Ubuntu 11.10, very slow wireless internet

[Lonium]

Yesterday I upgraded my Ubuntu-computer from 11.04 to 11.10. Everything looks and works fine, except for the wireless internet which is really slow. My girlfriend still uses 11.04 and she has 11 mbit/s in speed. And the same for my Iphone. But since I upgraded, I only get like 1 mbit/s, which is really frustrating because I can't listen to Spotify and check websites at the same time.

I've googled the same question and I can see that there is other people with pretty much the same problem, but I can't find a solution for it. Can someone help? :p

[varunendra]

To start with, please open a terminal, enter the following commands and post back their outputs here:

sudo lshw -C network
ifconfig
iwconfig
cat /etc/network/interfaces
ping -c 4 google.com

Please wrap each set of outputs separately in
..and.. tags. To do so quickly, click on the # symbol at the top of edit box. It'll automatically generate the tags, then just copy-paste the output between the tags using your mouse cursor. Doing so preserves formatting and thus makes the output more readable.

[pmodin]

I got the same problem, so I'll hijack this thread :)


*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 19
bus info: pci@0000:00:19.0
logical name: eth0
version: 04
serial: f0:de:f1:57:9d:58
capacity: 1Gbit/s
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=e1000e driverversion=1.3.10-k2 firmware=0.13-3 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=twisted pair
resources: irq:52 memory:f3b00000-f3b1ffff memory:f3b2b000-f3b2bfff ioport:7080(size=32)
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
logical name: wlan0
version: 01
serial: 88:9f:fa:fd:ae:64
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=rtl8192ce driverversion=3.0.0-12-generic firmware=N/A ip=130.229.189.248 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bgn
resources: irq:17 ioport:5000(size=256) memory:f3a00000-f3a03fff
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr f0:de:f1:57:9d:58
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:19441263 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:24450058 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:14397792061 (14.3 GB) TX bytes:28425586278 (28.4 GB)
Interrupt:20 Memory:f3b00000-f3b20000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:22331 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:22331 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:2076667 (2.0 MB) TX bytes:2076667 (2.0 MB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 88:9f:fa:fd:ae:64
inet addr:130.229.189.248 Bcast:130.229.191.255 Mask:255.255.192.0
inet6 addr: fe80::8a9f:faff:fefd:ae64/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:124566 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:81424 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:164438621 (164.4 MB) TX bytes:10127143 (10.1 MB)

wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"eduroam"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: 04:FE:7F:93:9C:E4
Bit Rate=72.2 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr=2347 B Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=66/70 Signal level=-44 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:240 Missed beacon:0

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
Ping during network load:
PING google.com (74.125.43.106) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from bw-in-f106.1e100.net (74.125.43.106): icmp_req=1 ttl=50 time=42.2 ms
64 bytes from bw-in-f106.1e100.net (74.125.43.106): icmp_req=2 ttl=50 time=870 ms
64 bytes from bw-in-f106.1e100.net (74.125.43.106): icmp_req=3 ttl=50 time=860 ms

--- google.com ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 3 received, 25% packet loss, time 3422ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 42.247/591.356/870.950/388.301 msAnd no load:
PING google.com (74.125.43.104) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from bw-in-f104.1e100.net (74.125.43.104): icmp_req=1 ttl=50 time=24.5 ms
64 bytes from bw-in-f104.1e100.net (74.125.43.104): icmp_req=2 ttl=50 time=23.9 ms
64 bytes from bw-in-f104.1e100.net (74.125.43.104): icmp_req=3 ttl=50 time=27.4 ms
64 bytes from bw-in-f104.1e100.net (74.125.43.104): icmp_req=4 ttl=50 time=23.9 ms

--- google.com ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3004ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 23.918/24.957/27.460/1.472 msAnd lsmod, if that's of interest:
Module Size Used by
usbhid 47198 0
hid 95463 1 usbhid
parport_pc 36962 0
dm_crypt 23199 0
ppdev 17113 0
acpi_call 12623 0
bnep 18436 2
rfcomm 47946 8
joydev 17693 0
binfmt_misc 17540 1
snd_hda_codec_conexant 62197 1
arc4 12529 2
uvcvideo 72711 0
videodev 93004 1 uvcvideo
v4l2_compat_ioctl32 17083 1 videodev
rtl8192ce 84775 0
thinkpad_acpi 81819 0
rtl8192c_common 75767 1 rtl8192ce
rtlwifi 110972 1 rtl8192ce
snd_hda_intel 33390 2
snd_seq_midi 13324 0
snd_hda_codec 104802 2 snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel
snd_rawmidi 30547 1 snd_seq_midi
btusb 18600 2
snd_hwdep 13668 1 snd_hda_codec
snd_seq_midi_event 14899 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq 61896 2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
bluetooth 166112 23 bnep,rfcomm,btusb
snd_pcm 96755 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
mac80211 310872 3 rtl8192ce,rtl8192c_common,rtlwifi
psmouse 73882 0
mei 41480 0
serio_raw 13166 0
snd_seq_device 14540 3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
snd_timer 29991 2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc 18529 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
snd 68266 14 snd_hda_codec_conexant,thinkpad_acpi,snd_hda_intel ,snd_hda_codec,snd_rawmidi,snd_hwdep,snd_seq,snd_p cm,snd_seq_device,snd_timer
cfg80211 199587 2 rtlwifi,mac80211
nouveau 728662 0
soundcore 12680 1 snd
tpm_tis 18546 0
nvram 14413 1 thinkpad_acpi
ttm 76805 1 nouveau
mxm_wmi 12979 1 nouveau
wmi 19256 1 mxm_wmi
lp 17799 0
parport 46562 3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp
firewire_ohci 40722 0
i915 566711 3
ahci 26002 2
libahci 26861 1 ahci
drm_kms_helper 42558 2 nouveau,i915
firewire_core 63626 1 firewire_ohci
xhci_hcd 78641 0
sdhci_pci 14032 0
crc_itu_t 12707 1 firewire_core
sdhci 32166 1 sdhci_pci
drm 236330 6 nouveau,ttm,i915,drm_kms_helper
e1000e 160535 0
i2c_algo_bit 13423 2 nouveau,i915
video 19412 2 nouveau,i915It's a freshly installed 11.10, running on a Lenovo Thinkpad W520.

Any help would be appreciated.

[varunendra]

wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"eduroam"
No problem with hijacking, as long as problem is same :)

Given the volume of recent complains about this bug (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager/+bug/836250) in Oneiric with N channel, I'd start troubleshooting with this: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=11360822

Let's hope this is all you need for the time being.

[pmodin]

Yes, I've seen that bug, however I don't use the iwlagn module, but rtlwifi (that's why I attached lsmod :) )

How do I disable N for rtlwifi? (or where can I see a list of params to pass to modules in general?)

Thanks

[varunendra]

Yes, I've seen that bug, however I don't use the iwlagn module, but rtlwifi (that's why I attached lsmod :) )

How do I disable N for rtlwifi? (or where can I see a list of params to pass to modules in general?)

Thanks
Just replace iwlagn with rtl8192ce and post back if there is any improvement or none at all.

[pmodin]

Just replace iwlagn with rtl8192ce and post back if there is any improvement or none at all.
$ sudo modprobe rtl8192ce 11n_disable=1
FATAL: Error inserting rtl8192ce (/lib/modules/3.0.0-12-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192ce/rtl8192ce.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)
and dmesg
[59321.273012] rtl8192ce: Unknown parameter `11n_disable'


So how do I disable N for rtlwifi? (or where can I see a list of params to pass to modules in general?).

Thanks

[palimmo]

Same problem with PB Easynote TJ65 and Ubuntu 11.10.
The wifi connection is slower compared to 11.04.... annoying during live video streaming (TV, etc...)

Could you help me, please?
Here some info:


~$ sudo lshw -C network
*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: NetLink BCM5784M Gigabit Ethernet PCIe
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
logical name: eth0
version: 10
serial: 00:26:2d:5f:5c:c0
capacity: 1Gbit/s
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm vpd msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=tg3 driverversion=3.119 firmware=sb v2.19 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=twisted pair
resources: irq:46 memory:f3000000-f300ffff
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
vendor: Atheros Communications Inc.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
logical name: wlan0
version: 01
serial: 70:1a:04:45:53:c2
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ath9k driverversion=3.0.0-12-generic firmware=N/A ip=192.168.2.102 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bgn
resources: irq:17 memory:f3100000-f310ffff



~$ ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:26:2d:5f:5c:c0
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Interrupt:16

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:3614 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:3614 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:397638 (397.6 KB) TX bytes:397638 (397.6 KB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 70:1a:04:45:53:c2
inet addr:192.168.2.102 Bcast:192.168.2.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::721a:4ff:fe45:53c2/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:53964 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:49879 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:40743115 (40.7 MB) TX bytes:9256456 (9.2 MB)



~$ iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"WLAN-7BCE36"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: 04:C0:6F:DA:7B:CE
Bit Rate=162 Mb/s Tx-Power=16 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=48/70 Signal level=-62 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:1 Invalid misc:2 Missed beacon:0



~$ cat /etc/network/interfaces
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback



~$ ping -c 4 google.com
PING google.com (209.85.148.105) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from fra07s07-in-f105.1e100.net (209.85.148.105): icmp_req=1 ttl=57 time=61.5 ms
64 bytes from fra07s07-in-f105.1e100.net (209.85.148.105): icmp_req=2 ttl=57 time=60.4 ms
64 bytes from fra07s07-in-f105.1e100.net (209.85.148.105): icmp_req=3 ttl=57 time=62.1 ms
64 bytes from fra07s07-in-f105.1e100.net (209.85.148.105): icmp_req=4 ttl=57 time=61.4 ms

--- google.com ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3004ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 60.413/61.358/62.104/0.655 ms


Should I disable the N connection? How?
Thanks a lot!!

[varunendra]

$ sudo modprobe rtl8192ce 11n_disable=1
FATAL: Error inserting rtl8192ce (/lib/modules/3.0.0-12-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192ce/rtl8192ce.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)
Ah, my mistake. I took a shot in the dark only to realize there is no such parameter at all for your driver. Will look further to see what else is possible. Right now I have no reliable ideas.


@palimmo,
Please try the following and tell us if it makes any difference:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 down
sudo rmmod -f ath9k
sudo modprobe ath9k nohwcrypt=1
sudo ifconfig wlan0 upIf it improves things, we'll then need to make it permanent, but first let's see if it works.

[palimmo]

Ah, my mistake. I took a shot in the dark only to realize there is no such parameter at all for your driver. Will look further to see what else is possible. Right now I have no reliable ideas.


@palimmo,
Please try the following and tell us if it make any difference:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 down
sudo rmmod -f ath9k
sudo modprobe ath9k nohwcrypt=1
sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

If it improves things, we'll then need to make it permanent, but first let's see if it works.

Should i reboot after this changes or only disconnect/reconnect?

[varunendra]

Should i reboot after this changes or only disconnect/reconnect?
Reboot is not required after following those steps. (in fact reboot will neutralize the changes unless we make it permanent).

[palimmo]

Reboot is not required after following those steps. (in fact reboot will neutralize the changes unless we make it permanent).

Ok..
I' ve tried before a reboot.... and after.
But I haven't noticed improvements.
I've tried also this command

sudo -s
echo "options ath9k nohwcrypt=1" > /etc/modprobe.d/ath9k.conf

(is it more or less the same?) and reboot....
But nothing. :(

[palimmo]

Well...
probably it's better to have a my own thread
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1866335

I don't want to steal space here..

[palimmo]

editing..sorry

[palimmo]

editing..sorry

[heke]

Well, I'm not the only one with a very slow wireless...

I've been quite satisfied with the ubuntu 11.04, but after the 11.10 uppgrade certainly rather not. This slowness persists even with xfce desktop, the gnome shell (that one I wouldn't use anyway) and the fallback gnome desktop.

Normally I use the tor anonymizing service now and then, but this present slowness actually makes it impossible (connection timed out error).

I will not make a clean reinstallation of 11.04, nor do I actually ask or expect anyone being able to help, just pouring out my frustration.

UPDATE 23.10.11:

The problem is with a USB wireless dongle DLINK DWL-G122 B1 ver. 2.03. With this device the wifi runs indeed very slowly. I don't know why. My solution ist to discard that dongle for the time being and use other means of wireless connection until some ubuntu update returns the speed to the DWL dongle. With the other means, and with the fallback gnome classic desktop, the browsing speed seems to be as I was used to with 11.04.

Thus, my previous frustration is now less.

[varunendra]

@pmodin and palimmo,
Before suggesting anything further, I should clarify that I have no first hand experience with these wifi devices and even my theoretical knowledge about them is terribly limited.

Having said this, the drivers you both currently have in use seem to be the only suitable drivers for your devices, and as per the outputs you both have provided, they seem to be working as fine as they can (are connected and working, no connection drops, no packet drops, nor any other common errors in ifconfig). Unlike the intel drivers, there are no such parameters associated with your drivers which can allow us to experiment with disabling of the suspected N channel. Accordingly, there are only a few more things you may try:


If you have access to your router, please try selecting b/g mode only to see if it is related with the infamous N-channel bug at all.
Try disabling IPv6 on your interfaces as per this (http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-disable-ipv6-in-ubuntu.html) or this (http://www.webupd8.org/2010/05/how-to-disable-ipv6-in-ubuntu-1004.html) guide. Although I seriously doubt it has anything to do with your problems since it was working fine on Natty.
As a last resort (which 'should' work) would be to try installing and using an older kernel in Oneiric (from here (http://kernel.ubuntu.com/%7Ekernel-ppa/mainline/)) until the issue is fixed in the newer kernel.

For now, this is all I could come up with, maybe an expert with more knowledge can suggest something better.



PS:
@palimmo,
I see that you are creating three copies of each of your posts (including one at your own thread here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1866335)). This not only dilutes the community efforts, but also wastes server space and confuses the helpers as to where to respond. As such, it may also be frowned upon by the mods. You are already getting better help from 'wildmanne39', one of the best networking experts around here, in this (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1859151&page=5) thread. Accordingly, I would request you to to please create all your posts with details at one place (obviously in your own thread now that it is created), and edit all your other posts at other places to remove all the duplicate text there and instead change them to only links to your detailed posts.

This way, all the helpers interested in helping with your problem will be directed to one place, thus providing you best possible help with minimum wastage of time and resources. (you see, trying out two different suggestions without mutual understanding may sometimes be a perfect recipe for disaster). Please make this a habit as it is in your own best interest.


@heke,
If you have an intel wifi card, please try the solution suggested in the link in post #4. Although you have clearly stated that you are "just pouring out your frustration" :), I would suggest that if your problem is unsolved, you should create your own thread with this issue and post all the relevant details there. Even if it couldn't get you a direct solution, a number of such 'unsolved' threads may help getting the attention of the developers/experts, thus representing an urgent need for fixing this issue.

[palimmo]

@pmodin and palimmo,
Before suggesting anything further, I should clarify that I have no first hand experience with these wifi devices and even my theoretical knowledge about them is terribly limited.

Having said this, the drivers you both currently have in use seem to be the only suitable drivers for your devices, and as per the outputs you both have provided, they seem to be working as fine as they can (are connected and working, no connection drops, no packet drops, nor any other common errors in ifconfig). Unlike the intel drivers, there are no such parameters associated with your drivers which can allow us to experiment with disabling of the suspected N channel. Accordingly, there are only a few more things you may try:


If you have access to your router, please try selecting b/g mode only to see if it is related with the infamous N-channel bug at all.
Try disabling IPv6 on your interfaces as per this (http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-disable-ipv6-in-ubuntu.html) or this (http://www.webupd8.org/2010/05/how-to-disable-ipv6-in-ubuntu-1004.html) guide. Although I seriously doubt it has anything to do with your problems since it was working fine on Natty.
As a last resort (which 'should' work) would be to try installing and using an older kernel in Oneiric (from here (http://kernel.ubuntu.com/%7Ekernel-ppa/mainline/)) until the issue is fixed in the newer kernel.

For now, this is all I could come up with, maybe an expert with more knowledge can suggest something better.



PS:
@palimmo,
I see that you are creating three copies of each of your posts (including one at your own thread here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1866335)). This not only dilutes the community efforts, but also wastes server space and confuses the helpers as to where to respond. As such, it may also be frowned upon by the mods. You are already getting better help from 'wildmanne39', one of the best networking experts around here, in this (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1859151&page=5) thread. Accordingly, I would request you to to please create all your posts with details at one place (obviously in your own thread now that it is created), and edit all your other posts at other places to remove all the duplicate text there and instead change them to only links to your detailed posts.

This way, all the helpers interested in helping with your problem will be directed to one place, thus providing you best possible help with minimum wastage of time and resources. (you see, trying out two different suggestions without mutual understanding may sometimes be a perfect recipe for disaster). Please make this a habit as it is in your own best interest.


@heke,
If you have an intel wifi card, please try the solution suggested in the link in post #4. Although you have clearly stated that you are "just pouring out your frustration" :), I would suggest that if your problem is unsolved, you should create your own thread with this issue and post all the relevant details there. Even if it couldn't get you a direct solution, a number of such 'unsolved' threads may help getting the attention of the developers/experts, thus representing an urgent need for fixing this issue.

Thanks Varunendra. I will try soon with your suggestions.

Regarding my posts.. you're right.
I decide too late to open a my own thread.
I will edit all the others and insert a link to my own.

I'm sorry.... thank you again.
I'll let you know what happens with your suggestions...
In my thread, of course! :)

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1866335