I have a Toshiba M840 which comes with an Atheros AR9485 based card. The Wifi connection with the card is really bad in Linux (OpenSUSE 12.3) while performing perfectly in Windows. I have seen bugs: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49201 and https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=55901 I quickly went thru the patch provided in Bug 49201: https://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/2718041/ And looking at my kernel sources, it seems mine already has the patch. The card was with PowerSave off since I started using it so it is not really that problem. I experience the same issues mentioned on the above bugs. The copying a file over SMB has a trasfer rate of 64KB/s and the connection constantly drops. I tried to copy some 600MB files across and was not able to do so. FTP transfers can complete since it does resume the connection but the rates are not up to a LAN speed. The internet in general is unusable. The wireless signal seems to drop quickly a few meters from the Wifi router. ------------- cat /proc/version Linux version 3.11.1-29.g2fa222d-desktop (geeko@buildhost) (gcc version 4.7.2 20130108 [gcc-4_7-branch revision 195012] (SUSE Linux) ) #1 SMP PREEMPT Wed Sep 25 09:19:50 UTC 2013 (2fa222d) ------------- From the same location and with a couple of minutes gap, the results are quite different. See the Rate: Test1: iwconfig eth0 no wireless extensions. lo no wireless extensions. wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"olympus" Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437 GHz Access Point: 20:AA:4B:41:16:9B Bit Rate=1 Mb/s Tx-Power=16 dBm Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off Encryption key:off Power Management:off Link Quality=49/70 Signal level=-61 dBm Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0 Tx excessive retries:3 Invalid misc:135 Missed beacon:0 Test2: iwconfig eth0 no wireless extensions. lo no wireless extensions. wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"olympus" Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437 GHz Access Point: 20:AA:4B:41:16:9B Bit Rate=108 Mb/s Tx-Power=16 dBm Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off Encryption key:off Power Management:off Link Quality=57/70 Signal level=-53 dBm Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0 Tx excessive retries:3 Invalid misc:152 Missed beacon:0 -------------- 08:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter [168c:0032] (rev 01) Subsystem: Askey Computer Corp. Device [144f:7193] Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18 Memory at c1100000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K] Expansion ROM at c1400000 [disabled] [size=64K] Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 2 Capabilities: [50] MSI: Enable- Count=1/4 Maskable+ 64bit+ Capabilities: [70] Express Endpoint, MSI 00 Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting Capabilities: [140] Virtual Channel Capabilities: [160] Device Serial Number 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00 Kernel driver in use: ath9k -------------- iw dev wlan0 get power_save Power save: off Do let me know if there is anything else I could provide or try. Thank you! Federico
There seems to be an improvement on kernel 3.11.2-30.g4c1fc5a-desktop. I'll do a few tests and close the ticket if I don't encounter further issues.
While there is some improvement, it is not enough to make the wifi really usable. I did the same test with two wireless adapters. One is the Atheros based in question, the other a Ralink based adapter. With the Atheros AR9485, the transfer rate was of 27KB/s. With the Ralink adapter, it was of 414KB/s. And this is a 5 year old Ralink wireless USB dongle. So, the issue remains. Thanks.
Downloading a file from the internet, with the Ralink card: 2% [ ] 89,217,048 589K/s eta 2h 28m Same file with the Atheros AR9485: 2% [+ ] 111,133,086 42.3K/s ^ 2% [+ ] 111,133,086 --.-K/s eta 3d 19h *it remained in --.-K/s until I switched cards again. Switching back to the Ralink card: 3% [+ ] 120,811,008 289K/s eta 3h 49m ^ Is there any other information I could provide? Thank you.
Just wanted to add that NetworkManager is reporting the following: Oct 09 06:57:20 zeus.olympus NetworkManager[1449]: <info> Activation (wlan0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv6 Configure Timeout) complete. Oct 09 06:57:24 zeus.olympus NetworkManager[1449]: <warn> nl_recvmsgs() error: (-33) Dump inconsistency detected, interrupted Oct 09 07:00:32 zeus.olympus NetworkManager[1449]: <warn> nl_recvmsgs() error: (-33) Dump inconsistency detected, interrupted Oct 09 07:02:15 zeus.olympus NetworkManager[1449]: <warn> nl_recvmsgs() error: (-33) Dump inconsistency detected, interrupted Oct 09 07:08:15 zeus.olympus NetworkManager[1449]: <warn> nl_recvmsgs() error: (-33) Dump inconsistency detected, interrupted Oct 09 07:18:15 zeus.olympus NetworkManager[1449]: <warn> nl_recvmsgs() error: (-33) Dump inconsistency detected, interrupted Oct 09 07:20:15 zeus.olympus NetworkManager[1449]: <warn> nl_recvmsgs() error: (-33) Dump inconsistency detected, interrupted Oct 09 07:22:15 zeus.olympus NetworkManager[1449]: <warn> nl_recvmsgs() error: (-33) Dump inconsistency detected, interrupted Oct 09 07:24:15 zeus.olympus NetworkManager[1449]: <warn> nl_recvmsgs() error: (-33) Dump inconsistency detected, interrupted
Now using: Linux version 3.11.5-32.ga012288-desktop (geeko@buildhost) (gcc version 4.7.2 20130108 [gcc-4_7-branch revision 195012] (SUSE Linux) ) #1 SMP PREEMPT Mon Oct 14 16:59:38 UTC 2013 (a012288) The situation has not really improved. I can't watch a single YouTube video for example. The most it plays a couple of seconds and stops. To make this post, I had to switch to the other Wifi adapter I mentioned earlier. Is there anything I can do to help bring this issue to a faster resolution? Thanks!
The AR9485 patches are not present in the 3.11 kernel used in SUSE, I think. I am looking here: http://kernel.opensuse.org/cgit/kernel/log/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k?h=openSUSE-12.3
I thought I saw part of the code from your patch in the kernel sources. However, I'll grab the kernel from git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git and give it a try. Thanks
Hi Sujith: As per my previous post, I downloaded an compiled the kernel from git. Current version is: Linux version 3.12.0-rc5-32.ga012288-desktop+ (root@zeus.olympus) (gcc version 4.7.2 20130108 [gcc-4_7-branch revision 195012] (SUSE Linux) ) #1 SMP PREEMPT Fri Oct 25 09:01:55 MYT 2013 The issue however remains. Below is the performance I get when copying a file from a computer in my LAN with the Atheros card: =================== scp -P 54022 -r root@khronos.olympus:/exports/Download/test.file ./test.file Password: test.file 0% 288KB 6.3KB/s - stalled - =================== Here is the same test but done with the Ralink USB Wifi adapter: =================== scp -P 54022 -r root@khronos.olympus:/exports/Download/test.file ./test.file Password: test.file 0% 5776KB 1.0MB/s 20:05 ETA =================== As you can see, the problem is still there. Let me know what information you need and I'll try to get it as soon as I can. Thanks
Does this happen only with a particular AP ? Can you load the driver with debug=0x8f49 and post the syslog when this issue happens ? Please make sure that these config options are enabled: CONFIG_ATH_DEBUG=y CONFIG_ATH9K_DEBUGFS=y When the stall happens, can you grab the contents of these files and attach them here: /sys/kernel/debug/ieee80211/phy*/ath9k/modal_eeprom /sys/kernel/debug/ieee80211/phy*/ath9k/base_eeprom /sys/kernel/debug/ieee80211/phy*/ath9k/recv /sys/kernel/debug/ieee80211/phy*/ath9k/reset /sys/kernel/debug/ieee80211/phy*/ath9k/misc /sys/kernel/debug/ieee80211/phy*/ath9k/queues /sys/kernel/debug/ieee80211/phy*/ath9k/xmit /sys/kernel/debug/ieee80211/phy*/ath9k/interrupt Also, it would be useful to try the latest backports release: https://lkml.org/lkml/2013/10/27/149 To install: make defconfig-ath9k make -j 4 sudo make install Reboot.
If Network Manager is disabled and wpa_supplicant is used directly, is the issue seen ?
Hi Sujith, The issue remains the same with or without NetworkManager. See below: systemctl stop NetworkManager.service wpa_supplicant -B -i wlan0 -Dnl80211 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf scp -P 54022 root@khronos.olympus:/srv/ftp/ie8.7z ./ei8.7z ie8.7z 0% 336KB 9.6KB/s - stalled ie8.7z 0% 400KB 34.2KB/s - stalled ie8.7z 2% 2928KB 24.3KB/s - stalled -^CKilled by signal 2. After switching off the Atheros card and plugging in the Ralink, downloading the same file: scp -P 54022 root@khronos.olympus:/srv/ftp/ie8.7z ./ei8.7z ie8.7z 10% 12MB 1.2MB/s 01:30 ETA^CKilled by signal 2. Regards, Fede
Hi Sujith, I've been running some tests since I have two routers. It seems the connection works better with one of them. So I had a look at the settings. One is running on 40MHz (the one having problems) and the other is running on 20MHz. While the Ralink USB card does not have problems with either one. At least not that I can see, it seems the Atheros card is not willing to work correctly on 40MHz. It is possible there is more noise in 40MHz, is there any way to measure or see how this affects the card? Thanks Fede
Hi Sujith, I'll try to do a test with the driver debugging enabled. Thanks
Created attachment 112901 [details] base_eeprom
Created attachment 112911 [details] interrupt
Created attachment 112921 [details] misc
Created attachment 112931 [details] modal_eeprom
Created attachment 112941 [details] queues
Created attachment 112951 [details] recv
Created attachment 112961 [details] reset
Created attachment 112971 [details] xmit
Hi Sujith, It seems even on 20Mhz, it does eventually stall. Less often than in 40MHz though. I have added the attachments you requested. They were taken almost as soon as the transfer stalled. Thank you.
Created attachment 113261 [details] New logs So I ran MTR thru the router in 40MHz. While other wifi devices were able to access the internet and router, this laptop lost network connection, but not wireless connection. Network Manager would still show as if the laptop was connected but no TCP packages would reach anywhere. Anyway, here are the logs.
There is some HW code missing for the card that you have. I'll prepare a patch to add it to ath9k. But, can you also post the kernel/system log when the issue happens ? Please use the latest backports release: https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/projects/backports/2013/10/31/ make defconfig-ath9k-debug make -j 4 sudo make install After reboot, sudo rmmod ath9k sudo modprobe ath9k debug=0x649
From the interrupts file, there appear to be a large number of beacon misses: BMISS: 1952 Can you post the syslog using the module parameter "debug=0x749" for ath9k ?
Can you try this patch ? http://msujith.org/patches/wl/Nov-05-2013/0001-ath9k-Use-correct-PCIE-initvals-for-AR9485.patch Inside the backports directory, patch -p1 < 0001-ath9k-Use-correct-PCIE-initvals-for-AR9485.patch And then proceed with the compilation procedure.
Ok, I'm compiling it now. I'll get back to you as soon as I can test it. Thanks!
Hi, as I mentioned, I compiled backports as instructed however there were some compilation errors, same during the installation: <code> Building modules, stage 2. MODPOST 8 modules WARNING: "regulator_register" [/home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/compat/compat.ko] undefined! WARNING: "regulator_unregister" [/home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/compat/compat.ko] undefined! INSTALL /home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/compat/compat.ko INSTALL /home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath.ko INSTALL /home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k.ko INSTALL /home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k_common.ko INSTALL /home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k_htc.ko INSTALL /home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k_hw.ko INSTALL /home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/net/mac80211/mac80211.ko INSTALL /home/fede/Downloads/kernel/backports-20131031/net/wireless/cfg80211.ko DEPMOD 3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+ WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ti/wlcore/wlcore.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ti/wl1251/wl1251.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/b43/b43.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl_usb.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192cu/rtl8192cu.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/dvm/iwldvm.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/mvm/iwlmvm.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/iwlegacy/iwl4965.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/iwlegacy/iwl3945.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00lib.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath5k/ath5k.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/carl9170/carl9170.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath10k/ath10k_core.ko needs unknown symbol ieee80211_rx WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/updates/compat/compat.ko needs unknown symbol regulator_unregister WARNING: /lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/updates/compat/compat.ko needs unknown symbol regulator_register depmod will prefer updates/ over kernel/ -- OK! Note: You may or may not need to update your initramfs, you should if any of the modules installed are part of your initramfs. To add support for your distribution to do this automatically send a patch against "update-initramfs.sh". If your distribution does not require this send a patch with the '/usr/bin/lsb_release -i -s' (openSUSE) tag for your distribution to avoid this warning. Your backported driver modules should be installed now. Reboot. </code> Of course, since that failed, loading the ath9k module did not work: <code> modprobe ath9k WARNING: Error inserting rfkill (/lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/kernel/net/rfkill/rfkill.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg) WARNING: Error inserting cfg80211 (/lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/updates/net/wireless/cfg80211.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg) WARNING: Error inserting ath (/lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/updates/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg) WARNING: Error inserting ath9k_hw (/lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/updates/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k_hw.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg) WARNING: Error inserting ath9k_common (/lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/updates/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k_common.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg) WARNING: Error inserting mac80211 (/lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/updates/net/mac80211/mac80211.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg) FATAL: Error inserting ath9k (/lib/modules/3.12.0-32.ga012288-desktop+/updates/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg) </code> dmesg has the following: <code> [ 219.609258] compat: Unknown symbol regulator_unregister (err 0) [ 219.609275] compat: Unknown symbol regulator_register (err 0) </code> Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong? Thanks
Created attachment 113631 [details] Do not add regulator code when not in config Please try this patch, for the last problem with the undefined symbol in backports.
Created attachment 113741 [details] Logs with backports and debug enabled The patch from Hauke Mehrtens allowed me to finally compile it correctly. The connection was however horrible, I wanted to test a youtube video but was not even able to load the page correctly. I was able to reach google.com but trying to test it returned an SSL handshake error. As I was switching from one router the card refused to connect at all. I tried reloading the driver but that failed at that point. I added a log with that too. All logs attached. Thanks
Is there anything else I can try? Thank you.
Can you try the latest backports release with these patches ? Backports: https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/projects/backports/2013/11/13/ Patches: http://msujith.org/patches/wl/Nov-18-2013/ Inside backports, patch -p1 < 0001-ath9k-Add-WB335-PCI-IDs.patch patch -p1 < 0001-ath9k-Identify-Killer-Wireless-cards.patch patch -p1 < 0001-ath9k-Enable-BT-diversity-for-a-WB225-card.patch Compile, install and reboot. The 3rd patch enables antenna diversity for this card. So, check if using it makes a difference. sudo rmmod ath9k sudo modprobe ath9k bt_ant_diversity=1 dmesg should show this message: "Set BT/WLAN RX diversity capability" The card appears to be a standard WB225, but I am not sure if any customizations have been made by Toshiba. All the WB225/HB125 cards I have work properly. I'll ask internally if any driver hacks are required for this specific card.
Hi Sujith, Sorry for getting back to you quite late. I've been doing some tests of my own on the laptop. Long story short, I found out what triggers the issue. I do need however your advice about it. This laptop comes with a bluetooth adapter which is controller by the ath3k driver: 01: USB 00.0: 11500 Bluetooth Device [Created at usb.122] Unique ID: dwDZ.Rer6RGDmyN9 Parent ID: ADDn.4Nx_qoDfSd7 SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3:1.0 SysFS BusID: 1-1.3:1.0 Hardware Class: bluetooth Model: "Toshiba Bluetooth USB Host Controller" Hotplug: USB Vendor: usb 0x0930 "Toshiba Corp." Device: usb 0x0219 "Bluetooth USB Host Controller" Revision: "0.02" Serial ID: "Alaska Day 2006" Driver: "btusb" Driver Modules: "btusb" Speed: 12 Mbps Module Alias: "usb:v0930p0219d0002dcE0dsc01dp01icE0isc01ip01in00" Driver Info #0: Driver Status: ath3k is active Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe ath3k" Driver Info #1: Driver Status: btusb is active Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe btusb" Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown Attached to: #8 (Hub) I'm not sure exactly why but using blueproximity (a program that locks/unlocks the laptop based on how close a bluetooth device is to it) causes the problem. I had this program running on my previous laptop and did not have any problems with it, further to this, the USB Ralink adapter is not affected by it. Not to mention, this seems to affect the performance only while connecting to one of my routers (the Wireless N) and not the other (Wireless G). Is this bug something worth pursuing or should we drop it here? Thanks. Fede
Does loading ath9k with BT coexistence enabled fix the issue ? http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k/btcoex
I tried but does not make a difference, the moment blueproximity loads, the connection's performance drops straight away. From let's say 600KB/s to 9KB/s. I tried sending a file from the laptop to my phone via bluetooth and that did not seem to affect the connection. I'll let you decide what you want to do with this ticket. If you think the problem is with blueproximity, I'll take your word for it and you can close this bug. In the future if I bump into any issues with the Bluetooth and I think if might relate to this case, I can get back to you. Thank you. Fede
The WB225 card that is present on your laptop is a WLAN/BT combo card. But, I am not very familiar with bluetooth so not sure what is going on here. If I post updates for the Bluetooth Coexistence code in ath9k, I'll post a note here, so that you can try the latest backports release. I think this bug can be left open for now. Thanks for your help in reporting/testing the bug.
Thank you. You are doing a great job. If you need me to test it in the future, drop a line to this ticket and I'll run a test.
Created attachment 125691 [details] lspci.txt Same issue on 3.12.9-2-ARCH.