See 5 GHz but can only connect to 2.4 GHz

[smoljanovic]

I am fairly new to Linux Mint and am dual booting Mint Cinnamon 19.1 and Windows 10. I have an RT-AC58U router and am having an impossible time trying to find the solution to my WiFi problem. I have searched for days on various search engines and forums including this one and find no answer. The network manager finds the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi bands but refuses to connect to the 5 GHz connection. NOTE: Router is set for both bands and works flawlessly in Windows 10. All android and IOS devices also are easily connected to the 5 GHz band. In my search, I have seen where people with similar problems were asked to supply 2 sets of info although there were no resolutions that are applicable to my case. I am copy/pasting 2 sets of info here after this explanation/question by running 'inxi -Fxz' and 'iwlist chan'.

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alex@alex-G11CD:~$ iwlist chan
wlp3s0    32 channels in total; available frequencies :
          Channel 01 : 2.412 GHz
          Channel 02 : 2.417 GHz
          Channel 03 : 2.422 GHz
          Channel 04 : 2.427 GHz
          Channel 05 : 2.432 GHz
          Channel 06 : 2.437 GHz
          Channel 07 : 2.442 GHz
          Channel 08 : 2.447 GHz
          Channel 09 : 2.452 GHz
          Channel 10 : 2.457 GHz
          Channel 11 : 2.462 GHz
          Channel 12 : 2.467 GHz
          Channel 13 : 2.472 GHz
          Channel 36 : 5.18 GHz
          Channel 40 : 5.2 GHz
          Channel 44 : 5.22 GHz
          Channel 48 : 5.24 GHz
          Channel 52 : 5.26 GHz
          Channel 56 : 5.28 GHz
          Channel 60 : 5.3 GHz
          Channel 64 : 5.32 GHz
          Channel 100 : 5.5 GHz
          Channel 104 : 5.52 GHz
          Channel 108 : 5.54 GHz
          Channel 112 : 5.56 GHz
          Channel 116 : 5.58 GHz
          Channel 120 : 5.6 GHz
          Channel 124 : 5.62 GHz
          Channel 128 : 5.64 GHz
          Channel 132 : 5.66 GHz
          Channel 136 : 5.68 GHz
          Channel 140 : 5.7 GHz
          Current Frequency=2.462 GHz (Channel 11)

enp4s0    no frequency information.

lo        no frequency information.

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alex@alex-G11CD:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:
  Host: alex-G11CD Kernel: 4.15.0-42-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc 
  v: 7.3.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.0.7 Distro: Linux Mint 19.1 Tessa 
  base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: G11CD v: Rev 1.xx serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends v: 0905 date: 01/26/2017 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-6700 bits: 64 type: MT MCP 
  arch: Skylake-S rev: 3 L2 cache: 8192 KiB 
  flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 54528 
  Speed: 2648 MHz min/max: 800/4000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 2700 2: 2700 
  3: 2700 4: 2700 5: 2700 6: 2667 7: 2661 8: 2700 
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GP104 [GeForce GTX 1080] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nvidia 
  v: 390.77 bus ID: 01:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: nvidia 
  resolution: 1920x1200~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1080/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 390.77 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-H HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP104 High Definition Audio vendor: ASUSTeK 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 
  Device-3: Microsoft LifeCam Cinema type: USB 
  driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo bus ID: 1-5:4 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.15.0-42-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8821AE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter 
  vendor: AzureWave driver: rtl8821ae v: kernel port: d000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: ASUSTeK driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: c000 bus ID: 04:00.0 
  IF: enp4s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.30 TiB used: 686.71 GiB (29.2%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Toshiba model: DT01ACA100 size: 931.51 GiB 
  ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: SanDisk model: SD8SB8U512G1002 size: 476.94 GiB 
  ID-3: /dev/sdc type: USB vendor: Samsung model: HD103SI size: 931.51 GiB 
  ID-4: /dev/sdd type: USB vendor: Lexar model: JumpDrive size: 14.94 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 119.53 GiB used: 28.03 GiB (23.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb5 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8 C mobo: 27.8 C gpu: nvidia temp: 37 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0 gpu: nvidia fan: 27% 
Info:
  Processes: 273 Uptime: 10h 47m Memory: 15.59 GiB used: 7.51 GiB (48.2%) 
  Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.3.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.19 
  inxi: 3.0.27 
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Yes. I suppose I can live with only having the 2.4 GHz WiFi option but it is difficult to leave alone never knowing what the actual problem is. Thanks for helping if you can.

[smoljanovic]

It seems the initial trouble I had has been resolved.

This is what I did:
Looking at the 'inxi -Fxz' output I initially posted, I decided to do a search for the hardware listed:
Device-1: Realtek RTL8821AE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
vendor: AzureWave driver: rtl8821ae v: kernel port: d000 bus ID: 03:00.0
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I installed the appropriate Realtek drivers using the following procedure:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential git
git clone http://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git
cd rtlwifi_new
make
sudo make install
sudo modprobe rtl8821ae
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After rebooting...I was able to connect for the first time ever on the 5 GHz band but was disconnected about 10 minutes later. The system automatically switched back to 2.4 GHz. Although a 5 GHz band connection is now finally possible, I suspect that low power levels are responsible for my occasional disconnects that happen at 5 GHz. My connection level ranges from about 47% to 55%. The power levels for 2.4 GHz is much higher as expected. I believe the initial trouble has been resolved. Forums are new to me. I am not sure if I can or need to mark this as resolved.

Thanks

[sleeper12]

This thread might interest you:

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=283208&p=1566506#p1566506

[smoljanovic]

Thanks but the problem I had was different and was resolved by adding the drivers specified in my last post.

[AZgl1800]

I am suspicious that your WiFi tx power is being lowered to much.

I had to do this:
viewtopic.php?f=90&t=270493

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sudo sed -i 's/wifi.powersave = 3/wifi.powersave = 2/' /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

now

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  restart network-manager.service
 

[smoljanovic]

Gave up on Mint and installed Mx-Linux. The power level for 5GHz now ranges between 78 and 100%. I will be sure to try your suggested configuration suggestion when I re-install Linux Mint on a new machine if necessary. Thanks