Dennis HilkLinux diagnosticsDE

Wi-Fi adapters

Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 family

An ath10k PCIe family requiring revision-specific firmware and board data. Board calibration is a separate input from the shared firmware image.

Editorial source review: Share public profileOpen in the identification tool
On this page
  1. Overview & identity
  2. Driver & binding
  3. Firmware
  4. Read-only diagnostics
  5. Limitations & related issues
  6. References

Overview & identity

168c:003e resolves through QCA6174_2_1_DEVICE_ID in the source. The PCI table and runtime chip checks cover several hardware revisions, so the macro name alone does not fix a revision.

Curated identifiers
pci 168c:003e

A numeric match establishes a candidate family within the reviewed evidence. Marketing names, board variants, subsystem conditions and successful operation remain separate questions.

Driver & binding

ath10k_pci is the transport candidate. Firmware and board-data directories depend on the detected hardware revision; keep the board identity from the initialization log.

  • ath10k_pci — kernel driver/module candidate

Detected, bound, operational: learn the difference

Firmware

Host-loaded firmware required

The checked firmware directory or filename is family/revision specific. The complete requested files and board data must be read from the running system.

Checked examples or filename branches, not a complete installation list:

  • ath10k/QCA6174/hw2.1/*
  • ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/*

Inspect firmware packaging on your distribution

Read-only diagnostics

Run one displayed command at a time. Replace uppercase placeholders with the affected device, interface or module from your own output. Commands are never executed here. Read-only output can still contain private identifiers.

Read the selected PCI function

lspci -nnk -s BDF

Replace BDF with the address from your report. Compare Kernel driver in use with Kernel modules; only the former records binding. This ordinary query normally needs no root privileges.

Read firmware metadata

modinfo -F firmware MODULE

Replace MODULE with ath10k_pci or the actual candidate module in your report. Metadata lists declared filenames; it does not prove a file was loaded. This query needs no root privileges.

Read existing Wi-Fi association

iw dev INTERFACE link

Replace INTERFACE with the wireless interface from iw dev. Association and rate are observations, not a throughput or firmware test. This query normally needs no root privileges.

Limitations & related issues

An ath10k module or PCI match does not validate OEM calibration data. Use actual failed filenames and board-key messages instead of choosing a board file by marketing name.

These guides are linked for relevant observations, not as known defects of every device in this family.

Choose a hardware diagnostic workflow · Inspect a log excerpt in Fix Lab

References

Source review records a checked implementation or document, not a reproduced hardware test. Version-specific tables do not establish a minimum kernel or guaranteed operation.