wifi problem with regulatory domain settings

Issue Summary: Multiple worldwide ThinkPad models with WCN6855 hw2.1 fail to properly handle regulatory domain settings, defaulting to incorrect country codes and causing regulatory compliance issues in EU. Affected Hardware: - Primary: Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 2, QCNFA765 (WCN6855 hw2.1) - Secondary: Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 4, same WCN6855 hw2.1 chip - Location: Czech Republic (EU) - Common pattern: Both models have worldwide country codes (00/WW suffix) Firmware versions tested: - Custom kernel: WLAN.HSP.1.1-03125-QCAHSPSWPL_V1_V2_SILICONZ_LITE-3.6510.41 (2024-04-17) - Debian Live: WLAN.HSP.1.1-03125-QCAHSPSWPL_V1_V2_SILICONZ_LITE-3.6510.9 (2022-04-18) Problem Description: Despite kernel regulatory domain settings, both laptops fail to apply correct regulatory rules: 1. Boot errors (consistent across all systems): ath11k_pci 0000:02:00.0: Failed to set the requested Country regulatory setting ath11k_pci 0000:02:00.0: Failed to set the requested Country regulatory setting 2. Incorrect regulatory domains applied: - P16s defaults to Brazil (BR) despite CZ kernel parameter - T14s defaults to United States (US) - Both ignore proper EU regulatory requirements 3. Regulatory compliance issues in EU: - All 5GHz channels marked "No IR" (No Initiate Radiation) - 6GHz power levels incorrect (30dBm instead of EU limit 23dBm) - Wrong DFS requirements (DFS-UNSET/DFS-FCC instead of DFS-ETSI) Test Results: ThinkPad P16s (21K9S0DC00) with kernel parameter cfg80211.ieee80211_regdom=CZ: global: country CZ: DFS-ETSI [correct] phy#0 (self-managed): country BR: DFS-UNSET [incorrect] ThinkPad T14s (21F8CT01WW) - stock configuration: global: country 00: DFS-UNSET phy#0 (self-managed): country US: DFS-FCC [incorrect for EU] Debian Live CD test (P16s) - proves cross-distribution issue: global: country 00: DFS-UNSET phy#0 (self-managed): country 00: DFS-UNSET 6GHz: 20dBm with "no IR" on ALL channels [overly restrictive] What I tried: 1. Kernel parameter cfg80211.ieee80211_regdom=CZ - Sets global domain but chip remains on wrong country 2. Kernel source modification - Changed default regulatory domain in net/wireless/reg.c: -static char *ieee80211_regdom = "00"; +static char *ieee80211_regdom = "CZ"; 2. Result: Global domain correctly set to CZ, but phy#0 still remains BR - firmware ignores kernel setting 3. Runtime iw reg set CZ - No effect on self-managed phy#0 4. Different distributions - Debian Live CD shows identical boot errors 5. Multiple hardware - Issue affects different worldwide ThinkPad models consistently Analysis: - Both laptops have worldwide country codes in model numbers (00/WW suffix) - SMBIOS likely contains "00" (worldwide) which firmware doesn't handle properly - Firmware falls back to hardcoded regional defaults instead of respecting kernel settings - Issue appears related to SMBIOS country code handling patch for WCN6855 (commit referencing reading country code from SMBIOS) - Problem affects multiple Linux distributions and kernel versions - Kernel-level regulatory changes are completely ignored by self-managed firmware Next Plan: Patching /usr/lib/firmware/ath11k/WCN6855/hw2.1/regdb.bin to replace incorrect regulatory data resolves the issue, but this shouldn't be necessary. Expected behavior: at the very least, it should be possible to change regulatory domain configuration via standard Linux methods Impact: This affects regulatory compliance for EU users with worldwide ThinkPad models, potentially causing interference and legal issues due to incorrect power levels and frequency usage.