Rich_J
2 December 2014 21:26
1
Hi All
Having sorted (after a fashion) my Dell D520 heating issues, I now have an intermittent problem with the wifi dropping out randomly.
General use, such as using this site/surfing, the wifi is stable. Viewing video however the wifi can, and does, drop out frequently but with no set pattern. Youtube clips seem particularly afflicted.
With the lappy near the router I get full signal strength, in another room approx 50% signal strength but the dropouts occur no matter where.
Running Zorin 9 OS, if that helps.
Any advice would be welcome!
Thanks in advance
Rich
You still using the internal ‘intel’ wifi adapter ?
What’s the output from:
sudo lshw -C network
and
iwconfig
Rich_J
3 December 2014 07:59
3
Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec) post:2:
You still using the internal ‘intel’ wifi adapter ? Yes, for the time being, at least.
What’s the output from:
sudo lshw -C network
and
iwconfig
As requested
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$ sudo lshw -C network
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$ iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$
With reference back to the heating up issues -
iwconfig figures are unaltered (Tx power is ‘as it comes’) - I found changing the parameters made no appreciable difference to the lappy temperatures and the dropping out of wifi is the same whatever the power settings are. I just run the fan manually as and when needed and that works ok re the heat.
Can’t see any useful driver parameters for iwl3945
Maybe making sure your router is on a channel nobody else around you is using will help … what’s the output from:
sudo iwlist scanning
But if this is a machine that often gets used elsewhere, you’d probably just be better off getting a USB wireless adapter (maybe a “nano” adapter).
[EDIT]
According to this posting of yours:http://linuxforums.org.uk/index.php?topic=12210.msg99400#msg99400
Run:
sudo iwconfig wlan0 txpower auto
then
sudo iwconfig wlan0 power on
now what’s the output from:
iwconfig
Rich_J
4 December 2014 11:42
5
@ Mark
Maybe making sure your router is on a channel nobody else around you is using will help … what’s the output from: sudo iwlist scanning
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$ sudo iwlist scanning
lo Interface doesn’t support scanning.
eth0 Interface doesn’t support scanning.
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$
then -
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$ iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$
This lappy is only ever used at home. Re: power management - will the settings now made survive a reboot? If not, how can I make them stick?
Rich
EDIT: I’ve just discovered the power settings don’t survive - Power Management:off
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$
OK, you’re already the only router on channel 6 … might be worth checking your router doesn’t select the channel automatically though.
Power management - You could add the line
iwconfig wlan0 power on
to
/etc/rc.local
just above the
exit 0
line
but there’s no point if it doesn’t help … if you manually run:
sudo iwconfig wlan0 power on
then use wireless, does it still drop out or not ?
Rich_J
5 December 2014 19:00
8
Hmmm… Ran the lappy for a couple of hours or so without issue and viewed several youtube videos ok. Then, wireless dropped out (but immediately re-connected) and when I checked iwconfig, the power management was ‘off’. :o
No idea why…
I seriously doubt if you’re gonna win a fight with this adapter … why not just get a USB adapter ?
SeZo
5 December 2014 21:04
10
I think you are fighting with your power saving setup.
Rich_J
5 December 2014 21:08
11
Ok fellas - your help greatly appreciated as ever!
SeZo
5 December 2014 21:21
12
You could try to disable power save mode for wireless:/etc/pm/config.d with the entry:
HOOK_BLACKLIST=“wireless”
This is not what I used before but worth the shot
[EDIT]
Found my notes.
case $1 inon ;;
to:off ;;
Sot that regardless the state (true or false) the wireless powersaving is off.
Rich_J
5 December 2014 22:20
13
You could try to disable power save mode for wireless:/etc/pm/config.d with the entry:
HOOK_BLACKLIST=“wireless”
This is not what I used before but worth the shot
[EDIT]
Found my notes.
case $1 inon ;;
to:off ;;
So that regardless the state (true or false) the wireless power saving is off.
Thanks SeZo - I can navigate to the file ok and edit the entry but it won’t allow me to save the file (read only). Using sudo gedit in terminal returns ‘no such file or directory’. Obviously, I’m using the wrong command - any thoughts?
Rich_J
5 December 2014 22:23
14
You are probably correct! But I am like a dog with a bone and like to exhaust every possibility… ;D
For the first of SeZo’s instructions:
sudo gedit /etc/pm/config.d/wireless-pm
make it read:
HOOK_BLACKLIST="wireless"
SAVE the file.
For SeZo’s second instructions:
sudo gedit /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/wireless
make the changes he suggests … SAVE the file.
In either case, probably best to reboot after making the changes
Rich_J
6 December 2014 09:12
16
Mark and SeZo - thanks again!
The changes seem to have worked this time - I’ll monitor over a day or two and report back
Rich
Rich_J
12 December 2014 12:35
17
Hi Mark and SeZo
I’ve tested the wifi after making the changes you both recommended. While there has been an improvement in connectivity, the wifi still drops out from time to time - even when sat next to the router and showing a 100% signal… ??? So…
As per Mark’s advice here -
I wouldn’t worry about it too much … but if disabling the wireless cools it down, you could always look into a different wireless card or a “nano” USB wireless adapter such as one of these:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edimax-EW-7811UN-150Mbps-Wireless-Adapter/dp/B003MTTJOY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417120404&sr=8-1&keywords=edimax+nano
I’ve purchased a nano and have it fitted. However… the device is not recognised. I’ve disabled the onboard wireless as per the nano instructions but (I’m guessing here) it needs a driver? The cd supplied is a mini one and doesn’t fit the player. Could you please advise as to downloading and configuring the necessary?
Also, with reference to this -
Re: Dell laptop fan#25 on: November 22, 2014, 12:58:10 pm »
Most likely the wireless card … but using ethernet probably won’t make a difference as the card is still powered (even with the wireless hardware switch set to off) on most laptops.
I assume that the only way I can prevent the wireless card from heating up (even when it’s disabled) is by removing it from the lappy? If I do remove it (provided the nano works) will this affect connectivity through an ethernet cable, or are the two methods separate ?
Thanks again for all the help
Rich
EDIT: Lappy is currently connected via ethernet cable
Removing the onboard wireless adapter won’t interfere with the wired adapter, but let’s get the nano working first.
What’s the output from:
sudo lshw -C network
and
lsusb
and
rfkill list
and
iwconfig
and
iwlist scanning
Rich_J
12 December 2014 14:13
19
Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec) post:18:
Removing the onboard wireless adapter won’t interfere with the wired adapter, but let’s get the nano working first. Great! Thanks!
What’s the output from:
sudo lshw -C network
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$ sudo lshw -C network
lsusb
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$ lsusb
and
and
iwconfig
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$ iwconfig
eth0 no wireless extensions.
wlan1 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:off/any
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$
and
iwlist scanning
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$ iwlist scanning
eth0 Interface doesn’t support scanning.
wlan1 No scan results
richard@richard-Latitude-D520:~$
Did you want the wireless card enabling for the ‘iwlist scanning’ command?
With an active (cabled) internet connection … Open a terminal and run these commands in sequence:
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential
then
mkdir ~/8192cu-driver
then
cd ~/8192cu-driver
then
wget https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/11876059/rtl8192cu-fixed-for-313.tar.gz
then
tar xvf rtl8192cu-fixed-for-313.tar.gz
then
cd ~/8192cu-driver/rtl8192cu-fixed-for-313
then
make
then
sudo make install
then
sudo modprobe -r rtl8192cu
then
sudo modprobe 8192cu
Did wireless spring to life ?
If so, this probably won’t survive a reboot … but as long as wireless worked, we can then blacklist the conflicting driver (rtl8192cu).
