Is the default ubuntu 24.04 kernel too old to get 6ghz wifi w/ the RZ717 Wifi card?

Framework Laptop 13 Linux
1

Which Linux distro are you using?

Kubuntu

Which release version?

24.04

Which kernel are you using?

6.8.0-90-generic

Which BIOS version are you using?

0.0.3.17

Which Framework Laptop 13 model are you using?

AMD Ryzen™ 7040 Series

I just installed one of the new RZ717 wifi cards into my laptop, and it seems to work fine but I cannot get it to connect to my Unifi AP’s at 6GHz. It will only connect at 5Ghz. So no better than the original Wifi 6 card. All my AP’s are Wifi 7, and my Pixel 8 can connect to the 6Ghz just fine.

Searching the forums, looks like newer kernels might solve it? Can anyone share any tips on how to get it connecting at 6Ghz?

2

You can get the OEM kernel instead for a newer kernel.

sudo apt install linux-oem-24.04d

3

Interesting. At this point in time, looks like the OEM kernel is 6.17.x. Will dig through the forums here again to see what’s going on, I know last night I saw there were later kernel versions with driver regressions for this wifi chipset.

4

Well, I didn’t realize that I wasn’t on the HWE kernel, switched to that (6.14) but still no change, only connecting to 5Ghz. Will try OEM next but I am starting to think this is a separate problem.

5

You should double check you have your region set properly.

6

Ok, thinking this is less of a kernel problem and an outright mediatek driver problem.

After vibing w/ ChatGPT for a while, I ran iw phy and for all the 6gh channels, it reports (no IR). And iw reg get showed PASSIVE-SCAN on every 6ghz channel too. So thus it seems like the driver just isn’t ready for 6ghz yet, at least on SSID’s that are both 5 and 5ghz capable.

That said, I’m a little confused as to how Framework is selling this card but makes no mention about the lack of 6ghz support.

7

The firmware in these cards will restrict available frequencies if you don’t program the region. That’s why I am wondering if you haven’t done this.

It’s something like this:

iw reg set wlan0 US

8

The full output of iw reg get

global
country US: DFS-FCC
        (902 - 904 @ 2), (N/A, 30), (N/A)
        (904 - 920 @ 16), (N/A, 30), (N/A)
        (920 - 928 @ 8), (N/A, 30), (N/A)
        (2400 - 2472 @ 40), (N/A, 30), (N/A)
        (5150 - 5250 @ 80), (N/A, 23), (N/A), AUTO-BW
        (5250 - 5350 @ 80), (N/A, 24), (0 ms), DFS, AUTO-BW
        (5470 - 5730 @ 160), (N/A, 24), (0 ms), DFS
        (5730 - 5850 @ 80), (N/A, 30), (N/A), AUTO-BW
        (5850 - 5895 @ 40), (N/A, 27), (N/A), NO-OUTDOOR, AUTO-BW, PASSIVE-SCAN
        (5925 - 7125 @ 320), (N/A, 12), (N/A), NO-OUTDOOR, PASSIVE-SCAN
        (57240 - 71000 @ 2160), (N/A, 40), (N/A)

ChatGPT says that this is correct:

  • global: the kernel’s current regulatory ruleset

  • country US: DFS-FCC: it’s using United States rules, following FCC requirements, and enabling DFS behavior where required.

Or is it lying to me?

9

Assuming you’re in the US - that’s how it should be configured.

Have you already updated to the latest Linux firmware package available in Ubuntu archives?

10

Correct, I’m in the US. apt update is not reporting any linux-firmware package updates. Nothing in fwupdmgr either.

11

Also please test with OEM 6.17 kernel.

12

No joy w/ the OEM 6.17 kernel. Continues to connect to the 5GHz channel (5.745GHz according to the connection details in KDE, channel 149 according to my Unifi console)

Output of uname -a

Linux framework-13 6.17.0-1008-oem #8-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Wed Dec 10 05:19:21 UTC 2025 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

EDIT: And now I’m getting the random disconnects that I think I’ve seen people report with kernel 6.17?

13

Okay thanks for trying. That’s about what I had I could suggest. You might need to raise a question with mediatek on the Linux mediatek mailing list then.

15

Well, this is weird. Today, for about 5 minutes, it definitely was connected to the 6Ghz band according to the details tab in KDE for my wifi network.. But I ran a few speedtests, and while I was doing so, I watched it eventually drop back to the 5Ghz band. And now it refuses to go back to 6Ghz.

So this feels more and more like a weird driver bug, that it’s switching too easy back to the 5Ghz. I’m sitting like 10 feet from the AP.