| Development kit | Hardware SoCs | Wi-Fi chipset | Driver support |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Qualcomm Dragonwing™ RB3 Gen 2 Vision Development Kit • Qualcomm Dragonwing RB3 Gen 2 Core Development Kit | • QCS6490 | • WCN6750 • WCN6856 | • ath11k |
| • Qualcomm Dragonwing RB3 Gen 2 Lite Vision Development Kit • Qualcomm Dragonwing RB3 Gen 2 Lite Core Development Kit | • QCS5430 | • WCN6750 • WCN6856 | • ath11k |
| • Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ-9075 Evaluation Kit (EVK) | • IQ-9075 | • WCN6855 • WCN7850 | • ath11k • ath12k |
| • Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ-8275 EVK | • IQ-8275 | • WCN6855 • WCN7850 | • ath11k • ath12k |
| • Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ-615 EVK | • IQ-615 | • QCA6698AQ | • ath11k |
| • Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ-x7181 EVK | • IQ-x7181 | • WCN6855 • WCN7850 | • ath11k • ath12k |
| • Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ-x5121 EVK | • IQ-x5121 | • WCN6855 • WCN7850 | • ath11k • ath12k |
| • Qualcomm Dragonwing Shikra EVK | • Shikra CQM • Shikra CQS • Shikra IQS | • WCN3980 | • ath10k |
Figure : Qualcomm connectivity chipset block diagram
Wi-Fi features
The Qualcomm Linux Wi-Fi software provides support for various Wi-Fi features through the ath10k, ath11k and ath12k drivers. These drivers use the mac80211 API and support the 802.11ac, 802.11ax and 802.11be protocols.ath10k supports the following features:
- 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz Wi-Fi bands
- Peak PHY data rate of 433 Mbps (1x1), 256 QAM
- Station (STA) mode and Access Point (AP) mode
ath11k supports the following features:
- 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands
- Peak PHY data rate of 2.9 Gbps, 1K QAM
- 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6/6E) standard support, including:
- Uplink/Downlink MU-MIMO
- Uplink/Downlink OFDMA
- Station (STA) mode and Access Point (AP) mode
ath12k supports the following features:
- 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands
- Peak PHY data rate of 5.8 Gbps, 4K QAM
- 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) standard support, including:
- Multi-Link Operation (MLO)
- EHT 20 MHz/40 MHz/80 MHz/160 MHz/320 MHz channel bandwidth
- MU-MIMO STA, UL/DL OFDMA
- Station (STA) mode, Access Point (AP) mode and P2P mode
Wi-Fi capabilities
The following table provides a feature matrix of the Wi-Fi capabilities that WCN6750, WCN6856, QCA6698AQ, WCN7850, and WCN3980 support. Table : Wi-Fi software feature matrix| Feature | Description | WCN6750 | WCN6856 | QCA6698AQ | WCN7850 | WCN3980 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi band | • 2.4 GHz • 5 GHz • 6 GHz | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | • 2.4 GHz • 5 GHz |
| Operational mode | • Wi-Fi STA • Wi-Fi SoftAP • P2P | • Wi-Fi STA • Wi-Fi SoftAP | • Wi-Fi STA • Wi-Fi SoftAP | • Wi-Fi STA • Wi-Fi SoftAP | • Wi-Fi STA • Wi-Fi SoftAP • P2P | • Wi-Fi STA • Wi-Fi SoftAP |
| Maximum bandwidth | • Up to 40 MHz channel bandwidth for 2.4 GHz • Up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for 5 GHz and 6 GHz • Up to 320 MHz channel bandwidth for 6 GHz | • Up to 40 MHz channel bandwidth for 2.4 GHz • Up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for 5 GHz and 6 GHz | • Up to 40 MHz channel bandwidth for 2.4 GHz • Up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for 5 GHz and 6 GHz | • Up to 40 MHz channel bandwidth for 2.4 GHz • Up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for 5 GHz and 6 GHz | • Up to 40 MHz channel bandwidth for 2.4 GHz • Up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for 5 GHz and 6 GHz • Up to 320 MHz channel bandwidth for 6 GHz | • Up to 40 MHz channel bandwidth for 2.4 GHz • Up to 80 MHz channel bandwidth for 5 GHz |
| Dual Band Simultaneous (DBS) | • DBS/Non-DBS • Maximum stream and bandwidth supported | • Non-DBS • 2-stream (2 x 2) 2.4 GHz 40 MHz + (2 x 2) 5 GHz/6 GHz 160 MHz | • DBS • 4-stream (2 x 2) 2.4 GHz 40 MHz + (2 x 2) 5 GHz/6 GHz 160 MHz | • DBS • 4-stream (2 x 2) 2.4 GHz 40 MHz + (2 x 2) 5 GHz/6 GHz 160 MHz | • DBS • 4-stream (2 x 2) 2.4 GHz 40 MHz + (2 x 2) 5 GHz/6 GHz 160 MHz | — |
| Unrestricted 160 MHz channels supported | Seven channels | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Peak PHY data rate | • 2.9 Gbps, 1 K QAM • 5.8 Gbps, 4 K QAM | 2.9 Gbps, 1 K QAM | 2.9 Gbps, 1 K QAM | 2.9 Gbps, 1 K QAM | 5.8 Gbps, 4 K QAM | 433 Mbps 256 QAM |
| 802.11ax | • Uplink/downlink (UL/DL) Multi-User Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) • Uplink Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (UL/DL OFDMA), Uplink Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access Random Access (UL-OFDMA UORA) • Multiple-Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) and Multiple-Traffic Identifier (TID) • Spatial reuse • 8-stream sounding • Target Wake Time (TWT) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Non-TWT | — |
| 802.11be | Multi-Link Operation (MLO) | — | — | — | ✓ | — |
| Security | Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| WFA mandatory certifications [1] | • STA mode • AP mode | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Operating bands
The WCN6750, WCN6856, QCA6698AQ, and WCN7850 Wi-Fi chipsets support 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, while the WCN3980 supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz only.Operating modes
The Wi-Fi software operates in the following modes. Table : Supported Wi-Fi operating modes| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| STA mode | In STA mode, a device connects to an AP within a Wi-Fi network and communicates with other devices in the network. This mode is standard for wireless devices in a Wi-Fi connection. |
| Hotspot mode | Hotspot mode enables a device to provide backhaul (Internet) connectivity to Wi-Fi clients using a cellular link (LTE). The device establishes this connection through its lightweight hotspot interface. In hotspot mode, the device can: |
| P2P mode | P2P mode (also known as Wi‑Fi Direct) allows two or more Wi‑Fi devices to connect directly to each other without a traditional Access Point (AP). |
- Communicate with other Wi-Fi clients connected to the same hotspot.
- Communicate with the hotspot device.
- Share the WAN connection of the device.
Scan
A Wi-Fi scan compiles a list of nearby Access Points (APs) for a device. There are two primary scan modes: active and passive. Additionally, WLAN chipsets can trigger other scan policies. The following table provides the types of scans and their descriptions. Table : Supported scan modes| Scan | Description |
|---|---|
| Active scan | The Wi-Fi initiates a broadcast probe request (Tx) and listens for probe responses from APs. All APs, except for those with a hidden Service Set Identifier (SSID), respond to the broadcast probe request. Active scans are used on all channels for 2.4 GHz, non-Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) channels for 5 GHz, and Preferred Scanning Channel (PSC) for 6 GHz. |
| Passive scan | The client conserves power by not transmitting packets actively. The STA waits on each channel for approximately 100 ms (plus an additional ±10 ms for channel change) to listen to beacons broadcasted by APs. During this dwell time, the STA receives all beacons, and scans SSIDs from the APs on that channel. |
| Legacy scan | Scans one channel at a time. |
| Split scan | Alternates scanning between the home channel and foreign channel. |
| Burst scan | Scans multiple channels in a burst. |
| Agile scan | Simultaneously scans two passive channels reducing DFS channel scan time by half. |
| Roaming scan | Initiates the move of the STA from a congested channel of the currently connected AP to a better AP. Triggers include Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), missed beacons, channel traffic conditions, and AP conditions. |