this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2024
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I don't think they exist. The drivers that don't load firmware blobs into the WiFi device just come pre-packaged with (probably outdated) firmware blobs. Very few devices work without firmware.
You can add a layer of isolation but hooking your device up to a random access point over ethernet, though the experience certainly won't be as nice.
I think there are also (incomplete) attempts to write fully open-source firmware for WiFi chips like the ESP32, but I don't know if anyone ever wrote a fast interconnect for the standard dev boards for that. You may need to set up your own PCB to turn those into a fully open source WiFi chip. Performance will be very limited, of course (10-20mbps) because these IoT oriented boards lack hardware processing.
Atheros ath9k (and previously ath5k) has been 100% FOSS for many years.
Yes, but does that still count as "modern"?
ath9k supports N, so I'd consider it modern at least, since I think the vast majority of the population still use it.
N is not modern in any sense of the word. I think 6 is more used then you would think. All ISP I know are giving out 6 access points and have for awhile.
I install residential and business internet for a living and I have yet to encounter a single AX AP operating in the wild (yes I check every time, and yes my devices support it). And our own routers only do N.
We are already having wifi 6 routers being replaced with 6e capable ones.
Just don't ask about how few of the devices used actually support 6ghz.