sudo airmon-ng start wlan0 Output:
sudo modprobe ath9k_htc And like magic— wlan0 appeared. Final test: install atheros ar9271 driver kali linux
Turns out: , but sometimes firmware is missing. Step 2 — The Firmware Chase I checked: sudo airmon-ng start wlan0 Output: sudo modprobe ath9k_htc
echo "blacklist ath5k" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath.conf echo "blacklist ath9k" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath.conf Then manually load the correct one: install atheros ar9271 driver kali linux
ath9k_htc: Firmware - ath9k_htc/htc_9271.fw not found Aha! The driver was there, but the firmware blob was missing.
sudo apt update sudo apt install firmware-atheros Rebooted. Still nothing. Deeper dive: another driver ( ath5k or ath9k ) was conflicting. Blacklisting solved it: