Install FreeBSD on new Raptop Lake intel, no ethernet... need Wlan0 drivers

drop1spot · Friday at 6:03 PM

~~~~~> Longtime Solaris User, 1st time FreeBSD <~~~~~

Got a new laptop, played around with linux to simplify removing Windoz... Now that I've installed FreeBSD, not necessarily a "BUG", but creates a similar problematic situation.

1. No way to install drivers during setup <~~ Even if I had thought ahead to get Wlan0 drivers before install, I brain farted and believed supported, would include base drivers to install
"Raptor lake pch cnvi wifi"
"Alderlake pch serial IO i2c controller"

2. I have open public wifi at library w/out captive portal, but no ethernet... On another box, I cannot download these necesary
"wget https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-kmod-*.txz
wget https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-firmware-*.txz" fails

sudo wget https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-kmod-*.txz
wget https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-firmware-*.txz
[sudo] password for joe:
Warning: wildcards not supported in HTTP.
--2026-05-22 10:58:47-- https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-kmod-*.txz
Resolving pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)... 163.237.194.42, 2001:4978:1000:1395::50:2
Connecting to pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)|163.237.194.42|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 404 Not Found
2026-05-22 10:58:48 ERROR 404: Not Found.

Warning: wildcards not supported in HTTP.
--2026-05-22 10:58:48-- https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-firmware-*.txz
Resolving pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)... 163.237.194.42, 2001:4978:1000:1395::50:2
Connecting to pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)|163.237.194.42|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 404 Not Found
2026-05-22 10:58:48 ERROR 404: Not Found.

joe@Mac:~/Downloads/Freebsd$ wget -r -np -nd -A "iwlwifi*.txz" https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/
--2026-05-22 11:15:16-- https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/
Resolving pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)... 163.237.194.42, 2001:4978:1000:1395::50:2
Connecting to pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)|163.237.194.42|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 403 Forbidden
2026-05-22 11:15:17 ERROR 403: Forbidden.

3. Then I tried after getting actual pkg names:

wget https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-kmod-20240930_2.pkg
wget https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-firmware-20240930.pkg
--2026-05-22 11:24:41-- https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-kmod-20240930_2.pkg
Resolving pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)... 163.237.194.42, 2001:4978:1000:1395::50:2
Connecting to pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)|163.237.194.42|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 404 Not Found
2026-05-22 11:24:41 ERROR 404: Not Found.

--2026-05-22 11:24:41-- https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:15:amd64/latest/All/iwlwifi-firmware-20240930.pkg
Resolving pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)... 163.237.194.42, 2001:4978:1000:1395::50:2
Connecting to pkg.freebsd.org (pkg.freebsd.org)|163.237.194.42|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 404 Not Found
2026-05-22 11:24:41 ERROR 404: Not Found.

4. Th laptop uses Intel “Raptor Lake / Alder Lake CNVi Wi‑Fi” — which means it has an Intel AX201 or AX211 Wi‑Fi 6 chipset.

FreeBSD cannot create wlan0 because AX201/AX211 Wi‑Fi does not work out‑of‑the‑box and requires downloading drivers that are not included on the installation media.

4. Helppppppppppppp me... but maybe due to evolving tech hardware, the installer should be modified to allow for manual install of drivers not on install dvd?

I'm at the point of creating my own repository and pointing it at the driver on thumbdrive but cannot downlaod?? Or do I go backwards to FreeBSD 14 ?

Please give some guidance here or ping me directly drop1spot [at] Gmail...