[SOLVED] WiFi Adapter (Ralink RT3290) Not working on Linux Mint 18.1

[f03n1x]

Hi Guys,

Hopefully I'm you're all not too bored of the "WiFi adapter not working" issue lol.

Anyways been loving Mint so far, quite new to the Linux scene, but I've switched from Ubuntu to Mint, and glad I did

So the issue started when I wanted to fix another issue not related to my WiFi adapter, which was when my Laptop screen would go to sleep, I wasn't able to get back into my laptop, and so had to hit the power button.

So After some googling I decided to try switching the Graphics Driver to the "Recommended" Driver. As one of the suggestions.

Now this caused the issue of Linux Mint to not work and thus my WiFi Adapter not working, So after plugging in an Ethernet cable I was able to switch back to the "Open Source" version. Which it originally was before I had any WiFi Issues.

So I switch back, but no WiFi, I found out that Linux Mint 18.1 has an issue with my particular adapter, and found this forum postviewtopic.php?t=226034, which someone was able to find a fix via: http://onthim.blogspot.co.nz/2015/06/in ... er-on.html

I think I may have stuffed up somewhere, due to installing the first link, then the last (probably the cause of my issue!) and wasn't able to find my WiFi adapter anymore. I've also tried the second to last post in the forum post but didn't help.

In the end I uninstalled the fix, and still cannot find my WiFi adapter.

So I did some checking and I found that wireless.txt file usually helps. (apparently my wireless-info.txt was too big so it's a tar ball).

I'll try and provide as much info about my computer as I can, for now any help is much appreciated!

Update: So after a restart, my laptop now shows the wireless adapter on the taskbar, but it says firmware missing.

Update 2: Okay so following the instructions on this website: http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/2016/0 ... es-on.html has now made it so that the wireless adapter not appearing on taskbar, lol I think I better just leave it alone for now, seems like i'm doing more harm than good.

Upate 3: So I thought it'd be best to do a reboot then attach the wireless info script output and it seems like the output is a lot smaller now here's the pastebin: https://pastebin.com/sGSy9q17

[f03n1x]

Not 100% sure if this is the proper fix but booting to an older version of the Kernel fixed my issue.

So from 4.4.0-79 to 4.4.0-53

but I don't really know how to make it boot to this version everytime, don't really mind having to go to adv options but it'd be nice if it did.

[jimallyn]

but I don't really know how to make it boot to this version everytime

By default, Linux will boot to the most recent kernel it finds. Remove the newer kernel that didn't work. (Same way as you installed it, use the Update Manager.)

[f03n1x]

but I don't really know how to make it boot to this version everytime

By default, Linux will boot to the most recent kernel it finds. Remove the newer kernel that didn't work. (Same way as you installed it, use the Update Manager.)

Ah okay thanks for that!, I guess for now, until I get some proper fix to my WiFi adapter issue, I'll mark this as Fixed.

[jimallyn]

You could also try a newer kernel than the 4.4 kernel you are using. There may have been a regression in the latest 4.4 series kernel that caused the problem with your wifi, and it might well be fixed in the 4.8 or 4.10 series. Always remember when installing a new kernel to keep your old one; if your computer won't run with the newer kernel, you've still got the old one to fall back on.