[SOLVED] Wifi only working in recovery mode

[Rennie]

Hi Users,
when I installed Mint 20.1 for the first time everything worked fine. After an update which I cannot remember exactly, wifi does not work anymore. After a start my computer is still connected to my router with a strong signal, but I cannot reach it i.e. ping it. When I start the same kernel in recovery mode and activate networking, wifi works flawlessly. What happend?
I even installed the bare Ubuntu on this system and the same sh*t happened. I think it must have to do something with the latest firmware, right? But why does it work in recovery mode?
Thanks!

[Larry78723]

Please post an inxi -Fxxxzr report. This will give us a concise overview of your hardware and on how Mint sees it.

Here is how to generate the report and post it:
Open a terminal window (Ctrl-Alt-t). Make it fullscreen to avoid unneeded linebreaks or chopped lines. Execute the command

Code: Select all

 inxi -Fxxxzr 

exactly as it has been typed here.

Mark the complete text output which the command will display with your mouse.
Press the keyboard shortcut <Shift><Ctrl>C to copy the marked text into the clipboard.
Enclose the results between the code markers by selecting </> from the mini toolbar above the textbox where you type your reply then paste <Ctrl>V them in your reply between the code markers [code]Results [/code].

[Rennie]

Thanks for reacting and here come the requested data:

System:
Kernel: 5.4.0-77-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0
Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.5 wm: muffin 5.0.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0
Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal
Machine:
Type: Desktop Mobo: ASRock model: A300M-STX serial: <filter>
UEFI: American Megatrends v: P3.70 date: 11/02/2020
CPU:
Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G with Radeon Vega Graphics
bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen+ rev: 1 L2 cache: 2048 KiB
flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
bogomips: 59202
Speed: 1284 MHz min/max: 1400/3700 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz):
1: 1229 2: 1229 3: 2965 4: 1229 5: 1229 6: 1228 7: 3069 8: 1226
Graphics:
Device-1: AMD Picasso driver: N/A bus ID: 04:00.0 chip ID: 1002:15d8
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: ati,fbdev
unloaded: modesetting,radeon,vesa resolution: 3840x2160~88Hz
OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.0 256 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.2.6
compat-v: 3.1 direct render: Yes
Audio:
Device-1: AMD Raven/Raven2/Fenghuang HDMI/DP Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.1 chip ID: 1002:15de
Device-2: AMD Family 17h HD Audio vendor: ASRock driver: snd_hda_intel
v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.6 chip ID: 1022:15e3
Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-77-generic
Network:
Device-1: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168NGW [Stone Peak] driver: iwlwifi
v: kernel bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 8086:24fb
IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
vendor: ASRock driver: r8169 v: kernel port: f000 bus ID: 03:00.0
chip ID: 10ec:8168
IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 1.02 TiB used: 697.39 GiB (66.8%)
ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: SanDisk model: SSD PLUS 120GB size: 111.80 GiB
speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 00RL scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 QVO 1TB size: 931.51 GiB
speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 1B6Q scheme: GPT
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 915.40 GiB used: 697.36 GiB (76.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb2
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 50.1 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos:
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com uma main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
Processes: 223 Uptime: 5m Memory: 13.66 GiB used: 1.01 GiB (7.4%)
Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash
v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38


I just do not understand, why wifi works in recovery mode, but not at the regular start. So I assume, knowing the differences between the recovery start and regular start should give information about this issue.
My parallel Windows installation on the second drive in the same system works perfectly all the time, so there should be no hardware problem.

[Rennie]

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-77-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.5 wm: muffin 5.0.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: ASRock model: A300M-STX serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends v: P3.70 date: 11/02/2020 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G with Radeon Vega Graphics 
  bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen+ rev: 1 L2 cache: 2048 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm 
  bogomips: 59202 
  Speed: 1284 MHz min/max: 1400/3700 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz): 
  1: 1229 2: 1229 3: 2965 4: 1229 5: 1229 6: 1228 7: 3069 8: 1226 
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Picasso driver: N/A bus ID: 04:00.0 chip ID: 1002:15d8 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: ati,fbdev 
  unloaded: modesetting,radeon,vesa resolution: 3840x2160~88Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.0 256 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.2.6 
  compat-v: 3.1 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD Raven/Raven2/Fenghuang HDMI/DP Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.1 chip ID: 1002:15de 
  Device-2: AMD Family 17h HD Audio vendor: ASRock driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.6 chip ID: 1022:15e3 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-77-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168NGW [Stone Peak] driver: iwlwifi 
  v: kernel bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 8086:24fb 
  IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: ASRock driver: r8169 v: kernel port: f000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  chip ID: 10ec:8168 
  IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.02 TiB used: 697.39 GiB (66.8%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: SanDisk model: SSD PLUS 120GB size: 111.80 GiB 
  speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 00RL scheme: GPT 
  ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 QVO 1TB size: 931.51 GiB 
  speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 1B6Q scheme: GPT 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 915.40 GiB used: 697.36 GiB (76.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 50.1 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com uma main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
  2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
  Processes: 223 Uptime: 5m Memory: 13.66 GiB used: 1.01 GiB (7.4%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash 
  v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 

[Larry78723]

You have Renoir graphics which requires a newer kernel. Open Update Manager -> View -> Linux Kernels
In the left column, select 5.8 then in the right column select the top kernel. Click on Install. After install completes, reboot.

Very often, graphics problems can keep wifi from working in normal boot mode.

[Rennie]

Thanks a lot for the support, but it did not work unfortunately.
Same issues again. Wifi works in recovery with the kernels 5.4 and 5.8 and 5.11, but not in normal boot with each of them.
It is also strange as I have described before that I always have an active and strong wifi connection signal to my router, but I cannot ping any address in my lan or internet.
Any more ideas?

[Larry78723]

Please boot into the 5.8 kernel and rerun your inxi output.

[Rennie]

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 5.8.0-63-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.5 wm: muffin 5.0.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: ASRock model: A300M-STX serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends v: P3.70 date: 11/02/2020 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G with Radeon Vega Graphics 
  bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen+ rev: 1 L2 cache: 2048 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm 
  bogomips: 59198 
  Speed: 1269 MHz min/max: 1400/3700 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz): 
  1: 1286 2: 1265 3: 1266 4: 1282 5: 1376 6: 1358 7: 1269 8: 1288 
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Picasso driver: amdgpu v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.0 
  chip ID: 1002:15d8 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: amdgpu,ati 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD RAVEN (DRM 3.38.0 5.8.0-63-generic LLVM 11.0.0) 
  v: 4.6 Mesa 20.2.6 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD Raven/Raven2/Fenghuang HDMI/DP Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.1 chip ID: 1002:15de 
  Device-2: AMD Family 17h HD Audio vendor: ASRock driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.6 chip ID: 1022:15e3 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.8.0-63-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168NGW [Stone Peak] driver: iwlwifi 
  v: kernel bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 8086:24fb 
  IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: ASRock driver: r8169 v: kernel port: f000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  chip ID: 10ec:8168 
  IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.02 TiB used: 702.34 GiB (67.3%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: SanDisk model: SSD PLUS 120GB size: 111.80 GiB 
  speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 00RL scheme: GPT 
  ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 QVO 1TB size: 931.51 GiB 
  speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 1B6Q scheme: GPT 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 915.40 GiB used: 702.30 GiB (76.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 31.6 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 31 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com uma main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
  2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
  Processes: 255 Uptime: N/A Memory: 13.66 GiB used: 801.6 MiB (5.7%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash 
  v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38
  

[Rennie]

Thanks for the invested stamina!

[Larry78723]

Same issues again. Wifi works in recovery with the kernels 5.4 and 5.8 and 5.11, but not in normal boot with each of them.
It is also strange as I have described before that I always have an active and strong wifi connection signal to my router, but I cannot ping any address in my lan or internet.

I need some clarification, please. You said that wifi works in recovery with the kernels 5.4 and 5.8 and 5.11, but not in normal boot with each of them. When you boot into recovery mode, can you ping addresses on your lan or the internet?

[Rennie]

Yes. When I am in recovery mode, no matter which kernel I use, I can use the internet or ping any address I want. No issues at all in recovery mode, except for the missing sound and strange display resolution, but that is not the subject here I think.

When I start in normal boot, no matter which kernel I use, the network manager also reports a connection to my wlan with a good signal strength, but in fact I can neither use the internet nor login at my router setup nor ping anything. All sent packages get lost in normal boot. Though the network manager reports no errors and shows the correct gateway address of my router and dns server, I cannot produce any traffic in my network in normal boot.

[Larry78723]

Thank you for the clarification. I'll do some more research.

[Larry78723]

I just thought of something. Some machines block wifi if an ethernet cable is connected during normal boot. Do you have an ethernet cable connected while normal boot? If yes, try without it connected.

[Rennie]

Funny that you mention ethernet ...
No, I do not have an ethernet cable connected to my computer.

BUT ...
just before I was going to write this post I tried "stupid" stuff by connecting an ethernet cable to the computer, switching wifi and cable connections on and off and vice versa and also keeping both connections turned on. After messing around in that fashion, I restored my normal hardware computer setup AND right now everything is working fine!!!!
I have no real clue why, but maybe some sort of config file must have been changed or created in the depth of the system.
I am curious for how long it will be working ....

Anyway, thanks a lot for your support!!!

[Larry78723]

Glad it somehow fixed itself. Come back if it fails again. I'd wait a couple of days before marking the thread as solved.

[Rennie]

Some time has passed and the problem is back again. This time my previously stated solution does not work (it was was some kind of black magic anyway).
I would like to focus on a certain aspect which might be the solution to this issue. I assume this key being mentioned in the topic of my thread.

What is the difference in the boot process between "recovery" and the regular starting routine of Mint 20.2 ?

As I described my Wifi works perfectly in "recovery mode". It is stable and as fast as it can be. So obviously hardware and drivers seem to work in harmony.
When I start Mint by using the regular boot process, my wifi card connects to the router with the same signal strength as in "recovery", BUT there is little to none data thruput.

I do not want to be rude, but I would appreciate not being asked about the technical specs of my computer though that is no secret. I would like to have a different approach to this issue as I stated above.

What is the difference between these two startup processes and what does the regular boot do concerning a different network configuration in contrast to "recovery" ?

I hope that someone has an idea

[Rennie]

I want to add one more fact to this issue:

When I make a fresh install of Mint 20.2 from an USB stick, the wifi is also working perfectly (like in "recovery").

[sleeper12]

Do you have a Timeshift snapshot you can use from before this happened?

[Rennie]

Thanks for your response.
That is in fact a good idea and that is what I already did. No effect. Even after reinstalling a previous system the problem remains.
What does that mean?
One solution could be that there has suddenly occured an external problem (radio signal, channel, interference etc.) which influences the system.
Or it could also mean that the snapshot does not backup back up each and every file of the system which might be responsible for this issue.

I just don get it why the wifi signal strength is always good in both situations /recovery and normal), but the speed is not.
Another interesting fact might be that this issue only seems to occur in 5 Ghz environment and not in 2,4 Ghz.

Any more ideas?

[Rennie]

I think I might have an idea.

Since in recovery mode there is no special graphics or sound driver loaded, the same refers to the installation iso of the usb stick, there might be a conflict somehow when in normal mode the sound and graphics hardware is addressed by a driver.

Is there a known conflict between sound, graphics and wifi drivers in the 5.11 kernel?
When I use the 5.4 kernel I do not have sound and graphics acceleration (Ryzen 5600G), but Wifi works perfectly (AX200).