My Wired Connection is fine, but I don't see any wifi [SOLVED]

[dykestm]

I have Linux Mint 19 on my Lenovo Y520 Gaming Laptop, fresh install. It has a Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter. I have installed all of the drivers and updates suggested by Linux in first steps, and I have restarted my computer. The wired connection I am using to post this is fine.

The Network Settings/Network Connections view doesn't see any wifi connections whatsoever. However, typing lspci in terminal reveals a list of more than a dozen devices the computer should see for wifi connection purposes.

Help?

[sleeper12]

Did you set up your Wifi in Network Connections (IPv4 settings)?

[JeremyB]

Please post results from terminal for

Code: Select all

rfkill list; sudo dmidecode | grep -i version; uname -a

[dykestm]

sleeper, I don't see ANY wifi available in network connections or network. I see the wired when it is plugged into my computer just fine.

The output when I typed in the rfkill line:

0: ideapad_wlan: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: yes
1: ideapad_bluetooth: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: yes
2: hci0: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
3: phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
Version: 5XCN24WW
Version: Lenovo Y520-15IKBM
Version: SDK0J40709 WIN
Version: Lenovo Y520-15IKBM
Version: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz
SBDS Version: Not Specified
String: Compiler Version: VC 9.0
uCode Version
TXT ACM version
MEBx version
ME Firmware Version
SKL PCH H Bx Hsio Version
SKL PCH H Dx Hsio Version
KBL PCH H Ax Hsio Version
SKL PCH LP Bx Hsio Version
SKL PCH LP Cx Hsio Version
SA - PCIe Version
Linux dykestm-Lenovo-Y520-15IKBM 4.15.0-42-generic #45-Ubuntu SMP Thu Nov 15 19:32:57 UTC 2018 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

[dykestm]

One thing about this that isn't factory install:

When I was installing linux, I had two problems, one related to the partition and the other related to wifi. Both occurred on the install step. I had to resolve the partition issue by setting BIOS to AHCI. However, I don't think this is the cause of my wifi problems, because the wifi problems occurred both before and after I solved the partition issue.

[sleeper12]

sleeper, I don't see ANY wifi available in network connections or network. I see the wired when it is plugged into my computer just fine.

Did you set up your Wifi in Network Connections You have to click 'Add' to set it up. If you did that (& sure it's right), but still no luck, right click the lower right connection icon & be sure 'Enable Wifi' is checked. Lastly, check for a physical switch or Fn/F key to turn Wifi on.

[dykestm]

Thank you for the help.

I have added a network connection, and registered it as "Fios-3ZQRO" (because the SSID is the nsame of my wifi network, apparently). I go to the bottom right corner, I click the switch for wireless, and it clicks from left to right back to left, as if the switch was stuck in off mode. This was not an issue on my previous computer, which simply saw the networks and picked one. Nor am I having any trouble with the wired connection. I don't need to register my wired connection or open the lower right hand corner, that stuff just works.

[JeremyB]

Try this to fix

Code: Select all

cd /lib/modules/4.15.0-42-generic/kernel/drivers/platform/x86/
sudo mv ideapad-laptop.ko ideapad-laptop.ko.bak
sudo wget https://www.dropbox.com/s/nxu7b0lyj02bv4n/ideapad-laptop.ko

Check mokutil --sb-state and if it says Secure Boot is enabled, you will need to go into BIOS settings and disable Secure Boot

Reboot. I will see if I can make it work with dkms so that the patched module will compile when a new kernel is installed

[muriz23]

sleeper, I don't see ANY wifi available in network connections or network. I see the wired when it is plugged into my computer just fine.

Did you set up your Wifi in Network Connections You have to click 'Add' to set it up. If you did that (& sure it's right), but still no luck, right click the lower right connection icon & be sure 'Enable Wifi' is checked. Lastly, check for a physical switch or Fn/F key to turn Wifi on.

I had the same issue. The best solution to that is to buy on amazon realtek wifi usb adapter. Once you plug in, it will show all connections. That is do to some companies like HP does not let you install drivers so you have to either open the computer to put it in or you have to buy a USB wifi adapter.
[/quote]

[sleeper12]

What do you have in your Network Connections IPv4 settings? It should look like this:

Method: Automatic (DHCP) addresses only
DNS servers: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4.

Check the box: Require IPv4 addressing for this connection to complete
Click Save

You can use any DNS you like, just be sure their numbers are separated by a comma.

[dykestm]

Thanks for the Hotfix, Jeremy! You're awesome! I imagine this solution had something to do with the wifi wireless drivers on my lenovo laptop? (I'm putting words here for google search purposes).

[JeremyB]

Thanks for the Hotfix, Jeremy! You're awesome! I imagine this solution had something to do with the wifi wireless drivers on my lenovo laptop? (I'm putting words here for google search purposes).

It is a known issue with some Lenovo's that have a hard blocked wifi with no real switch to enable/disable wifi. Your exact model is listed in the upstream kernels so I changed the 4.15 kernel source code to include some models that weren't added to 4.15.
I created a dkms module so that it will work after a kernel update, to use this do

Code: Select all

sudo apt install git dkms build-essential
git clone https://github.com/jeremyb31/ideapad-laptop.git
sudo dkms add ./ideapad-laptop
sudo dkms install ideapad-laptop/1.0