The MediaTek MT7902 wireless modules are a common choice in Windows laptops, but Linux drivers have been absent until now. MediaTek has finally submitted a patchset for MT7902 to the mainline Linux mailing list.
This issue was personal to me. I purchased an ASUS Vivobook 16 in August 2023, and while Ubuntu 22.04 functioned adequately out of the box, it lacked support for the Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth module, identified as “Network controller: MEDIATEK Corp. Device 7902” with lscpi but without operational drivers. Since then, I’ve relied on a USB dock with Ethernet at home or USB tethering with my phone when traveling. I expected driver support would be soon, but the wait has been over two years.
I wasn’t the only one facing this problem, as many sought MT7902 Linux drivers in forums, and a Change.org petition emerged, though it gathered slightly over 500 signatures. Some even attempted driver reworking, achieving only Bluetooth functionality.
MediaTek engineers submitted the patchset. I hoped Linux support wouldn’t take close to three years from the MT7902 modules’ launch. The patchset consists of eleven patches, including firmware, and support for SDIO and PCIe host interfaces.
If all goes well, MT7902 drivers should be in Linux 7.1, with potential backports to hardware enablement packs (HWE) in Ubuntu and other Linux distributions. I’m contemplating whether to build my own kernel or await the backports, depending on my review workload.
Via Phoronix