WiFI disconnects randomly and I need to restart (Mint 17.2)

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kawir

WiFI disconnects randomly and I need to restart (Mint 17.2)

Post by kawir »

Hello everyone and thanks for the help you are providing through this forum!

I have been using Linux Mint 17.2 (Cinammon 64-bit) on my Lenovo Z580 laptop for 3 years now and I am pretty satisfied with it. However, around two months ago a strange problem has started: The WiFI randomly disconnects and the only way to connect again is to restart my laptop. Also, when it disconnects all the available networks disappear from the network manager.

I know there is a similar topic just a few posts below but I tried both the solutions (power management and disabling IPv6) and they didn't work. Also, it's not a problem of the internet itself because all other devices are connected fine.

The internet controllers (as given by lspci -vq) are as follows:

Code: Select all

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101/2/6E PCI Express Fast/Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 05)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Device 3975
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 25
	I/O ports at 2000 [size=256]
	Memory at f0404000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Memory at f0400000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: r8169

03:00.0 Network controller: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Device 31a1
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
	Memory at f0500000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ath9k
I also attach the results of iwconfig

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lo        no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"VM_2"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 40:0D:10:D5:FA:61   
          Bit Rate=65 Mb/s   Tx-Power=15 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=70/70  Signal level=-33 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:88   Missed beacon:0

eth0      no wireless extensions.
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
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.
kf5qeo

Re: WiFI disconnects randomly and I need to restart (Mint 17.2)

Post by kf5qeo »

kawir wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2018 7:06 pm I have been using Linux Mint 17.2 (Cinammon 64-bit) on my Lenovo Z580 laptop for 3 years now and I am pretty satisfied with it. However, around two months ago a strange problem has started: The WiFI randomly disconnects and the only way to connect again is to restart my laptop. Also, when it disconnects all the available networks disappear from the network manager.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!
I don't know if this will work for you, but it seems to have helped my situation of similiar problems: install Wicd Network Manager, and use it for connecting to your wifi.
kawir

Re: WiFI disconnects randomly and I need to restart (Mint 17.2)

Post by kawir »

Thanks for your help kf5qeo!
It seems that the WiFI has randomly started behaving itself again. If the problem reappears I will try your solution.
tc683

Re: WiFI disconnects randomly and I need to restart (Mint 17.2)

Post by tc683 »

I had the same issue and have traced it back to being the Atheros wifi card. It is more stable under WICD but still does drop out sometimes. I am on mint 18.3 CInnamon, up to date. My other mint machines :D are perfectly fine with network manager.
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