linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v2 ath-current 2/2] dt-bindings: net: wireless: ath11k-pci: remove obsolete firmware-name property

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Message-ID: <2e707d63-ead2-447e-bc90-e2bbdd995020@oss.qualcomm.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2026 21:17:04 +0800
From: Miaoqing Pan <miaoqing.pan@....qualcomm.com>
To: Krzysztof Kozlowski <krzk@...nel.org>, jjohnson@...nel.org,
        johannes@...solutions.net, robh@...nel.org, krzk+dt@...nel.org,
        conor+dt@...nel.org
Cc: ath11k@...ts.infradead.org, linux-wireless@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, devicetree@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 ath-current 2/2] dt-bindings: net: wireless:
 ath11k-pci: remove obsolete firmware-name property



On 1/19/2026 3:08 PM, Krzysztof Kozlowski wrote:
> On 19/01/2026 02:34, Miaoqing Pan wrote:
>>
>>
>> On 1/13/2026 3:28 PM, Krzysztof Kozlowski wrote:
>>> On 14/12/2025 03:52, Miaoqing Pan wrote:
>>>> The firmware-name property was introduced to allow end-users and
>>>> integrators to select usecase specific firmware for the WCN6855.
>>>> However, specifying firmware for an M.2 WLAN module in the Device
>>>> Tree is not appropriate. Instead, this functionality will be handled
>>>> within the ath11k driver.
>>>>
>>>> The driver has removed all support for firmware-name, and no upstream
>>>> Device Tree files reference this property. Therefore, this patch
>>>> removes the property from the binding and marks it as obsolete.
>>>
>>> No, it does not mark it obsolete. Point me to the place.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> This is a DT ABI-breaking change, but safe since there are no in-tree
>>>> users.
>>>
>>> It's not safe. What about my board using this WiFi? Or Mr. foo's board?
>>>
>>> Still NAK, you did not improve it.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> I think it’s necessary to clarify the background here. As you can see
>> from the git log, all changes related to ath11k firmware-name were
>> submitted by me, and the intention was to allow the lemans-evk,
>> monaco-evk, and hamoa-iot-evk boards to specify dedicated firmware for
>> the WCN6855 Wi-Fi chip. However, the Wi-Fi‑related DTS nodes for these
>> boards have never been submitted upstream, because adding a
>> firmware-name property for an M.2 device is not appropriate and would be
>> difficult for the community to accept. Therefore, the original approach
>> was abandoned.
> 
> You added new ABI which can be used by anyone and your commit did not
> help me to understand the impact on other users of this ABI.
> 
>>
>> The alternative solution is to propose a static lookup table that maps
>> device compatibles to firmware names. As a result, we have not submitted
>> any DTS patches adding firmware-name for those boards to date. This is
>> why I believe that removing firmware-name from the bindings is safe.
>>
>> If this explanation is still not sufficient, please let me know what
>> additional steps are required for accepting these two patches. Thank you.
> 
> You need to deprecate the property and keep the ABI backwards compatible.
> 

Ok, will update in v3.