No wireless after 12.10 installation

[colmeweb]

So my connection is better, but it still drops out once in a while. I am still not sure why opening Transmission kicks it back on, but that is my goto rite now.

[tanghus]

FYI: It seems the newest kernel update to 3.5.0-24 killed wifi on Toshiba Satellite C850D-121. 3.5.0-23 still works OK.

[chili555]

FYI: It seems the newest kernel update to 3.5.0-24 killed wifi on Toshiba Satellite C850D-121. 3.5.0-23 still works OK.

Any chance you'd like to troubleshoot?

[tanghus]

Any chance you'd like to troubleshoot?

Sure, but you would have to guide me 3.5.0-25 has the same problem btw.
Sorry for the late reply. I had forgotten to enable notifications.

[chili555]

Sure, but you would have to guide me 3.5.0-25 has the same problem btw.
Sorry for the late reply. I had forgotten to enable notifications.

First, tell us about your wireless card details. Open a terminal and run and post:

lspci -nn | grep 0280

The pipe symbol | is on the right side of my US keyboard on the same key with \.

[tanghus]

Currently using 3.5.0-23 to be able to be on the net

$ dmesg | grep rtl
[   18.453598] rtl8723ae: Using firmware rtlwifi/rtl8723fw_B.bin
[   19.173679] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'rtl_rc'
[   19.174224] rtlwifi: wireless switch is on

$ lspci -nn | grep 0280
06:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Device [10ec:8723]

$ lsmod | grep rtl
rtl8723ae              86362  0 
rtlwifi                79634  1 rtl8723ae
mac80211              601721  1 rtlwifi
cfg80211              516149  2 rtlwifi,mac80211
compat                 19339  4 rtl8723ae,rtlwifi,mac80211,cfg80211

And the following is running 3.5.0-25

$ lsmod | grep rtl
rtl8723ae              86362  0 
rtlwifi                79594  1 rtl8723ae
mac80211              612116  1 rtlwifi
cfg80211              526015  2 rtlwifi,mac80211
compat                 19589  4 rtl8723ae,rtlwifi,mac80211,cfg80211

$ dmesg | grep rtl
[   18.147458] rtl8723ae: Using firmware rtlwifi/rtl8723fw_B.bin
[   19.008647] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'rtl_rc'
[   19.009122] rtlwifi: wireless switch is on

/var/log/syslog:

Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop polkitd[1163]: started daemon version 0.104 using authority implementation `local' version `0.104'
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop dbus[1037]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.PolicyKit1'
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: init!
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: update_system_hostname
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPluginIfupdown: management mode: unmanaged
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: devices added (path: /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:15.1/0000:06:00.0/net/wlan0, iface: wlan0)
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: device added (path: /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:15.1/0000:06:00.0/net/wlan0, iface: wlan0): no ifupdown configura
tion found.
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: devices added (path: /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:15.2/0000:07:00.0/net/eth0, iface: eth0)
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: device added (path: /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:15.2/0000:07:00.0/net/eth0, iface: eth0): no ifupdown configurati
on found.
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: devices added (path: /sys/devices/virtual/net/lo, iface: lo)
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: device added (path: /sys/devices/virtual/net/lo, iface: lo): no ifupdown configuration found.
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: end _init.
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> Loaded plugin ifupdown: (C) 2008 Canonical Ltd.  To report bugs please use the NetworkManager mailing list.
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> Loaded plugin keyfile: (c) 2007 - 2010 Red Hat, Inc.  To report bugs please use the NetworkManager mailing list.
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    Ifupdown: get unmanaged devices count: 0
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: (26470192) ... get_connections.
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    SCPlugin-Ifupdown: (26470192) ... get_connections (managed=false): return empty list.
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile: parsing Felix-II ... 
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile:     read connection 'Felix-II'
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile: parsing SPX-Guest ... 
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile:     read connection 'SPX-Guest'
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile: parsing Tanghus ... 
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile:     read connection 'Tanghus'
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile: parsing NETGEAR ... 
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile:     read connection 'NETGEAR'
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile: parsing Nokia_950_tanghus ... 
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile:     read connection 'Nokia_950_tanghus'
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile: parsing Wired connection 1 ... 
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    keyfile:     read connection 'Wired connection 1'
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]:    Ifupdown: get unmanaged devices count: 0
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> modem-manager is now available
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> monitoring kernel firmware directory '/lib/firmware'.
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> found WiFi radio killswitch rfkill1 (at /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:15.1/0000:06:00.0/ieee80211/phy0/rfkill1) (driver (unknown))
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> WiFi enabled by radio killswitch; enabled by state file
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> WWAN enabled by radio killswitch; enabled by state file
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> WiMAX enabled by radio killswitch; enabled by state file
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> Networking is enabled by state file
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): using nl80211 for WiFi device control
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <warn> (wlan0): driver supports Access Point (AP) mode
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): new 802.11 WiFi device (driver: 'rtl8723ae' ifindex: 3)
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): exported as /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/Devices/0
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): now managed
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): device state change: unmanaged -> unavailable (reason 'managed') [10 20 2]
Feb 23 16:57:47 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): bringing up device.
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop acpid: starting up with proc fs
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop cron[1245]: (CRON) INFO (pidfile fd = 3)
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop acpid: 33 rules loaded
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop acpid: waiting for events: event logging is off
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop cron[1281]: (CRON) STARTUP (fork ok)
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop cron[1281]: (CRON) INFO (Running @reboot jobs)
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop anacron[1275]: Anacron 2.3 started on 2013-02-23
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop anacron[1275]: Normal exit (0 jobs run)
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): preparing device.
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop kernel: [   19.969753] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): deactivating device (reason 'managed') [2]
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop dbus[1037]: [system] Activating service name='fi.w1.wpa_supplicant1' (using servicehelper)
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop kernel: [   19.972386] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (eth0): carrier is OFF
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (eth0): new Ethernet device (driver: 'r8169' ifindex: 2)
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (eth0): exported as /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/Devices/1
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (eth0): now managed
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (eth0): device state change: unmanaged -> unavailable (reason 'managed') [10 20 2]
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (eth0): bringing up device.
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop acpid: client connected from 1341[0:0]
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop acpid: 1 client rule loaded
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop dbus[1037]: [system] Successfully activated service 'fi.w1.wpa_supplicant1'
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop kernel: [   20.194967] r8169 0000:07:00.0: eth0: link down
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (eth0): preparing device.
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (eth0): deactivating device (reason 'managed') [2]
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <warn> /sys/devices/virtual/net/lo: couldn't determine device driver; ignoring...
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop kernel: [   20.196662] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop kernel: [   20.197587] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <warn> /sys/devices/virtual/net/lo: couldn't determine device driver; ignoring...
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> wpa_supplicant started
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0) supports 4 scan SSIDs
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): supplicant interface state: starting -> ready
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): device state change: unavailable -> disconnected (reason 'supplicant-available') [20 30 42]
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <warn> Trying to remove a non-existant call id.
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0): supplicant interface state: ready -> inactive
Feb 23 16:57:48 tanghus-laptop NetworkManager[1128]: <info> (wlan0) supports 4 scan SSIDs

[chili555]

And the following is running 3.5.0-25

I don't see much wrong here. What I don't see that I wish I was seeing is the result of clicking on one of these networks, asking for a connection and it refusing. What happens when you try to connect?

keyfile: parsing Felix-II ... 
keyfile:     read connection 'Felix-II'
keyfile: parsing SPX-Guest ... 
keyfile:     read connection 'SPX-Guest'
keyfile: parsing Tanghus ... 
keyfile:     read connection 'Tanghus'
keyfile: parsing NETGEAR ... 
keyfile:     read connection 'NETGEAR'
keyfile: parsing Nokia_950_tanghus ... 
keyfile:     read connection 'Nokia_950_tanghus'

Please be a little more specific than 'newest kernel update to 3.5.0-24 killed wifi.'

[tanghus]

What happens when you try to connect?

It's quite long, so I've made a pastebin http://pastebin.com/qgHUDcsa

KDEs network manager pops up asking for password two time during this log session, but connection still fails. The only difference is that I select a different kernel version at grub menu.

Please be a little more specific than 'newest kernel update to 3.5.0-24 killed wifi.'

Yeah, sorry about that. I was on my way out, and just wanted to warn any that a kernel update could break wifi.

[chili555]

I googled the message:

wlan0: capabilities/regulatory prevented using AP HT/VHT configuration, downgraded

...and I found this: http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-w...msg103577.html

Yeah, it's obvious that this would happen for drivers not supporting
TDLS -- will send a patch.

Notice the date is just a few days ago; Sun, 2013-02-17 at 00:31.

You could just use the previous kernel and wait for a fix or you could try linux-backports-modules-cw. Frankly, for a flaw that was discovered so recently, I doubt backports would have been updated by now.

You might also try a driver parameter:

sudo modprobe -r rtl8723ae
sudo modprobe rtl8723ae swenc=1

If it helps, we can write a quick file to make it persistent.

[tanghus]

Frankly, for a flaw that was discovered so recently, I doubt backports would have been updated by now.

Ah, great that it is already known of.

The driver parameter didn't work, so I'll just keep using .23 and download backports once in a while to see what happens

Thanks for your help - I wouldn't know where to look.

/Thomas