Linux Lite Forums
Hardware - Support => Network => Topic started by: Vera on November 08, 2018, 11:26:29 AM
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I'm intermittently having Wi-Fi issues on LL 3.8 when I never used to before. I've had 3.8 on my machine for a long time - since 3.8 came out in fact, so this is not a new install. :-\ The problem just started in the past week or two, which is odd. It happens most often after the session is suspended due to inactivity (not sure if I'm using the correct terminology? - in any case I mean it tends to happen after I log in again after so many minutes of inactivity - but not every time).
I can usually solve it by shutting down and re-starting computer, but it's frustrating to have to keep doing that. Occasionally it will take 2 re-boots for it to get Wi-Fi working again. Other machines continue to work fine on the same Wi-Fi during those times, and the other machines (one of which is LL 4.0) are further away from the Wi-Fi than the 3.8 machine, so it can't be a proximity issue.
I did NOT install any new software on my 3.8 machine for a long, long time (except for the "install updates" that I do through LL). There have been no changes to the Wi-Fi router either. On one of those problem times I powered down the router and powered it back up again, same for the LL3.8 machine, but that didn't prevent the issue from happening again. In any case, I don't think the router is the problem, as the other machines can connect just fine.
Does anyone have any suggestions for what I could do to either fix or troubleshoot the problem?
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OK, I think I solved it. I typed in iwconfig on both machines (the 3.8 that's having issues and the 4.0 that is mostly OK), and the only thing different was the RTS setting.
On my 3.8 machine, RTS was set to off, but on the 4.0 machine it was set to 2347. RTS, as far as I understand from researching it, checks for a clear channel when using Wi-Fi.
So, I used the iwconfig command to set the RTS on the 3.8 machine to 2347 in the hopes that this would fix it.
As far as I can tell, this seems to have restored the stability to the Wi-Fi connection. I'm not having issues anymore. I'll mark this as solved. I know it's a bit too early to tell for certain, but I can always unmark it if need be.
I'm puzzled if this really is the solution, because it was working fine a month ago, and I didn't change anything on iwconfig (or any settings or software) in between times except for the RTS just now. Still, I'm not complaining about having a stable Wi-Fi connection again!
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The above solution turned out not to help, unfortunately. It seemed to work, but may have been co-incidental. I am experiencing intermittent problems again. Also, setting RTS did not persist for me between re-booting, so the RTS may have helped, but for that session only. I'm still trying to figure out what the problem is with these intermittent Wi-Fi problems. Sometimes I have to re-boot several times just to get Wi-Fi to connect again.
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One of the newer kernels via Install Updates could be the culprit here. Try reverting to previous kernels and stay on them for a day or two as part of a troubleshooting exercise.
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Awesome, thx for the response @Jerry :D
From the 3.8 release notes, the original 3.8 kernel is 4.4.0-112. I know for sure that I had no Wi-Fi problems when I was on that kernel.
Via the uname -r command, I see I'm currently running 4.4.0-140. So I need to go back to 4.4.0-112.
I used Lite Tweaks Kernel Installer to see if I could go back to 4.4.0-112, but it didn't seem to list the last number, just the x.x.x number (see pic below). Maybe I'm doing this wrong.
(https://pod.thomasdalichow.de/uploads/images/scaled_full_217ac1d81d1ce24417ba.png)
Anyway, while I'm definitely still open to reverting to kernel 4.4.0-112 when I figure it out, I'm also wondering if maybe instead of putting the time into that, maybe I should just go straight to a fresh LL install of the latest version of LL. Release notes show that LL4.2 (latest version at time of writing) has kernel 4.15.0-38.41.
I'd been meaning to get around to upgrading to LL 4.x in the longer term anyway, but I'd gotten the machine set up so well on 3.8 with all the software I needed, etc, that I didn't want to put in the time to upgrade, which would require a fresh install from 3.8 to LL 4.2. However, now that I'm having problems while on 3.8, maybe this is the impetus I need to switch to 4.2.
If anyone has any thoughts, input or comments I would love to hear them.
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Hi Vera,
Regarding the WiFi issue, it may in your case be either a hardware problem or a bug that has crept into your LL set-up, rather than the kernel version itself ...
I say this because we have LL3.8 with the WiFi running smoothly on three laptops with the kernel 4.4.0-140-generic (see summary in signature below), and also my sister's WiFi is fine with LL3.8 and the same kernel on her Toshiba A300 (7 years old).
You seemed to have invested a significant amount of time in setting up LL3.8 on your machine, so understandably you're reluctant to replace it in a hurry, and I think it would be unwise to do so. My advice, for what it's worth, is to keep your existing setup and instead install, either as a dual-boot or a virtual machine, another copy of LL3.8, 4.2 or another distro, to check the WiFi. Another solution, which might be simpler (if you don't like dual-booting or setting up VMs) might be to install LL3.8 or 4.2 on any spare HDDs and test these on your machine. Either way, you get to keep your original precious set-up ... :)
Cheers
Mike
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Hold down the Shift key at boot time. Then select Advanced Options for Linux Lite, and choose an earlier kernel (if you have any listed). Don't choose any that say recovery mode or upstart.
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Thanks to @Jerry and @m654321 . Jerry, I tried holding down the shift key at boot time, but it didn't work! Nothing happened, it just booted exactly as normal. I tried the process several times, with the left shift key and the right shift key in case one of them wasn't working well, but nothing happened.
I'm agreeing with the possibilities both of you raised, that maybe it is some kernel issue or some other software problem that has crept in over time, because I had to re-start 5 times to get it to recognize Wi-Fi today, which is worse than it's ever been since these issues started. Yet my other LL machine (LL 4.0) worked fine with Wi-Fi during that same time period, so it's not our Wi-Fi going out.
I'm still trying to figure out what I did wrong with the shift key at boot time, but also considering that if it is a kernel issue or other software problem, maybe the best thing is to install LL4.2 from scratch.
However, I'm also hoping that me and the machine can limp on through together during the next week as is, because I have a lot of stuff to do on it and I really need the system as-is and Wi-Fi compatible between now and then, my other machine is too slow/inefficient for me to get through such a busy period with my sanity intact!
After that week is up, I will have more time and can start thinking about whether I try again to a) boot up with an older kernel as a diagnostic tool like Jerry suggested, b) do a dual install with another copy of LL as a diagnostic tool like m654321 suggested, or c) do a fresh install of LL4.2 and hope for the best (realizing there is no guarantee that will actually fix the problem).
Dilemmas. :-\
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How long are you holding the Shift key down for? You may need to do it for 20 secs +
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I'm holding down the shift key at the start of booting up the computer, all the way until my login prompt appears (I can't enter my password correctly with shift key held down). This morning at bootup I continued to hold it down for awhile after my login prompt appeared (just didn't enter my password then), but nothing new happened
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This has to be a world first lol. I can't believe you don't have a grub. My head hurts.
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I have experienced a non-appearing grub once before and it was sometime during the 3.x series. I ignored it and edited grub because I was in a hurry and the system still booted. It was an older Dell. If my memory serves correctly (which is old and tired) It had something to do with out of series (deprecated) update issue and grub timeout needing to be above 0.
TC
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Well, it prob means I am possibly doing something wrong, but I don't know what....!
I have tried holding the shift key down a) just before and b) just after turning on the computer. I also tried it with a re-start as well as a full reboot, but I still don't know what I'm doing wrong that I can't get it to come up.
Not a big deal though... right now this session Wi-Fi is happening to play nicely... could also be a hardware issue as Jerry mentioned earlier. As long as I can make it to next week with my busy workload I should be OK!
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This has to be a world first lol. I can't believe you don't have a grub. My head hurts.
Just for the record: sometimes, I've also experienced an absence of grub with some of my LL installs.
However, in such cases, the grub always appears if I go on to dual-boot with another OS.
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I've never had that issue.
Sent from my Mobile phone using Tapatalk
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I don't have dual boot, in case that has any effect. I have only LL3.8, no other OS.
OK moving on, I think the cause is indeed a hardware one, so I've marked this issue as solved. The reason for this is that the Wi-Fi connection died again today, and when I went to shut down, a brief error message came up on top left screen, something about a hardware error.
Thanks Jerry and EVERYONE who helped with this, I really appreciate the care everyone in the LL community has shown in trying to get my machine back on track.
Moving forward, am now am looking to get a new Wi-Fi card (have opened a new thread about recommendations for ones that would work well w LL).