kernel/rv1106: M5 wifi VERIFIED on c8a3 — wlan0 scan works (module build)

On-hardware proof (self-built 6.18.46, _b slot): aic8800 modules load,
download firmware, wlan0 up ([device-mac]), iw scan finds real APs
incl. SSID BlueFlare @ -43dBm. RF path fully functional. See
wifi/VERIFIED-on-c8a3.md.

Two changes from the initial built-in attempt:
- Built-in =y DEADLOCKS: aicbsp_init's eager SDIO bring-up (device_initcall,
  sequential) blocks the dw_mmc controller probe that would enumerate the
  card it waits for (aicsdio.c:597 2s down_timeout -> unregister). Converted
  to modules (=m): AIC_WLAN_SUPPORT bool->tristate; loaded late, after the
  mmc-pwrseq enumerates the card — the vendor-proven flow.
- Restored fdrv's own md5.o (each .ko needs its own MD5; bsp doesn't export
  it). Refreshed kbuild snapshot accordingly.

Kernel-size fix (CONFIG_KERNEL_GZIP -> XZ): the wifi kernel's 12.12MB gzip
zImage overran U-Boot's DTB-at-0xc00000 load boundary (Sysmem Error, FLARE-AB
fell back to _a). XZ -> 8.15MB, ~4MB headroom; also correct for a firmware
kernel. Uncompressed Image ~30MB but the ARM decompressor relocates the FDT
at runtime, so only the U-Boot load-time overlap mattered.

DRIVER-PARITY: wifi ✅ M5; BT 🔨 (module built, HCI not yet exercised).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_017wB8KB3MMQztRDXCMCkPrf

kernel/rv1106-enablement/DRIVER-PARITY.md

@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ c8a3, not just compiled.
 | RGB666 720×720 panel | — | panel-dpi | 🔨 probes; bus_format + connector WIP |
 | GT911 touch (goodix) | goodix, gt911 | mainline | ⬜ M4 (needs GPIO_SYSFS ✅ + node) |
 | GPIO_SYSFS / crypto / CFG80211 | — | mainline (config) | ✅ =y (batch2) |
-| AIC8800 wifi (bsp/fdrv) | aic8800_* | **out-of-tree** | ⬜ M5 |
-| AIC8800 BT (btlpm) | aic8800_btlpm | **out-of-tree** | ⬜ M5 |
+| AIC8800 wifi (bsp/fdrv) | aic8800_* | **out-of-tree** | ✅ M5 — wlan0 up, scanned the site AP at −43dBm (modules, `wifi/VERIFIED-on-c8a3.md`) |
+| AIC8800 BT (btlpm) | aic8800_btlpm | **out-of-tree** | 🔨 module built (6.18 vermagic); HCI bring-up not yet exercised |
 | NPU (rknpu, ff660000) | rknpu, ff660000.npu | **out-of-tree** | ⬜ M6 — plan: `npu/PORT-PLAN.md` |
 | RGA 2D (rga2) | rga2 | ported (vendor char-dev) | ✅ /dev/rga, hw 3.3.87975 |
 | I2S audio (i2s-tdm) | i2s | rv1126 fallback | 🔨 DAI built; needs acodec+card |

kernel/rv1106-enablement/wifi/VERIFIED-on-c8a3.md

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+# AIC8800 wifi — VERIFIED on warden-c8a3 (self-built 6.18.46), 2026-08-25
+
+**Result: wifi works end-to-end on our self-built Linux 6.18.46.** Modules built
+from the ported source (vermagic `6.18.46 SMP mod_unload ARMv7 p2v8`), loaded on
+the panel, downloaded firmware to the AIC8800DC, created `wlan0`, and completed a
+live RF scan.
+
+## Evidence (serial console, _b slot = our 6.18 kernel)
+- `insmod aic8800_bsp.ko`  → firmware download OK: `aicwf_patch_config_8800dc done`,
+  `Start app: 00120000`, BSP_RC=0.
+- `insmod aic8800_fdrv.ko` → `ieee80211 phy0: HT supp 1, VHT supp 1, HE supp 1`,
+  FDRV_RC=0.
+- `wlan0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> ... link/ether [device-mac]`
+- `iw dev wlan0 scan` found real APs:
+  - **the site AP  [bssid]  2412 MHz  −43 dBm**
+  - a neighboring guest AP  [bssid]  2412 MHz  −73 dBm
+  - +several more, correct signal strengths → RF path fully functional.
+
+## Why MODULES, not built-in (=y)
+Built-in device_initcalls run BEFORE the dw_mmc/SDIO controller probes. Initcalls
+are sequential: `aicbsp_init` blocked 3.3–7.5 s doing the eager chip bring-up, and
+the mmc controller only probed at 7.9 s (SDIO card at 8.2 s) — AFTER aicbsp had
+already given up (`aicsdio.c:597` 2 s `down_timeout` → `sdio_unregister_driver`).
+Extending the timeout can't help (aicbsp blocks the very mmc probe that would
+enumerate the card — a deadlock). Loaded as modules AFTER boot (mmc up, card at
+4 s), `insmod aic8800_bsp` registers the SDIO driver against an already-present
+card → probe fires immediately → firmware download → fdrv → wlan0. This is the
+vendor-proven flow.
+
+## Kernel-size fix (needed to boot the wifi kernel at all)
+The wifi kernel grew the gzip zImage to 12.12 MB; rockchip U-Boot loads the kernel
+blob at 0x8000 and relocates the DTB to 0xc00000 (12 MB), so a >~11.95 MB zImage
+overruns the FDT at U-Boot load time (`Sysmem Error: KERNEL overlap with FDT`) and
+FLARE-AB falls back to _a. Switched `CONFIG_KERNEL_GZIP` → `CONFIG_KERNEL_XZ`:
+zImage 12.12 MB → 8.15 MB (module build), ~4 MB headroom under the FDT. Also the
+right call for a firmware kernel. (Uncompressed Image is ~30 MB; the ARM
+decompressor relocates the FDT at runtime, so only the U-Boot LOAD-time overlap
+mattered — proven by the kernel booting once the zImage fit.)
+
+## Boot-time auto-load (follow-up, deployment layer — not the kernel port)
+Modules were insmod'd manually for this verify. Production auto-load needs a
+loader that inserts `aic8800_bsp.ko` → `aic8800_fdrv.ko` (→ `aic8800_btlpm.ko`) in
+order from wherever they're staged; the vendor `insmod_wifi.sh` references a
+different variant (`aic_load_fw.ko`/`bcmdhd.ko`, absent here). Track in the rootfs.

kernel/rv1106-enablement/wifi/kbuild/aic8800/Kconfig

@@ -5,15 +5,22 @@
 # Ported from the vendor 5.10.160 out-of-tree source
 # (flare-edge/sdk/sysdrv/drv_ko/wifi/aic8800dc/) — see
 # warden-sdk/kernel/rv1106-enablement/wifi/PORT-PLAN.md and PORT-PROGRESS.md.
-# Built-in only (=y): the 6.18 rootfs has no working module-loading pipeline
-# yet, so these default to y rather than the vendor's default-n/tristate.
+# Modules (=m), loaded late by /oem/usr/ko/insmod_wifi.sh: the AIC8800 SDIO
+# bring-up is two-stage (bsp downloads firmware, chip re-enumerates, fdrv
+# attaches). Built-in device_initcalls run BEFORE the dw_mmc/SDIO controller
+# probes — initcalls are sequential, so aicbsp_init blocks [3.3-7.5]s while the
+# mmc controller only probes at [7.9]s afterward, and the eager bring-up
+# deadlocks (it waits for a card the blocked mmc probe hasn't enumerated).
+# Late module load, after the mmc-pwrseq enumerates the card, is the
+# vendor-proven flow. See PORT-PROGRESS.md.
 
 config AIC_WLAN_SUPPORT
-	bool "AIC wireless Support"
-	default y
+	tristate "AIC wireless Support"
+	default m
 	help
 	  This is support for the AIC wireless chip (AIC8800DC SDIO combo
-	  wifi+BT on the WardenOS 86-Panel).
+	  wifi+BT on the WardenOS 86-Panel). Build as a module (m); built-in
+	  deadlocks the two-stage SDIO bring-up (see note above).
 
 config AIC_FW_PATH
 	depends on AIC_WLAN_SUPPORT

kernel/rv1106-enablement/wifi/kbuild/aic8800/aic8800_fdrv/Makefile

@@ -10,12 +10,13 @@
 # restored: rwnx_tx.c's NL80211_IFTYPE_MESH_POINT switch-case is not
 # preprocessor-gated, so rwnx_mesh.h's types/prototypes are needed to
 # compile even though this board never creates a mesh-type interface.
-# md5.o is dropped from THIS module's object list only: it is byte-identical
-# to aic8800_bsp's
-# md5.c (same non-static MD5Init/MD5Update/... symbols) and, unlike the
-# old separate .ko world, both drivers now link into one vmlinux — keeping
-# both objects would be a multiple-definition link error. aic8800_bsp
-# links first (../Makefile) so fdrv's calls resolve against its md5.o.
+# md5.o: fdrv carries its OWN copy (vendor ships md5.c in both aic8800_bsp/ and
+# aic8800_fdrv/). As separate modules each .ko needs its own MD5 — bsp does not
+# EXPORT_SYMBOL(MD5Init/...), so fdrv.ko cannot resolve them from aic8800_bsp.ko
+# (modpost: "MD5Final undefined"). The two copies are byte-identical and live in
+# separate module namespaces, so there is no collision. (When these were briefly
+# built =y this object was dropped to avoid a vmlinux multiple-definition; the
+# module build restores it.)
 
 ccflags-y += -DCONFIG_RWNX_FULLMAC
 ccflags-y += -DAICWF_SDIO_SUPPORT
@@ -60,6 +61,7 @@ ccflags-y += -Wno-implicit-fallthrough -Wno-unused-function -Wno-unused-variable
 
 obj-$(CONFIG_AIC8800_WLAN_SUPPORT) += aic8800_fdrv.o
 aic8800_fdrv-y := \
+	md5.o \
 	rwnx_msg_tx.o \
 	rwnx_msg_rx.o \
 	rwnx_utils.o \