nRF Wi-Fi driver

The nRF Wi-Fi driver implements the Wi-Fi® protocol for the nRF70 FullMAC Series of devices. FullMAC devices implement the Wi-Fi protocol in the chipset. The driver configures the chipset and transfers the frames to and from the device to the networking stack.

The nRF70 Series device is a companion IC and can be used with any Nordic Semiconductor System-on-Chips (SoCs), such as the nRF53 and nRF91 Series SoCs.

You can enable the driver by using the following Kconfig options:

When using Sysbuild (System build) to build your application, set the SB_CONFIG_WIFI_NRF70 Kconfig option to y in your sysbuild.conf file.

When not using Sysbuild (System build), set the CONFIG_WIFI_NRF70 Kconfig option to y in your application’s prj.conf file.

Architecture 

The following figure illustrates the architecture of the nRF Wi-Fi driver.

nRF Wi-Fi driver block diagram — nRF Wi-Fi driver architecture overview

Design overview 

The nRF Wi-Fi driver follows an OS-agnostic design, and the driver implementation is split into OS-agnostic and OS (Zephyr)-specific code. The OS-agnostic code is located in the $ZEPHYR_BASE/../modules/nrf_wifi/ folder, and the Zephyr OS port is located in the $ZEPHYR_BASE/drivers/wifi/nrf_wifi/ folder.

The driver supports three modes of operation:

Wi-Fi mode 

In this mode, the driver is designed to be used with the Zephyr networking stack. It is implemented as a network interface driver.

The driver supports the following IEEE 802.11 features:

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) support
WPA3™/WPA2™ personal security
IEEE 802.11 Power Save modes
Scan-only mode
IEEE 802.11 Station mode (STA)
Software-enabled Access Point (SoftAP or SAP) mode
Wi-Fi Direct® (P2P) mode

Except for scan-only mode, the driver uses the host access point daemon (hostapd) to implement AP Media Access Control (MAC) Sublayer Management Entity (AP MLME) and wpa_supplicant to implement 802.1X supplicant.

Radio Test mode 

The nRF Wi-Fi driver supports Radio Test mode, which you can use to test the RF performance of the nRF70 Series device. This is a build time option that you can enable using the CONFIG_NRF70_RADIO_TEST Kconfig option.

For more details about using this driver in Radio Test mode, see Wi-Fi: Radio test (Multi domain).

Offloaded raw TX mode 

The nRF Wi-Fi driver supports Offloaded raw TX mode, where the nRF70 Series device transmits frames at regular intervals with very low power consumption. Frame transmission is offloaded to the nRF70 device, minimizing host processing and memory requirements.

For more details about using this driver in Offloaded raw TX mode, see Offloaded raw transmit operation.

Driver to nRF70 Series device communication 

The driver communicates with the nRF70 Series device using the QSPI/SPI interface. The driver uses the QSPI/SPI interface to send commands to the nRF70 Series device, and to transfer data to and from the device. The nRF7002 DK uses QSPI, whereas the nRF7002 EK uses SPI.

To connect the nRF7002 EK to the SoC, the nrf7002ek shield is required.

Configuration 

The nRF Wi-Fi driver has the following configuration options:

Kconfig configuration 

CONFIG_WIFI_NRF70

(bool) nRF70 driver

Nordic Wi-Fi Driver

CONFIG_WIFI_NRF7002

(bool)

CONFIG_WIFI_NRF7001

(bool)

CONFIG_WIFI_NRF7000

(bool)

CONFIG_NRF70_QSPI_LOW_POWER

(bool) low power mode in QSPI

CONFIG_NRF70_SCAN_ONLY

(bool) nRF70 scan only mode

Select this option to enable scan-only mode of the nRF70 driver. In this mode, the driver can only perform scanning operations to discover nearby Wi-Fi networks, but cannot establish connections or transmit/receive data. Mainly used for location accuracy improvement.

CONFIG_NRF70_SYSTEM_MODE

(bool) System mode of the nRF70 driver

Select this option to enable system mode of the nRF70 driver. This is the normal operating mode that supports full Wi-Fi functionality including sub-modes like STA, AP, and P2P.

CONFIG_NRF70_RADIO_TEST

(bool) Radio test mode of the nRF70 driver

Select this option to enable radio test mode of the nRF70 driver. This mode is used for testing RF performance and regulatory compliance. It provides direct control of the radio hardware for transmitting test patterns and measuring RF parameters.

CONFIG_NRF70_OFFLOADED_RAW_TX

(bool) Offloaded raw TX mode of the nRF70 driver

Select this option to enable offloaded raw TX mode. In this mode, raw 802.11 frames can be transmitted directly without normal Wi-Fi protocol processing. The frame construction and transmission timing is handled by the Wi-Fi hardware, reducing CPU load.

CONFIG_NET_L2_ETHERNET

(unknown)

CONFIG_NRF70_STA_MODE

(bool) nRF70 STA mode

Select this option to enable STA mode of the nRF70 driver.

CONFIG_NRF70_AP_MODE

(bool) Access point mode

CONFIG_NRF70_ENABLE_DUAL_VIF

(bool) Dual virtual Wi-Fi interfaces

Enable support for two virtual Wi-Fi interfaces (VIFs). When enabled, the driver can operate two VIFs simultaneously, allowing use cases such as one interface in AP mode and another in STA mode.

CONFIG_NRF70_P2P_MODE

(bool) P2P support in driver

CONFIG_NRF70_SYSTEM_WITH_RAW_MODES

(bool) nRF70 system mode with raw modes

Select this option to enable system mode of the nRF70 driver with raw modes.

CONFIG_NRF70_RAW_DATA_TX

(bool) RAW TX data path in the driver

CONFIG_NRF70_RAW_DATA_RX

(bool) RAW RX sniffer operation in the driver

CONFIG_NRF70_PROMISC_DATA_RX

(bool) Promiscuous RX sniffer operation in the driver

CONFIG_NRF70_DATA_TX

(bool)

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_IF_AUTO_START

(bool) Wi-Fi interface auto start on boot

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_PATCHES_BUILTIN

(bool) Store nRF70 FW patches as part of the driver

Select this option to store nRF70 FW patches as part of the driver. This option impacts the code memory footprint of the driver.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_PATCHES_EXTERNAL

(bool) Load nRF70 FW patches from external binary

Select this option to load nRF70 FW patches from an external tooling.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_LOW_POWER

(bool) Low power mode in nRF Wi-Fi chipsets

CONFIG_NRF70_TCP_IP_CHECKSUM_OFFLOAD

(bool) TCP/IP checksum offload

CONFIG_NRF70_REG_DOMAIN

(string) The ISO/IEC alpha2 country code for the country in which this device is currently operating. Default 00 (World regulatory)

CONFIG_NET_MGMT_EVENT_STACK_SIZE

(unknown)

CONFIG_NRF70_LOG_VERBOSE

(bool) Maintains the verbosity of information in logs

CONFIG_WIFI_NRF70_LOG_LEVEL

(unknown)

CONFIG_NRF70_2_4G_ONLY

(bool)

CONFIG_NRF70_SR_COEX

(bool) Wi-Fi and SR coexistence support

CONFIG_NRF70_SR_COEX_RF_SWITCH

(bool) GPIO configuration to control SR side RF switch position

Select this option to enable GPIO configuration to control SR side RF switch position. If this GPIO is asserted (1), the SR side RF switch is connected to the Wi-Fi side (shared antenna). If this GPIO is de-asserted (0), the SR side RF switch is connected to the SR side (separate antenna).

CONFIG_NRF70_SR_COEX_SLEEP_CTRL_GPIO_CTRL

(bool) Configuration of GPIO control for coexistence

CONFIG_NRF70_SR_COEX_SWCTRL1_OUTPUT

(int) Configure SWCTRIL1 as output

CONFIG_NRF70_SR_COEX_BT_GRANT_ACTIVE_LOW

(int) Configure BT grant active low

CONFIG_NRF70_BT_SLOT_TIME

(int) BT slot allocation time in Wi-Fi scan (ms)

Time allocated in milliseconds for SR between successive Wi-Fi channel scan.

CONFIG_NRF70_WORKQ_STACK_SIZE

(int) Stack size for workqueue

CONFIG_NRF70_WORKQ_MAX_ITEMS

(int) Maximum work items for all workqueues

CONFIG_NRF70_MAX_TX_PENDING_QLEN

(int) Maximum number of pending TX packets

CONFIG_NRF70_UTIL

(bool) Utility shell in nRF70 driver

CONFIG_NRF70_DEBUG_SHELL

(bool) Debug shell in nRF70 driver

CONFIG_NRF70_PCB_LOSS_2G

(int) PCB loss for 2.4 GHz band

Specifies PCB loss from the antenna connector to the RF pin. The values are in dB scale in steps of 1 dB and range of 0-4 dB. The loss is considered in the RX path only.

CONFIG_NRF70_PCB_LOSS_5G_BAND1

(int) PCB loss for 5 GHz band (5150 MHz - 5350 MHz, Channel-32 - Channel-68)

Specifies PCB loss from the antenna connector to the RF pin. The values are in dB scale in steps of 1 dB and range of 0-4 dB. The loss is considered in the RX path only.

CONFIG_NRF70_PCB_LOSS_5G_BAND2

(int) PCB loss for 5 GHz band (5470 MHz - 5730 MHz, Channel-96 - Channel-144)

Specifies PCB loss from the antenna connector to the RF pin. The values are in dB scale in steps of 1 dB and range of 0-4 dB. The loss is considered in the RX path only.

CONFIG_NRF70_PCB_LOSS_5G_BAND3

(int) PCB loss for 5 GHz band (5730 MHz - 5895 MHz, Channel-149 - Channel-177)

Specifies PCB loss from the antenna connector to the RF pin. The values are in dB scale in steps of 1 dB and range of 0-4 dB. The loss is considered in the RX path only.

CONFIG_NRF70_ANT_GAIN_2G

(int) Antenna gain for 2.4 GHz band

CONFIG_NRF70_ANT_GAIN_5G_BAND1

(int) Antenna gain for 5 GHz band (5150 MHz - 5350 MHz)

CONFIG_NRF70_ANT_GAIN_5G_BAND2

(int) Antenna gain for 5 GHz band (5470 MHz - 5730 MHz)

CONFIG_NRF70_ANT_GAIN_5G_BAND3

(int) Antenna gain for 5 GHz band (5730 MHz - 5895 MHz)

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_2G_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_DSSS

(int) DSSS Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of 2.4 GHz frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_2G_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of 2.4 GHz frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_2G_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of 2.4 GHz frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_2G_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_DSSS

(int) DSSS Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of 2.4 GHz frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_2G_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of 2.4 GHz frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_2G_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of 2.4 GHz frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_1_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-1 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_1_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-1 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_1_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-1 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_1_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-1 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_2A_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-2A frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_2A_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-2A frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_2A_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-2A frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_2A_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-2A frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_2C_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-2C frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_2C_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-2C frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_2C_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-2C frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_2C_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-2C frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_3_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-3 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_3_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-3 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_3_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-3 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_3_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-3 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_4_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-4 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_4_LOWER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for lower edge of UNII-4 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_4_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HT

(int) HT/VHT Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-4 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_BAND_UNII_4_UPPER_EDGE_BACKOFF_HE

(int) HE Transmit power backoff (in dB) for upper edge of UNII-4 frequency band

CONFIG_NRF70_RX_NUM_BUFS

(int) Number of RX buffers

CONFIG_NRF70_MAX_TX_AGGREGATION

(int) Maximum number of TX packets to aggregate

CONFIG_NRF70_MAX_TX_TOKENS

(int) Maximum number of TX tokens

CONFIG_NRF70_TX_MAX_DATA_SIZE

(int) Maximum size of TX data

CONFIG_NRF70_RX_MAX_DATA_SIZE

(int) Maximum size of RX data

CONFIG_NRF70_TX_DONE_WQ_ENABLED

(bool) TX done workqueue (impacts performance negatively)

CONFIG_NRF70_RX_WQ_ENABLED

(bool) RX workqueue

CONFIG_NUM_METAIRQ_PRIORITIES

(unknown)

CONFIG_NRF70_IRQ_WQ_PRIORITY

(int) Priority of the workqueue for handling IRQs

CONFIG_NRF70_BH_WQ_PRIORITY

(int) Priority of the workqueue for handling bottom half

CONFIG_NRF70_IRQ_WQ_STACK_SIZE

(int) Stack size of the workqueue for handling IRQs

CONFIG_NRF70_BH_WQ_STACK_SIZE

(int) Stack size of the workqueue for handling bottom half

CONFIG_NRF70_TX_DONE_WQ_PRIORITY

(int) Priority of the workqueue for handling TX done

CONFIG_NRF70_TX_DONE_WQ_STACK_SIZE

(int) Stack size of the workqueue for handling TX done

CONFIG_NRF70_RX_WQ_PRIORITY

(int) Priority of the workqueue for handling RX

CONFIG_NRF70_RX_WQ_STACK_SIZE

(int) Stack size of the workqueue for handling RX

CONFIG_NRF70_RPU_PS_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS

(int) RPU power save idle timeout in milliseconds

CONFIG_NRF70_RPU_EXTEND_TWT_SP

(bool) extending TWT service period

In case frames accepted before the beginning of SP are not transmitted before the SP completes, then typically they are dropped to conform to the SP window as per the specification that is, no transmission outside SP window. This feature mitigates frame loss by transmitting even after SP completion by using a standard contention mechanism, which is allowed in specification but not recommended. As the device is actively transmitting beyond SP, the power consumption increases depending on the amount of traffic available at the start of the SP. Note that if a frame is sent after the SP starts, it will be queued, and this mechanism is not used.

CONFIG_WIFI_FIXED_MAC_ADDRESS

(string) Wi-Fi Fixed MAC address in format XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

This option overrides the MAC address read from OTP. It is strictly for testing purposes only.

CONFIG_WIFI_OTP_MAC_ADDRESS

(bool) Use MAC address from OTP

This option uses the MAC address stored in the OTP memory of the nRF70.

CONFIG_WIFI_FIXED_MAC_ADDRESS_ENABLED

(bool) fixed MAC address

Enable fixed MAC address

CONFIG_WIFI_RANDOM_MAC_ADDRESS

(bool) Random MAC address generation at runtime

This option enables random MAC address generation at runtime. The random MAC address is generated using the entropy device random generator.

CONFIG_NRF70_RSSI_STALE_TIMEOUT_MS

(int) RSSI stale timeout in milliseconds

RSSI stale timeout is the period after which the driver queries RPU to get the RSSI value. If data is active (for example, ping), the driver stores the RSSI value from the received frames and provides this stored information to wpa_supplicant. In this case, a higher value will be suitable as the stored RSSI value at the driver will be updated regularly. If data is not active or after the stale timeout duration, the driver queries the RPU to get the RSSI value and provides it to wpa_supplicant. The value should be set to a lower value as the driver does not store it and requires RPU to provide the information.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_GLOBAL_HEAP

(bool) Use Zephyr kernel heap for Wi-Fi driver

Enable this option to use K_HEAP for memory allocations in Wi-Fi driver.

CONFIG_HEAP_MEM_POOL_ADD_SIZE_NRF70

(int)

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_CTRL_HEAP_SIZE

(int) Dedicated memory pool for control plane

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_DATA_HEAP_SIZE

(int) Dedicated memory pool for data plane

CONFIG_NET_TX_STACK_SIZE

(unknown)

CONFIG_NET_RX_STACK_SIZE

(unknown)

CONFIG_NET_TC_TX_COUNT

(unknown)

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_USE_VARIABLE_NET_BUFS

(bool) Use variable network buffers

This option enables the use of variable network buffers in the nRF70 driver. Variable network buffers optimize RAM usage by allocating buffers of different sizes based on the data size. This option is enabled by default to optimize RAM usage. Samples and applications can override this option for higher performance.

CONFIG_MAIN_STACK_SIZE

(unknown)

CONFIG_SHELL_STACK_SIZE

(unknown)

CONFIG_WIFI_MGMT_SCAN_SSID_FILT_MAX

(unknown)

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_SCAN_MAX_BSS_CNT

(int) Maximum number of scan results to return.

Maximum number of scan results to return. 0 represents unlimited number of BSSes.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_BEAMFORMING

(bool) Wi-Fi beamforming. Enabling beamforming can provide a slight improvement in performance, whereas disabling it can provide better power savings in low network activity applications

CONFIG_WIFI_NRF70_SCAN_TIMEOUT_S

(int) Scan timeout in seconds

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_ALL_BAND

(bool) Set operation band to all supported bands

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_2G_BAND

(bool) Set operation band to 2.4GHz

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_5G_BAND

(bool) Set operation band to 5GHz

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_IFACE_MTU

(int) MTU for Wi-Fi interface

CONFIG_WIFI_NRF70_SKIP_LOCAL_ADMIN_MAC

(bool) Suppress networks with non-individual MAC addresses as BSSID in the scan results

Wi-Fi access points use locally administered MAC addresses to manage multiple virtual interfaces. For geo-location use cases, these networks from the virtual interfaces do not help in any way as they are co-located with the primary interface that has a globally unique MAC address. So, to save resources, this option drops such networks from the scan results.

CONFIG_WIFI_NRF70_SCAN_DISABLE_DFS_CHANNELS

(bool) Disables DFS channels in scan operation

This option disables inclusion of the DFS channels in the scan operation. This is useful to reduce the scan time, as DFS channels are seldom used.

CONFIG_NET_INTERFACE_NAME_LEN

(unknown)

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_AP_DEAD_DETECT_TIMEOUT

(int) Access point dead detection timeout in seconds

The number of seconds after which the AP is declared dead if no beacons are received from the AP. This is used to detect AP silently going down, for example, due to power off.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RPU_RECOVERY

(bool) RPU recovery mechanism

Enable the RPU recovery mechanism to recover from an RPU (nRF70) hang. This feature performs an interface reset (down and up), which triggers a RPU cold boot. The application’s network connection will be lost during the recovery process, and it is the application’s responsibility to re-establish the network connection.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RPU_RECOVERY_PROPAGATION_DELAY_MS

(int) RPU recovery propagation delay in milliseconds

Propagation delay in milliseconds to wait after RPU is powered down before powering it up. This delay is required to ensure that the recovery is propagated to all the applications and stack and have enough time to clean up the resources.

CONFIG_NET_MGMT_EVENT_QUEUE_SIZE

(unknown)

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RPU_RECOVERY_PS_ACTIVE_TIMEOUT_MS

(int) RPU recovery power save active timeout in milliseconds

Power save active timeout in milliseconds, after which the RPU recovery mechanism will be triggered. This timeout is used to ensure that the RPU attempts to enter power save mode in case of inactivity.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RPU_MIN_TIME_TO_ENTER_SLEEP_MS

(int) Minimum idle time to enter sleep in milliseconds

Minimum time the host should de-assert WAKEUP_NOW and let RPU enter sleep mode, assuming there is no activity. Please note that higher values of this value may increase the power consumption.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RPU_RECOVERY_DEBUG

(bool) RPU recovery debug logs

Enable RPU recovery debug logs to help debug the RPU recovery mechanism.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RPU_RECOVERY_QUIET_PERIOD_MS

(int) RPU recovery quiet period in milliseconds

Quiet period in milliseconds after RPU recovery is triggered. During this period, no new RPU recovery will be triggered.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RPU_RECOVERY_MAX_RETRIES

(int) Maximum number of consecutive RPU recovery retries, 0 to disable

Maximum number of consecutive RPU recovery retries before giving up and resetting the system. Set it to 0 to keep retrying indefinitely.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RPU_RECOVERY_RETRY_WINDOW_S

(int) RPU recovery retry window in seconds

Window in seconds during which the number of consecutive RPU recovery retries are counted. If the number of consecutive RPU recovery retries exceeds NRF_WIFI_RPU_RECOVERY_MAX_RETRIES within this window, the system will be reset.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RPU_RECOVERY_PS_STATE_DEBUG

(bool) RPU recovery power save state debug logs

Enable RPU recovery power save state debug logs to help debug the RPU recovery mechanism.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_FEAT_WMM

(bool) WMM/QoS support

This option controls disable/enable of the WMM (Wireless Multi-Media) feature.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_QOS_NOACK_POLICY

(bool) QoS No-ACK policy for Tx packets

Enable this option to set No-ACK policy for Tx packets with a specific TID. When enabled, all Tx frames for the configured TID will be marked with the No-ACK policy flag, indicating that the receiver should not send ACK frames for these packets. Use with caution: Enabling No-ACK for BE (Best Effort) or BK (Background) can cause link issues (ARP/IP failures due to no retries).

Recommended usage: Ideally for VI (Video) or VO (Voice) access category. The application must correctly encode TID via TOS to activate this feature.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_QOS_NOACK_POLICY_TID

(int) TID (Traffic Identifier) for No-ACK policy

Specify the TID (Traffic Identifier) for which No-ACK policy should be applied. TID values range from 0 to 7, corresponding to different QoS priority levels. All Tx frames with this TID will be marked with the No-ACK policy flag.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_PS_POLL_BASED_RETRIEVAL

(bool) PS-Poll frame-based mechanism to retrieve buffered data from AP

When the AP notifies about the availability of buffered data, the STA stays in power save and retrieves the frames one-by-one. This conserves more power but adds latency to the traffic. It is ideal for minimum number of frames.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_QOS_NULL_BASED_RETRIEVAL

(bool) QoS null frame-based mechanism to retrieve buffered data from AP

When the AP notifies about the availability of buffered data, the STA comes out of power save, and then AP can deliver all buffered frames without any additional overhead or latency, but STA enters power save after a delay costing more power depending on the delay. It is ideal for heavy buffered traffic.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_MGMT_BUFF_OFFLOAD

(bool) Management buffer offload

This option offloads the refilling of management buffers to the UMAC, saving the host from having to exchange commands and events for every management packet even if it is consumed by UMAC.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_FEAT_KEEPALIVE

(bool) Wi-Fi keepalive feature for connection maintenance

Enable the Wi-Fi keepalive feature to keep the connection alive by sending keepalive packets to the AP. This feature is primarily intended to interoperate with APs that disconnect idle clients without any explicit checks. It slightly increases power consumption.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_KEEPALIVE_PERIOD_S

(int) Keepalive period in seconds

Keepalive period in seconds to send keepalive packets to the AP.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_PS_EXIT_EVERY_TIM

(bool) Exit power save every time to retrieve buffered data from AP

Exit power save every time to retrieve buffered data from AP. Entering back to power save mode might take some time and power.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_PS_INT_PS

(bool) Exit power save based on an intelligent algorithm

Exit power save based on an intelligent algorithm to retrieve buffered data from the AP. The algorithm tracks the buffered data at the AP and then dynamically decides whether to stay in PS (for a lower amount of buffered data) or exit PS (for a higher amount of buffered data).

CONFIG_NRF70_PASSIVE_SCAN_ONLY

(bool) Forced Passive scan

Enable this configuration to force passive scan on all channels. This will override application-specified scan type.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_DISPLAY_SCAN_BSS_LIMIT

(int) Display scan bss limit

Number of BSS entries in scan result.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_COEX_DISABLE_PRIORITY_WINDOW_FOR_SCAN

(bool) Force disable priority window for scan in the case of coexistence with Short Range radio

Enable this configuration to disable priority window for scan in the case of coexistence with Short Range radio.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_DISPLAY_SCAN_ABORT_ON_BSS_LIMIT

(bool) Abort scan when display BSS limit is reached

Enable this configuration to abort display scan when the BSS limit is reached.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_ZERO_COPY_TX

(bool) Zero copy Transmit path [EXPERIMENTAL]

Enable this configuration to use zero copy Transmit path. The driver will use the network buffer directly for transmission without copying the data to the driver’s buffer. This reduces the driver heap memory usage without much impact on the performance.

The application should configure the network buffers to ensure that the whole packet fits in a single buffer, else the driver will fallback to the normal copy path, but the memory requirements would still match to the zero copy path and may be sub-optimal for the normal copy path.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_MAX_PS_POLL_FAIL_CNT

(int) Maximum number of PS-Poll failures

Maximum number of PS-Poll failures before entering qos null-based power save.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_RX_STBC_HT

(bool) Receive packets encoded with STBC in HT (Wi-Fi4) mode

Receive packets encoded with STBC (Space-Time Block Coding) in HT (Wi-Fi4) mode.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_DYNAMIC_BANDWIDTH_SIGNALLING

(bool) Dynamic bandwidth signalling for Wi-Fi

This option enables support for dynamic bandwidth signalling.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_DYNAMIC_ED

(bool) Dynamic ED

This option enables support for proprietary algorithm to enhance performance in high-traffic channels.

CONFIG_NRF_WIFI_TWT_SETUP_TIMEOUT_MS

(int) TWT setup timeout (ms)

Timeout duration (in milliseconds) for the TWT setup procedure. The STA will transmit a TWT setup request every 100 milliseconds, continuing until this timeout value is reached. If no response is received before the timeout expires, the TWT setup is considered failed.

Devicetree specification configuration 

The maximum transmit power achieved on an nRF70 Series device-based product depends on the frequency band and operating channel. This varies across different Printed Circuit Board (PCB) designs.

Multiple calibrations and checks are implemented to ensure consistency across channels and devices. However, these values depend on PCB design, which may result in Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) and spectral mask failures. To avoid this problem, you can specify the power ceiling at which the EVM and spectral mask are met for a given PCB design. Additionally, build-time parameters are made available to drivers through the DTS overlay file.

The following code snippet shows an example of the DTS overlay file. Note that the numbers used in this following example do not represent any particular PCB design or package type.

You must replace these values with measurements obtained from transmitter testing on your own PCB designs. The values are represented in 1 dB increments. To configure 15 dBm, use the value 15.

&nrf70 {
   wifi-max-tx-pwr-2g-dsss = <21>;
   wifi-max-tx-pwr-2g-mcs0 = <16>;
   wifi-max-tx-pwr-2g-mcs7 = <16>;
   wifi-max-tx-pwr-5g-low-mcs0 = <14>;
   wifi-max-tx-pwr-5g-low-mcs7 = <14>;
   wifi-max-tx-pwr-5g-mid-mcs0 = <14>;
   wifi-max-tx-pwr-5g-mid-mcs7 = <14>;
   wifi-max-tx-pwr-5g-high-mcs0 = <14>;
   wifi-max-tx-pwr-5g-high-mcs7 = <14>;
};

See the DTS binding documentation for more information.

TX power calculation 

This section describes how to determine the accurate transmit (TX) power on the nRF70 Series development platforms. The driver will always attempt to set the TX power to the maximum supported level, while ensuring the following constraints are met:

EVM and Spectral Emission Mask (SEM) for the modulation type or data rate (IEEE 802.11 requirement).
In-band regulatory power limits (FCC and CE certification requirements).
Out-of-band regulatory power limits (FCC and CE certification requirements).

You can calculate the TX power by using the following formula:

\[\begin{aligned} \text{TX power} = \min \left( (P_{\text{reg}} - \text{AntGain}), P_{\text{max}} \right) - \text{EdgeBackoff} \end{aligned}\]

where the following parameters are used:

$P_\text{reg}$ is the applicable regulatory power limit, as described in Operating with regulatory support.
AntGain is the compensation for the antenna gain in the TX direction, as described in Antenna gain compensation.
EdgeBackoff is the backoff applied to band edge channels, as described in Band edge compensation.
$P_\text{max} = min (P_\text{ps} , P_\text{max-tx-pwr})$
$P_\text{ps}$ is the maximum power level for the package type, modulation, and band as described in Electrical specification for nRF7002.
$P_\text{max-tx-pwr}$ is the sub-band power limit, dependent on the PCB design.