5 ms·

Why would it affect your PC? Should not they just lock down wi-fi module if they want? I fail to see much difference between installing alternative OS on your

Why would it affect your PC? Should not they just lock down wi-fi module if they want? I fail to see much difference between installing alternative OS on your PC and installing third-party software.

mcbridematt 11y ago
Most radio modules would have an embedded firmware that in addition to the radio handling, should enforce regulatory constraints (i.e preventing the use of 5GHz DFS channels if radar use is detected). Building these firmware images is something you are (usually) only equipped to do under NDAs from the silicon manufacturer (or only done by request from the manufacturer). My understanding (and what I have gathered from previous threads on the subject) is the FCC is going after the embedded radio firmwares, and mistakenly (or due to extreme lack of knowledge) named OpenWRT,DD-WRT as offenders. Otherwise, the effect of this would be to outlaw PCIe and USB WiFi, Bluetooth etc. cards/adaptors unless sold inside a computer with a locked bootloader.
- jdiez17 11y ago
  It would only take a motherboard with a PCIe slot and an unlocked bootloader to circumvent that strategy. You would use it to flash the firmware in whatever device you want to unlock and then use it on the computer with the locked bootloader.
- the_ancient 11y ago
  >Otherwise, the effect of this would be to outlaw PCIe and USB WiFi, Bluetooth etc. cards/adaptors unless sold inside a computer with a locked bootloader. Lenovo already does this for laptops, you have to use a Whitelist Wifi card, they claim it is to comply with existing regulations from the FCC, which this will expand.
ignisf 11y ago
Laptops for example have an FCC label (take a look at the bottom of yours) as they have radio equipment on them in the form of a Bluetooth adapter/Wi-Fi adapter/3g modem.
- tzs 11y ago
  If you look up that FCC ID, however, it will usually turn out to not be the ID of the laptop. It will be the ID of the wifi adaptor, and it was the wifi adaptor maker that got the certification, not the laptop maker. It is that wifi adaptor maker that is responsible for ensuring that the radio stays in compliance. The laptop maker generally will only need to deal with the rules from part 15B, unintentional radiators. The laptop maker won't have to lock down the laptop OS.
  - grapeshot 11y ago
    Most laptop manufacturers now have a whitelist in the BIOS to prevent the use of wireless adapters that didn't ship with the machine. (Lenovo, HP and Toshiba definitely do this.) Up until Sandy Bridge it was usually possible to patch this out with a modified BIOS update but now laptop BIOSes are signed and this is not possible.

Why would it affect your PC? Should not they just lock down wi-fi module if they want? I fail to see much difference between installing alternative OS on your PC and installing third-party software.

mcbridematt 11y ago

Most radio modules would have an embedded firmware that in addition to the radio handling, should enforce regulatory constraints (i.e preventing the use of 5GHz DFS channels if radar use is detected). Building these firmware images is something you are (usually) only equipped to do under NDAs from the silicon manufacturer (or only done by request from the manufacturer). My understanding (and what I have gathered from previous threads on the subject) is the FCC is going after the embedded radio firmwares, and mistakenly (or due to extreme lack of knowledge) named OpenWRT,DD-WRT as offenders. Otherwise, the effect of this would be to outlaw PCIe and USB WiFi, Bluetooth etc. cards/adaptors unless sold inside a computer with a locked bootloader.

jdiez17 11y ago
It would only take a motherboard with a PCIe slot and an unlocked bootloader to circumvent that strategy. You would use it to flash the firmware in whatever device you want to unlock and then use it on the computer with the locked bootloader.
the_ancient 11y ago
>Otherwise, the effect of this would be to outlaw PCIe and USB WiFi, Bluetooth etc. cards/adaptors unless sold inside a computer with a locked bootloader. Lenovo already does this for laptops, you have to use a Whitelist Wifi card, they claim it is to comply with existing regulations from the FCC, which this will expand.

ignisf 11y ago

Laptops for example have an FCC label (take a look at the bottom of yours) as they have radio equipment on them in the form of a Bluetooth adapter/Wi-Fi adapter/3g modem.

tzs 11y ago
If you look up that FCC ID, however, it will usually turn out to not be the ID of the laptop. It will be the ID of the wifi adaptor, and it was the wifi adaptor maker that got the certification, not the laptop maker. It is that wifi adaptor maker that is responsible for ensuring that the radio stays in compliance. The laptop maker generally will only need to deal with the rules from part 15B, unintentional radiators. The laptop maker won't have to lock down the laptop OS.
- grapeshot 11y ago
  Most laptop manufacturers now have a whitelist in the BIOS to prevent the use of wireless adapters that didn't ship with the machine. (Lenovo, HP and Toshiba definitely do this.) Up until Sandy Bridge it was usually possible to patch this out with a modified BIOS update but now laptop BIOSes are signed and this is not possible.