<![CDATA[Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92]]>I have installed pfSense on a Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 which includes a wireless card so I thought I would try and make it into an Access Point following the instructions here:-

https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/wireless/vap.html#wireless-create-instance

Unfortunately I was unable to select a Mode of Access Point.

Is this to be expected and can I do anything about it?

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/topic/168470/wireless-access-point-on-lenovo-m92RSS for NodeMon, 20 Apr 2026 21:35:00 GMTTue, 14 Dec 2021 00:21:01 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 18:03:45 GMT]]>Mmm, well the best device you can get is something based on one of the older 3x3 chipsets.
I have a Sparklan WPEA-127N which works well. Any equivalent AR9380 based card should also work. Still pretty bad compared to any current AP. 😉

Steve

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014592https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014592Tue, 14 Dec 2021 18:03:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 17:12:21 GMT]]>@stephenw10

I think I need a mini PCIE card.

I know Atheros is a reputable name but they make so many different cards.

There are plenty of AR5B22's on ebay, Should that work OK or could anyone recommend anything else?

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014588https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014588Tue, 14 Dec 2021 17:12:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:58:50 GMT]]>Yeah, depends what the slot is. But the WLE200NX is probably the best supported on any card in pfSense. Netgate previously supplied it. You can probably get a 3x3 .11n card though.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014586https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014586Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:58:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:47:48 GMT]]>@balanga said in Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92:

Any suggestions as to what works well with pfSense?

WLE200NX (if it fits the Laptop Socket)

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014584https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014584Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:47:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:30:42 GMT]]>@stephenw10 said in Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92:

First get the PCI IDs from pciconf -lv to make sure it's actually that card/driver.

You could probably swap it out with an Atheros based card that can work as an AP.

As already mentioned though an external AP is almost always better.

Steve

Any suggestions as to what works well with pfSense?

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014583https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014583Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:30:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 14:10:38 GMT]]>First get the PCI IDs from pciconf -lv to make sure it's actually that card/driver.

You could probably swap it out with an Atheros based card that can work as an AP.

As already mentioned though an external AP is almost always better.

Steve

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014566https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014566Tue, 14 Dec 2021 14:10:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 13:55:07 GMT]]>@stephenw10 said in Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92:

That might be supported by the iwi(4) driver, we need the PCI ID to be sure.
Do you see the iwi0 device created when the driver attaches?

That driver doesn't support hostap mode though so you wouldn't be able to use it as an access point.

I guess that rules out using this M92 as an access point. Is the card incapable of supporting hostap? Maybe a third party one might... I guess I could see if OpenWrt would support it...

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014564https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014564Tue, 14 Dec 2021 13:55:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 13:42:47 GMT]]>That might be supported by the iwi(4) driver, we need the PCI ID to be sure.
Do you see the iwi0 device created when the driver attaches?

That driver doesn't support hostap mode though so you wouldn't be able to use it as an access point.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014560https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014560Tue, 14 Dec 2021 13:42:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 10:04:52 GMT]]>@stephenw10

Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014526https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014526Tue, 14 Dec 2021 10:04:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 02:39:58 GMT]]>@balanga

Please bear in mind, the FreeBSD that pfsense runs on has poor WiFi NIC support. You're better off with a separate AP.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014492https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014492Tue, 14 Dec 2021 02:39:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92 on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 00:27:16 GMT]]>What card is it? What chipset?

How does it appear in: pciconf -lv

Steve

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014486https://forum.netgate.com/post/1014486Tue, 14 Dec 2021 00:27:16 GMT