wifi hardware problem

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shengchieh

wifi hardware problem

Post by shengchieh »

The wifi keeps dropping. I am using an USB dongle (TP-LINK, but it doesn't matter; wifi drop using the micro USB dongle andLB-LINK USB dongle; I'm sure the USB wifi dongle is not the problem). I had LM XFCE 15.
I installed LM XFCE 16 over it (thought the problem maybe the software after trying liveCD's) and got the same problem. I install Linux Lite 1.0.8 and got the same problem. (I'm putting LM XFCE 16 back.)

Which hardware component in this deskotp needs to be replaced or fixed? What do I look for? The hardware spec is

http://shengchieh.50webs.com/Desktoplshw.txt
http://shengchieh.50webs.com/Desktoplspci.txt

The desktop does NOT have wifi - instead I'm using an USB wifi dongle to connect. I also know it doesn't matter which USB slot I use.

In a nutshell, the problem is not

- software (tried 3 different distros)
- USB wifi dongle (tried 3 different dongles)
- USB slot (tried two different slots - work fine for other stuffs)

I strongly suspect the problem is hardware. But which component?

Sheng-Chieh
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
catfish12

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by catfish12 »

hi use terminal and type iwconfig enter and post
results like this and check signal etc

wlan2 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"GROOVY"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.432 GHz Access Point: F8:1A:67:42:FD:FE
Bit Rate=72.2 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:on
Link Quality=70/70 Signal level=-39 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:443 Invalid misc:255 Missed beacon:0

link quality and signal level

also what make model usb wifi adaptors and chipset

i have use mint 15 no problems with wifi and linux lite ok
it could be a coincidence interference if you have wireless n
if you could temporary rule out your wifi router and set it to n
only 20mhz not 40mhz or auto if you have that option
play with the pass word encryption wpa2 aes

it could be some weird software thing mint 16 wifi encryption
i had to change my wifi encryption get my set up working in linux
i have use windows for work sadly :roll:
Linux Mint 15 is based on Ubuntu 13.04
Linux Mint 16 is based on Ubuntu 13.10
linux lite 1.0.8 is based on ubuntu Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS

any how hope this helps
shengchieh

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by shengchieh »

Thank you for replying.

iwconfig gets

Code: Select all

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"WeKnowWhoYouAre!"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.437 GHz  Access Point: 30:85:A9:68:EE:F0   
          Bit Rate=72.2 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=68/70  Signal level=-42 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:283   Missed beacon:0

lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.
connection information gives

Speed 72 ms
Driver rtl8192cu

Wifi connection is as fast as expected when it is on. I recently brought the TP-LINK, which has antennas, to make sure the connection and wifi speed weren't the problem.

-----
if you could temporary rule out your wifi router and set it to n
only 20mhz not 40mhz or auto if you have that option
play with the pass word encryption wpa2 aes
Could you explain how I could do this?

-----
Linux Mint 15 is based on Ubuntu 13.04
Linux Mint 16 is based on Ubuntu 13.10
linux lite 1.0.8 is based on ubuntu Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS
Interesting you mentioned this. I wonder if this is an Ubuntu's problem. I tried 5 liveCDs - wifi connected and surfed for awhile especially with semplice - did not see any wifi disconnect.
I am tempted to install Korora (based on Fedora) or Sabayon.

Sheng-Choieh
catfish12

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by catfish12 »

your iwconfig information looks good

Driver rtl8192cu is none to have problems
REF
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... /reserve-7

read this important
heres a fix

Luckily there's a solution that'll make such a chipset run stable and fast, namely replacing the defective driver by a better one. This solution is necessary both in Ubuntu 12.04 (Mint 13 Maya) and in Ubuntu 13.10 (Mint 16 Petra).

This is how to do it:


1. First check whether the buggy driver rtl8192cu is active in your operating system.

Click on the grey Ubuntu logo (Dash home). Query: terminal.
Click on Terminal.

Use copy/paste to transfer the following line into the terminal:

lsmod | grep rtl

Press Enter.

When you see one or more times rtl8192cu in the terminal output, then it's active. In that case proceed with step 2.


2. Disconnect your wireless connection, and temporarily connect by means of an ethernet cable (or by means of another wireless chipset that does function well).


3. Now install some applications for building the right driver. Click on the grey Ubuntu logo (Dash home). Query: terminal.
Click on Terminal.

Type (use copy/paste):

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential dkms git

Press Enter and submit your password. Please note that the password will remain invisible, not even asterisks will show, which is normal.

Wait until the installation has completed.


4. Now download the source code of the right driver as follows. Copy and paste the following command line into the terminal:

git clone https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes.git

Press Enter.


5. Set it up as a DKMS module. Copy and paste into the terminal:

sudo dkms add ./rtl8192cu-fixes

Press Enter and if prompted, submit your password. Please note that the password will remain invisible, not even asterisks will show, which is normal.


6. Build and install the new driver. Copy and paste into the terminal:

sudo dkms install 8192cu/1.8

Press Enter.


7. Refresh the module list. Copy and paste into the terminal:

sudo depmod -a

Press Enter.


8. Blacklist the faulty driver. Copy and paste into the terminal:

sudo cp ./rtl8192cu-fixes/blacklist-native-rtl8192.conf /etc/modprobe.d/

Press Enter.


9. Reboot your computer.


10. The problem should now be solved: disconnect the temporary ethernet cable and insert the Realtek device again.

With the following terminal command you can check whether the right driver is active now:

lsmod | grep 8192

Press Enter.

In the terminal output you should see that the new driver 8192cu is active. You should see no mention anymore of the old driver rtl8192cu.

Note: a possibly surprising side effect might be, that the light on your wireless card is blinking constantly now. That's normal: the light is blinking whenever data are being sent or received.


ref if you could temporary rule out your wifi router and set it to n
only 20mhz not 40mhz or auto if you have that option
play with the pass word encryption wpa2 aes

is in your wifi router settings what is your wifi make and model

for adsl i use tplink 8960n works well

best wifi chipset that works linux mint and other distros i use both these
(Ralink RT3070 chipset) or (Atheros AR9271 chipset)
Ralink RT3070 is great can turn txpower up to 2000mw =2w 33dbm most wifi adaptors
fixed to 15 20dbm

let me no how it works out for you :wink:
shengchieh

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by shengchieh »

Sorry to have you do all this work.

I booted a Korora liveCD and surfed for 1/2 hour - no wifi dropping. So I went ahead and install it. Still haven't dropped
for a few hours.

Korora to Fedora is like LM to debian, ie., Korora is Fedora on steroid - has flash, icedtea java, mp3, etc.

I think I will stick to Korora XFCE for awhile (even though I like LM XFCE alittle better).

Again my apology for doing this work - thank for your help anyway.

Sheng-Chieh
catfish12

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by catfish12 »

hi thats ok glad it is working ok
now this can be used by other people
with same chip set problem

recommend you make a cut and paste of
the instructions a save as text file for future reference

things disapear off the internet when you need them



i back things up text usb etc :wink:
aminas84n

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by aminas84n »

Hi
thank you
now my wifi usb work perfect
:D :D :D
alexjoseph

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by alexjoseph »

Its working perfectly. Thanks for sharing.
MtnDewManiac
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1491
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:18 pm
Location: United States

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by MtnDewManiac »

catfish12 wrote:recommend you make a cut and paste of
the instructions a save as text file for future reference

things disapear off the internet when you need them
Not to mention that it can be painful to KNOW that there are instructions that'll fix your WiFi problem posted on the Internet, only you cannot get to them - because you have this little WiFi problem... (Been there, done that. Carrying a desktop computer - with CRT monitor - to your local library and begging them to let you connect to their network via Ethernet so that you can fix your system is embarrassing, quite difficult to do on foot, and annoys the library staff to no end :lol: .)

Regards,
MDM
Mint 18 Xfce 4.12.

If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words, cars make people drive drunk, and spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.
catfish12

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by catfish12 »

SO very true i have had those sort of pc nightmares :roll: best regards catfish12 :D
shengchieh

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by shengchieh »

Update on my problem:

It turns out the wifi disconnect got worse and worse again and it didn't matter which USB dongle (I have 3) I was using. So in my case it wasn't the driver problem.

From another forum I got

---
The header pins for usb are soldered into the motherboard
and your problem probably lies after where those pins are
soldered in within the board circuitry
---

and

---
The header pins for usb are soldered into the motherboard
and your problem probably lies after where those pins are
soldered in within the board circuitry.
---

And my USB mouse was also giving problems.

So I just brought another linux preinstalled computer. I'll use what is on it for alittle bit - make sure everything work. Then I'll be back within 5 weeks.

I'm glad this post helped others - hated to see catfish12 do all this work for nothing.

Sheng-Chieh
catfish12

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by catfish12 »

cool thanks for the update
hope it works out ok and see you back
here in 5 weeks :)
shengchieh

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by shengchieh »

I'm back. Took me less than an hour to "bork" (won't boot) the preinstall linpus lite OS (which I was thinking of using for 30 days). So I had no choice but to install something else.

Sheng-Chieh
Radio

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by Radio »

Thanks Catfish12.
Fix worked great for my connection which froze but did not drop out.
Another happy new boy.
Cheers
templar

Re: wifi hardware problem

Post by templar »

Bad news fellas,

I recently tried Mint 17 Cinnamon x64 and Mint 17 MATE x64, and both had this same WiFi problem. On the desktop the WiFi icon would show I was connected, but I in reality couldn't even ping my router - except - when I was connected with an ethernet cable. I could then disconnect the cable, and then use WiFi mode exclusively. The WiFi would continue to work while I kept the computer on.

I had to revert back to Mint 16 Xfce x64. I really hope that Mint 17 Xfce x64 will be as good as 16 in this regard and not follow Cinnamon and MATE with its buggy LM17 WiFi implementation,.

As my signature says, I have a TP-Link TL-WN951N WiFi card in my PC.
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