Description
If you want Atheros WiFi instead of Intel, please say so in the textbox at the checkout page; Atheros cards are compatible with linux-libre, but are slower than the intel cards. More info is available, further down on this product page.
This upgrade is available for all laptops and desktops that Minifree sells, *except* the Libreboot X230. Please only purchased this for Libreboot T440p, W541 or 9020 SFF. – EXCEPTION: If you want an Atheros card, you can add this to your cart for X230, because Minifree will provide the AR5B95/AR5BXB112 card.
This is NOT a standalone product. Please only purchase it alongside a Libreboot machine from Minifree. It is provided as a swap/upgrade option.
The following Libreboot 9020 setups are possible: NVMe + AX210 **or** NVMe + RX6400 <– with NVMe SSD, **or** you can have AX210 + RX6400 with SATA SSD. Therefore, if you want both a graphics card (AMD RX 6400) and WiFi, you must request a SATA SSD instead of NVMe; Minifree otherwise provides NVMe SSD by default, on the Libreboot 9020.
By default, Minifree does not include WiFi anymore on the 9020 SFF. Instead, the machine is offered at a lower price and WiFi is now an add-on upgrade. *This* product page is that add-on upgrade. Add this WiFi add-on to your cart, if you want WiFi on the Libreboot 9020. For *laptops*, this product is an *upgrade* instead of an add-on, because those machines otherwise already have (slower) Intel 7260 wifi; Intel AX210 is much faster (it can easily get speeds above 500Mbps on a 802.11ac network).
Minifree will install the card into a PCI-E slot via an adapter card, pictured, if installing on 9020 SFF. Intel AX210 is a very nice wireless card, offering support for the newer 802.11ac/ax/n standards for much higher throughput. More info available on Intel’s website:
The product photos show an example of the card installed, into 9020 MT and SFF variants.
If it’s installed in a laptop (T440p/W541), the laptop already has a slot for the wifi card, so it will be installed there.
If you don’t want WiFi on your 9020 workstation, gigabit ethernet is still available (wired networking) by default, on all machines.
Linux-libre compatibility
Please observe the following graphic:
Intel AX210 or the default Intel 7260 wifi (on X230/T440p) is recommended, because it’s faster than the Atheros cards in most cases. Intel and Atheros are essentially identical, in terms of software freedom, but some people prefer the Atheros cards.
Minifree is happy to provide Linux-libre distros e.g. Trisquel, if you wish, but you must request the Atheros swap/upgrade for WiFi compatibility. Add this product to your cart, but request *Atheros* in the textbox at checkout.
Minifree can provide one of these if you wish:
- For Libreboot X230 (or other machine using older mPCIe slot): Atheros AR5B95 or AR5BXB112 card
- For Libreboot 9020, W541, T440p (or other machine with NGFF m.2 slot): Atheros QCNFA222 card – if doing for a 9020, it will be installed in an NGFF to PCI-E adapter card, as with the Intel AX210.
Mention one of these in the textbox at the checkout page, and the Atheros card will be provided instead of Intel AX210.
Libreboot’s *Binary Blob Reduction Policy* goes into more detail, about the ideology of the Libreboot project:
https://libreboot.org/news/policy.html
