Pinebook Pro Network Wifi Privacy Cycle

All credit - @DrYak at https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=8313&pid=52645#pid52645

update 2020.06.16: some recent kernel update has changed the naming of the wifi device - now fe310000.mmc. For those who like a compact one-liner:

sudo tee /sys/bus/platform/drivers/dwmmc_rockchip/{un,}bind <<< "$(basename /sys/devices/platform/fe310*)"

TL;DR: use the two commands here to restart the Wifi driver after powering the Wifi again with the Privacy Switch for Wifi (Pine + F11) :

$ echo 'fe310000.dwmmc' | sudo tee /sys/bus/platform/drivers/dwmmc_rockchip/unbind
$ echo 'fe310000.dwmmc' | sudo tee /sys/bus/platform/drivers/dwmmc_rockchip/bind

The full story :

(Moving to a more general thread, because currently my reply is burried in the middle of the Manjaro discussion)

Currently, the privacy switch for Wifi cannot put back Wifi on because soldered-on-motherboard SDIO modules aren't Plug'n'Play.

Here's what you normally see if you try the usual rmmod + modprobe route:

$ sudo rmmod brcmfmac brcmutil cfg80211
$ modprobe brcmfmac
$ dmesg
[ 1299.511038] usbcore: deregistering interface driver brcmfmac
[ 1313.114017] platform regulatory.0: Direct firmware load for regulatory.db failed with error -2
[ 1313.114781] cfg80211: failed to load regulatory.db
[ 1313.132537] brcmfmac: probe of mmc0:0001:1 failed with error -110
[ 1313.133192] brcmfmac: probe of mmc0:0001:2 failed with error -110
[ 1313.133865] usbcore: registered new interface driver brcmfmac

There is a way though:

You can find the actual soldered device that answers on the mmcn mentioned above and unbind and re-bind it.

$ l`s -d /sys/devices/platform/*.dwmmc/mmc_host/mmc0
/sys/devices/platform/fe310000.dwmmc/mmc_host/mmc0
$ ls -d /sys/devices/platform/*.dwmmc/mmc_host/mmc*/mmc*/mmc*/ieee80211
/sys/devices/platform/fe310000.dwmmc/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/mmc0:0001:2/ieee80211
$ echo 'fe310000.dwmmc' | sudo tee /sys/bus/platform/drivers/dwmmc_rockchip/unbind
$ echo 'fe310000.dwmmc' | sudo tee /sys/bus/platform/drivers/dwmmc_rockchip/bind
$ dmesg
[ 1845.593897] mmc0: card 0001 removed
[ 1849.712047] dwmmc_rockchip fe310000.dwmmc: IDMAC supports 32-bit address mode.
[ 1849.712707] dwmmc_rockchip fe310000.dwmmc: Using internal DMA controller.
[ 1849.713307] dwmmc_rockchip fe310000.dwmmc: Version ID is 270a
[ 1849.713840] dwmmc_rockchip fe310000.dwmmc: DW MMC controller at irq 27,32 bit host data width,256 deep fifo
[ 1849.714799] dwmmc_rockchip fe310000.dwmmc: allocated mmc-pwrseq
[ 1849.715321] mmc_host mmc0: card is non-removable.
[ 1849.728861] mmc_host mmc0: Bus speed (slot 0) = 400000Hz (slot req 400000Hz, actual 400000HZ div = 0)
[ 1849.777673] mmc_host mmc0: Bus speed (slot 0) = 148500000Hz (slot req 150000000Hz, actual 148500000HZ div = 0)
[ 1850.622467] dwmmc_rockchip fe310000.dwmmc: Successfully tuned phase to 47
[ 1850.627007] mmc0: new ultra high speed SDR104 SDIO card at address 0001
[ 1850.636215] brcmfmac: brcmf_fw_alloc_request: using brcm/brcmfmac43456-sdio for chip BCM4345/9
[ 1852.731997] brcmfmac: brcmf_fw_alloc_request: using brcm/brcmfmac43456-sdio for chip BCM4345/9
[ 1852.732808] brcmfmac: brcmf_c_process_clm_blob: no clm_blob available (err=-2), device may have limited channels available
[ 1852.734049] brcmfmac: brcmf_c_preinit_dcmds: Firmware: BCM4345/9 wl0: Sep  7 2018 14:33:37 version 7.45.96.27 (42b546f@shgit) (r) FWID 01-c958c084 es7.c5.n4.a3
[ 1860.053215] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready

Note if I'm not mistaken :

the 'mmc0' numbering might change depending on how your OS enumerate its devices (see how /dev/mmcblk changes - on Manjaro the Wifi is on mmc0 and the internal eMMC is on mmc2, but on the factory shipped Debian - Wifi is on mmc2 and mmc0 has the external µSD) but fe310000.dwmmc is how this soldered MMC interface is mapped to the Rockchip and is fixed accross OSes (it is set in the .dtb)

the bind + unbind trick can also be used if the Broadcom Wifi chip has gone crazy and needs restarting.

(source: other people with similar problems of soldered MMC modules)