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Does the Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG [Calexico2] Network Connection work on Linux?

Driver available. Kernel ID match for ipw2200 — Linux 3.0 or earlier. The driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check which files your device requires.

Technical details

Device category	Wi-Fi adapter
Bus	PCIe
Device IDs	`8086:4220`
Kernel driver	ipw2200
In kernel since	Linux 3.0 or earlier

Firmware requirement

The driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check which files your device requires. This is a driver-family list, not a per-device requirement. Optional features and other chips may use different files. Presence is checked against linux-firmware WHENCE File and Link records, including patterns.

Firmware	Manifest check
`ipw2200-bss.fw`	Not listed in WHENCE — external firmware may be needed
`ipw2200-ibss.fw`	Not listed in WHENCE — external firmware may be needed
`ipw2200-sniffer.fw`	Not listed in WHENCE — external firmware may be needed

Firmware packaging varies by distribution; consult Debian firmware guidance or Arch network setup guidance. A missing manifest entry does not mean the device is unsupported.

Which distros work?

Distro	Kernel	Requirements
Arch Linux	✅ 7.2	Kernel ID match available; driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check device requirements
Fedora 44	✅ 7.2	Kernel ID match available; driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check device requirements
Fedora 43	✅ 7.2	Kernel ID match available; driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check device requirements
openSUSE Tumbleweed	✅ 7.2	Kernel ID match available; driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check device requirements
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS	✅ 7.0	Kernel ID match available; driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check device requirements
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	✅ 6.8	Kernel ID match available; driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check device requirements
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS	✅ 5.15	Kernel ID match available; driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check device requirements
Debian 13	✅ 6.12	Kernel ID match available; driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check device requirements
Debian 12	✅ 6.1	Kernel ID match available; driver-family needs firmware not in linux-firmware; check device requirements

Default kernels as of 2026-10-07; distributions may backport drivers. This table compares kernel ID-table support, not tested connectivity or firmware package availability.

Is this my device?

Run lspci -nn and look for 8086:4220. Paste IDs into the home lookup.

Sources

drivers/net/wireless/intel/ipw2x00/ipw2200.c

Listed ID matches are not hands-on tests of speed, Bluetooth version, or every device feature. See how this works and more Wi-Fi adapters.