Re: [PATCH 0/7] wifi: brcmfmac: AWDL for AirDrop on Apple T2 Macs

["André Eikmeyer" <dev@deq.rocks>]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2026 16:41:37 +0100
Arend van Spriel <arend.vanspriel@broadcom.com> wrote:

> I really have no idea how to deal with this series. AWDL is not part
> of the IEEE 802.11 so I can imagine the kernel wireless subsystem
> does not care to support this. From driver perspective I am not keen
> on supporting this upstream either. My limited understanding of AWDL
> was that it was Apple's variant of TDLS (802.11z).
>
> So what does AWDL provide to user-space and could the same be
> accomplished by TDLS?

Hi Arend,

I think I can be direct here. My submission is a long shot. If I were in
your place I wouldn't be keen on it either...

But! AirDrop is the feature people miss most when they move from macOS
to Linux. Also you may have noticed Google reversed AirDrop in early
2026 and newer Pixel and Samsung devices ship with it. So there is a
huge demand. Especially for former macOS users. Those often have a
complete Airdrop "ecosystem" at home. Personally, I don't use it. But
that is what I was told by our community members.

However, on our Macs the firmware already implements AWDL, the driver is
the only missing piece. And it will work on T2 and Apple Silicon Macs
alike. Maybe even on some pre-T2 Macs. So we would give a huge ammount
of users big grins on their faces.

--

Re TDLS: to my understanding, TDLS needs both peers associated to the
same AP. AWDL needs no AP at all. The peers agree on availability
windows and a channel schedule among themselves, so two devices
exchange data while they are on different networks or on no network at
all. Like on a train or at a customer site. That is what AirDrop
depends on, and it is why it can't be built on TDLS.

IIRC the closest standard is Wi-Fi Aware (NAN), not TDLS. But... to be
perfectly honest with you. If we can't get awdl into the kernel, I am
not keen on changing it to NAN. Then let one of those kernel modifying
distros pick it up and let them do what they want.

> From the explanation above it seems AWDL provides more knobs to
> user-space, but not sure whether the awdl%d interface is merely a
> control interface or actually passing data through it (patch 5
> implies it does).

It passes data. awdl%d is the data interface, AirDrop runs over IPv6
link-local on it. The vendor commands only carry the AWDL action
frames and the peer setup, the schedule itself runs in the firmware.

> If my memory does not fail me then adding vendor commands is
> generally pushed back.

Agreed. They wont like it. Hence "long shot". But worth a try maybe.
nl80211 has no AWDL interface type, which is why I went with vendor
commands. If there is any interface you and Johannes would rather see,
let me know.


Best,
Andre