17.01.1/2/3 QCA988x ath10k 5GHz firmware crashed - zyxel nbg6716

Hi, i upgraded from CC15.05 to the latest release LEDE17.07.1 and my the 5Ghz radio is not coming up.
The 5Ghz worked fine (with some minor stability issues) with Chaos Calmer.

any suggestions? (there's no board-2.bin under /lib/firmware.... but that seems normal?)

my device is a ZYXEL NBG6716 (supposedly similar to an Archer C7v2)
the following dmesg snippet shows the failure.

[   14.783881] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: pci irq legacy oper_irq_mode 1 irq_mode 0 reset_mode 0
[   15.000294] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/pre-cal-pci-0000:01:00.0.bin failed with error -2
[   15.011181] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
[   15.090655] firmware ath10k!pre-cal-pci-0000:01:00.0.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
[   15.299839] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: qca988x hw2.0 target 0x4100016c chip_id 0x043202ff sub 0000:0000
[   15.309251] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 0 dfs 1 testmode 1
[   15.322304] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware ver 10.2.4-1.0-00016 api 5 features no-p2p,raw-mode,mfp crc32 0c5668f8
[   15.333090] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/board-2.bin failed with error -2
[   15.343695] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
[   15.423744] firmware ath10k!QCA988X!hw2.0!board-2.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
[   15.442629] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: board_file api 1 bmi_id N/A crc32 bebc7c08
[   16.551704] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: **firmware crashed!** (uuid 68334050-5a5e-48bf-bccc-87f25cba960e)
[   16.560832] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: qca988x hw2.0 target 0x4100016c chip_id 0x043202ff sub 0000:0000
[   16.570194] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 0 dfs 1 testmode 1
[   16.583244] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware ver 10.2.4-1.0-00016 api 5 features no-p2p,raw-mode,mfp crc32 0c5668f8
[   16.593975] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: board_file api 1 bmi_id N/A crc32 bebc7c08
[   16.601395] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt-ver 0.0 wmi-op 5 htt-op 2 cal file max-sta 128 raw 0 hwcrypto 1
[   16.613031] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware register dump:
[   16.618783] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [00]: 0x4100016C 0x000015B3 0x009BA6A2 0x00955B31
[   16.626822] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [04]: 0x009BA6A2 0x00060130 0x0000001D 0x00000000
[   16.634857] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [08]: 0xFFFFFFFF 0x00401F6A 0x0000096C 0xFFFFFFFF
[   16.642883] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [12]: 0x00000009 0x00000000 0x009BAB4C 0x009BABA7
[   16.650916] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [16]: 0x00958080 0x0094E9B1 0x00000000 0x00000000
[   16.658951] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [20]: 0x409BA6A2 0x0040AA24 0x0040AAD4 0x00000001
[   16.666985] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [24]: 0x809BB189 0x0040AA84 0x0040EE0C 0xC09BA6A2
[   16.675020] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [28]: 0x809BB612 0x0040AAB4 0x000000E2 0x00000001
[   16.683047] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [32]: 0x80984880 0x0040ABA4 0x0040EE3C 0x0000003F
[   16.691089] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [36]: 0x8098FBA5 0x0040ABE4 0x0040E270 0x004062DC
[   16.699131] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [40]: 0x8098A79E 0x0040AC34 0x0040AC94 0x004062DC
[   16.707166] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [44]: 0x80988785 0x0040AC94 0x00410670 0x00400000
[   16.715200] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [48]: 0x8098AE78 0x0040AD44 0x00410670 0x00000001
[   16.723227] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [52]: 0x809B66F0 0x0040AD84 0x00410670 0x00411254
[   16.731269] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [56]: 0x809B2868 0x0040ADA4 0x00400000 0x00416EB4
[   21.543818] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: wmi unified ready event not received
[   21.646943] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not init core (-145)
[   21.653075] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not probe fw (-145)
[   21.664514] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: cannot restart a device that hasn't been started

Not sure if it's related but I can't get the 5 Ghz radios up on my D-Link DGL-5500 either. Ended up posting a bug report with whatever was in dmesg.

Hmm... This is interesting. I used to have an issue with my Archer C7 v2 on Chaos Calmer where the firmware would cause the ath10k driver to crash when a certain device in connected over a longer period of time. With the latest firmware in LEDE 17.01 it seems my problem has gone away (I'm testing the firmware for a couple of weeks now and haven't seen any crash, but even with older firmwares it could take sometimes 2-4 weeks for the crash to occur, so I will wait a while longer before I'd say I'm confident it's fixed).

Anyway, you might try the ath10k-ct firmware (and possibly the ath10k-ct driver as well) to see if that helps. There are packages for the ct driver and firmware in the repository. You have to uninstall the standard ath10k firmware first, though, otherwise the driver will still use the standard firmware.

thanks @silentcreek for the tip on the -ct firmware, i gave that a go but still crashing... just more verbosely :slight_smile:

@Larz1695 , what is the right procedure for filing a bug report?

for those who can make sense of this, the relevant section of the log:

Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   15.991374] ath10k driver, optimized for CT firmware, probing pci.
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   15.998923] PCI: Enabling device 0000:01:00.0 (0000 -> 0002)
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   16.004876] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: pci irq legacy oper_irq_mode 1 irq_mode 0 reset_mode 0
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   16.115573] EXT4-fs (sda1): mounted filesystem without journal. Opts: 
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.220291] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/pre-cal-pci-0000:01:00.0.bin failed with error -2
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.231178] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   16.309980] firmware ath10k!pre-cal-pci-0000:01:00.0.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.322702] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/fwcfg-pci-0000:01:00.0.txt failed with error -2
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.333430] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   16.483479] firmware ath10k!fwcfg-pci-0000:01:00.0.txt: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.502812] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-5.bin failed with error -2
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.513707] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   16.656794] firmware ath10k!QCA988X!hw2.0!firmware-5.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   16.666061] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-5.bin': -11
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.676241] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-4.bin failed with error -2
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.687110] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   16.839245] firmware ath10k!QCA988X!hw2.0!firmware-4.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   16.848512] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-4.bin': -11
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.858690] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-3.bin failed with error -2
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   16.869560] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   17.020761] firmware ath10k!QCA988X!hw2.0!firmware-3.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   17.030028] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-3.bin': -11
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   17.152659] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: qca988x hw2.0 target 0x4100016c chip_id 0x043202ff sub 0000:0000
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   17.162062] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 0 dfs 1 testmode 0
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   17.174406] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware ver 10.1.467-ct-_fW-019-647197c api 2 features wmi-10.x,has-wmi-mgmt-tx,txstatus-noack,wmi-10.x-CT,ratemask-CT crc32 ce5082a8
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   17.190041] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/board-2.bin failed with error -2
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   17.200645] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   17.280425] firmware ath10k!QCA988X!hw2.0!board-2.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   17.293109] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: board_file api 1 bmi_id N/A crc32 bebc7c08
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   18.216205] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: 10.1 wmi init: vdevs: 16  peers: 127  tid: 256
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.224910] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware crashed! (uuid 44fc9f0a-8adb-4077-ae4e-82113c83f387)
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   18.234031] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: qca988x hw2.0 target 0x4100016c chip_id 0x043202ff sub 0000:0000
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   18.243382] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 0 dfs 1 testmode 0
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   18.255705] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware ver 10.1.467-ct-_fW-019-647197c api 2 features wmi-10.x,has-wmi-mgmt-tx,txstatus-noack,wmi-10.x-CT,ratemask-CT,regdump-CT,txrate-CT,flush-all-CT,pingpong-CT,ch-regs-CT,nop-CT,set-special-CT crc32 ce5082a8
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   18.278224] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: board_file api 1 bmi_id N/A crc32 bebc7c08
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   18.285650] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt-ver 0.0 wmi-op 2 htt-op 2 cal file max-sta 128 raw 0 hwcrypto 1
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.297288] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware register dump:
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.303030] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [00]: 0x4100016C 0x000015B3 0x009B1635 0x00955B31
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.311074] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [04]: 0x009B1635 0x00060130 0x0000001D 0x009BAB8B
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.319114] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [08]: 0xFFFFFFFF 0x00401F6A 0x0000096C 0xFFFFFFFF
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.327147] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [12]: 0x00000009 0x00000000 0x009B1AD1 0x009B1B29
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.335182] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [16]: 0x00958080 0x0094085D 0x00000000 0x00000000
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.343210] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [20]: 0x409B1635 0x0040AA44 0x0040AAF4 0x00000001
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.351251] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [24]: 0x809B21C2 0x0040AAA4 0x00401F7E 0xC09B1635
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.359290] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [28]: 0x809B2676 0x0040AAD4 0x00401CC0 0x000000E2
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.367329] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [32]: 0x8098494F 0x0040ABC4 0x0040E07C 0x0000003F
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.375362] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [36]: 0x8098ED6F 0x0040AC04 0x0040D4B0 0x004062DC
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.383391] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [40]: 0x809892DD 0x0040AC54 0x0040ACB4 0x00400000
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.391431] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [44]: 0x809887C9 0x0040ACA4 0x0040F7B8 0x00400000
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.399463] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [48]: 0x809897B4 0x0040AD44 0x0040F7B8 0x00000001
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.407500] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [52]: 0x809AD74A 0x0040AD84 0x0040F7B8 0x0000A000
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.415535] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [56]: 0x809AA392 0x0040ADA4 0x00400000 0x00414F44
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   18.425582] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: debug log header, dbuf: 0x412598  dropped: 0
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   18.434191] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [0] next: 0x4125b0 buf: 0x4103fc sz: 1500 len: 56 count: 2 free: 0
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.444731] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: ath10k_pci ATH10K_DBG_BUFFER:
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.451001] ath10k: [0000]: 38700000 0500FC17 70201031 08000000 80000000 B8F74000 01000600 39700000
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.460186] ath10k: [0008]: 0100FC17 B3150000 B3150000 34A94000 6C010041 09000000
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   18.467775] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: ATH10K_END
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   18.473385] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [1] next: 0x412598 buf: 0x4109ec sz: 1500 len: 0 count: 0 free: 0
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   23.223848] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: wmi unified ready event not received
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   23.325855] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not init core (-145)
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.err kernel: [   23.331970] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not probe fw (-145)
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.info kernel: [   23.338980] i2c /dev entries driver
Sun Feb 26 20:09:36 2017 kern.warn kernel: [   23.344460] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: cannot restart a device that hasn't been started

I just put in what the problem was, the steps I did to fix it, copy pastaed the output from dmesg, and double checked everything before I posted.

How are you rebooting your router? Issue a reboot command or pulling the plug, etc? Could you test whether it makes a difference if you reboot the system and if you do a "hard" reset by simply pulling the plug and then plugging it in again?
I'm asking since with certain older firmwares I had an issue with my Archer C7 v2 where it actually made a difference. On a reboot the ath10k radio would not come up but only after a "cold" boot after the power was off. Just a wild guess that might be worth a try.

@larz1695 okay, bug report posted : https://bugs.lede-project.org/index.php?do=details&task_id=576

@silentcreek I usually do a soft reboot, i've also tried manually unloading/loading the ath10k_pci module. with the same results.
Hard resetting the router is a little inconvenient given where i stashed the thing - I'll give it a try over the weekend and report back if it makes a difference (although i doubt it :wink:

It seems ath10k on 988x is not stable, same issue here, tested with multiple 988x access points.

I'm afraid I have to agree. With Lede 17.01.0 I saw a crash of the ath10k wifi firmware after about 3 weeks uptime. I then repleaced the firmware with the newer build firmware-5.bin_10.2.4-1.0-00029 from the ath10k firmware repository, and again after 2 weeks it crashed. I'm not sure this is the same issue, but I think it might be safer to revert to the previous firmware from the 10.2.4.70 branch - too bad it's too late for the 17.01.1 release. (On a sidenote: I also tried the latest firmware from the older 10.2.4.70 branch, firmware-5.bin_10.2.4.70.63-2, and that immeadiately crashes upon loading on my Archer C7 v2.)

I share the disappointment, i had a fully usable setup with 15.05.
and now I can't even load the firmware anymore.

I tried reverting to a lot of firmware versions all crash on load on my Zyxel, could it be there is something wrong with the kernel module as well?

Did you try the ath10k-ct drivers with ct firmware?

@jow, thanks for the suggestion and yes i have - see my reply in this topic on feb 27th.

1 Like

just retried gettting ath10k to load with latest release, still no love...

[   14.245617] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: pci irq legacy oper_irq_mode 1 irq_mode 0 reset_mode 0
[   14.462305] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/pre-cal-pci-0000:01:00.0.bin failed with error -2
[   14.473197] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
[   14.652458] firmware ath10k!pre-cal-pci-0000:01:00.0.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
[   14.863137] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: qca988x hw2.0 target 0x4100016c chip_id 0x043202ff sub 0000:0000
[   14.872541] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 0 dfs 1 testmode 1
[   14.885603] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware ver 10.2.4-1.0-00016 api 5 features no-p2p,raw-mode,mfp crc32 0c5668f8
[   14.896391] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/board-2.bin failed with error -2
[   14.906997] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
[   14.988281] firmware ath10k!QCA988X!hw2.0!board-2.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
[   15.009740] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: board_file api 1 bmi_id N/A crc32 bebc7c08
[   16.120377] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware crashed! (uuid fe673d57-0876-4697-b4d3-58e2ef095dbf)
[   16.129511] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: qca988x hw2.0 target 0x4100016c chip_id 0x043202ff sub 0000:0000
[   16.138874] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 0 dfs 1 testmode 1
[   16.151956] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware ver 10.2.4-1.0-00016 api 5 features no-p2p,raw-mode,mfp crc32 0c5668f8
[   16.162681] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: board_file api 1 bmi_id N/A crc32 bebc7c08
[   16.170106] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt-ver 0.0 wmi-op 5 htt-op 2 cal file max-sta 128 raw 0 hwcrypto 1
[   16.181750] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware register dump:
[   16.187496] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [00]: 0x4100016C 0x000015B3 0x009BA6A2 0x00955B31
[   16.195540] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [04]: 0x009BA6A2 0x00060130 0x0000001D 0x4888908B
[   16.203580] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [08]: 0xFFFFFFFF 0x00401F6A 0x0000096C 0xFFFFFFFF
[   16.211615] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [12]: 0x00000009 0x00000000 0x009BAB4C 0x009BABA7
[   16.219648] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [16]: 0x00958080 0x0094E9AD 0x00000000 0x00000000
[   16.227675] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [20]: 0x409BA6A2 0x0040AA24 0x0040AAD4 0x00000001
[   16.235709] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [24]: 0x809BB189 0x0040AA84 0xF804308B 0xC09BA6A2
[   16.243743] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [28]: 0x809BB612 0x0040AAB4 0x000000E2 0x00000001
[   16.251778] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [32]: 0x80984880 0x0040ABA4 0x0040EE3C 0x0000003F
[   16.259811] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [36]: 0x8098FBA5 0x0040ABE4 0x0040E270 0x004062DC
[   16.267840] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [40]: 0x8098A79E 0x0040AC34 0x0040AC94 0x004062DC
[   16.275881] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [44]: 0x80988785 0x0040AC94 0x00410670 0x00400000
[   16.283915] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [48]: 0x8098AE78 0x0040AD44 0x00410670 0x00000001
[   16.291949] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [52]: 0x809B66F0 0x0040AD84 0x00410670 0x00411254
[   16.299984] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [56]: 0x809B2868 0x0040ADA4 0x00400000 0x00416EB4
[   16.308008] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Copy Engine register dump:
[   16.314025] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [00]: 0x00057400   7   7   3   3
[   16.320571] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [01]: 0x00057800   3   3   6   7
[   16.327112] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [02]: 0x00057c00   1   1   0   1
[   16.333657] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [03]: 0x00058000   1   1   2   1
[   16.340204] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [04]: 0x00058400   0   0  40   0
[   16.346744] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [05]: 0x00058800   0   0   0   0
[   16.353290] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [06]: 0x00058c00   0   0   0   0
[   16.359837] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [07]: 0x00059000   0   0   0   0
[   21.118055] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: wmi unified ready event not received
[   21.221166] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not init core (-145)
[   21.227294] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not probe fw (-145)
[   21.238500] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: cannot restart a device that hasn't been started

and similar with the -ct firmware:

[   14.174462] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-5.bin': -11
[   14.184642] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-4.bin failed with error -2
[   14.195512] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
[   14.352846] firmware ath10k!QCA988X!hw2.0!firmware-4.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
[   14.362136] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-4.bin': -11
[   14.372313] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-3.bin failed with error -2
[   14.383181] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
[   14.539194] firmware ath10k!QCA988X!hw2.0!firmware-3.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
[   14.548490] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-3.bin': -11
[   14.668273] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: qca988x hw2.0 target 0x4100016c chip_id 0x043202ff sub 0000:0000
[   14.677632] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 0 dfs 1 testmode 0
[   14.690006] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware ver 10.1.467-ct-_fW-019-60dd7c5 api 2 features wmi-10.x,has-wmi-mgmt-tx,txstatus-noack,wmi-10.x-CT,ratemask-CT crc32 f59d154a
[   14.705642] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/board-2.bin failed with error -2
[   14.716246] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: Falling back to user helper
[   14.797817] firmware ath10k!QCA988X!hw2.0!board-2.bin: firmware_loading_store: map pages failed
[   14.811001] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: board_file api 1 bmi_id N/A crc32 bebc7c08
[   15.718970] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: 10.1 wmi init: vdevs: 16  peers: 127  tid: 256
[   15.727648] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware crashed! (uuid af82c439-f4fe-4e42-ab89-1788effa1d82)
[   15.736775] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: qca988x hw2.0 target 0x4100016c chip_id 0x043202ff sub 0000:0000
[   15.746133] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 0 dfs 1 testmode 0
[   15.758459] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware ver 10.1.467-ct-_fW-019-60dd7c5 api 2 features wmi-10.x,has-wmi-mgmt-tx,txstatus-noack,wmi-10.x-CT,ratemask-CT,regdump-CT,txrate-CT,flush-all-CT,pingpong-CT,ch-regs-CT,nop-CT,set-special-CT crc32 f59d154a
[   15.780973] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: board_file api 1 bmi_id N/A crc32 bebc7c08
[   15.788402] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt-ver 0.0 wmi-op 2 htt-op 2 cal file max-sta 128 raw 0 hwcrypto 1
[   15.800043] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: firmware register dump:
[   15.805791] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [00]: 0x4100016C 0x000015B3 0x009B1601 0x00955B31
[   15.813833] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [04]: 0x009B1601 0x00060130 0x0000001D 0x009BABA7
[   15.821875] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [08]: 0xFFFFFFFF 0x00401F6A 0x0000096C 0xFFFFFFFF
[   15.829909] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [12]: 0x00000009 0x00000000 0x009B1A9D 0x009B1AF5
[   15.837936] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [16]: 0x00958080 0x0094085D 0x00000000 0x00000000
[   15.845968] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [20]: 0x409B1601 0x0040AA44 0x0040AAF4 0x00000001
[   15.854001] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [24]: 0x809B218E 0x0040AAA4 0x00401F7E 0xC09B1601
[   15.862037] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [28]: 0x809B2642 0x0040AAD4 0x00401CC0 0x000000E2
[   15.870072] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [32]: 0x8098494F 0x0040ABC4 0x0040E07C 0x0000003F
[   15.878106] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [36]: 0x8098ED6F 0x0040AC04 0x0040D4B0 0x004062DC
[   15.886135] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [40]: 0x809892DD 0x0040AC54 0x0040ACB4 0x00400000
[   15.894175] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [44]: 0x809887C9 0x0040ACA4 0x0040F7B8 0x00400000
[   15.902209] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [48]: 0x809897B4 0x0040AD44 0x0040F7B8 0x00000001
[   15.910244] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [52]: 0x809AD716 0x0040AD84 0x0040F7B8 0x0000A000
[   15.918278] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [56]: 0x809AA35E 0x0040ADA4 0x00400000 0x00414F44
[   15.928321] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: debug log header, dbuf: 0x412598  dropped: 0
[   15.936922] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [0] next: 0x4125b0 buf: 0x4103fc sz: 1500 len: 56 count: 2 free: 0
[   15.947462] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: ath10k_pci ATH10K_DBG_BUFFER:
[   15.953742] ath10k: [0000]: 22630000 0500FC17 70201031 08000000 80000000 B8F74000 01000600 23630000
[   15.962920] ath10k: [0008]: 0100FC17 B3150000 B3150000 34A94000 6C010041 09000000
[   15.970510] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: ATH10K_END
[   15.976117] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: [1] next: 0x412598 buf: 0x4109ec sz: 1500 len: 0 count: 0 free: 0
[   20.718071] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: wmi unified ready event not received
[   20.820092] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not init core (-145)
[   20.826207] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: could not probe fw (-145)
[   20.838680] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: cannot restart a device that hasn't been started

The kmod-ath10k package was what worked for me in CC 15.05.1 for my DGL-5500. I tried it again after flashing to 17.01.1 but still no luck on the 5 Ghz band.

Yes, something got fundamentally broken with 17.x
But the bug report doesn't get a whole lot of love from the devs.

So I went back to CC 15.05.1 (with the latest QCA9880 FW) instead of waiting for a fix.

Just tried 17.01.2 and 5 Ghz band still doesn't come up.

Thanks for trying the new version out, but still no improvement over 15.05.1
maybe you could add this to the bug report ... ?

with a little luck one of the devs will stumble on it and give it a look.

You're right. If I was a responsible user then I would've submitted a report for 17.01.1 and 17.01.2. I'll get those in and hopefully this can get figured out. Just so strange that after two maintenance updates this is still a thing while CC 15.05.1 had no issues.

same here, I assumed it would get picked up with 17.01.1 ... and when it didn't, i eventually went back to 15.05.1.

However, it could be the problem is with the newer ath10k driver itself, not with lede but with the project providing the driver. IIRC all LEDE release uses the '5' series of firmware while openwrt still used the '4' series.

Anyway, that's just guessing.