WiFi unavailable WG111v2 & RT3290

[FunkySpaveMunky]

Hi All,
I am hoping someone can help me, after reading as much as my eyes would let me i am still stuck in trying to get WiFi to work.
Both Internal and an old dongle i have, which i have read should work, are visible but unavailable and cant connect to anything.

Internal: RT3290
Dongle: WG111v2

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striker@striker-HP-ENVY-15-Notebook-PC:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 138a:0050 Validity Sensors, Inc. Swipe Fingerprint Sensor
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0bda:571a Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 005 Device 005: ID 0846:6a00 NetGear, Inc. WG111v2 54 Mbps Wireless [RealTek RTL8187L]
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

striker@striker-HP-ENVY-15-Notebook-PC:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: striker-HP-ENVY-15-Notebook-PC Kernel: 4.15.0-34-generic x86_64 bits: 64 gcc: 7.3.0
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.8.9 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu1) Distro: Linux Mint 19 Tara
Machine:   Device: laptop System: Hewlett-Packard product: HP ENVY 15 Notebook PC v: 0887100000305B00000320100 serial: N/A
           Mobo: Hewlett-Packard model: 198A v: KBC Version 03.13 serial: N/A
           UEFI [Legacy]: Insyde v: F.08 date: 06/13/2013
Battery    BAT0: charge: 42.6 Wh 89.9% condition: 47.3/47.3 Wh (100%)
           model: Hewlett-Packard Primary status: Charging
CPU:       Quad core AMD A10-5750M APU with Radeon HD Graphics (-MCP-) arch: Piledriver rev.1 cache: 8192 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm) bmips: 19963
           clock speeds: max: 2500 MHz 1: 1458 MHz 2: 1613 MHz 3: 1496 MHz 4: 1421 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Richland [Radeon HD 8650G] bus-ID: 00:01.0
           Card-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Mars [Radeon HD 8670A/8670M/8750M] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: modesetting,fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1366x768@59.99hz
           OpenGL: renderer: AMD ARUBA (DRM 2.50.0 / 4.15.0-34-generic, LLVM 6.0.0)
           version: 4.3 Mesa 18.0.5 Direct Render: Yes
Audio:     Card-1 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] FCH Azalia Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:14.2
           Card-2 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Trinity HDMI Audio Controller
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:01.1
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-34-generic
Network:   Card-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: 2000 bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Ralink RT3290 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe driver: rt2800pci v: 2.3.0 bus-ID: 05:00.0
           IF: wlo1 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-3: NetGear WG111v2 54 Mbps Wireless [RealTek RTL8187L] driver: rtl8187 usb-ID: 005-005
           IF: wlx001b2f45f211 state: N/A mac: N/A
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 1000.2GB (1.5% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST1000LM024_HN size: 1000.2GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 916G used: 15G (2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 45.5C mobo: 0.0C gpu: N/A,43.0
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 186 Uptime: 40 min Memory: 1395.8/15253.6MB Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 7.3.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.4.191) inxi: 2.3.56 

striker@striker-HP-ENVY-15-Notebook-PC:~$ lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 net; rfkill list
02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 0c)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [103c:198a]
	Kernel driver in use: r8169
	Kernel modules: r8169
05:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Ralink corp. RT3290 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe [1814:3290]
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Ralink RT3290LE 802.11bgn 1x1 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter [103c:18ec]
	Kernel driver in use: rt2800pci
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: yes
3: phy3: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no

striker@striker-HP-ENVY-15-Notebook-PC:~$ iwconfig
eno1      no wireless extensions.

wlo1      IEEE 802.11  ESSID:off/any  
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=off   
          Retry short  long limit:2   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          
lo        no wireless extensions.

wlx001b2f45f211  IEEE 802.11  ESSID:off/any  
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=0 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on

Hope someone can help or guide me in the right direction

[JeremyB]

Disable wifi power management with

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sudo sed -i 's/3/2/' /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/*

Reboot and see if the internal works

[FunkySpaveMunky]

Hi JeremyB,
Thanks for your response, i have read so many of your responses on other threads, great to see your support.

Well i tried the code and rebooted with no change, ran the script from your signature:
http://termbin.com/0pad

I noticed that the internal card shows 'y' hard blocked.

Thanks.

[JeremyB]

Is there a switch or button to enable/disable wifi?

[FunkySpaveMunky]

There is a soft key on F10 but it doesnt seem to do anything under LM, the other softkeys work fine e.g. volume, screen brightness etc

[AZgl1800]

There is a soft key on F10 but it doesnt seem to do anything under LM, the other softkeys work fine e.g. volume, screen brightness etc

are you combining that softkey with the FN key? LM requires that on my pc

[kyphi]

The ancient Netgear WG111v2 can be made to work as originally suggested by JeremyB in 2016 (viewtopic.php?t=236099)

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wget https://daemonizer.de/prism54/prism54-fw/fw-usb/2.13.25.0.lm87.arm --no-check-certificate

followed by

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sudo mv 2.13.25.0.lm87.arm /lib/firmware/isl3887usb

I have one of these dongles and can confirm that JeremyB's solution works.

[FunkySpaveMunky]

There is a soft key on F10 but it doesnt seem to do anything under LM, the other softkeys work fine e.g. volume, screen brightness etc

are you combining that softkey with the FN key? LM requires that on my pc

Yes i have tried that combination, doesn't do anything, all the other hotkeys work fine.

[FunkySpaveMunky]

The ancient Netgear WG111v2 can be made to work as originally suggested by JeremyB in 2016 (viewtopic.php?t=236099)

Code: Select all

wget https://daemonizer.de/prism54/prism54-fw/fw-usb/2.13.25.0.lm87.arm --no-check-certificate

followed by

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sudo mv 2.13.25.0.lm87.arm /lib/firmware/isl3887usb

I have one of these dongles and can confirm that JeremyB's solution works.

Unfortunately it did not work, are you using LM19? is possibly a kernal support issue?

Should i reinstall and see if a clean install does anything?

[JeremyB]

You might have to check BIOS settings to see if there are any wifi/WLAN settings. You can try resetting BIOS to defaults to see if that clears the hard block

[FunkySpaveMunky]

You might have to check BIOS settings to see if there are any wifi/WLAN settings. You can try resetting BIOS to defaults to see if that clears the hard block

Hi JeremyB,
I reset to defaults and made the following changes:
- Disables secure boot
- Enabled Legacy support
- changed softkey to use FN+Key

Same results unfortunately, i am really dumbfounded by this one.

Hardblock still shows 'Y'
Noticed incorrect driver is also being used:

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	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Ralink RT3290LE 802.11bgn 1x1 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter [103c:18ec]
	Kernel driver in use: rt2800pci
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: yes

[JeremyB]

That is the correct driver for the internal wifi. Try

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echo "blacklist hp-wmi" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/hp-wmi.conf

Reboot

[FunkySpaveMunky]

That is the correct driver for the internal wifi. Try

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echo "blacklist hp-wmi" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/hp-wmi.conf

Reboot

Hi JeremyB,
I tried the above and still no luck

Ok so what have i done:
- re-installed LM19, just in-case all my playing around has done something inadvertently.
- checked the WG111v2 dongle on my other laptop, best to check thrice i say, works fine on other laptop using windows.
- followed the steps posted previously with steps to get the WG111v2 working, still no luck
- Tried to look at the folder isl3887usb in lib/firmware and get error not a directory, would this cause a problem accessing the files in the directory?
- Figured out that fn+alt+wifi soft key (F12) toggles the soft block
- have rerun the script in your email, output: http://termbin.com/l6lw

So still cant get either device to work, i have another dongle WNDA3100v2, but i have read that its also poorly supported and no one seems to have been able to get it working.

Anything else i should look at or try?

[JeremyB]

You could see if removing the internal wifi card will allow the USB to work

[FunkySpaveMunky]

You could see if removing the internal wifi card will allow the USB to work

Not really prepared to do open surgery, if i cant get it running i may just have to quit trying, don want to but nothing seems to be working.

Have read more and tried to change the driver with no success, sure its probably my lack of experience but i have spent substantial amounts of hours and it doesnt seem like something that can be fixed with ease.

[AZgl1800]

maybe using the Panda PAU06 for $15 and free shipping might give you a resolution?

mine seems to work with the drivers in all of the different new kernels that 18.3 Mint has been releasing.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i ... 78SZKNMA8Z

it is how I have been able to continue getting WiFi until JeremyB resolved the MT7630e problem for me.

[JeremyB]

maybe using the Panda PAU06 for $15 and free shipping might give you a resolution?

mine seems to work with the drivers in all of the different new kernels that 18.3 Mint has been releasing.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i ... 78SZKNMA8Z

it is how I have been able to continue getting WiFi until JeremyB resolved the MT7630e problem for me.

Unfortunately, if you see

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phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: yes

No wifi will work until hard blocked is no and I just tested it on my Toshiba. When I used the switch to enable wifi then the USB would work. There is a pin on the internal card that is part of the rfkill and people have put a piece of electrical tape over that pin to override the hard block and that is why I suggested removing the internal card

[AZgl1800]

why would the OEM intentionally put a Hard Block on WiFi ?


Unless, it was presold to a customer who is paranoid, and wants to restrict outside world access to their internal networks? I know of one such company, my son works for them. they only allow access to the internet thru their own servers..... but they do it thru a VPN.

[FunkySpaveMunky]

maybe using the Panda PAU06 for $15 and free shipping might give you a resolution?

mine seems to work with the drivers in all of the different new kernels that 18.3 Mint has been releasing.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i ... 78SZKNMA8Z

it is how I have been able to continue getting WiFi until JeremyB resolved the MT7630e problem for me.

Unfortunately, if you see

Code: Select all

phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: yes

No wifi will work until hard blocked is no and I just tested it on my Toshiba. When I used the switch to enable wifi then the USB would work. There is a pin on the internal card that is part of the rfkill and people have put a piece of electrical tape over that pin to override the hard block and that is why I suggested removing the internal card

I'm ok with using the dongle instead of the internal, what I'm finding hard to get my head around is that the wg111v2 won't work, it seems to have the correct driver, soft and hard block are 'no', still no luck, it definitely works as I tested it on my other laptop with no issues.

[JeremyB]

But as long as the one in rfkill list results show hard block: yes, the USB will not work