ST Microelectronics has marked its Wi-Fi modules as end-of-life. Unfortunately, these are the Wi-Fi modules we have used on the FEZ, UC2550, and UC5550.
Per our longevity policy, we will continue to make the products in question available for as long as we are able to source the Wi-Fi module. We are already working on updating our products with a new Wi-Fi module. We hope to be able to create an update that is drop-in compatible.
This is one of the many benefits of utilizing SoMs from GHI Electronics. Once a component becomes unavailable, we find and integrate a replacement. In many cases, like changing the SDRAM, the change has no impact on you (the SoM users), especially when using TinyCLR OS. However, Wi-Fi modules generally do not share a common API or hardware interface, so minor changes are often needed in the application.
The current UCM modules without Wi-Fi are still a great way to start with TinyCLR OS and the Universal Compute Module Standard. They are production ready and backed by our longevity policy. If Wi-Fi is needed, the current modules remain a good place to evaluate Wi-Fi while we investigate a replacement. The switch to the updated modules will be a simple “click” to swap out the old module with the new! This is what the UCM Standard is all about: just remove the old SoM and plug in the new one.
We will continue to do basic software updates for the SPWF04 drivers, but there will be no major updates forthcoming – particularly considering that the underlying firmware on the Wi-Fi modules remains incomplete and buggy. Our Wi-Fi efforts will instead be focused on the new replacement. The TinyCLR driver for the SPWF04 is open source on GitHub. It is available for those interested in updating the drivers themselves and it is also a good reference driver for those integrating their own Wi-Fi modules in their designs.