
---help---
This adds support for rt53xx wireless chipset family to the
rt2800usb driver.
Supported chips: RT5370
--- End code ---
Then checking the kernel config for TCL11 x86_64 here:
http://tinycorelinux.net/11.x/x86_64/release/src/kernel/config-5.4.3-tinycore64
it shows:
--- Code: ---# CONFIG_RT2800USB_RT53XX is not set
--- End code ---
which means support for RT5370 is not enabled for that kernel.
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