SOLVED ----Wifi not working; Mint 20 - soft-hardblock off -

[jwstarr]

I want to get my wifi up. lost it on mint 20 instaLL. In my case I have a Kernel change also. I needed this kernel to run a video output -USB to HDMI Converter. I was suggested move to kernel 5.13 from my current 5.8.0 . Is the idea that this will solve my wifi issue?? Is there a way of checking whether this will support the USB to HDMI Converter?? That device was a lot of work to install; it should be made clear this is not just and adapter but has a aux video processor to make a usb work as a vid output.. so I want to have a good expectation of success before I start tearing up the system...

besides the wifi issue the system works fantastically.


thanks!

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System:
  Host: deathstar Kernel: 5.8.0-23-generic x86_64 bits: 64 
  Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 Distro: Linux Mint 20 Ulyana 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Acer product: Aspire A515-44 v: V1.06 
  serial: <superuser/root required> 
  Mobo: RO model: Calla_RN v: V1.06 serial: <superuser/root required> 
  UEFI: INSYDE v: 1.06 date: 05/13/2020 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT1 charge: 32.7 Wh condition: 32.7/53.0 Wh (62%) 
CPU:
  Topology: 6-Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 4500U with Radeon Graphics bits: 64 
  type: MCP L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
  Speed: 1708 MHz min/max: 1400/2375 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1831 2: 1665 
  3: 1618 4: 1594 5: 1472 6: 1283 
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Renoir driver: amdgpu v: kernel 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: amdgpu,ati,modesetting 
  unloaded: fbdev,vesa 
  resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 2560x1440~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD RENOIR (DRM 3.38.0 5.8.0-23-generic LLVM 11.0.0) 
  v: 4.6 Mesa 20.2.6 
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD driver: snd_hda_intel 
  Device-2: AMD Raven/Raven2/FireFlight/Renoir Audio Processor driver: N/A 
  Device-3: AMD Family 17h HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
  Device-4: DisplayLink QGeeM 3501 Adapter type: USB 
  driver: snd-usb-audio,usbfs 
  Device-5: Google USB DEVICE type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.8.0-23-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  driver: r8169 
  IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: b4:a9:fc:a2:a5:9c 
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter 
  driver: ath10k_pci 
  IF: wlp4s0 state: down mac: 80:30:49:21:7e:51 
  IF-ID-1: tun0 state: unknown speed: 10 Mbps duplex: full mac: N/A 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 204.24 GiB (85.6%) 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital 
  model: PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G-1014 size: 238.47 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 233.24 GiB used: 204.23 GiB (87.6%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 57.5 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 42 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Info:
  Processes: 332 Uptime: 3h 48m Memory: 22.93 GiB used: 10.48 GiB (45.7%) 
  Shell: bash inxi: 3.0.38 
jackstarz@deathstar:~$ ^C
jackstarz@deathstar:~$ 

[Larry78723]

I see two issues in your inxi output:
1. You need to upgrade to the 5.13 kernel.
2. You're running out of space on your NVME drive

Drives:
Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 204.24 GiB (85.6%)
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital
model: PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G-1014 size: 238.47 GiB
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 233.24 GiB used: 204.23 GiB (87.6%) fs: ext4
dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2

Suggest you transfer seldom-used data to external storage.

[jwstarr]

thanks.

I can delete some stuff -- I have 24 GB ram so my swap usually not so busy..

Ok upgrade kernel.. I can do that... I am concerned I lose the config that supports this USB video processor.. it was a magic trick getting it to work... this kernel was chosen because it had some thing that made it work right.. sorry I'm being so technical .. haha -- Its call Qgeem -- very simlar to other ones.. it is significant that it has a video processor on-board... not like a gpu.. just a unit that lets a reg USB output smoothly to a monitor. thanks for having a look

[jwstarr]

I am still not certain whether this Kernel change can solve the wifi issue while supporting USB to HDMI Converter - so I am still checking out ...

[Hoser Rob]

Kernel updates are simple to revert. It's the other high level updates you need to worry about (and possibly take a timeshift snapshot prior to updating).

If a new kernel breaks things, reboot, and when the system is starting hold down the left Shift key to bring up the grub menu.

Scroll down to the more advanced options to tell it to boot from the previous kernel.

Then go into synaptic package manager and remove the newer kernel.

[JeremyB]

Post results from terminal for

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rfkill list

[jwstarr]

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jackstarz@deathstar:~$ rfkill list
0: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: no
1: acer-bluetooth: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
2: hci0: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
3: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: no
jackstarz@deathstar:~$ 

[jwstarr]

Is installing the new kernel the only way to find if it supports my video converter?? or is there a diag list??

[Pjotr]

Soft blocked. My guess: you've switched off your WiFi by inadvertently pressing the Fn key combination that does that. Press it again, wait a minute and test.

[jwstarr]

I cant find any option to turn wifi back on .. I tried various f and fn keys. this never worked since mint 20 install.. 1 year ago - i am not dual boot.

thanks

[HAWR]

Hello jwstarr,

according to your manual (page 17) the right key combination is Fn+F2 (there must be an antenna symbol).

https://global-download.acer.com/GDFile ... ER&SC=PA_6

Do you have a dual boot? You could make an bios update to version 1.12 (you have 1.06). If you have no dual boot, you can us Hiren's BootCD as a Windows live system to update the bios:

https://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/

Your question "how do I check kernel support?" can be answered here:

https://linux-hardware.org/?id=pci:168c-003e-11ad-0807

As you can see, your wifi is supported from kernel 4.0 on.

[JeremyB]

Or in terminall rfkill unblock all

[jwstarr]

according to your manual (page 17) the right key combination is Fn+F2 (there must be an antenna symbol).

sorry my reply was imprecise; I tried the combo fn f2.. it togles BT but does not effect wifi

Do you have a dual boot? You could make an bios update to version 1.12 (you have 1.06). If you have no dual boot, you can us Hiren's BootCD as a Windows live system to update the bios:

https://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/

Your question "how do I check kernel support?" can be answered here:

https://linux-hardware.org/?id=pci:168c-003e-11ad-0807

As you can see, your wifi is supported from kernel 4.0 on.

you beleieve it is a bios related issue then?? but believe the current kernel supports my wifi? ya?

thanks

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jackstarz@deathstar:~$ rfkill unblock all
jackstarz@deathstar:~$ rfkill list
0: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
1: acer-bluetooth: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
2: hci0: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
3: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no

I've tried rfkill unblock and it changes the list here, but does not make me able to use wifi from network gui. the panel from taskbar says wifi disabled. network settings didnt offer much I could see

[HAWR]

Hello jwstarr,

no, I don't really believe, that the bios is the problem, it was just a possible thought. The kernel support is given. When you look on the linked website of the Linux Hardware Database, you can see, that on all probes of the same laptop model the wifi works. So there must be another problem and two things come into mind:

1) Bluetooth interferes with wifi, so disable it and see, if wifi comes up.

2) The antenna cable on the wifi card is not seated properly. In this case, you would have to open the laptop and check the fit of the card and the cables. The video below shows that you have to unscrew 11 screws to remove the bottom to do this. The wifi card sits directly under the fan. Remove the two antenna cables, take the card out (1 screw), put it back in and plug the cables on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG_gSlQklJA

[JeremyB]

Results for

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cat /var/lib/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf

[jwstarr]

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 sudo cat /var/lib/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf
cat: /var/lib/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf: No such file or directory
jackstarz@deathstar:~$ 

[HAWR]

For me in /var/lib/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf is also no such file, but only in /etc/NetworkManager/.

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cat /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf

[jwstarr]

jackstarz@deathstar:~$ cat /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf
[main]
plugins=ifupdown,keyfile

[ifupdown]
managed=false

[device]
wifi.scan-rand-mac-address=no

[JeremyB]

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sudo cat /var/lib/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.state

[jwstarr]

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jackstarz@deathstar:~$ sudo cat /var/lib/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.state
[sudo] password for jackstarz:         
[main]
NetworkingEnabled=true
WirelessEnabled=false
WWANEnabled=true

does my GUI possibly have something to do with this?? we cant just change that false can we?? My gui doesnt have an option to enable just tells me disabled BTW -- and changing the fn f2 only alters BT ..

thanks!