[SOLVED] how to have wifi that works

[towel1]

edit: solution below thanks to user Asch at: https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-8 ... ml#8877869

hey guys

I have WiFi. and it sucks.
I have to go to $ nmtui, disconnect and reconnect my WiFi every 5 seconds, because it stops working if I try to open more than two tabs on Firefox.
or else my connection is extremely slow. everything is slow. and unreliable.

Windows and Android are kind of crazy. you open the Internet thing, you click on a network, you type the correct password, and it has been working flawlessly for 15 years.

please help make my WiFi slightly usable

I didn't have any issue on Linux between 2020-2021, also using NetworkManager. what gives?

[grknight]

In general, this sounds like 2 managers fighting for control of the same device.

We need more details of you networking setup and services to know what to look at.

[towel1]

In general, this sounds like 2 managers fighting for control of the same device.

We need more details of you networking setup and services to know what to look at.

thanks for replying although I was enormously vague.

for no reason at all, my connection has become more stable. but it has been oscillating between totally fine and completely unusable ever since I installed Gentoo, a few days ago, while other devices such as TV, my dad's laptop and my old laptop (both with Windows), our smartphones, all behave normally and snappy

I don't really know what is needed.

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$ cat /etc/conf.d/NetworkManager
# If NetworkManager does not establish a connection within $INACTIVE_TIMEOUT
# seconds after starting, the service will be marked as inactive, and it will
# continue to wait for a connection in background mode.
INACTIVE_TIMEOUT=1

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$ cat /etc/conf.d/wpa_supplicant
# conf.d file for wpa_supplicant

# uncomment this if wpa_supplicant starts up before your network interface
# is ready and it causes issues
# rc_want="dev-settle"

# Please check man 8 wpa_supplicant for more information about the options
# wpa_supplicant accepts.
#
wpa_supplicant_args=""

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$ cat /etc/resolv.conf
# Generated by NetworkManager
nameserver 192.168.100.1
nameserver fe80::92f6:44ff:fe25:6c8d%wlo1

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$ rc-status --all
Runlevel: sysinit
 devfs                                                             [  started  ]
 kmod-static-nodes                                                 [  started  ]
 systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev                                        [  started  ]
 sysfs                                                             [  started  ]
 udev                                                              [  started  ]
 dmesg                                                             [  started  ]
 udev-trigger                                                      [  started  ]
 cgroups                                                           [  started  ]
Runlevel: boot
 hwclock                                                           [  started  ]
 modules                                                           [  started  ]
 fsck                                                              [  started  ]
 root                                                              [  started  ]
 mtab                                                              [  started  ]
 swap                                                              [  started  ]
 localmount                                                        [  started  ]
 systemd-tmpfiles-setup                                            [  started  ]
 procfs                                                            [  started  ]
 binfmt                                                            [  started  ]
 sysctl                                                            [  started  ]
 bootmisc                                                          [  started  ]
 hostname                                                          [  started  ]
 termencoding                                                      [  started  ]
 keymaps                                                           [  started  ]
 loopback                                                          [  started  ]
 save-keymaps                                                      [  started  ]
 save-termencoding                                                 [  started  ]
 seedrng                                                           [  started  ]
 elogind                                                           [  started  ]
Runlevel: default
 chronyd                                                           [  started  ]
 consolefont                                                       [  started  ]
 sysklogd                                                          [  started  ]
 NetworkManager                                                    [  started  ]
 netmount                                                          [  started  ]
 tlp                                                               [  started  ]
 local                                                             [  started  ]
Runlevel: nonetwork
 local                                                             [  started  ]
Runlevel: shutdown
 killprocs                                                         [  stopped  ]
 savecache                                                         [  stopped  ]
 mount-ro                                                          [  stopped  ]
Dynamic Runlevel: hotplugged
 user.pebolim                                          [  started 02:08:30 (0) ]
Dynamic Runlevel: needed/wanted
 dbus                                                              [  started  ]
Dynamic Runlevel: manual

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$ emerge -pv networkmanager
These are the packages that would be merged, in order:

Calculating dependencies  ... done!
Dependency resolution took 3.02 s (backtrack: 0/20).

[ebuild   R    ] net-misc/networkmanager-1.52.1::gentoo  USE="bluetooth concheck elogind introspection modemmanager nss policykit ppp tools wext wifi -audit -connection-sharing -debug -dhclient -dhcpcd -gnutls -gtk-doc -iptables -iwd -libedit -nftables -ofono -ovs -psl -resolvconf (-selinux) -syslog -systemd -teamd -test -vala" 0 KiB

Total: 1 package (1 reinstall), Size of downloads: 0 KiB

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$ cat /etc/portage/make.conf
# These settings were set by the catalyst build script that automatically
# built this stage.
# Please consult /usr/share/portage/config/make.conf.example for a more
# detailed example.
COMMON_FLAGS="-O2 -march=native -pipe"
CFLAGS="${COMMON_FLAGS}"
CXXFLAGS="${COMMON_FLAGS}"
FCFLAGS="${COMMON_FLAGS}"
FFLAGS="${COMMON_FLAGS}"
RUSTFLAGS="${RUSTFLAGS} -C target-cpu=native"

USE="${USE} dist-kernel networkmanager elogind -nls"

ACCEPT_LICENSE="* -@EULA"

CONFIG_PROTECT=/usr/src/initramfs/

# NOTE: This stage was built with the bindist USE flag enabled

# This sets the language of build output to English.
# Please keep this setting intact when reporting bugs.
LC_MESSAGES=C.UTF-8
GENTOO_MIRRORS="http://gentoo.c3sl.ufpr.br/ \
    https://umbriel.br.ext.planetunix.net/pub/gentoo/ \
    rsync://umbriel.br.ext.planetunix.net/gentoo/"

some files that exist, manually listed (and typed, sorry for typing mistakes):

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/etc/NetworkManager/dispatcher.d/10-openrc-status
/etc/ca-certificates.conf
/etc/dbus-1/system.d/dnsmasq.conf
/etc/dbus-1/system.d/org.freedesktop.ModemManager1.conf
/etc/dbus-1/system.d/wpa_supplicant.conf
/etc/dnsmasq.conf
/etc/host.conf
/etc/hostname
/etc/hosts
/etc/init.d/NetworkManager
/etc/init.d/dnsmasq
/etc/init.d/firewalld
/etc/init.d/hostname
/etc/init.d/ipset
/etc/init.d/iptables
/etc/init.d/net-online
/etc/init.d/net.lo
/etc/init.d/nftables
/etc/init.d/wpa_supplicant
/etc/netconfig
/etc/networks
/etc/resolv.conf
/etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_cli.sh

someone on IRC said something about MTU. I dunno what this is, where to look for it, nothing.

[towel1]

uuuh I missed some information
current profile:

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$ cat /var/db/repos/local/profiles/death/parent
gentoo:default/linux/amd64/23.0/no-multilib
gentoo:targets/desktop

so it's OpenRC. what else.

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$ sudo grep CFG80211 /efi/EFI/Gentoo/config
CONFIG_CFG80211=m
# CONFIG_CFG80211_DEVELOPER_WARNINGS is not set
# CONFIG_CFG80211_CERTIFICATION_ONUS is not set
CONFIG_CFG80211_REQUIRE_SIGNED_REGDB=y
CONFIG_CFG80211_USE_KERNEL_REGDB_KEYS=y
CONFIG_CFG80211_DEFAULT_PS=y
CONFIG_CFG80211_DEBUGFS=y
CONFIG_CFG80211_CRDA_SUPPORT=y
# CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT is not set
CONFIG_CFG80211_KUNIT_TEST=m

it's distribution sys-kernel/gentoo-kernel

[towel1]

I got a gut feeling that my WiFi works well when my laptop is running on battery, and that WiFi becomes unwieldy when AC adapter is connected and charging.

I will observe the next days.

edit: I'm 100% now that is the case. plug AC adapter = WiFi dies every five seconds. run on battery = perfectly performant and stable WiFi

for this reason, now that I can predict my WiFi behavior, I'm no longer interested in fixing this problem, because I have bigger priorities, such as making sound and Miracast work.

[dmpogo]

I got a gut feeling that my WiFi works well when my laptop is running on battery, and that WiFi becomes unwieldy when AC adapter is connected and charging.

I will observe the next days.

edit: I'm 100% now that is the case. plug AC adapter = WiFi dies every five seconds. run on battery = perfectly performant and stable WiFi

for this reason, now that I can predict my WiFi behavior, I'm no longer interested in fixing this problem, because I have bigger priorities, such as making sound and Miracast work.

While you do other things - do you have another charger to try ?

[towel1]

I got a gut feeling that my WiFi works well when my laptop is running on battery, and that WiFi becomes unwieldy when AC adapter is connected and charging.

I will observe the next days.

edit: I'm 100% now that is the case. plug AC adapter = WiFi dies every five seconds. run on battery = perfectly performant and stable WiFi

for this reason, now that I can predict my WiFi behavior, I'm no longer interested in fixing this problem, because I have bigger priorities, such as making sound and Miracast work.

While you do other things - do you have another charger to try ?

I do have one other charger from older laptop that looks similar to original from current laptop.
I don't feel comfortable doing this experiment, because I'm afraid of electricity.
I think a better strategy will be to rule out software faults, because my laptop is new and I have its one year warranty to cling on

current original charger: VAIO. model: PA-1650-50. input: 100-240V~1.6A 65 W. output: 19V =_=_= 3.42A 65W
older charger: Lenovo. model: PA-1450-55LB. input: 100-240V~1.7A 50-60 Hz. output: 20V =_=_= 2.25A

ignore two paragraphs below

but really, NetworkManager, it is very infuriating. like, is it impossible for it to perceive that I'm trying to open a webpage? for it to see it failed to be opened, then automatically reconnect? every single time I have to manually open nmtui, browse all WiFi connections, find the current one, disconnect and reconnect manually. like, is it impossible to see that a TCP connection is never answered? I'm pretty sure Windows and Android are able to reconnect WiFi automatically if it failed for some reason. I'm pretty sure Android is doing god's work switching between 4G and WiFi as one becomes unreachable and the other is available. and smartphone battery lasts very long, I doubt attempting to reconnect is a real problem for battery life. I wonder if NetworkManager has some configuration that would make it more usable. imagine if this configuration was on by default.

I'm just ranting. I haven't really searched online for a solution. truly, I'm not browsing the Internet much recently. I'm a bit tired of searching for solutions. actually, ironically, searching is enormously tedious because my WiFi is totally borked to begin with, it's not like surfing the Web is being smooth, since WiFi is the problem.

[Asch]

On any distro my wifi works much better with IWD. This applies to old out-of-tree drivers and the newer in-kernel drivers for my Realtek USB wifi card.

BTW, what device are you using to connect to wifi? Is it an external USB adapter or is it embedded into the laptop?

Care to share the output of lsusb, lspci and lsmod?

Newer laptops often have compatibility issues with wifi, I'm afraid.

[towel1]

On any distro my wifi works much better with IWD. This applies to old out-of-tree drivers and the newer in-kernel drivers for my Realtek USB wifi card.

BTW, what device are you using to connect to wifi? Is it an external USB adapter or is it embedded into the laptop?

Care to share the output of lsusb, lspci and lsmod?

Newer laptops often have compatibility issues with wifi, I'm afraid.

thanks for the pointer!!

everything is working flawlessly now. really, it is flawless now! I rebuilt NetworkManager with USE flag iwd, in order to use iwd instead of wpa_supplicant. initially, it failed to reuse existing password for existing WiFi network, but I erased all known passwords, restarted NetworkManager (sudo rc-service NetworkManager restart), and reentered passwords, then things worked better.

it's WiFi from "inside" the laptop.

furthermore, net-wirelesss/wpa_supplicant was also a dependency of gnome-extra/gnome-network-displays, which I had installed the other day, but failed to make work with my dad's LG TV with WebOS. I saw that media-video/miraclecast would also pull wpa_supplicant, but I didn't come to ever install it. I dunno if wpa_supplicant and iwd can coexist, but I uninstalled gnome-network-displays and I will research alternatives to stream stuff to TV (to be discussed in different thread).

for completeness, here is output you asked:

I don't have lsusb command.

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lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir/Cezanne Root Complex
00:00.2 IOMMU: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir/Cezanne IOMMU
00:01.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir PCIe Dummy Host Bridge
00:01.2 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir/Cezanne PCIe GPP Bridge
00:01.3 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir/Cezanne PCIe GPP Bridge
00:02.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir PCIe Dummy Host Bridge
00:02.3 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir/Cezanne PCIe GPP Bridge
00:08.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir PCIe Dummy Host Bridge
00:08.1 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir Internal PCIe GPP Bridge to Bus
00:14.0 SMBus: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH SMBus Controller (rev 51)
00:14.3 ISA bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH LPC Bridge (rev 51)
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Cezanne Data Fabric; Function 0
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Cezanne Data Fabric; Function 1
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Cezanne Data Fabric; Function 2
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Cezanne Data Fabric; Function 3
00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Cezanne Data Fabric; Function 4
00:18.5 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Cezanne Data Fabric; Function 5
00:18.6 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Cezanne Data Fabric; Function 6
00:18.7 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Cezanne Data Fabric; Function 7
01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 15)
02:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8852BE PCIe 802.11ax Wireless Network Controller
03:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Shenzhen Longsys Electronics Co., Ltd. FORESEE XP2000, Lexar NM760 NVME SSD (DRAM-less) (rev 03)
04:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Barcelo (rev c1)
04:00.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Renoir/Cezanne HDMI/DP Audio Controller
04:00.2 Encryption controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Raven/Raven2/FireFlight/Renoir/Cezanne Platform Security Processor
04:00.3 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir/Cezanne USB 3.1
04:00.4 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Renoir/Cezanne USB 3.1
04:00.5 Multimedia controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Audio Coprocessor (rev 01)
04:00.6 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Family 17h/19h/1ah HD Audio Controller
04:00.7 Signal processing controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Sensor Fusion Hub

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lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
qrtr                   49152  2
des3_ede_x86_64        45056  0
des_generic            12288  0
libdes                 32768  2 des_generic,des3_ede_x86_64
md4                    12288  0
binfmt_misc            24576  1
vfat                   20480  1
fat                   102400  1 vfat
uvcvideo              155648  0
uvc                    12288  1 uvcvideo
videobuf2_vmalloc      16384  1 uvcvideo
videobuf2_memops       16384  1 videobuf2_vmalloc
videobuf2_v4l2         36864  1 uvcvideo
btusb                  73728  0
videobuf2_common       86016  4 videobuf2_vmalloc,videobuf2_v4l2,uvcvideo,videobuf2_memops
btrtl                  36864  1 btusb
btintel                61440  1 btusb
btbcm                  20480  1 btusb
videodev              356352  2 videobuf2_v4l2,uvcvideo
btmtk                  32768  1 btusb
mc                     81920  4 videodev,videobuf2_v4l2,uvcvideo,videobuf2_common
bluetooth             884736  6 btrtl,btmtk,btintel,btbcm,btusb
amd_atl                61440  1
intel_rapl_msr         16384  0
intel_rapl_common      45056  1 intel_rapl_msr
joydev                 28672  0
snd_sof_amd_acp70      12288  0
snd_sof_amd_acp63      12288  0
snd_soc_acpi_amd_match     8192  1 snd_sof_amd_acp63
snd_sof_amd_vangogh    12288  0
snd_sof_amd_rembrandt    12288  0
snd_sof_amd_renoir     12288  0
snd_sof_amd_acp        61440  5 snd_sof_amd_acp70,snd_sof_amd_rembrandt,snd_sof_amd_vangogh,snd_sof_amd_acp63,snd_sof_amd_​renoir
snd_sof_pci            20480  5 snd_sof_amd_acp70,snd_sof_amd_rembrandt,snd_sof_amd_vangogh,snd_sof_amd_acp63,snd_sof_amd_​renoir
snd_sof_xtensa_dsp     16384  1 snd_sof_amd_acp
snd_sof               389120  2 snd_sof_amd_acp,snd_sof_pci
snd_sof_utils          16384  1 snd_sof
snd_pci_ps             24576  0
snd_amd_sdw_acpi       16384  2 snd_sof_amd_acp,snd_pci_ps
soundwire_amd          40960  2 snd_sof_amd_acp,snd_pci_ps
rtw89_8852be           12288  0
soundwire_generic_allocation    12288  1 soundwire_amd
rtw89_8852b           339968  1 rtw89_8852be
soundwire_bus         114688  2 soundwire_generic_allocation,soundwire_amd
edac_mce_amd           32768  0
amdgpu              18096128  11
rtw89_8852b_common     69632  1 rtw89_8852b
snd_soc_core          425984  2 snd_sof,soundwire_amd
rtw89_pci              90112  1 rtw89_8852be
kvm_amd               212992  0
snd_hda_codec_conexant    28672  1
snd_compress           24576  1 snd_soc_core
rtw89_core            909312  3 rtw89_8852b,rtw89_pci,rtw89_8852b_common
snd_hda_codec_generic   118784  1 snd_hda_codec_conexant
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     81920  1
ac97_bus               12288  1 snd_soc_core
snd_pcm_dmaengine      16384  1 snd_soc_core
kvm                  1241088  1 kvm_amd
snd_hda_intel          61440  1
snd_intel_dspcfg       40960  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_sof
amdxcp                 12288  1 amdgpu
snd_intel_sdw_acpi     16384  1 snd_intel_dspcfg
mac80211             1552384  2 rtw89_core,rtw89_pci
gpu_sched              57344  1 amdgpu
snd_rpl_pci_acp6x      16384  0
i2c_algo_bit           20480  1 amdgpu
irqbypass              12288  1 kvm
snd_hda_codec         196608  4 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel
snd_acp_pci            12288  0
drm_suballoc_helper    12288  1 amdgpu
drm_ttm_helper         12288  2 amdgpu
snd_acp_legacy_common    12288  1 snd_acp_pci
crct10dif_pclmul       12288  1
snd_hda_core          135168  5 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_code​c
ttm                   102400  2 amdgpu,drm_ttm_helper
snd_pci_acp6x          16384  0
crc32_pclmul           12288  0
snd_hwdep              16384  1 snd_hda_codec
crc32c_intel           16384  0
drm_exec               12288  1 amdgpu
libarc4                12288  1 mac80211
ee1004                 16384  0
r8168                 675840  0
snd_pci_acp5x          16384  0
polyval_clmulni        12288  0
snd_pcm               172032  13 snd_sof_amd_acp,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_pci_acp6x,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_sof,snd_c​ompress,snd_soc_core,snd_sof_utils,soundwire_amd,snd_hda_core,snd_pci_ps,snd_pcm_dmaengine​
drm_display_helper    258048  1 amdgpu
polyval_generic        12288  1 polyval_clmulni
ghash_clmulni_intel    12288  0
sp5100_tco             16384  0
snd_rn_pci_acp3x       20480  0
vhba                   32768  0
snd_timer              49152  1 snd_pcm
sha512_ssse3           53248  0
cec                    90112  1 drm_display_helper
snd_acp_config         20480  10 snd_rn_pci_acp3x,snd_sof_amd_acp70,snd_pci_acp6x,snd_pci_acp5x,snd_sof_amd_rembrandt,snd_s​of_amd_vangogh,snd_sof_amd_acp63,snd_acp_pci,snd_pci_ps,snd_sof_amd_renoir
sha256_ssse3           32768  0
cfg80211             1150976  3 rtw89_core,mac80211,rtw89_8852b_common
snd_soc_acpi           16384  3 snd_sof_amd_acp,snd_acp_config,snd_pci_ps
i2c_piix4              32768  0
r8169                 110592  0
sha1_ssse3             32768  0
snd                   139264  13 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hwdep,snd_hda_intel,sn​d_hda_codec,snd_sof,snd_timer,snd_compress,snd_soc_core,snd_pcm
hid_multitouch         32768  0
drm_buddy              28672  1 amdgpu
pkcs8_key_parser       12288  0
rfkill                 36864  4 rtw89_core,bluetooth,cfg80211
soundcore              12288  1 snd
video                  73728  1 amdgpu
rapl                   16384  0
k10temp                12288  0
serio_raw              16384  0
pcspkr                 12288  0
realtek                40960  1
snd_pci_acp3x          16384  0
i2c_smbus              16384  1 i2c_piix4
wmi_bmof               12288  0
soc_button_array       20480  0
wmi                    24576  2 video,wmi_bmof
cm32181                12288  0
i2c_hid_acpi           12288  0
i2c_hid                40960  1 i2c_hid_acpi
industrialio          131072  1 cm32181

[Administrator edit: broke long whitespace-free lines in code tags to fix thread layout. -Hu]

[pietinger]

[...] I don't have lsusb command.

You will get it when you emerge sys-apps/usbutils.