Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200-series wireless adapters (iwlwifi MLD opmode)
Intel's Wi-Fi 7 wireless cards that support Multi-Link Device (MLD) operation, the headline 802.11be feature that lets a client use several radio bands simultaneously. The hardware covers the BE200/BE201/BE202 M.2 modules built into recent laptops and the follow-on BE211/BE213 R2 parts, all launched from 2024 onward.
recommendation
It should stay because this is the current upstream code path for Intel's Wi-Fi 7 adapters, including the BE200, BE201, and BE202 modules that ship in modern laptops and the newer R2 parts (BE211/BE213) Intel still sells in 2025. Upstream maintenance is visibly active, with patches touching the MLD code as recently as early 2026, and there is no replacement driver since this opmode is itself the modern path for these chips.
repository signals
sources
- cateee.net
CONFIG_IWLMLD builds module `iwlmld`, is present in current kernel series, and is described as support for firmware of MLD-capable devices.
- lkml.org
March 12, 2026 LKML patch touches `drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/thermal.c` and explicitly tests `iwlmld` with Intel BE200, showing active upstream maintenance rather than removal.
- intel.com
Intel's current Wi-Fi 7 product lineup page lists BE200, BE201, BE202, plus newer R2 BE211/BE213 products, indicating the family is still in active sale/deployment.
- intel.com
Intel BE200 is marked 'Launched', Linux-supported, and Wi-Fi 7 certified, confirming this driver targets shipping modern hardware.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local shell inspection of `drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/Kconfig`, `Makefile`, and `mld.h` shows this is the dedicated `IWLMLD` opmode (`iwlmld`) for MLD-capable Intel devices and explicitly references Wi-Fi 7 features. Local `git log` also shows substantive `mld` fixes through 2026-03-24, consistent with the supplied activity metadata. Lore evidence was gathered via web search/open on LKML; it showed active March 2026 patch traffic touching `mld/thermal.c` and no removal/deprecation discussion in the search results I checked. Deployment evidence was gathered via web open on Intel product pages, which show BE200/BE201/BE202 and newer R2 Wi-Fi 7 parts still marketed; that supports `keep`, with no natural replacement driver because `mld` is itself the current upstream path for these devices.