Weak wifi signal if not right next to router on my Lenovo laptop

[aelsherif]

The signal is very weak or non-existent when I move the laptop away from the router. Other devices and OSs work well.

This is the output of inxi -Fxz

Code: Select all

System:    Host: ats-Lenovo Kernel: 4.15.0-29-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.4.6 (Gtk 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.3)
           Distro: Linux Mint 18.2 Sonya
Machine:   System: LENOVO (portable) product: 80SM v: Lenovo ideapad 310-15ISK
           Mobo: LENOVO model: Toronto 5A2 v: NO DPK
           Bios: LENOVO v: 0XCN23WW date: 03/21/2016
CPU:       Dual core Intel Core i5-6200U (-HT-MCP-) cache: 3072 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 9600
           clock speeds: max: 2800 MHz 1: 1900 MHz 2: 1971 MHz 3: 2142 MHz
           4: 2089 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Sky Lake Integrated Graphics bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Card-2: NVIDIA Device 134f bus-ID: 03:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 driver: nvidia
           Resolution: 1366x768@59.97hz
           GLX Renderer: GeForce 920MX/PCIe/SSE2
           GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 384.130 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-29-generic
Network:   Card-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: 4000 bus-ID: 01:00.0
           IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Intel Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 Plus Bluetooth
           driver: iwlwifi bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 1000.2GB (60.4% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST1000LM024_HN size: 1000.2GB temp: 35C
Partition: ID-1: / size: 23G used: 19G (86%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5
           ID-2: /home size: 275G used: 83G (32%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda6
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 10.00GB used: 0.06GB (1%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda7
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 50.5C mobo: N/A gpu: 0.0:42C
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 257 Uptime: 2 days Memory: 3958.7/5867.5MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481) inxi: 2.2.35

I tried the guide posted in https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php ... st13614520 to no avail.

[Valsodar]

You didn't say what brand and model your router is.
You need to set its power to the highest level. If it's a TP-LINK, this is the "where" and the "how":




With this setting I have full coverage at nearly 8 meters away from the router.

[aelsherif]

Thank you for your reply. My router's brand is Huawei and its model is hg531 v1.

There's a similar setting in the router settings where the transmit power is set to 20 dBm, the range being 1-20 dBm.

[JeremyB]

See if the antennas are connected to the wifi card as Intel chipsets normally have good reception

[Valsodar]

Well, if it is already set to the highest power and you still have weak signal, then the router is crap and you either need to buy a normal TP-LINK like mine - model number is on the screenshot (they're not expensive, like 25-35 euro in my country), OR you must buy signal extender by Huawei and connect it to a power socket at the edge of where you start losing the signal. Depending on where exactly you lose the signal and how powerful the extender is, you may need more than one.
I don't know where you're from and what the prices are there, but here in Bulgaria the cheapest variant is buying a new TP-LINK router, cuz the extenders usually cost as much as the whole router itself.

See if the antennas are connected to the wifi card as Intel chipsets normally have good reception

That thing doesn't seem to have any antennas:

[aelsherif]

Yes, I understand maybe the router is pretty bad, but since wifi is working fine with other laptops and on my laptop on windows, I'm assuming the problem is with mint.

[JeremyB]

Well, if it is already set to the highest power and you still have weak signal, then the router is crap and you either need to buy a normal TP-LINK like mine - model number is on the screenshot (they're not expensive, like 25-35 euro in my country), OR you must buy signal extender by Huawei and connect it to a power socket at the edge of where you start losing the signal. Depending on where exactly you lose the signal and how powerful the extender is, you may need more than one.
I don't know where you're from and what the prices are there, but here in Bulgaria the cheapest variant is buying a new TP-LINK router, cuz the extenders usually cost as much as the whole router itself.

See if the antennas are connected to the wifi card as Intel chipsets normally have good reception

That thing doesn't seem to have any antennas:

On the wifi card inside the laptop, not the router

[Valsodar]

the problem is with mint.

It's possible but I doubt that. My best friend a linux guru and he installed on his smartphone the same Mint 18.3 I'm using on my Desktop PC. He caught my home network signal from 22 meters away - only to prove me wrong cuz I told him it's possible the Linux drivers for wi-fi might be bugged or underdeveloped (we were discussing your problem).

[jape3]

This sounds a bit like the problem I had with HP laptop. IIRC, in that machine there was just 1 wifi-antenna installed on the wifi card, and by default the linux driver used the wrong antenna port. After changing the port it worked.