no wifi or any drivers in Lenovo Ideapad 500s

[hyrum]

Just purchased this machine yesterday and spent all day installing Mint and Ubuntu and troubleshooting. The installation was beautiful, except for no wifi. I searched the web for how to fix and tried everything I could find. Nothing worked. I think the issue is with the driver for wifi. According to the system, there are no drivers, but I'm no expert when it comes to Linux.
I just HATE windows and completely erased it. How to acquire and install the necessary drivers???
Or, if that's not the problem, what to check?

I would appreciate any help. I hate the thought of returning this awesome laptop, but I cannot work with Windows. I've been using a Chromebook with dual linux installation but the processors on Chromebooks are too slow.

This seems to be a common issue, so if no solution exists, is there a list of laptops that Mint works on?
I don't want to spend a ton more money, just to find that it won't work.

[JeremyB]

Post the result from terminal for

Code: Select all

lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 net; rfkill list all

[hyrum]

below is the code for the command: lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 net; rfkill list all


02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Device [8086:3166] (rev 79)
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device [8086:4210]
03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:3835]
Kernel driver in use: r8169
0: hci0: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: yes
Hard blocked: no

[inshimbi]

I am having the same issue too. and same model of laptop. I updated kernel to 4.3 but nothing.

Below is my output from previous command given in last comment.

Code: Select all

01:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:382e]
        Kernel driver in use: r8169
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Qualcomm Atheros Device [168c:0041] (rev 20)
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:3545]
        Kernel driver in use: ath10k_pci
0: ideapad_wlan: Wireless LAN
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no
1: ideapad_bluetooth: Bluetooth
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no
2: hci0: Bluetooth
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no

[beginner@linux]

Hi guys,

i have the same problem with the same laptop, wich i can't return. I've tried ubuntu, mint, mageia and manjaro. All have the same problem. Only manjaro had a wifi connection, but problems with the graphical card. and a flickering screen.
I gave the same commandline with lspci and got the same result. there's no wifi found, only ethernet controller.

[JeremyB]

below is the code for the command: lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 net; rfkill list all


02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Device [8086:3166] (rev 79)
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device [8086:4210]
03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:3835]
Kernel driver in use: r8169
0: hci0: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: yes
Hard blocked: no

Post

Code: Select all

uname -a; dmesg | grep iwl

[JeremyB]

I am having the same issue too. and same model of laptop. I updated kernel to 4.3 but nothing.

Below is my output from previous command given in last comment.

Code: Select all

01:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:382e]
        Kernel driver in use: r8169
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Qualcomm Atheros Device [168c:0041] (rev 20)
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:3545]
        Kernel driver in use: ath10k_pci
0: ideapad_wlan: Wireless LAN
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no
1: ideapad_bluetooth: Bluetooth
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no
2: hci0: Bluetooth
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no

I made a dkms deb package for this exact card but it doesn't work with a kernel higher than 3.19. By the info, you just need firmware, post

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dmesg | grep ath10k

[hyrum]

I just ordered a usb wifi adapter. We'll see how it goes.

[JeremyB]

I just ordered a usb wifi adapter. We'll see how it goes.

It should take much to get the internal Intel going

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sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic
wget https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/projects/backports/2015/11/20/backports-20151120.tar.gz
tar -zxvf backports-20151120.tar.gz
cd backports-20151120
make defconfig-wifi
make
sudo make install
cd /lib/firmware
sudo wget http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/plain/iwlwifi-7265D-13.ucode

Reboot

[JeremyB]

I am having the same issue too. and same model of laptop. I updated kernel to 4.3 but nothing.

Below is my output from previous command given in last comment.

Code: Select all

01:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:382e]
        Kernel driver in use: r8169
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Qualcomm Atheros Device [168c:0041] (rev 20)
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:3545]
        Kernel driver in use: ath10k_pci
0: ideapad_wlan: Wireless LAN
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no
1: ideapad_bluetooth: Bluetooth
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no
2: hci0: Bluetooth
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install git
git clone https://github.com/atondwal/ath10k-firmware.git
sudo cp -r ath10k-firmware/ath10k/ /lib/firmware/
cd /lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA6164
sudo cp -r hw2.1/ /lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA6174/
echo "options ath10k_core skip_otp=Y" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/ath10k_core.conf

Reboot

[ralplpcr]

Maybe I'm missing it, but I didn't see which version (and flavor) of Mint you were trying to install? There are some known issues with the RealTEK 8111 wireless adapters and older Linux kernels, so it *could* be that a kernel update is all you need. Post the output of the following command, if you have a moment:

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxz

(that's upper-case "F", lower case everything else)

Edit: Some reference, and instructions to load the drivers. Not officially supported, so use at your own risk: https://twistedlinux.wordpress.com/2016 ... 8111e8169/

Another thing with many Lenovo systems is that they have either a "soft" switch or a physical switch to turn off the WiFi. If it's a physical one, make sure it's turned on - - that would be easiest. The "soft" switch can be a bit more tricky - - I don't know exactly what it does, but it seems to flip some bit in BIOs/UEFI to actually disable the card. You might be lucky and be able to reboot into your system settings (BIOs/UEFI) to enable the card. I do know that whatever the "soft" switch does, it doesn't seem to change within Linux - - I've had to boot into Windows to change the setting more than once.

[JeremyB]

Maybe I'm missing it, but I didn't see which version (and flavor) of Mint you were trying to install? There are some known issues with the RealTEK 8111 wireless adapters and older Linux kernels, so it *could* be that a kernel update is all you need. Post the output of the following command, if you have a moment:

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxz

(that's upper-case "F", lower case everything else)

Edit: Some reference, and instructions to load the drivers. Not officially supported, so use at your own risk: https://twistedlinux.wordpress.com/2016 ... 8111e8169/

Another thing with many Lenovo systems is that they have either a "soft" switch or a physical switch to turn off the WiFi. If it's a physical one, make sure it's turned on - - that would be easiest. The "soft" switch can be a bit more tricky - - I don't know exactly what it does, but it seems to flip some bit in BIOs/UEFI to actually disable the card. You might be lucky and be able to reboot into your system settings (BIOs/UEFI) to enable the card. I do know that whatever the "soft" switch does, it doesn't seem to change within Linux - - I've had to boot into Windows to change the setting more than once.

There is no Realtek 8111 wireless, it is ethernet

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01:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:382e]
        Kernel driver in use: r8169

inshimbi has a Qualcomm Atheros QCA6164 wireless card and hyrum has an Intel 3166 wireless card

[ralplpcr]

There is no Realtek 8111 wireless, it is ethernet

Code: Select all

01:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:382e]
        Kernel driver in use: r8169

inshimbi has a Qualcomm Atheros QCA6164 wireless card and hyrum has an Intel 3166 wireless card

Ah, you're right - - my mistake. I saw the "Realtek RTL8111", and remembered my own struggles with that card a while back, completely missing the obvious "Gigabit Ethernet" part right after it. Sorry about that!

[hyrum]

The WiFi usb adapter I purchased, works instantly, no installation needed.

Panda Wireless N USB Adapter
model # PAU05

[JeremyB]

The WiFi usb adapter I purchased, works instantly, no installation needed.

Panda Wireless N USB Adapter
model # PAU05

I would think that the internal will work when LM 18 is released in a few months

[kukamuumuka]

viewtopic.php?f=53&t=206496&p=1074970&h ... g50+solved

The solution is to make a /etc/rc.local file, whose contents is

#!/bin/sh -e
# By default this script does nothing.
modprobe -r ideapad-laptop
exit 0

[JeremyB]

viewtopic.php?f=53&t=206496&p=1074970&h ... g50+solved

The solution is to make a /etc/rc.local file, whose contents is

#!/bin/sh -e
# By default this script does nothing.
modprobe -r ideapad-laptop
exit 0

That only works for wireless that is hardblocked and usually results in some FN combos or multimedia buttons being non-functional. Most kernels used with LM17 can be patched to fix the hardblock without removing/blacklisting ideapad-laptop, the info I would need to patch is

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uname -a
sudo dmidecode | grep -i version

[roryrjb]

You can find a solution here: http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions ... 385#261385. I followed these steps exactly and wi-fi now works on my IdeaPad 500S.