linux-drivers/
drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath11k

Qualcomm Wi-Fi 6 and 6E (802.11ax) wireless adapters (ath11k)

Qualcomm's Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) wireless chipsets, found in many recent laptops, desktops, and embedded systems including current ThinkPad and other Lenovo models. The chips ship in M.2 cards and as integrated radios on Snapdragon and AMD platforms sold throughout the early 2020s and still in 2025.

keep conf=0.95 deploy=high replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-wireless
95%

recommendation

It should stay because this is the active upstream driver for Qualcomm's Wi-Fi 6/6E silicon, which is still being sold in new laptops in 2025. Patch traffic remains heavy, with maintainers landing new device IDs and power-management quirks for current Lenovo/ThinkPad hardware as recently as 2026. The newer ath12k driver covers Wi-Fi 7 parts and does not replace it.

repository signals

71 files
82,778 source lines
712 commits, 5y
+32,457 / −11,388 lines added / removed, 5y
143 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 712 total · active in 60/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 2 commits · +20 −11 2021-05: 11 commits · +636 −73 2021-06: 4 commits · +13 −18 2021-07: 5 commits · +86 −9 2021-08: 1 commit · +1 −0 2021-09: 47 commits · +5,040 −3,114 2021-10: 21 commits · +346 −94 2021-11: 51 commits · +1,432 −530 2021-12: 30 commits · +2,342 −257 2022-01: 20 commits · +1,136 −201 2022-02: 19 commits · +1,220 −166 2022-03: 22 commits · +2,857 −170 2022-04: 33 commits · +2,517 −1,648 2022-05: 22 commits · +743 −56 2022-06: 8 commits · +20 −17 2022-07: 6 commits · +135 −284 2022-08: 3 commits · +121 −22 2022-09: 32 commits · +1,647 −367 2022-10: 11 commits · +172 −78 2022-11: 5 commits · +28 −17 2022-12: 10 commits · +664 −70 2023-01: 6 commits · +44 −13 2023-02: 9 commits · +208 −111 2023-03: 17 commits · +1,142 −261 2023-04: 12 commits · +110 −61 2023-05: 16 commits · +1,089 −173 2023-06: 22 commits · +651 −458 2023-07: 8 commits · +81 −54 2023-08: 15 commits · +168 −118 2023-09: 6 commits · +76 −85 2023-10: 20 commits · +444 −169 2023-11: 8 commits · +69 −71 2023-12: 4 commits · +84 −54 2024-01: 26 commits · +1,494 −537 2024-02: 23 commits · +626 −191 2024-03: 7 commits · +12 −51 2024-04: 6 commits · +181 −76 2024-05: 16 commits · +313 −260 2024-06: 6 commits · +51 −29 2024-07: 3 commits · +18 −2 2024-08: 9 commits · +437 −202 2024-09: 4 commits · +15 −9 2024-10: 4 commits · +156 −4 2024-11: 10 commits · +50 −44 2024-12: 3 commits · +11 −5 2025-01: 9 commits · +280 −252 2025-02: 12 commits · +228 −273 2025-03: 9 commits · +396 −79 2025-04: 6 commits · +28 −14 2025-05: 3 commits · +32 −21 2025-06: 11 commits · +87 −37 2025-07: 2 commits · +93 −75 2025-08: 4 commits · +113 −38 2025-09: 2 commits · +49 −7 2025-10: 11 commits · +396 −207 2025-11: 2 commits · +4 −1 2025-12: 8 commits · +1,893 −59 2026-01: 3 commits · +65 −3 2026-02: 4 commits · +60 −66 2026-03: 1 commit · +7 −8 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. wireless.docs.kernel.org

    Official Linux Wireless documentation describes ath11k as the Linux driver for Qualcomm IEEE 802.11ax devices and lists multiple supported contemporary chip families/products.

  2. lore.kernel.org

    April 23, 2026 upstream patch adds missing Lenovo IDs to ath11k, showing active maintenance for current OEM hardware.

  3. lore.kernel.org

    March 31, 2026 upstream patch applies an ath11k PM quirk to ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 AMD, indicating deployment in recent laptop platforms.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Keep: static signals already show heavy recent churn, and lore_file_timeline on drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath11k/core.c returned sustained 2024-2026 patch traffic plus 2026 device-quirk work, not removal. The Linux Wireless ath11k page was obtained via web search and confirms this is the active upstream driver for Qualcomm 802.11ax hardware with supported devices still relevant to new systems. The two lore URLs were obtained from lore_file_timeline and show ongoing fixes/enablement for recent Lenovo/ThinkPad hardware, so deployments remain high. No natural replacement driver exists for the same hardware generation; ath12k targets newer Wi-Fi 7 parts instead.