The Linux.uk Community Forum

Hi Mark,
I am having a bit of bother lately getting the WiFi to connect (again).
The icon on the screen shows 100% connectivity, but when I try to log on to a site the screen says it can't connect.
I tried on the Windows machine and everything is ok. When I come back to my Linux machine it is all working now.
I have printed off the instructions I received in an earlier thread and will follow them when this occurs again.
Hope you can understand what I am saying. I will return. 

take care
Don W

So what you're saying is:-

Linux is randomly dropping the wireless connection to the router ?
or
It doesn't drop the connection to the router .. but for a while Linux is unable to access the WEB even though networkmanager says the connection to the router is solid ?

Next time it happens, can you check if you're able to ping the IP address of your router, and ping Google by IP address and hostname
ping -c 5 <ip.address.of.router>
eg.
ping -c 5 192.168.0.1
and
ping -c 5 216.58.210.35
and
ping -c 5 google.co.uk

Hi Mark,
I have been at this all morning and am now about to give up with frustration. 
I have tried the suggestion to ping

ping -c 5 216.58.210.35
and I get 'Network is unreachable'

and when I try

ping -c 5 google.co.uk
I get 'unknown host google.co.uk'

The ping of your routers local IP was probably the most important one .. can you do that next time.

Do you know your routers local IP address ?

Hi Mark,
I have rebooted the Linux machine and have connected with the router via cable. 
I have an internet connection ok and I have pinged as suggested and I get this

[email protected] ~ $ ping -c 5 216.58.210.35
PING 216.58.210.35 (216.58.210.35) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 216.58.210.35: icmp_seq=1 ttl=52 time=23.7 ms
64 bytes from 216.58.210.35: icmp_seq=2 ttl=52 time=23.3 ms
64 bytes from 216.58.210.35: icmp_seq=3 ttl=52 time=21.2 ms
64 bytes from 216.58.210.35: icmp_seq=4 ttl=52 time=24.1 ms
64 bytes from 216.58.210.35: icmp_seq=5 ttl=52 time=21.2 ms

--- 216.58.210.35 ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 5 received, 0% packet loss, time 4005ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 21.208/22.754/24.133/1.272 ms
[email protected] ~ $ ping -c 5 google.co.uk
PING google.co.uk (216.58.210.35) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from lhr14s23-in-f3.1e100.net (216.58.210.35): icmp_seq=1 ttl=52 time=23.4 ms
64 bytes from lhr14s23-in-f3.1e100.net (216.58.210.35): icmp_seq=2 ttl=52 time=24.4 ms
64 bytes from lhr14s23-in-f3.1e100.net (216.58.210.35): icmp_seq=3 ttl=52 time=27.5 ms
64 bytes from lhr14s23-in-f3.1e100.net (216.58.210.35): icmp_seq=4 ttl=52 time=26.4 ms
64 bytes from lhr14s23-in-f3.1e100.net (216.58.210.35): icmp_seq=5 ttl=52 time=33.1 ms

--- google.co.uk ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 5 received, 0% packet loss, time 4006ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 23.470/26.997/33.138/3.388 ms
[email protected] ~ $
Is this ok ?

Hi Mark,
I am just back and on the computer and the internet is working on the WiFi. ??
This is weird.

Don there's no point in running the ping command whilst connected with an ethernet cable .. that will tell me nothing about the wireless connection.

and

I need you (when wireless isn't working, and without an ethernet connection)) to attempt to ping YOUR ROUTERS IP address, NOT 216.58.210.35

Do you know your routers IP address ? <-- please answer this question

If you're not sure of your routers IP address, whilst wireless is working please post the output from:
route -n
and/or
ip route show

Hi Mark,
Are these what I need
[email protected] ~ $ route -n
Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface
0.0.0.0         192.168.0.1     0.0.0.0         UG    0      0        0 wlan0
192.168.0.0     0.0.0.0         255.255.255.0   U     9      0        0 wlan0
[email protected] ~ $

and
[email protected] ~ $ ip route show
default via 192.168.0.1 dev wlan0  proto static
192.168.0.0/24 dev wlan0  proto kernel  scope link  src 192.168.0.2  metric 9
[email protected] ~ $

Spot on

Next time the wireless drops out, can you (without connecting an ethernet cable) run the following commands and copy their output to a text file
ping -c 5 192.168.0.1
and
ifconfig
and
iwconfig
and
sudo iwlist scan
and
rfkill list
and
sudo lshw -C network
once you've got the output saved in a text file .. connect to the router with an ethernet cable and post the output back here.

Would be a good idea to copy the above commands to a text file on your desktop whilst networking is still working .. so you have them ready to run the next time wireless drops out

Hi Mark,
The connection dropped this evening so I ran the commands you suggested.
I have copied and pasted to a text file can I paste it here ?

take care
Don W

Hi Mark,
How can I insert the text I copied to the Text Editor.
I can click on 'Copy' and when I click here the options to 'Paste' are greyed out.

I take it you highlighted all the text in the text editor .. then clicked "Copy" whilst it was highlighted ?

You *should* be able to "Paste" here .. when "Paste" is greyed out it normally means the clipboard is empty.

Try installing a clipboard manager such as clipit
sudo apt-get install clipit
then run clipit from the menu (or reboot) to load it.

IIRC before having a clipboard manager you need to keep both applications open (gedit and the browser) to be able to copy/paste between them.

Hi Mark,
[email protected] ~ $ ping -c 5 192.168.0.1
connect: Network is unreachable
[email protected] ~ $ ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:90:f5:f3:67:bf 
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback 
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:864 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:864 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:67956 (67.9 KB)  TX bytes:67956 (67.9 KB)

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr a4:db:30:c7:44:e8 
          inet6 addr: fe80::a6db:30ff:fec7:44e8/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:2 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:2 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:330 (330.0 B)  TX bytes:288 (288.0 B)

[email protected] ~ $ iwconfig
eth0      no wireless extensions.

lo        no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:off/any 
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
         
[email protected] ~ $ sudo iwlist scan
sudo: unable to resolve host ldwatson
[sudo] password for don:
eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

wlan0     Scan completed :
          Cell 01 - Address: 7C:4C:A5:DD:2C:7D
                    Channel:6
                    Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
                    Quality=14/70  Signal level=-96 dBm 
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"SKY9380E"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
                              24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=000000338a0e4ed3
                    Extra: Last beacon: 588ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 0008534B593933383045
                    IE: Unknown: 010882848B962430486C
                    IE: Unknown: 030106
                    IE: Unknown: 2A0104
                    IE: Unknown: 2F0104
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    IE: Unknown: 32040C121860
                    IE: Unknown: 0B050400230000
                    IE: Unknown: 2D1AAC181BFFFF000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
                    IE: Unknown: 3D1606080400000000000000000000000000000000000000
                    IE: Unknown: 7F03000008
                    IE: Unknown: DD800050F204104A0001101044000102103B000103104700103709C9AA4B662229C82524204BF8879B1021000842726F6164636F6D1023000842726F6164636F6D1024000631323334353610420004313233341054000800060050F20400011011000A42726F6164636F6D415010080002200C103C0001011049000600372A000120
                    IE: Unknown: DD090010180204000C0000
                    IE: Unknown: DD180050F2020101800003A4000027A4000042435E0062322F00
          Cell 02 - Address: 20:0C:C8:7D:08:18
                    Channel:1
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Quality=50/70  Signal level=-60 dBm 
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"VM185937-2G"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
                              9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
                    Bit Rates:24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=0000006cff75f180
                    Extra: Last beacon: 848ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 000B564D3138353933372D3247
                    IE: Unknown: 010882848B960C121824
                    IE: Unknown: 030101
                    IE: Unknown: 050400010000
                    IE: Unknown: 0706474220010D14
                    IE: Unknown: 2A0104
                    IE: Unknown: 32043048606C
                    IE: Unknown: 2D1AAD011BFFFF0000000000000000000000000000000406E6E70D00
                    IE: Unknown: 3D1601001100000000000000000000000000000000000000
                    IE: Unknown: 4A0E14000A002C01C800140005001900
                    IE: Unknown: 7F0101
                    IE: Unknown: DD180050F2020101830003A4000027A4000042435E0062322F00
                    IE: Unknown: DD0900037F01010000FF7F
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : TKIP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (2) : CCMP TKIP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    IE: WPA Version 1
                        Group Cipher : TKIP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (2) : CCMP TKIP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    IE: Unknown: DD220050F204104A00011010440001021057000101103C0001011049000600372A000120
          Cell 03 - Address: 7C:4C:A5:33:2F:C1
                    Channel:11
                    Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)
                    Quality=12/70  Signal level=-98 dBm 
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"SKY35CA0"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
                              24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=000000aa855b6183
                    Extra: Last beacon: 2144ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 0008534B593335434130
                    IE: Unknown: 010882848B962430486C
                    IE: Unknown: 03010B
                    IE: Unknown: 050400010000
                    IE: Unknown: 2A0104
                    IE: Unknown: 2F0104
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    IE: Unknown: 32040C121860
                    IE: Unknown: 2D1AEC181BFFFF000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
                    IE: Unknown: 3D160B080000000000000000000000000000000000000000
                    IE: Unknown: DD180050F204104A00011010440001021049000600372A000120
                    IE: Unknown: DD090010180201F02C0000
                    IE: Unknown: DD180050F2020101800003A4000027A4000042435E0062322F00

[email protected] ~ $ rfkill list
0: hci0: Bluetooth
   Soft blocked: no
   Hard blocked: no
1: phy0: Wireless LAN
   Soft blocked: no
   Hard blocked: no
[email protected] ~ $ sudo lshw -C network
sudo: unable to resolve host ldwatson
  *-network               
       description: Wireless interface
       product: RTL8723AE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: [email protected]:02:00.0
       logical name: wlan0
       version: 00
       serial: a4:db:30:c7:44:e8
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=rtl8723ae driverversion=3.13.0-46-generic firmware=N/A latency=0 link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bgn
       resources: irq:18 ioport:e000(size=256) memory:f7d00000-f7d03fff
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0.2
       bus info: [email protected]:03:00.2
       logical name: eth0
       version: 06
       serial: 00:90:f5:f3:67:bf
       size: 10Mbit/s
       capacity: 100Mbit/s
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=half firmware=rtl8402-1_0.0.1 10/26/11 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=MII speed=10Mbit/s
       resources: irq:41 ioport:d000(size=256) memory:f0004000-f0004fff memory:f0000000-f0003fff
[email protected] ~ $
Is this what is needed. ??

OK try this
(disables both firmware link power saving and software link power saving)

Open a terminal and run:
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723ae.conf
when a BLANK file opens, add a single line that reads:-
options rtl8723ae fwlps=0 swlps=0
SAVE the file and exit gedit.

Now REBOOT to load the changes.

Hi Mark,
I have carried out the above instructions and rebooted.
Everything seems ok, will I give it a couple of days before marking solved ?