Which release of your OS (Operating System / Windows 10, 11)? (if you are having a Linux related issue, please create your thread under the Linux subcategory) 42 (x86_64)
Which Framework product: Laptop 13", AMD AI 300 Series
Issues so far:
Cannot get WiFi speeds above ~100kb/s or basically unusable WiFi. Disabling power-savings brought speeds up from ~60-80kb/s to ~100-300kb/s. I’ve tried 2.4G and 5G APs
Plugging the laptop into a CalDigit USB-C mini device caused the system to freeze.
It seems like these laptops shipped prior to actually having driver support. So far I’ve applied system and firmware updates, but it really hasn’t made a difference. What’s particularly disappointing is I have an older 13" 7040 Series laptop which didn’t have any of these problems (although it did have an issue with one of the memory slots).
I’ve tried a hand-full of things. I just bought a AX210 wireless card that should come Wednesday. If that doesn’t help, I’m inclined to return the laptop. It’s basically non-functional for work. I can barely DNF install packages, can’t git-clone or npm-install anything ATM given the non-functioning wireless card, and my house isn’t set-up for hardwired Ethernet and even if it was my CalDigit USB-C extension with an Ethernet adapter causes the system to freeze.
Yeah I keep seeing people clamoring for the AMD/MediaTek WiFi cards and can’t help but wince every time I see that. Like intuitively yes that seems like what you’d want (it’s branded AMD, it’s the official one from Framework), but sadly in reality it’s usually not going to work as well as the AX210.
tom@fedora:~$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 6.14.9-300.fc42.x86_64 (mockbuild@5af9600a1ed3458e91008737a3da30c6) (gcc (GCC) 15.1.1 20250521 (Red Hat 15.1.1-2), GNU ld version 2.44-3.fc42) #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu May 29 14:27:53 UTC 2025
Yeah didn’t fix anything, the WiFi card they ship with doesn’t work with Fedora 42
I’ve spoken with a few friends about this and they all have the same issue with the Mediatek cards. I sent them all this post and recommended they purchase the AX210 card too.
I received my Framework 13 recently and I’ve tested it on Fedora 42.
I’m getting the same low WiFi speed but only on the most recent kernel (6.14.9). On the fallback kernel (I’m guessing that’s what it is, not really familiar with Fedora though), which is 6.14.0, the bundled card seems to work correctly and I’m getting the expected speeds.
Interesting, so there was a regression with the latest kernel version? If that’s the case I don’t see anything in the official framework documentation about it.
Funny enough given my rant about the MediaTek cards above, my 300 series arrived and so far after a few hours of use Wi-Fi is fine, actually. This is on NixOS with kernel 6.15. Getting about 450mbps.
Can you share your config? I’m trying NixOS too cause Fedora had some random freezes, but on NixOS with Linux 6.15.1 I’m experiencing low WiFi speed. Note: for now I have an environment without a DE, with just the Framework 13 specific packages installed on top of the base system.
A great resource for linux wifi is here , very responsive and helpful in diagnosing issues.
As for mediatek cards, I use a bunch of them, and I do agree they only got stable around now (+/-6.14.7). Also worthy to check is whether your distro packages the latest firmware. I’m on 6.14.9, dmesg reports this:
Update: I’ve tried 6.15.1 and 6.14.10 on NixOS and neither of them work with the AMD/Mediatek WiFi card (very low download speed).
On the other hand I’ve also tried 6.14.1 and it does work, just like 6.14.0 worked on Fedora 42. I’ll pin 6.14.1 until the next release.
FW can’t document every possible kernel regression. Those will happen with pretty much every kernel version, sometimes its wifi, sometimes its amdgpu etc etc.
And also, they can’t swap the mediatek cards as those are mandated by AMD.
If they literally document you should use Fedora 42, say it’s officially supported, and offer limited guidance beyond make sure everything is up to date, then that’s ridiculous.
If they say: “disclaimer, some instability given new hardware, Linux users be warned”, then fine. But until then, completely inexcusable IMHO.
As for the “they can’t swap the mediatek cards as those are mandated by AMD”, what do you mean by mandated? When purchasing through a distributor are you required to buy network cards along with motherboards? The network card isn’t soldered to the motherboard, I don’t know why that would be mandated? Who is mandating it?
Welcome to Linux and new hardware releases. I mean everything works out of the box. Everything else is pretty much out of hands of Framework as there has already been multiple kernel updates after the AI series launch.
This was discussed when the 7040 series was launched. The mediatek chips (or the branded AMD RZ-wifi chips) are part of the AMD Advantage package.
exactly, I just bought the 7040 series and my wifi works fine, and yet I come here and everyone is complaining about the wifi card. maybe it is only a problem with the new AI 300?
7040 series Framework systems came with the MediaTek RZ616. People had trouble with those when they first got Framework systems with them, but most of the problems seem to have been resolved. There are still a few scattered reports of the RZ616 not getting along well with certain access points.
History seems to be repeating itself with the RZ717, which you can currently only get as part of a Framework 13 with an AI 300 processor. It’s not yet available from Framework as a separate item. Lots of reports of it not working well, especially on Linux.
Installing a non-vPro Intel AX210 works on all Framework models, and seems to be a reliable option. But it lacks WiFi 7 support, something that some people were hoping to get from the RZ717. Do not try to use an AX201 or AX211 on an AMD Framework; it won’t work. A few people have tried to install an Intel BE200 to get WiFi 7 support; an AMD Framework won’t even boot if one of those is installed.
