LinuxQuestions.org - [SOLVED] ipw2100 wireless adapter switches off and back on randomly

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ipw2100 wireless adapter switches off and back on randomly

Hello All,

I have a Fujitsu Siemens T3010 Lifebook on which I have Ubuntu 10.10 installed. The installed kernel is 2.6.35-27.

lspci lists the installed network contraller as:

Code:

01:0d.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3B Mini PCI Adapter (rev 04)

At first glance, the wireless adapter seems to be functioning normally. The problem is that every once in a while the wireless connection gets dropped, and gets reestablished a while later. At times, this happens very frequently.

I have been able to figure out that the reason that the connection is dropped is due to a HW rfkill. The 'rfkill list' command produces the following output following the connection getting dropped:

Code:

0:phy0: Wireless LAN

Soft blocked: no

Hard blocked: yes

'Hard blocked: no' is printed whenever the connection is up and running.

The laptop does in fact have a physical killswitch located behind it and needless to say turning it off also produces the same result. However, the loop of the connection getting dropped and reestablished happens even in the absence of physical contact altogether, so it can't be that a slight wobble is being misinterpreted as the killswitch has been triggered or anything.

I have a nasty feeling that the problem may be due to a physical problem - but I want to exhaust all other alternatives before I go digging into the box. Even if it is not fixable, perhaps there may be a way to override the problem somehow.

I am posting a section from my daemon.log that spans a single rfkill loop below.

I would greatly appreciate any help!

Thanks a lot in advance

Code:

Mar  9 15:03:59 goonix NetworkManager[724]: <info> WiFi now disabled by radio killswitch

Mar  9 15:03:59 goonix wpa_supplicant[849]: CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED - Disconnect event - remove keys

Mar  9 15:03:59 goonix NetworkManager[724]: <info> (eth1): device state change: 8 -> 2 (reason 0)

Mar  9 15:03:59 goonix NetworkManager[724]: <info> (eth1): deactivating device (reason: 0).

Mar  9 15:04:00 goonix NetworkManager[724]: <info> (eth1): canceled DHCP transaction, DHCP client pid 2519

Mar  9 15:04:03 goonix NetworkManager[724]: <info> WiFi now enabled by radio killswitch

Mar  9 15:04:03 goonix NetworkManager[724]: <info> (eth1): bringing up device.

Definitely sounds like a hardware problem to me man. Sorry to hear that.... That being said though, the next time it happens, perform a "rfkill unblock" on the device and see if that does anything. If not, then you definitely have a hardware problem.

Josh

Thank you for the reply Josh!

Unfortunately the rfkill block/unblock commands only alter the 'Soft Blocked' status that appears on the list, but has no effect on the 'Hard Blocked' option that is causing me trouble. In any case, it only takes a couple of seconds for the device to lift the block on its own - but the entire reconnection process takes up to a minute.. not to mention that any downloads get interrupted!

I will see if I can bring myself to open the box up one of these days - I am a little reluctant on risking making the device entirely unusable...

My point.... the hard block is going to be your physical switch.... Good luck man.

Josh

I went ahead and disassembled the laptop without really knowing what to expect. I checked all the connections leading from the radio switch to the Wireless adapter. The switch itself seemed fine. I put it back together and booted.. 45 minutes so far and still no disconnections :) I wish it remains that way and that the cause was a loose wire or something.

Just to clear my mind about the subject, I have been seeing quite a few posts to various threads complaining about the hard rfkill being stuck on under Ubuntu with Intel WiFi. Some people mentioned that they were able to overcome the problem by compiling the kernel without rfkill. However, if I understand correctly, the random nature of switching on and off in my case rules out that software problem - right?

Thanks!

Yes it does. Most likely, the connector was loose, or you had a bad ground on the switch itself. Good to hear you got it fixed man! I've giving you some rep for that one.

Cheers,

Josh