Very slow wifi!!

pootler · 2021-03-03 13:43:47

HI,

I have a recent install of devuan.

it was working fine up to about a week ago.

Since then , my wifi speed has dropped to about a tenth available?

Our other house devices all achieve maximum speed via the same wifi

I have completely removed any software installed from the last two weeks ago, just in case, but no luck.

<iwconfig wlan0> gives me;

IEEE 802.11 ESSID:"xxxxxx"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.432 GHz Access Point: 94:0B:19:B7:98:C8
Bit Rate=54 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry short limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=59/70 Signal level=-51 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:164 Invalid misc:4054 Missed beacon:0

Anybody any ideas on troubleshooting? - I am a linux noob.

Hardware is BCM 4322 chip, and rtl 8168 adapter.

I changed from Wicd manager to network manager - but nothing changed.

I vaguely remember something on install about a rtl8168 firmware not being found, so I have installed the latest ''dkms' for that hardware?

Many thanks in advance.

pootler

dice · 2021-03-03 13:49:59

do you have non-free repositories added to your sources list?

what is the output of this file /etc/apt/sources.list

and is there anything in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/

pootler · 2021-03-03 14:12:49

ok here is sources list

deb cdrom:[Devuan GNU/Linux 3.0 (beowulf) amd64 - desktop 20200526]/ beowulf contrib main non-free

# A network mirror was not selected during install. The following entries
# are provided as examples, but you should amend them as appropriate
# for your mirror of choice.

deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged beowulf main
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged beowulf-security main

# beowulf-updates, previously known as 'volatile'
# A network mirror was not selected during install. The following entries
# are provided as examples, but you should amend them as appropriate
# for your mirror of choice.

deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged beowulf-updates main
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged beowulf-backports main

here is sourceslist.d

deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main

- so , no , I do not have any non-free repos.

I installed 4322 software via .deb packages.

pootler

dice · 2021-03-03 14:23:46

Ok you need to add non-free and contrib repos to make your card work properly.

you need to purge the rtl8168 dkms package first though.

read this ... https://packages.debian.org/buster/r8168-dkms

and then read this ... https://wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx

yours is b43 and b43legacy section so you need contrib and non free added to sources list.

I noticed something odd though, in Tx excessive retries:164 Invalid misc:4054 Missed beacon:0 from iwconfig wlan0.

Invalid misc:4054

that is a huge number and from websearch this might be wifi interference?

Have a read here... https://unix.stackexchange.com/question … -to-fix-it

Last edited by dice (2021-03-03 14:28:08)

pootler · 2021-03-03 15:44:03

Thanks dice for the help.

Will look into this - but a bit later

Will update .

pootler

blackhole · 2021-03-04 07:56:30

The "invalid misc" is what you need to look into. The other devices may be ok, but is this computer closer to any potential sources of interference?

rtl8168 is your ethernet.

The broadcom devices supported by the b43 driver will not work at all without proprietary firmware extracted from the wl vendor driver tarball. If you installed what was needed via downloading and installing with dpkg, then you've probably done enough, but it wouldn't hurt to enable contrib and non-free repositories as suggested, and do an upgrade, just in case whatever packages you downloaded were for an older release? Perhaps you can elaborate on why they were installed manually and where they were sourced from?

Or did you in fact instlll wl via some other source?

pootler · 2021-03-04 11:26:26

O.K

back.

I have a rule that if it takes me more than a couple of days to troubleshoot, then I fresh install.

My time - and life - is too short :-)

Its what I've always done - even with my windoze and mac installs.

SO---

Fresh install with ethernet cable connected.

I presume it will have updated to latest Beowulf?

Used dpkg in terminal to install b43 fw-cutter , and firmware b43 installer.

All went fine.

Using default WIcd manager getting stupidly low speeds , and stupidly high ''invalid misc" - even if I park myself a foot away from the router.

This was receiving full speed ( 30-35 mb/s) about two weeks ago??

IEEE 802.11 ESSID:"xxxxxxx"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.432 GHz Access Point: 94:0B:19:B7:98:C8
Bit Rate=54 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry short limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=60/70 Signal level=-50 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:86 Invalid misc:1196 Missed beacon:0

My troubleshooting as a noob is poor , but the only thing I can think has changed is beowulf itself? - the version

confused

pootler

P>S OK, I installed a fresh copy of windows 10, wifi is working great on that, so I don't think its is hardware related.
have reinstalled Devuan again - same problem as before.

dice · 2021-03-04 12:01:20

I cant see how reinstalling is going to help, as you have noticed you still have the same issue.

what is the output of this command from your terminal?

lspci -knn | grep -A3 "Network"

Last edited by dice (2021-03-04 12:02:00)

dice · 2021-03-04 12:23:53

blackhole wrote:

The "invalid misc" is what you need to look into. The other devices may be ok, but is this computer closer to any potential sources of interference?
rtl8168 is your ethernet.
The broadcom devices supported by the b43 driver will not work at all without proprietary firmware extracted from the wl vendor driver tarball. If you installed what was needed via downloading and installing with dpkg, then you've probably done enough, but it wouldn't hurt to enable contrib and non-free repositories as suggested, and do an upgrade, just in case whatever packages you downloaded were for an older release? Perhaps you can elaborate on why they were installed manually and where they were sourced from?
Or did you in fact instlll wl via some other source?

depends on the broadcom card i believe. Debian saying BCM4322 (only 14e4:432b);

as for the ethernet, devuan should have pulled in firmware-realtek had non-free been enabled in the sources.list (with an update upgrade) which i believe should cover the firmware for rtl8168 ?

these two packages is what should be installed to make it functional?

https://packages.debian.org/buster/firm … -installer

https://packages.debian.org/buster/firmware-realtek

pootler · 2021-03-04 13:49:58

dice wrote:

I cant see how reinstalling is going to help, as you have noticed you still have the same issue.
what is the output of this command from your terminal?
lspci -knn | grep -A3 "Network"

Hi,

I disagree

A fresh install means we can rule out any 'cxxp' that might be in the system caused by noobs ( ie me ) messing about, not quite knowing what they are doing- just in case it might be the problem

Will post output when I get home

Cheers

Pootler

dice · 2021-03-04 14:52:38

pootler wrote:

dice wrote:
I cant see how reinstalling is going to help, as you have noticed you still have the same issue.
what is the output of this command from your terminal?
lspci -knn | grep -A3 "Network"
Hi,
I disagree
A fresh install means we can rule out any 'cxxp' that might be in the system caused by noobs ( ie me ) messing about, not quite knowing what they are doing- just in case it might be the problem
Will post output when I get home
Cheers
Pootler

I get that but imo you need to learn from mistakes and most issues can be resolved with attention to detail and some research. Reinstalling in your case is seriously not needed, the only time i would reinstall would be when i have deleted by accident a directory or file that is system dependent that i dont have a backup for.

Last edited by dice (2021-03-04 14:53:16)

pootler · 2021-03-04 16:33:33

dice wrote:

I cant see how reinstalling is going to help, as you have noticed you still have the same issue.
what is the output of this command from your terminal?
lspci -knn | grep -A3 "Network"

O.k this is the output:

03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:432b] (rev 01)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller [103c:1510]
Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
Kernel modules: ssb

BTW, here is my sources list

deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged beowulf main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged beowulf-security main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged beowulf-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.devuan.org/devuan beowulf-proposed-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged beowulf-backports main contrib non-free

cheers

pootler

Head_on_a_Stick · 2021-03-04 16:45:40

I think that card would work better with the wl driver:

# apt install linux-{image,headers}-amd64 broadcom-sta-dkms
# if [ "$?" = 0 ] ; then echo 'It worked!' ; else echo 'Trying again...' ; apt install -f ; dpkg-reconfigure broadcom-sta-dkms ; fi

As an aside I'm not sure you want that "beowulf-proposed-updates" source line, it may cause problems in the future. Unless you want to help find bugs ofc.

pootler · 2021-03-04 17:03:56

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

I think that card would work better with the wl driver:
# apt install linux-{image,headers}-amd64 broadcom-sta-dkms
# if [ "$?" = 0 ] ; then echo 'It worked!' ; else echo 'Trying again...' ; apt install -f ; dpkg-reconfigure broadcom-sta-dkms ; fi
As an aside I'm not sure you want that "beowulf-proposed-updates" source line, it may cause problems in the future. Unless you want to help find bugs ofc.

I'll give it a whirl :-)

cheers

pootler · 2021-03-04 17:18:03

Well- would you believe it - it works?

here is terminal output to confirm change:

03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:432b] (rev 01)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller [103c:1510]
Kernel driver in use: wl
Kernel modules: ssb, wl

happy - but a bit confused- I have never used this driver ,as all the info suggests my bcm 4322 (14E4:432B) is provided for by the alternate drivers?

AH well - thanks very much for the suggestion 'head on a stick"

pootler

dice · 2021-03-05 07:10:20

Ah i missed wl driver section. Good to know anyhow thanks head on a stick. https://wiki.debian.org/wl#supported

so pootler have the speeds gone back to normal?

pootler · 2021-03-05 12:52:54

dice wrote:

Ah i missed wl driver section. Good to know anyhow thanks head on a stick. https://wiki.debian.org/wl#supported
so pootler have the speeds gone back to normal?

Yup - back to normal.

Thanks for your help as well dice.

Keep safe everyone.

Pootler

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#1 2021-03-03 13:43:47

Very slow wifi!!

#2 2021-03-03 13:49:59

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#3 2021-03-03 14:12:49

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#4 2021-03-03 14:23:46

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#5 2021-03-03 15:44:03

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#6 2021-03-04 07:56:30

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#7 2021-03-04 11:26:26

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#8 2021-03-04 12:01:20

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#9 2021-03-04 12:23:53

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#10 2021-03-04 13:49:58

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#11 2021-03-04 14:52:38

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#12 2021-03-04 16:33:33

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#13 2021-03-04 16:45:40

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#14 2021-03-04 17:03:56

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#15 2021-03-04 17:18:03

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#16 2021-03-05 07:10:20

Re: Very slow wifi!!

#17 2021-03-05 12:52:54

Re: Very slow wifi!!

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