since it was included in the Linux kernel anyway I (apparently
wrongly) thought I didn't have to install any packages. After
downloading and installing the required firmware:
$ sudo dpkg --install firmware-atheros_20210315-3_all.deb
Selecting previously unselected package firmware-atheros.
(Reading database ... 233435 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack firmware-atheros_20210315-3_all.deb ...
Unpacking firmware-atheros (20210315-3) ...
Setting up firmware-atheros (20210315-3) ...
$
I see:
$ sudo dmesg | grep firmware
[ 1.357329] i915 0000:00:02.0: firmware: failed to load
i915/icl_dmc_ver1_09.bin (-2)
[ 1.357334] firmware_class: See https://wiki.debian.org/Firmware
for information about missing firmware
[ 1.357338] i915 0000:00:02.0: Direct firmware load for
i915/icl_dmc_ver1_09.bin failed with error -2
[ 1.357341] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Failed to load DMC firmware
i915/icl_dmc_ver1_09.bin. Disabling runtime power management.
[ 1.357342] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] DMC firmware homepage:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/i915
[ 44.920667] platform regulatory.0: firmware: direct-loading
firmware regulatory.db
[ 44.920819] platform regulatory.0: firmware: direct-loading
firmware regulatory.db.p7s
[ 48.091722] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/pre-cal-pci-0000:02:00.0.bin (-2)
[ 48.091761] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/cal-pci-0000:02:00.0.bin (-2)
[ 48.091783] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-6.bin (-2)
[ 48.091804] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-5.bin (-2)
[ 48.091825] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-4.bin (-2)
[ 48.091844] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-3.bin (-2)
[ 48.091865] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-2.bin (-2)
[ 48.091870] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: Failed to find firmware-N.bin
(N between 2 and 6) from ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0: -2
[ 48.091874] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: could not fetch firmware files (-2)
[ 88.181411] r8169 0000:01:00.0: firmware: failed to load
rtl_nic/rtl8106e-1.fw (-2)
[ 88.181497] r8169 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for
rtl_nic/rtl8106e-1.fw failed with error -2
[ 88.181513] r8169 0000:01:00.0: Unable to load firmware
rtl_nic/rtl8106e-1.fw (-2)
$
An easier way to check is: sudo dmesg | grep wlan
[ 9.760888] rtw_8822ce 0000:02:00.0 wlo1: renamed from wlan0
but I am not sure if those dmesgs relating to the kind of card I have
(QCA9377) were from the initial start of DL (I am running a long
process I should not stop to test that), but I am sure you will easily
make sense of it.
Why would the installation of that firmware fail and how do I fix or
troubleshoot that more in depth?
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-6.bin (-2)
[ 48.091804] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-5.bin (-2)
[ 48.091825] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-4.bin (-2)
[ 48.091844] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-3.bin (-2)
[ 48.091865] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: firmware: failed to load
ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0/firmware-2.bin (-2)
[ 48.091870] ath10k_pci 0000:02:00.0: Failed to find firmware-N.bin
(N between 2 and 6) from ath10k/QCA9377/hw1.0: -2
It looks like your hardware is not supported by the firmware. If you are installing Debian 11 you can try backports, but as debian 12 will be out in the next few months I would just install Debian 12.
I am running Bookworm on two of my PC's. My notebook because it does not have working drivers for HDMI Sound or my WiFi in Debian 11 and my set top box so I can use KDE Plasma Big Screen.
Tim