Unlocking Hidden Capabilities in Wi-Fi Chips

Security Researchers Reveal Methods to Reverse Engineer MediaTek Firmware Aseem Jakhar • September 10, 2025

Reverse engineering-embedded firmware reveals how Wi-Fi chips operate beyond standard specifications. Security researchers Daniel Wegemer and Edoardo Mantovani spent two years analyzing MediaTek hardware to expose hidden modes that provide advanced access to wireless signals.

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The project began with the pair's curiosity about underexplored processors inside consumer devices. By studying drivers, parsing firmware and experimenting with test kits, Wegemer and Mantovani identified ways to enable monitor mode on MediaTek Wi-Fi chips. This mode, previously available only on notebooks, opens smartphone hardware for deeper security testing.

"We achieved to unlock some modes that allow you to basically have deeper access to the signals received by the Wi-Fi chip, and this can be used by other researchers to implement motion detection software," Wegemer said.

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