linux-drivers/
drivers/net/wireless/purelifi/plfxlc

pureLiFi X, XL, and XC LiFi USB adapters

USB adapters from pureLiFi that provide wireless networking over modulated light (LiFi) instead of radio, used in niche enterprise and security-sensitive deployments where Wi-Fi is undesirable. The hardware is still sold and supported by the vendor in 2025, including products like the LiFi-XC station and the Bridge XC.

keep conf=0.82 deploy=low replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-wireless
82%

recommendation

It should stay because the driver is actively maintained upstream, with patch series and stable-tree backports landing in spring 2025, and pureLiFi is still selling and supporting the underlying LiFi-XC and Bridge XC hardware. Deployments are small compared to Wi-Fi, but there is no alternative in-tree driver that covers these LiFi USB adapters.

repository signals

10 files
2,533 source lines
24 commits, 5y
+2,601 / −51 lines added / removed, 5y
21 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 24 total · active in 17/61 months
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sources

  1. spinics.net

    March 21, 2025 patch series for plfxlc shows active upstream maintenance, not removal discussion.

  2. spinics.net

    April 27, 2025 plfxlc memory-leak fix indicates ongoing bug-fix traffic.

  3. spinics.net

    A plfxlc fix was queued into the 6.12-stable tree in May 2025, showing continued support relevance.

  4. cateee.net

    LKDDb identifies this as support for pureLiFi X, XL, XC USB adapters and lists recognized USB IDs.

  5. purelifi.com

    pureLiFi still publishes a LiFi-XC support portal with latest releases, indicating ongoing fielded product support.

  6. purelifi.com

    pureLiFi was actively promoting the Bridge XC product in December 2024 ahead of 2025 deployments.

  7. purelifi.com

    pureLiFi markets Bridge XC as a current product in 2026, supporting the inference that related LiFi hardware remained commercially active through 2025.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local exec_command inspection confirmed a real USB mac80211 driver with pureLiFi X/XL/XC USB IDs and firmware loading. Upstream activity evidence was obtained by web search because lore/lei access was unavailable in this session: the 2025 linux-wireless patch threads and stable-commits notice show active maintenance and no removal series. Deployment evidence was obtained by web search on pureLiFi pages: LiFi-XC still has a vendor support portal, and current Bridge XC marketing plus late-2024 webinar material indicate the vendor is still selling/deploying related LiFi products. This looks niche rather than mass-market, so deployments are low, but there is no natural upstream replacement for these USB LiFi adapters.