1.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later 2 3.. include:: <isonum.txt> 4 5Kernel driver dell-smm-hwmon 6============================ 7 8:Copyright: |copy| 2002-2005 Massimo Dal Zotto <dz@debian.org> 9:Copyright: |copy| 2019 Giovanni Mascellani <gio@debian.org> 10 11Description 12----------- 13 14On many Dell laptops the System Management Mode (SMM) BIOS can be 15queried for the status of fans and temperature sensors. Userspace 16utilities like ``sensors`` can be used to return the readings. The 17userspace suite `i8kutils`__ can also be used to read the sensors and 18automatically adjust fan speed (please notice that it currently uses 19the deprecated ``/proc/i8k`` interface). 20 21 __ https://github.com/vitorafsr/i8kutils 22 23``sysfs`` interface 24------------------- 25 26Temperature sensors and fans can be queried and set via the standard 27``hwmon`` interface on ``sysfs``, under the directory 28``/sys/class/hwmon/hwmonX`` for some value of ``X`` (search for the 29``X`` such that ``/sys/class/hwmon/hwmonX/name`` has content 30``dell_smm``). A number of other attributes can be read or written: 31 32=============================== ======= ======================================= 33Name Perm Description 34=============================== ======= ======================================= 35fan[1-3]_input RO Fan speed in RPM. 36fan[1-3]_label RO Fan label. 37fan[1-3]_min RO Minimal Fan speed in RPM 38fan[1-3]_max RO Maximal Fan speed in RPM 39fan[1-3]_target RO Expected Fan speed in RPM 40pwm[1-3] RW Control the fan PWM duty-cycle. 41pwm1_enable WO Enable or disable automatic BIOS fan 42 control (not supported on all laptops, 43 see below for details). 44temp[1-10]_input RO Temperature reading in milli-degrees 45 Celsius. 46temp[1-10]_label RO Temperature sensor label. 47=============================== ======= ======================================= 48 49Due to the nature of the SMM interface, each pwmX attribute controls 50fan number X. 51 52Disabling automatic BIOS fan control 53------------------------------------ 54 55On some laptops the BIOS automatically sets fan speed every few 56seconds. Therefore the fan speed set by mean of this driver is quickly 57overwritten. 58 59There is experimental support for disabling automatic BIOS fan 60control, at least on laptops where the corresponding SMM command is 61known, by writing the value ``1`` in the attribute ``pwm1_enable`` 62(writing ``2`` enables automatic BIOS control again). Even if you have 63more than one fan, all of them are set to either enabled or disabled 64automatic fan control at the same time and, notwithstanding the name, 65``pwm1_enable`` sets automatic control for all fans. 66 67If ``pwm1_enable`` is not available, then it means that SMM codes for 68enabling and disabling automatic BIOS fan control are not whitelisted 69for your hardware. It is possible that codes that work for other 70laptops actually work for yours as well, or that you have to discover 71new codes. 72 73Check the list ``i8k_whitelist_fan_control`` in file 74``drivers/hwmon/dell-smm-hwmon.c`` in the kernel tree: as a first 75attempt you can try to add your machine and use an already-known code 76pair. If, after recompiling the kernel, you see that ``pwm1_enable`` 77is present and works (i.e., you can manually control the fan speed), 78then please submit your finding as a kernel patch, so that other users 79can benefit from it. Please see 80:ref:`Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst <submittingpatches>` 81for information on submitting patches. 82 83If no known code works on your machine, you need to resort to do some 84probing, because unfortunately Dell does not publish datasheets for 85its SMM. You can experiment with the code in `this repository`__ to 86probe the BIOS on your machine and discover the appropriate codes. 87 88 __ https://github.com/clopez/dellfan/ 89 90Again, when you find new codes, we'd be happy to have your patches! 91 92``thermal`` interface 93--------------------------- 94 95The driver also exports the fans as thermal cooling devices with 96``type`` set to ``dell-smm-fan[1-3]``. This allows for easy fan control 97using one of the thermal governors. 98 99Module parameters 100----------------- 101 102* force:bool 103 Force loading without checking for supported 104 models. (default: 0) 105 106* ignore_dmi:bool 107 Continue probing hardware even if DMI data does not 108 match. (default: 0) 109 110* restricted:bool 111 Allow fan control only to processes with the 112 ``CAP_SYS_ADMIN`` capability set or processes run 113 as root when using the legacy ``/proc/i8k`` 114 interface. In this case normal users will be able 115 to read temperature and fan status but not to 116 control the fan. If your notebook is shared with 117 other users and you don't trust them you may want 118 to use this option. (default: 1, only available 119 with ``CONFIG_I8K``) 120 121* power_status:bool 122 Report AC status in ``/proc/i8k``. (default: 0, 123 only available with ``CONFIG_I8K``) 124 125* fan_mult:uint 126 Factor to multiply fan speed with. (default: 127 autodetect) 128 129* fan_max:uint 130 Maximum configurable fan speed. (default: 131 autodetect) 132 133Legacy ``/proc`` interface 134-------------------------- 135 136.. warning:: This interface is obsolete and deprecated and should not 137 used in new applications. This interface is only 138 available when kernel is compiled with option 139 ``CONFIG_I8K``. 140 141The information provided by the kernel driver can be accessed by 142simply reading the ``/proc/i8k`` file. For example:: 143 144 $ cat /proc/i8k 145 1.0 A17 2J59L02 52 2 1 8040 6420 1 2 146 147The fields read from ``/proc/i8k`` are:: 148 149 1.0 A17 2J59L02 52 2 1 8040 6420 1 2 150 | | | | | | | | | | 151 | | | | | | | | | +------- 10. buttons status 152 | | | | | | | | +--------- 9. AC status 153 | | | | | | | +-------------- 8. fan0 RPM 154 | | | | | | +------------------- 7. fan1 RPM 155 | | | | | +--------------------- 6. fan0 status 156 | | | | +----------------------- 5. fan1 status 157 | | | +-------------------------- 4. temp0 reading (Celsius) 158 | | +---------------------------------- 3. Dell service tag (later known as 'serial number') 159 | +-------------------------------------- 2. BIOS version 160 +------------------------------------------ 1. /proc/i8k format version 161 162A negative value, for example -22, indicates that the BIOS doesn't 163return the corresponding information. This is normal on some 164models/BIOSes. 165 166For performance reasons the ``/proc/i8k`` doesn't report by default 167the AC status since this SMM call takes a long time to execute and is 168not really needed. If you want to see the ac status in ``/proc/i8k`` 169you must explictitly enable this option by passing the 170``power_status=1`` parameter to insmod. If AC status is not 171available -1 is printed instead. 172 173The driver provides also an ioctl interface which can be used to 174obtain the same information and to control the fan status. The ioctl 175interface can be accessed from C programs or from shell using the 176i8kctl utility. See the source file of ``i8kutils`` for more 177information on how to use the ioctl interface. 178 179SMM Interface 180------------- 181 182.. warning:: The SMM interface was reverse-engineered by trial-and-error 183 since Dell did not provide any Documentation, 184 please keep that in mind. 185 186The driver uses the SMM interface to send commands to the system BIOS. 187This interface is normally used by Dell's 32-bit diagnostic program or 188on newer notebook models by the buildin BIOS diagnostics. 189The SMM may cause short hangs when the BIOS code is taking too long to 190execute. 191 192The SMM handler inside the system BIOS looks at the contents of the 193``eax``, ``ebx``, ``ecx``, ``edx``, ``esi`` and ``edi`` registers. 194Each register has a special purpose: 195 196=============== ================================== 197Register Purpose 198=============== ================================== 199eax Holds the command code before SMM, 200 holds the first result after SMM. 201ebx Holds the arguments. 202ecx Unknown, set to 0. 203edx Holds the second result after SMM. 204esi Unknown, set to 0. 205edi Unknown, set to 0. 206=============== ================================== 207 208The SMM handler can signal a failure by either: 209 210- setting the lower sixteen bits of ``eax`` to ``0xffff`` 211- not modifying ``eax`` at all 212- setting the carry flag (legacy SMM interface only) 213 214Legacy SMM Interface 215-------------------- 216 217When using the legacy SMM interface, a SMM is triggered by writing the least significant byte 218of the command code to the special ioports ``0xb2`` and ``0x84``. This interface is not 219described inside the ACPI tables and can thus only be detected by issuing a test SMM call. 220 221WMI SMM Interface 222----------------- 223 224On modern Dell machines, the SMM calls are done over ACPI WMI: 225 226:: 227 228 #pragma namespace("\\\\.\\root\\dcim\\sysman\\diagnostics") 229 [WMI, Provider("Provider_DiagnosticsServices"), Dynamic, Locale("MS\\0x409"), 230 Description("RunDellDiag"), guid("{F1DDEE52-063C-4784-A11E-8A06684B9B01}")] 231 class LegacyDiags { 232 [key, read] string InstanceName; 233 [read] boolean Active; 234 235 [WmiMethodId(1), Implemented, read, write, Description("Legacy Method ")] 236 void Execute([in, out] uint32 EaxLen, [in, out, WmiSizeIs("EaxLen") : ToInstance] uint8 EaxVal[], 237 [in, out] uint32 EbxLen, [in, out, WmiSizeIs("EbxLen") : ToInstance] uint8 EbxVal[], 238 [in, out] uint32 EcxLen, [in, out, WmiSizeIs("EcxLen") : ToInstance] uint8 EcxVal[], 239 [in, out] uint32 EdxLen, [in, out, WmiSizeIs("EdxLen") : ToInstance] uint8 EdxVal[]); 240 }; 241 242Some machines support only the WMI SMM interface, while some machines support both interfaces. 243The driver automatically detects which interfaces are present and will use the WMI SMM interface 244if the legacy SMM interface is not present. The WMI SMM interface is usually slower than the 245legacy SMM interface since ACPI methods need to be called in order to trigger a SMM. 246 247SMM command codes 248----------------- 249 250=============== ======================= ================================================ 251Command Code Command Name Description 252=============== ======================= ================================================ 253``0x0025`` Get Fn key status Returns the Fn key pressed after SMM: 254 255 - 9th bit in ``eax`` indicates Volume up 256 - 10th bit in ``eax`` indicates Volume down 257 - both bits indicate Volume mute 258 259``0xa069`` Get power status Returns current power status after SMM: 260 261 - 1st bit in ``eax`` indicates Battery connected 262 - 3th bit in ``eax`` indicates AC connected 263 264``0x00a3`` Get fan state Returns current fan state after SMM: 265 266 - 1st byte in ``eax`` holds the current 267 fan state (0 - 2 or 3) 268 269``0x01a3`` Set fan state Sets the fan speed: 270 271 - 1st byte in ``ebx`` holds the fan number 272 - 2nd byte in ``ebx`` holds the desired 273 fan state (0 - 2 or 3) 274 275``0x02a3`` Get fan speed Returns the current fan speed in RPM: 276 277 - 1st byte in ``ebx`` holds the fan number 278 - 1st word in ``eax`` holds the current 279 fan speed in RPM (after SMM) 280 281``0x03a3`` Get fan type Returns the fan type: 282 283 - 1st byte in ``ebx`` holds the fan number 284 - 1st byte in ``eax`` holds the 285 fan type (after SMM): 286 287 - 5th bit indicates docking fan 288 - 1 indicates Processor fan 289 - 2 indicates Motherboard fan 290 - 3 indicates Video fan 291 - 4 indicates Power supply fan 292 - 5 indicates Chipset fan 293 - 6 indicates other fan type 294 295``0x04a3`` Get nominal fan speed Returns the nominal RPM in each fan state: 296 297 - 1st byte in ``ebx`` holds the fan number 298 - 2nd byte in ``ebx`` holds the fan state 299 in question (0 - 2 or 3) 300 - 1st word in ``eax`` holds the nominal 301 fan speed in RPM (after SMM) 302 303``0x05a3`` Get fan speed tolerance Returns the speed tolerance for each fan state: 304 305 - 1st byte in ``ebx`` holds the fan number 306 - 2nd byte in ``ebx`` holds the fan state 307 in question (0 - 2 or 3) 308 - 1st byte in ``eax`` returns the speed 309 tolerance 310 311``0x10a3`` Get sensor temperature Returns the measured temperature: 312 313 - 1st byte in ``ebx`` holds the sensor number 314 - 1st byte in ``eax`` holds the measured 315 temperature (after SMM) 316 317``0x11a3`` Get sensor type Returns the sensor type: 318 319 - 1st byte in ``ebx`` holds the sensor number 320 - 1st byte in ``eax`` holds the 321 temperature type (after SMM): 322 323 - 1 indicates CPU sensor 324 - 2 indicates GPU sensor 325 - 3 indicates SODIMM sensor 326 - 4 indicates other sensor type 327 - 5 indicates Ambient sensor 328 - 6 indicates other sensor type 329 330``0xfea3`` Get SMM signature Returns Dell signature if interface 331 is supported (after SMM): 332 333 - ``eax`` holds 1145651527 334 (0x44494147 or "DIAG") 335 - ``edx`` holds 1145392204 336 (0x44454c4c or "DELL") 337 338``0xffa3`` Get SMM signature Same as ``0xfea3``, check both. 339=============== ======================= ================================================ 340 341There are additional commands for enabling (``0x31a3`` or ``0x35a3``) and 342disabling (``0x30a3`` or ``0x34a3``) automatic fan speed control. 343The commands are however causing severe sideeffects on many machines, so 344they are not used by default. 345 346On several machines (Inspiron 3505, Precision 490, Vostro 1720, ...), the 347fans supports a 4th "magic" state, which signals the BIOS that automatic 348fan control should be enabled for a specific fan. 349However there are also some machines who do support a 4th regular fan state too, 350but in case of the "magic" state, the nominal RPM reported for this state is a 351placeholder value, which however is not always detectable. 352 353Firmware Bugs 354------------- 355 356The SMM calls can behave erratic on some machines: 357 358======================================================= ================= 359Firmware Bug Affected Machines 360======================================================= ================= 361Reading of fan states return spurious errors. Precision 490 362 363 OptiPlex 7060 364 365Reading of fan types causes erratic fan behaviour. Studio XPS 8000 366 367 Studio XPS 8100 368 369 Inspiron 580 370 371 Inspiron 3505 372 373Fan-related SMM calls take too long (about 500ms). Inspiron 7720 374 375 Vostro 3360 376 377 XPS 13 9333 378 379 XPS 15 L502X 380======================================================= ================= 381 382In case you experience similar issues on your Dell machine, please 383submit a bugreport on bugzilla to we can apply workarounds. 384 385Limitations 386----------- 387 388The SMM calls can take too long to execute on some machines, causing 389short hangs and/or audio glitches. 390Also the fan state needs to be restored after suspend, as well as 391the automatic mode settings. 392When reading a temperature sensor, values above 127 degrees indicate 393a BIOS read error or a deactivated sensor. 394