[SOLVED] Slow and unstable wifi

crazyalex · 02-06-2016, 11:35 PM

Hi everyone!

I'm back here after a long time. I decided to get back on Linux and install Mint 17.3 on an old laptop (lenovo R61e) and encounter a problem I hope you can help me to solve.

I'm still very newbie to Linux, but I Googled my problem and only find old closed threads on other forums and no solution worked for me.

The problem is my wifi is very slow and unstable (around 1 to 4 mbps,constantly up and down on speedtest.net). If I go wired, everything is fine. The wifi also works good on Windows 7. Another thing is even if the card seem to be an Atheros AR242X / AR542X, the # on the sticker of the card is: ATH-AR5BXB63

Heres the lshw output:

Code:

crazyalex@CrazyLinux ~ $ sudo lshw -C network
  *-network               
       description: Wireless interface
       product: AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
       vendor: Qualcomm Atheros
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
       logical name: wlan0
       version: 01
       serial: 00:1f:e1:65:ee:9e
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ath5k driverversion=3.19.0-32-generic firmware=N/A ip=192.168.255.254 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bg
       resources: irq:17 memory:f7f00000-f7f0ffff
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: NetLink BCM5787M Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express
       vendor: Broadcom Corporation
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:04:00.0
       logical name: eth0
       version: 02
       serial: 00:1e:37:cb:b0:b9
       size: 1Gbit/s
       capacity: 1Gbit/s
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm vpd msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=tg3 driverversion=3.137 duplex=full firmware=sb v2.11 ip=192.168.1.13 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=1Gbit/s
       resources: irq:29 memory:f8200000-f820ffff

Since I can't really use the wifi, I'm using the wired connection. So if a solution you want me to try need to turn off the wired connection, please tell me. Until then, I'll keep both connection on.

You'll probably need some more info, but I can't think of any right now, so just ask!

Thank you for you help.

beachboy2 · 02-07-2016, 02:29 AM

crazyalex,

Open the Terminal and type:

Code:

sudo -s

Press Enter. When prompted, type your password (not displayed for security reasons).

Press Enter again.

Next, copy & paste this line into Terminal:

Code:

echo "options ath5k nohwcrypt=1" > /etc/modprobe.d/ath5k.conf

Press Enter.

Code:

exit

Press Enter.

Close Terminal.

Reboot your computer.

crazyalex · 02-07-2016, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachboy2

crazyalex,

Open the Terminal and type:

Code:

sudo -s

Press Enter. When prompted, type your password (not displayed for security reasons).

Press Enter again.

Next, copy & paste this line into Terminal:

Code:

echo "options ath5k nohwcrypt=1" > /etc/modprobe.d/ath5k.conf

Press Enter.

Code:

exit

Press Enter.

Close Terminal.

Reboot your computer.

Hi beachboy2 and thank you for your reply.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work. Maybe I need a new driver but I can't find one.
By the way, is it normal that the firmware is set to "N/A"?

Thank you again and have a nice day.

crazyalex · 02-09-2016, 08:54 PM

Ok guys, problem solve, and I still don't know what was the problem. I removed the wifi card, clean the connectors for the antennas and reinsert it.

Guest what? Everything works like a charm now. Strange.

ondoho · 02-09-2016, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyalex

Strange.

it's an interesting effect i have noticed many times:

make the switch from linux to windows
somewhat nervous about this; here be dragons.
awareness is HEIGHTENED
notice things you haven't noticed before
tend to connect these things with the most recent relevant change to the system = linux

it's purely psychological;
just like commercial operating systems use these psychological things inverted to give you the impression that your system is running faster.

beachboy2 · 02-10-2016, 02:32 AM

crazyalex,

Glad to hear that your problem is solved.

Those instructions are correct for the ath5k card, so perhaps your reinserting the card was enough to make it see sense.

Who knows?