Diagnostic and troubleshooting instructions for Intel® Killer™ AX1650 in Debian*/Ubuntu* 16.04+ without Internet Access
The Intel® Killer™ Wireless AX1650 uses the Iwlwifi Driver that is included in Linux* Kernels 5.1+. If your Debian*/Ubuntu* is using an older Linux Kernel, the AX1650 might not be seen or used by your computer. You can use this guide to install a package that backports the Iwlwifi Driver from the newer Linux Kernel to your currently running one.
| Note |
This guide shows what will be needed if the computer with the Intel Killer Wireless Adapter has no access to the Internet at all. You will need another computer with Internet access and a USB Flash Drive or another method to transfer the files to the computer without Internet access. If the device you are attempting to install WI-FI drivers on has Internet access, refer to the following article. |
For these steps we will need another computer capable of downloading a Git Repository and several Packages.
I used another computer running the same Ubuntu 18.04 installation that matches the Ubuntu 18.04 installation on my offline computer. You should be able to use a VM running Ubuntu or even Windows 10 if it has Ubuntu on Windows from the Microsoft Store.
Here is an example of using the Ubuntu On Windows Terminal to download something using APT and then copying it to your Windows Desktop (User is the Windows User name example, please use your User name instead):
User @User -Desktop:~$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:canonical-hwe-team/backport-iwlwifi
User @User -Desktop:~$ apt download backport-iwlwifi-dkms
User @User -Desktop:~$ cp backport-iwlwifi-dkms_8286-0ubuntu1~latest~ubuntu18.04.1_all.deb /mnt/c/Users/RIVET/Desktop/
Example of Backport logs
Step 1 – Download Backport-Iwlwifi-Dkms, it’s Dependencies, and the Linux-Firmware.git Repository.
On the computer with Internet Access, open a terminal, then copy and paste the following commands one at a time. Press ENTER after each command.
$ mkdir -p backport-iwlwifi-dkms/dependencies
$ cd backport-iwlwifi-dkms
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:canonical-hwe-team/backport-iwlwifi
$ sudo apt-get update
$ apt download backport-iwlwifi-dkms
$ cd dependencies/
$ apt download build-essential cpp cpp-7 dkms dpkg-dev fakeroot g++ g++-7 gcc gcc-7 gcc-7-base gcc-8-base libalgorithm-diff-perl libalgorithm-diff-xs-perl libalgorithm-merge-perl libasan4 libatomic1 libc-dev-bin libc6-dev libcc1-0 libcilkrts5 libdpkg-perl libfakeroot libgcc-7-dev libgcc1 libgomp1 libitm1 liblsan0 libmpx2 libquadmath0 libstdc++-7-dev libstdc++6 libtsan0 libubsan0 linux-libc-dev make manpages-dev
$ cd ..
$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git
Step 2 – Move those downloaded files / folder to your offline computer using a USB flash drive.
The online computer should now have a folder that has the following structure / content:
- backport-iwlwifi-dkms/
- dependencies/
- linux-firmware/
- backport-iwlwifi-dkms_8042-0ubuntu2_all.deb
You will need to move those files over to your offline computer.
| Note | You may see an error about Symbolic Links when trying to move the Linux-Firmware.git Repository. If so, zip/tar the folder first and then move that to the offline computer. When you unzip/untar the folder, its Symbolic Links will be preserved or recreated. |
Step 3 – Install the dependencies, copy the Iwlwifi firmware files, and install Backport-Iwlwifi-Dkms
Note: Before proceeding, Secure Boot must be disabled in your BIOS. If you are unsure how to disable Secure Boot, refer to your machine or motherboard’s support materials or website. Once that is done, you can begin the process installing the Backported Iwlwifi Driver onto your Computer.
$ cd backport-iwlwifi-dkms/
$ sudo dpkg -i dependencies/*.deb
$ sudo cp linux-firmware/iwlwifi-* /lib/firmware/
$ sudo dpkg -i backport-iwlwifi-dkms_8042-0ubuntu2_all.deb
Now run the following command to update the Initramfs that your machine might be using:
$ sudo update-initramfs -u
Then restart your computer once you have done this. You should be able to connect to your wireless access point.