Wireless connection option keeps disappearing [SOLVED]

[deepakmal]

Hello all,
The option for a wireless connection keeps on disappearing. I have to restart the laptop in order to regain the connection and even then it usually only lasts a short while. I've had Linux Mint for a few months now and this is a recent problem; seems to have started a few days ago.

WIFI and WIFI P2P options disappear and require a restart (or two, sometimes even multiple) to appear again.

(A)

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxz

Output for (A)

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-66-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 4.8.6 Distro: Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa 
  base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Acer product: Aspire V3-572G v: V1.32 
  serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: Acer model: EA50_HB v: V1.32 serial: <filter> UEFI: Insyde v: 1.32 
  date: 09/15/2015 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT1 charge: 7.2 Wh condition: 9.0/55.9 Wh (16%) 
  model: SANYO 0032334134314C41 status: Charging 
CPU:
  Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i7-5500U bits: 64 type: MT MCP 
  arch: Broadwell rev: 4 L2 cache: 4096 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 19153 
  Speed: 1225 MHz min/max: 500/3000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 899 2: 897 
  3: 898 4: 880 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 5500 vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI 
  driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GM108M [GeForce 840M] vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI 
  driver: nvidia v: 460.39 bus ID: 04:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting,nvidia 
  unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: GeForce 840M/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 460.39 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Broadwell-U Audio vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:03.0 
  Device-2: Intel Wildcat Point-LP High Definition Audio 
  vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
  bus ID: 00:1b.0 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-66-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 4000 
  bus ID: 02:00.1 
  IF: enp2s0f1 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Intel Wireless 7260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 4000 
  bus ID: 03:00.0 
  IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 931.51 GiB used: 29.30 GiB (3.1%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Toshiba model: MQ01ABD100 size: 931.51 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 915.40 GiB used: 29.30 GiB (3.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 56.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 50 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Info:
  Processes: 251 Uptime: 35m Memory: 7.69 GiB used: 3.63 GiB (47.2%) 
  Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 clang: 10.0.0-4ubuntu1 
  Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 inxi: 3.0.38 

(B)

Code: Select all

rfkill list all

Output for (B)

Code: Select all

0: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
1: acer-bluetooth: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: no
2: hci0: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: no
3: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no

(C)

Code: Select all

inxi -Nn

Output for (C)

Code: Select all

Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  driver: r8169 
  IF: enp2s0f1 state: down mac: f0:76:1c:83:2d:c6 
  Device-2: Intel Wireless 7260 driver: iwlwifi 
  IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac: d8:fc:93:b9:8a:48 

(D)
I've included this because I've seen it being mentioned in other threads as a contributing factor but wasn't sure if I should play around with it or not. I'm still fairly to new this stuff.

Code: Select all

mokutil --sb-state

Output for (D)

Code: Select all

SecureBoot enabled

Any help would be appreciated.
Regards,
Deepak

[sleeper12]

You need to disable secure boot in Bios.

[deepakmal]

I don’t think that fixed it. Still experiencing the same problem after restarting twice

[sleeper12]

What does this show:

Code: Select all

 iwconfig 

[deepakmal]

At the moment, I have WIFI so it's showing this:

Code: Select all

wlp3s0    IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"WiFi-8B52-5G"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:5.745 GHz  Access Point: 1C:3B:F3:E4:8B:54   
          Bit Rate=260 Mb/s   Tx-Power=22 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on
          Link Quality=50/70  Signal level=-60 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:31   Missed beacon:0

lo        no wireless extensions.

enp2s0f1  no wireless extensions

Otherwise, it only shows the bottom two.

[sleeper12]

Turn power management off:

Code: Select all

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

Reboot

[deepakmal]

Hello sleeper12,
Thank you for your assistance and I apologise for the delayed reply. I have just run that piece of code to turn off power management and rebooted my laptop. I cannot yet tell if that has fixed the issue. I will provide an update in a week from now or whenever the next issue occurs.
Regards,
deepakmal

[sleeper12]

Fair enough, let us know how it turns out.

[deepakmal]

That didn't fix it. I lost connection again a few minutes ago, which has since been recovered after I rebooted the laptop. On a positive note, this is the first time that has happened since running the code to turn power management off, which is the longest interval with a stable internet connection I've had since this problem started occuring. This was a problem with my laptop when I still had Windows as well, where the WiFi card would randomly disable, so I'm guessing its something unique to my laptop?

[sleeper12]

Be sure secure boot is still disabled. Also, update your kernel to 5.4.0.71.
If that doesn't help, maybe disable IPv6: https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... html#ID2.2

[djph]

another thing to check -- what's the age of the machine? If it's more than 2-3 years, it's POSSIBLE that your AC adapter (and battery) have started to go, and power isn't actually as stable as you think it is.

had the weirdest series of wlan dropouts, and it turned out my (somewhere between 3 and 5 year old) AC Adapter wasn't able to put out 19 volts / whatever amps anymore.

[sleeper12]

The inxi shows:

date: 09/15/2015

[djph]

well, a 6 year old machine DEFINITELY has a sketchy battery (they last 3-4 years, tops), and very likely the AC adapter is starting to show its age (heat really does a number to them). Simple way to verify that would be if the BIOS / EFI startup screen loses it about the AC Adapter / battery life (and makes you press F1 or whatever to "shutup and boot")

I'm not saying it's a definite cause, but replacing the old adapter fixed my problems (well, until the kiddo decided said laptop was thirsty).

[sleeper12]

djph,

Funny, I just got that F1 error on one of my old machines. Wasn't quite sure what to make of it, so thanks for that.

[deepakmal]

Secure boot is disabled. My connection has been stable for the last 72 hours, although a restart (maximum two) is required sometimes (I am a noob and default to this solution every time a problem like this beyond my understanding occurs). I am happy to mark this thread as SOLVED, so forum contributors such as yourselves can direct your attention to more pressing issues. I will continue to try and play around with a few things (such as updating the kernel). Thank you for your assistance and I'll try keep this updated in case I come across a permanent fix.

For the curious:
I switched to Linux Mint from Windows 10 because it is an old laptop, and it was really pushing itself to carry out the simplest of tasks (would heat up and make a lot of noise just to start Chrome or open Microsoft Word). It has been a lot cooler and a lot quieter since making the change to Linux, but the battery life has continued to dwindle; after disabling power management it went from 1 hr to 50 mins. It is an old laptop however, so that's expected.

[Larry78723]

If you're going to continue using that laptop, it's time to replace that battery.

[deepakmal]

Definitely