WiFi randomly disconnects and won't connect again
| Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Additional Linux Wireless Drivers |
Confirmed
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
| Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA driver |
New
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
| Linux |
New
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
| Linux Mint |
Confirmed
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
| LinuxMint Control Center |
Confirmed
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
| Network Manager Applet |
Expired
|
Critical
|
|||
| Wireless Tools |
New
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
| wireless-tools (Ubuntu) |
Confirmed
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
Bug Description
Something odd that I have only seen in Ubuntu, Debian, and derivatives thereof affects something that most of us use every day, and can be a real hassle to beginners from what I've noticed: Many USB WiFi drivers will connect to an access point like usual and after long periods of inactivity on the network combined with user inactivity on the PC alone is when this problem appears to arise: The WiFi disconnects and does not connect again to the same hotspot using the same USB WiFi dongle unless the computer is restarted or reset, and a lot of the time, that doesn't immediately stop this error and even if so, the computer will disconnect yet again not too long from then.
And why does this happen? It puzzles me. Maybe it's the USB chipset inside the WiFi dongle, or maybe it's a communication error between the Linux kernel and the automated firewall systems integrated in most routers and base stations today, it's hard to say. What I know is that this doesn't just happen on my computer, testing done by myself on several other computers in different locations using different WiFi hardware on Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, or derivatives thereof gets the exact same result as I am experiencing now.
I have gone digging through Debian, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint forums to try and find the "cure" patch for my computer or router and the answer as to why this is happening, and the best answer I could find is that within my system's WiFi Settings, I need to set the BSSID of the hotspot I am current using as the MAC address of the router which that hotspot is transmitting.
Upon setting my BSSID to a clone of the Router's MAC address followed by a system restart, I noticed instant improvement when it comes to connection reliability, speed, and time to connect, yet after days of having that MAC as the BSSID, things went back to the usual chaos of an unreliable connection that no other device within the household has encountered, not even Android telephones and tablets that use much of the same underlying Linux code. I performed restarts, updates, more updates, resets, and even more derivatives of Debian or Ubuntu and this is still more of an issue than ever.
Via further digging and through a process of trial-and-error, I enabled the "IPv4 is required for this connection" check box along with changing the BSSID to a clone of the router's MAC address in hopes it was a compatibility issue with the "newer" IPv6 Internet Protocol architecture in an attempt to basically 'force' the machine to get that digital handshake with the router in a more 'legacy' mode with IPv4, at least to get some connection. That worked for a bit as well, but didn't hold up just like before.
I am now sitting here at my computer, still experiencing this issue on and off, currently having the issue stabilized and stalled at the moment with the "IPv4 is required for this connection" check box on, NO BSSID set, NO cloned MAC address, and NO "Restrict to Device" settings opted-in, hoping this time around this combination of settings will work, but it's a game of trial-and-error for me at this point now, like mentioned before.
Has anyone else experienced such terrible connectivity issues only in Debian-based distributions recently? I have been using Linux for ages now and I feel as if this issue is now just arising within the past year, 2014.
A HardInfo report generated from my computer is attached to this bug report. I hope we can figure out a solution soon to get pushed to all Debian and Debian-like distros soon! Nobody wants a bad connection.
Current OS: Linux Mint 17 "Qiana"
Kernel: Linux 3.13.0-24-generic (x86_64)
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 (850)
RAM: 8GB DDR3
IWLIST OUTPUT:
jeb@MINT-
[sudo] password for jeb:
wlan0 Scan completed :
Cell 01 - Address: F8:7B:8C:06:57:8D
Cell 02 - Address: 08:86:3B:26:59:50
Cell 03 - Address: 00:7F:28:2E:0F:84
jeb@MINT-
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: wireless-tools 30~pre9-8ubuntu1
ProcVersionSign
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-24-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelMo
ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.5
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: KDE
Date: Fri Oct 31 17:55:56 2014
Dependencies:
gcc-4.9-base 4.9.1-0ubuntu1
libc6 2.19-0ubuntu6.3
libgcc1 1:4.9.1-0ubuntu1
libiw30 30~pre9-8ubuntu1
multiarch-support 2.19-0ubuntu6.3
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-10-23 (8 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Linux Mint 17 "Qiana" - Release amd64 20140619
SourcePackage: wireless-tools
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
| Jeb E. (jebeld17) wrote | #1 |
| Jeb E. (jebeld17) wrote | #2 |
| Changed in wireless-tools (Ubuntu): | |
| status: | New → Confirmed |
| Changed in wireless-drivers: | |
| status: | New → Confirmed |
| Changed in linuxmint: | |
| status: | New → Confirmed |
| Changed in unity: | |
| status: | New → Invalid |
| Changed in mint-control-center-xfce: | |
| status: | New → Confirmed |
| Dave Stroud (bigdavesr) wrote | #3 |
| Jeb E. (jebeld17) wrote | #4 |
| Changed in network-manager-applet: | |
| importance: | Unknown → Critical |
| status: | Unknown → New |
| no longer affects: | unity |
| Jeb E. (jebeld17) wrote | #5 |
| Changed in network-manager-applet: | |
| status: | New → Confirmed |
| Changed in network-manager-applet: | |
| status: | Confirmed → Expired |
| Andrew McCoull (amcc64) wrote | #6 |
Attached here is an entire input/output log recording of the "sudo iwlist wlan0 scan" command via Konsole.