Issues with Intel® Killer™ AX1650 Wi-Fi in Debian/Ubuntu 16.04+

If your Intel® Killer™ Wireless AX1650 is not recognized or utilized by your Debian-based system, it may be due to missing Iwlwifi drivers or firmware. This guide provides solutions to install a functional Iwlwifi driver. These methods have been verified to restore wireless connectivity for the AX1650 in Ubuntu versions 16.04, 18.04, and 19.04.

There are three primary ways to solve the problem:

• Linux* Kernel 5.1 or Linux Kernel 5.3
  Use the Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz Firmware while running Linux Kernel 5.1 or 5.3. This will require you to install and use the newer Linux Kernel and copy the firmware files into your /lib/firmware/ folder. You might be able to install a newer release of your chosen Linux, also. For example, Ubuntu 19.10 should work immediately as it installs with Linux Kernel 5.3 and the necessary firmware.

  Newer Linux Kernels, such as 5.4+, might have bugs and compatibility issues, so if you see issues using them, try downgrading to 5.3

• Use a Package Manager like APT to install an automatically Backported Iwlwifi driver
  Run the following commands one by one and reboot your computer. If your AX1650 is still not detected/used, you can scroll down and try the older Backport steps.
  $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:canonical-hwe-team/backport-iwlwifi
  $ sudo apt-get update
  $ sudo apt-get install backport-iwlwifi-dkms
  $ reboot
   
• Manually Backport the Iwlwifi driver for older Linux Kernels
  The Iwlwifi driver that works with the AX1650 is included in Linux Kernels 5.1+.
  If you would like to backport that Iwlwifi driver to your older Linux Kernel, you can follow the steps below.

Backported drivers are created for your current environment. If you backport a driver and then upgrade your system, it’s possible the Backported driver won’t run correctly. You will have to uninstall the previously backported driver and then create another for your current environment.

Backport the Iwlwifi driver for older Linux Kernels

Before you begin the manual Backport process, here is a quick description and example of the three necessary steps for Backporting the Iwlwifi driver for your AX1650:

1. Step 1 – Download the Latest Git and Build-Essential packages
   • Build-Essential contains the ‘Make’ package and other packages necessary for creating the driver.
      
2. Step 2 – Download the Iwlwifi-Firmware. git repository
   • You will then move the Iwlwifi files to your /lib/firmware/ folder so your newly created Driver can operate correctly after reboot.
      
3. Step 3 – Download the Backport-Iwlwifi .git repository
   • Use ‘Make’ and the ‘Backport-Iwlwifi’ repository to build the Iwlwifi driver.
   • Because ‘Make will be producing an Unsigned Driver, you will probably see SSL errors / warnings.
     • This is fine, but this is the reason Secure Boot must be Disabled.
     • If Secure Boot is Enabled your computer will not use an Unsigned Driver!

Here is an example of these steps being performed

• Starting Conditions for this Example Output:
  • Dell XPS 13 9360
    AX1650
    Legacy Boot Mode; Secure Boot OFF
    Ubuntu 18.04 is then Installed as an EXT4 partition with a Mount point set to ‘/’
    The Computer restarts and boots into Ubuntu 18.04
  • backport-iwlwifi-example
    The AX1650 is using the Iwlwifi Driver as shown within the output of ‘sudo lshw -C network’ and WiFi is accessible.

Let’s Begin

Enter the following commands into a terminal one line at a time.

1. Step 1 – Download the Latest Git and Build-Essential packages

   $ sudo apt update
   $ sudo apt-get install -y git
   $ sudo apt-get install -y build-essential

2. Step 2 – Download the Iwlwifi-Firmware.git repository

   $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git
   $ cd linux-firmware
   $ sudo cp iwlwifi-* /lib/firmware/
   $ cd ..

3. Step 3 – Create the Backported Iwlwifi Driver for your current setup

   $ git clone https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/iwlwifi/backport-iwlwifi.git
   $ cd backport-iwlwifi
   $ sudo make defconfig-iwlwifi-public
   $ sudo make -j4
   $ sudo make install
   
   This command might be necessary to force your machine to use the Driver from boot:
   $ update-initramfs -u

Reboot your computer and verify it’s working.