WIFI Intel AX210

Framework Laptop 13 Linux
1

System Info

  • Linux Distro: Ubuntu

  • Version: 24.04.02

  • Kernel: 6.14.0-278 Generic

  • BIOS: Insyde Corp. 03.20

  • Framework Model: Framework Laptop 13 – 11th Gen Intel® Core™

  • Testing Tool: UEFI Shell (for bus/device research)

Issue
Hello all — I have the above-mentioned Framework Laptop 13 that I’m trying to repair. I’ve purchased two separate Intel AX210 Wi-Fi cards, but neither shows up in the PCI bus listing in the kernel.

What’s odd is that the laptop does have working Bluetooth capability. From my research, the AX210 combines both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the same module, so it’s strange for one function to work while the other is invisible.

Given that I’ve tried two cards, I’m hesitant to believe both are defective — odds seem low. I’m wondering if the issue is somewhere else in the chain (firmware, slot, power, etc.).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The troubleshooting I’ve done so far is listed below.

I’m having an issue where my Framework laptop’s Wi-Fi card (Intel AX210) isn’t showing up in Linux at all. When I run:

bash

lspci -nnk | grep -iA3 -E 'network|wireless|wifi'

I get nothing back.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

1. Linux troubleshooting

  • Verified my kernel version is compatible with AX210 drivers.

  • Checked that the iwlwifi kernel module is present in /lib/modules/.../intel/iwlwifi/.

  • Tried manually loading the wireless stack and Intel modules

    bash

    sudo modprobe -v cfg80211 sudo modprobe -v mac80211 sudo modprobe -v iwlwifi sudo modprobe -v iwlmvm

  • Checked kernel logs for any mention of iwlwifi, iwlmvm, ucode, pnvm, or firmware — nothing returned.

  • Still no wireless device showing up in lspci.

2. Driver & firmware checks

  • Looked into grabbing the latest Intel firmware from the linux-firmware repo.

  • Considered manually installing firmware via USB since I can’t get online on this machine.

  • Even tested with a USB Wi-Fi dongle for temporary connectivity.

3. UEFI-level testing

  • Built a custom UEFI Shell from TianoCore EDK2 so I could check hardware enumeration before the OS loads.

  • Copied the compiled Shell.efi into the EFI partition under /EFI/tools/shell.efi and added a boot entry with efibootmgr.

  • Plan is to run devices, pci, and ifconfig -l in the shell to see if the AX210 shows up.

  • If it doesn’t appear in pci, it points to a hardware or BIOS/EC issue rather than a Linux driver problem.

4. BIOS checks

  • Confirmed there’s no built-in UEFI Shell option in the Framework BIOS.

  • Looked for any wireless/network disable settings — didn’t find any obvious ones.

  • Aware that Secure Boot could block unsigned binaries, so that’s on my radar while testing.

Current status:
The AX210 is still not detected in Linux at the PCI level. The next step is to confirm in the UEFI shell whether it’s being seen by firmware at all. If it’s missing there too, I’m thinking it could be:

  • The card being physically loose or defective.

  • BIOS/EC firmware disabling it.

  • A fault in the M.2 slot.

Has anyone else run into this with the AX210 on a Framework? Any tips for what else to try at the firmware level before I swap hardware?

Thanks!

2

I had a very similar issue where USB based functions (aka Bluetooth) showed up, but the PCI based functions (Wi-Fi) did not. Turned out FW had to RMA out the main board. The replacement mainboard worked perfectly with the wifi cards I had on hand that had previously failed to show up on lspci. That failed mainboard was also an Intel 11th gen.

3

The Bluetooth connects through a USB channel, while the Wifi connects through a PCiE channel. That is why one will work independently of the other.

I suspect your mainboard has a duff PCiE channel.