Slow and unstable wireless internet

parth.s · 06-19-2012, 06:11 PM

Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum.

I have a ASUS laptop dualbooted with win7 and f16(Fedora 16). I recently shifted from Ubuntu.
Wireless internet is very slow and rather erratic on my laptop only in the case of Linux. On win7 its flawless.

I have a 30mbps connection and I have to often wait for minutes staring at my browser for a page to be found and loaded. But its erratic as in suddenly its back to its original speed and the next minute i'm in the dark.

I use my laptop at home and my college and its the same at both the places.

I recently got some help from one of the forums and added a few custom dns servers in the

Code:

/etc/resolv.conf

And there is only slight improvement. And its not only the surfing, even my email client, f16 upgrade is affected.

I have also disabled the firewall just in case. Please guys I need some help, or I might not be able to use linux properly, and as you know for a mediocre linux user a net connection is a must in order to look for answers and support for a lot of stuff..

Here is the output of iwconfig

Code:

lo        no wireless extensions.

p5p1      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"DragonAge"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.427 GHz  Access Point: E0:46:9A:50:28:C2   
          Bit Rate=150 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=58/70  Signal level=-52 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:38   Missed beacon:0

output of lspci

Code:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 05)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 05)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev b5)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev b5)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 (rev b5)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 05)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM65 Express Chipset Family LPC Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 port SATA AHCI Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 05)
02:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter (rev 01)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet (rev c0)

output of lspci -k

Code:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller (rev 09)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1147
	Kernel driver in use: agpgart-intel
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1652
	Kernel driver in use: i915
	Kernel modules: i915
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1147
00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 05)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1147
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 05)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1b43
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev b5)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev b5)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 (rev b5)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 05)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1147
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM65 Express Chipset Family LPC Controller (rev 05)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1147
	Kernel modules: iTCO_wdt
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 port SATA AHCI Controller (rev 05)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1147
	Kernel driver in use: ahci
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 05)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1147
	Kernel modules: i2c-i801
02:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter (rev 01)
	Subsystem: AzureWave Device 1139
	Kernel driver in use: rtl8192ce
	Kernel modules: rtl8192ce
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet (rev c0)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1851
	Kernel driver in use: atl1c
	Kernel modules: atl1c

kr0n1x · 06-20-2012, 01:23 AM

Did you try ping to some hosts? like google.com
Do it when your connection works correctly, and also when it goes off.

I've been experiencing similar issues with different distributions and kernel versions (ubuntu 11.04, ubuntu 11.10, arch linux, debian). Among these, I think the oldest kernel version was 2.6.38.

At the moment I'm on Debian Squeeze 64 bit (2.6.32-5-amd64), installed 2-3 months ago, and I don't have that kind of problems anymore with my wireless.

There is probably some bug in the ath9k driver... but I see you don't use an Atheros wireless card, but a Realtek one (so no ath9k driver in use).

If it can help you, read this topic I started on ubuntuforums: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1835190
I had found no solution... even on Arch Linux I had problems after some time, and also in the same version of Debian I'm using right now. But it doesn't seem to give me problems now... with this last installation.

Good luck, let me know if you solve this

parth.s · 06-20-2012, 10:57 AM

Thanks kr0n1x...Here it goes. Just like in life, you have the good times and the bad moments..The output of these commands are within 5-7mins in succession, this is how fast the speed fluctuates for me..

The Bad times..

Code:

PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=22 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=23 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=24 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=25 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=26 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=27 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=28 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=29 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=30 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=31 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=32 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=33 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=34 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=35 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=36 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=37 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=38 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=39 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=40 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=41 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=42 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=43 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=44 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=45 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=46 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=47 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=48 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=49 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=50 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=51 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=52 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=53 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=54 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=55 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=56 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=57 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=58 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=59 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=60 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=61 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=62 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=63 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=64 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=65 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=66 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=67 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=68 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=69 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=70 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=71 Destination Host Unreachable
^C
--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
71 packets transmitted, 0 received, +50 errors, 100% packet loss, time 70011ms
pipe 4

Code:

[parths@parth ~]$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

p5p1      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"umd-secure"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: 00:26:CB:81:93:F2   
          Bit Rate=72.2 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=56/70  Signal level=-54 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:1   Missed beacon:0

Code:

PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=1 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=2 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=3 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=4 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=5 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=6 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=7 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=8 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=9 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=10 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=11 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=12 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=13 Destination Host Unreachable
From 206.196.164.22 icmp_seq=14 Destination Host Unreachable
^C
--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
15 packets transmitted, 0 received, +14 errors, 100% packet loss, time 14004ms
pipe 4

Code:

[parths@parth ~]$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

p5p1      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"umd-secure"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: 00:26:CB:81:93:F2   
          Bit Rate=72.2 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=56/70  Signal level=-54 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:1   Missed beacon:0

Life's good..

Code:

PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=1 ttl=52 time=6.82 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=2 ttl=52 time=6.74 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=3 ttl=52 time=7.34 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=4 ttl=52 time=9.78 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=5 ttl=52 time=7.30 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=6 ttl=52 time=6.58 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=7 ttl=52 time=5.28 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=8 ttl=52 time=5.78 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=9 ttl=52 time=5.11 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=10 ttl=52 time=4.64 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=11 ttl=52 time=5.18 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=12 ttl=52 time=5.59 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=13 ttl=52 time=5.52 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=14 ttl=52 time=5.18 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=15 ttl=52 time=5.58 ms
^C
--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
15 packets transmitted, 15 received, 0% packet loss, time 14021ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 4.641/6.166/9.783/1.266 ms

Code:

[parths@parth ~]$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

p5p1      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"umd-secure"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: 00:26:CB:81:93:F2   
          Bit Rate=72.2 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=52/70  Signal level=-58 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:3   Missed beacon:0

Also i forgot to mention that the connection is established all the time..

kr0n1x · 06-20-2012, 11:27 AM

Wow... host unreachable :O

Do you use IPV6? If not, make sure you got it in "Ignore" in Network Manager (or disable it in the way you can

I got Gnome so...).

Have you tried with different channels set in your router? Maybe you're using a channel busy with many others routers around your house. With iwlist you can check that.

Code:

iwlist wlan0 scanning

(I remembered a different command... but it seems to be this on debian stable; if it doesn't work, read iwlist --help)
With this command, your wireless card will do a scan of the available wireless connections and will list them, with a lot of informations (included the channel being used). So you can then choose a less-busy channel for your router.

EDIT: threads I think could help you:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2005981 (this started yesterday, you can follow it)
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1873537
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...ux/+bug/902557 (I think that reading from the comment #52 to the end could help you, the people here used a recompiled driver from the realtek website)

parth.s · 06-20-2012, 11:41 AM

Ok, I'm gonna try that...But then I never faced this kind of problem with win7, it can be completely true but just makes me wonder.

Also why is there a 100% packet loss when the host is unreachable??

And yes I've 'Ignore'd the ipv6...

kr0n1x · 06-20-2012, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parth.s

Ok, I'm gonna try that...But then I never faced this kind of problem with win7, it can be completely true but just makes me wonder.

Also why is there a 100% packet loss when the host is unreachable??

And yes I've 'Ignore'd the ipv6...

I also never had problems on windows 7. Oops, I didn't notice the 100% packet loss, sorry.

otoomet · 06-23-2012, 12:59 AM

RTL8818CE drivers are crappy. I have a similar laptop in reach (kernel 3.3), the internet is mostly usable, but especially with weak singal becomes rather unstable. It also seldom reaches to speed above 1Mbps.

I would suggest you to install the newest kernel possible (or a distro with the newest kernel). You may also compile the drivers, I would love to hear from someone who has experience with ndiswrapper on that chip.

kr0n1x · 06-23-2012, 08:30 AM

Check this bug: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=506659

It's a bit old (2009) and it's about ath5k driver, on Fedora.

But it could be your same cause? The comments talk about Network Manager doing some scans...

otoomet · 06-24-2012, 03:41 AM

Google for rtl8818ce and linux drivers. You see a lot of complaints similar to yours. People seem to be more happy with the newer drivers, included in the most recent kernels.

Which kernel are you using? (report "uname -a")

parth.s · 06-26-2012, 12:02 AM

Code:

Linux parth 3.4.2-1.fc16.x86_64 #1 SMP Thu Jun 14 20:17:26 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Quote:

I would suggest you to install the newest kernel possible (or a distro with the newest kernel). You may also compile the driver

I think my system is uptodate and I try to do it as often as i can..I would love to compile the realtek drivers, Im still looking for guides to do that, if you know or are aware of how to please guide me..

@kr0nix: I tried the iwlist scanning command and it showed me all the different channels that i can connect to the router, didn't make more sense to me than the fact that I was on the right channel. And the bugzilla report is not making much sense to me right now and will look into it probably tomm.. In fact I;ve gone back to using win7 having faced fundamental issues on fedora with my crappy chip, hence the late response...

What do ya'll think, should I try and install beefy or my kernel is already uptodate??

parth.s · 06-26-2012, 12:08 AM

Also the realtek website has two different drivers, for before 2.6.x kernels and later (upto 3.2.x). So this means that they actually do not support later kernels right ?

otoomet · 06-26-2012, 04:00 AM

3.4 is newer than what I have experience with (3.3.1). Should be all right then. I will check which driver version do I have (cannot do it before 2 weeks). My laptop has AMD E450 processor, yours seems to be an intel box, although I do not think it matters.

The new realtek drivers are in the new kernels, AFAIR. Would be nice if you tried ndiswrapper and let us know about the results.

Arcosanti · 06-29-2012, 04:05 PM

As a last ditch effort, you could try to run the win XP drivers (if there are any XP drivers) under ndiswrappers. I don't know if the Win 7 drivers would work with ndiswrappers.

parth.s · 07-12-2012, 12:37 PM

@otoomet I'm facing the issue even with the newer kernel

and did you check the drivers?
@Arcosanti, I'm still searching on that, I don't know how to go about it..

Also how do I uninstall the native driver? to then make them again from the realtek website...

Arcosanti · 07-12-2012, 07:56 PM

to go with the driver from the Realtek website, just compile and install the new driver. then type in a console, rmmod rtl8192ce and then modprobe the_new_driver_here. Be sure to add the old driver to the blacklist to keep it from loading up by default.

If ndiswrappers and the GUI frontend are not installed, check to see if you can install them from Fedora's repositories. Otherwise you'll have to download the tarbells from here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ndiswrapper/

https://launchpad.net/ndisgtk/+download

Compile and install both and then get the XP drivers. You'll just need the .inf and the .sys driver files. Non of the other files will be needed. Put the two files someplace together in Linux and point ndisgtk at the .inf file. Ndisgtk will install and activate the XP driver under ndiswrappers for you. Be sure to remove the old driver and blacklist it with this method as well. That's it for using ndiswrappers.