[SOLVED] Slow WiFi on Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300

EvanShaw · 02-10-2017, 11:51 AM

This is my first post here. I've been using linux in my professional life for years but I am by no means an expert.

The machine in question is a ThinkPad W530 with an Intel Corporation Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 [8086:4238] (rev 3e)

When booting to Windows 10, the wireless performance is excellent. However, when booting to Ubuntu the speeds seem to be "capped" at 2MB/sec. SpeedTest.net confirms I am getting about half the download speed under linux.

Link to wireless info script output: http://pastebin.com/NcfznVBg

There are many old posts related to this card. Some of the solutions seem to be outdated, others simply don't seem to work.

Any wizards here with ideas on how to fix this is appreciated. The machine is usable, just not practical with the "speed cap".

beachboy2 · 02-10-2017, 03:17 PM

EvanShaw,

Welcome to LQ.

Thanks for the wifi info script with plenty of details. This makes a pleasant change!

There are two main things you can do to speed up your Intel Centrino Ultimate N 6300. The second mod will probably have more effect.

First install gedit and gksu.

Open a Terminal and type:

Code:

sudo apt-get update

Press Enter, give your password (nothing displayed for security reasons) and press Enter again.

Code:

sudo apt-get install gksu gedit

Press Enter.

Your Power Management is on, so proceed as follows to disable powersave.

Copy and paste this line into a Terminal:

Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

Press Enter, ignore any warnings and in the text file:

Change the existing 3 to 2 so that the file reads:

Code:

wifi.powersave = 2

File > Save > File > Quit and reboot laptop.

Next copy and paste this line into Terminal:

Code:

echo "options iwlwifi 11n_disable=8" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi11n.conf

Press Enter, give your password and press Enter again.

Reboot.

Check the wifi speed.

If you have problems, then remove the modification:

Code:

sudo rm -v /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi11n.conf

Then reboot.

Good luck.

EvanShaw · 02-10-2017, 04:04 PM

You, sir, have solved my problem that has been causing me to pull my hair out for many months. Thank you so very much. If you don't mind, I'd like to know what exactly I just did.

I understand that the card was in powersave mode, so we disabled that. Then we added the line "options iwlwifi 11n_disable=8" to the config file for the NIC. Does this mean we disabled the Wireless N support? Is this a "hack"?

Thank you again.

beachboy2 · 02-10-2017, 04:52 PM

EvanShaw,

Glad you fixed your wifi problem.

Quote:

Does this mean we disabled the Wireless N support? Is this a "hack?"

1. Wireless N support is not disabled.

2. You can call it a hack if you wish.

The purpose of the modification is to re-enable TX AMPDU aggregation which always used to be ON by default in the iwlwifi driver.

In recent times the default setting of TX AMPDU is OFF, so all we are doing is putting it back to its original default setting (ON) of yesteryear.

EvanShaw · 02-10-2017, 05:26 PM

Well that went over my head. Thanks again, I am extremely grateful!

Mushroomheadbangers · 05-21-2017, 11:23 AM

This also solved my issue with old System76 laptop on Linux Mint 18.1

If you're unsure whether or not you're using Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 for wireless, here is how I figured it out:

Quote:

lspci -v | grep -iE -5 'wifi'

Quote:

04:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (rev 3e)
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 3x3 AGN
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 36
Memory at f6200000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
Kernel modules: iwlwifi

Thank you!

namecaps · 05-30-2017, 05:35 AM

Excellent fix, thanks beachboy2. I just installed Lubuntu on an HP Elitebook 8440p and my wifi wasn't working at all. I googled around for a solution, came across this thread and took a major leap of faith by following the same instructions exactly... and now I have wifi. Awesome!

beachboy2 · 05-30-2017, 08:40 AM

namecaps,

First of all, welcome to LQ.

I am glad to have been of assistance.

Just remember to leave a large tip!

Knonada · 06-05-2017, 12:57 PM

Thank you so much for this thread! I have been searching for a solution to this problem for months.

I am also not new to Linux, but I am still learning much about it.

I attempted this same procedure, unfortunately it did not increase the speed.

I was wondering if you had any advice. Thank you again.

Code:

lspci -v | grep -iE -5 'wifi'
01:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (rev 35)
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 3x3 AGN
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 34
	Memory at d1600000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
	Kernel modules: iwlwifi

02:00.0 USB controller: NEC Corporation uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller (rev 04) (prog-if 30 [XHCI])
	Subsystem: Dell uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller
	Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 18
	Memory at d1500000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]

beachboy2 · 06-06-2017, 01:49 PM

Knonada,

At the end of the recommended procedure, did you reboot?

Post #2 on this thread has also been useful to some Intel 6300 users:

https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1656061

Code:

gksu gedit /etc/modprobe.d/intel-5300-iwlagn-disable11n.conf

and then modify existing line to read:

Code:

options iwlagn 11n_disable=0

Good luck.

Knonada · 07-07-2017, 08:29 AM

@beachboy2

Thank you for your help.

I think it is running a bit better, and more consistently now.

Have a great day.

Artur_ · 09-10-2017, 01:15 PM

The Linux community is really great... The "11n_disable=8" solution increased my WiFi speed from 30Mb to 95Mb/s. Thank you, @beachboy2.

beachboy2 · 09-11-2017, 02:26 AM

Artur_,

Welcome to LQ.

I am glad to have been of help to you.

jlinguistica · 10-18-2017, 12:54 PM

Hello,

I am a new user of Deepin, with almost no experience with Linux. I noticed my connection was poor and found this thread. Unfotunately, it did not helped me yet.

after I enter

Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

and type my password, an empty .txt-like file opens. At first, i was pasting

Code:

wifi.powersave = 2

and after rebooting there was no connection and then I installed Deepin again. I tried this 4 times.

beachboy2 · 10-19-2017, 02:35 AM

jlinguistica,

Welcome to LQ.

I have no knowledge of Deepin, but it appears from this review that its hardware support can be problematical:
https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/deepin-15-4.html

My suggestion would be to try another distro such as Linux Mint MATE and see whether that helps matters.

Good luck.