Unable to connect to wireless network after upgrading kernel (3.5.0-46) 12.04 64bits

[Murasaki_san]

Hello! I've been using Ubuntu for a while, but I don't know much about IT, so please bear with me.

I have a Dell Inspiron 3521 with Ubuntu 12.04. Today I installed the recommended update which included the version 3.5.0-46 of the kernel. After rebooting, the wireless connection was lost.
Went to Terminal, typedrfkill list all and it did't return any "wireless network" (the bluetooth does appear though). Then I tried lshw -C network and this is what came up:

*-network               
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
       logical name: eth0
       version: 05
       serial: 74:86:7a:56:c5:26
       size: 10Mbit/s
       capacity: 100Mbit/s
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=half firmware=rtl_nic/rtl8105e-1.fw latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=MII speed=10Mbit/s
       resources: irq:41 ioport:2000(size=256) memory:c0404000-c0404fff memory:c0400000-c0403fff
  *-network UNCLAIMED
       description: Network controller
       product: QCA9565 / AR9565 Wireless Network Adapter
       vendor: Qualcomm Atheros
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
       version: 01
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
       configuration: latency=0
       resources: memory:c0500000-c057ffff memory:afb00000-afb0ffff

I noticed the "UNCLAIMED" on the second part of the result, so my guess is that there is an issue with drivers and that's why is not working. (I had to install some kind of special patch for the kernel when I first installed this version of Ubuntu on my laptop a couple of months ago because it had the same problem).

If I log in using the previous version of the kernel everything is fine, so now I have 2 questions:

- Should I just keep using the old version of the kernel and forget about it?
- Is it better to fix it right away, and if so, where can I find the solution? (I've been looking for answers but I couldn't find what I needed)

Thanks in advance for your help!

[chili555]

I had to install some kind of special patch for the kernel when I first installed this version of Ubuntu on my laptop a couple of months ago because it had the same problem

That's exactly what we need to do. Before we get started, please run and post:

lspci -nn | grep 0280

Once we have the exact details of your device, we'll propose a solution.

[Murasaki_san]

Hi chili555, here are the details:

 lspci -nn | grep 0280
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9565 / AR9565 Wireless Network Adapter [168c:0036] (rev 01)

[chili555]

I suggest you obtain a temporary wired ethernet connection and open a terminal:

sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-cw-3.8-precise-generic 
sudo modprobe ath9k

Your wireless should be working.

[Murasaki_san]

I did it but still not working. Here's what came up when I tried to install the packages:

 sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-cw-3.8-precise-generic

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
linux-backports-modules-cw-3.8-precise-generic is already the newest version.
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
  gir1.2-ubuntuoneui-3.0 linux-image-3.2.0-58-generic linux-headers-3.2.0-58
  guile-1.8-libs linux-headers-3.2.0-58-generic
  linux-backports-modules-cw-3.8-3.2.0-58-generic
  linux-headers-3.5.0-23-generic linux-headers-3.5.0-23 libubuntuoneui-3.0-1
  thunderbird-globalmenu gnome-games-data
Use 'apt-get autoremove' to remove them.
0 to upgrade, 0 to newly install, 0 to remove and 3 not to upgrade.

Apparently they are already installed, I wonder why it doesn't recognize the chip then... (I didn't forget to run sudo modprobe ath9k)

[chili555]

I believe it does claim your device; check:

modinfo ath9k | grep 0036

You should see this:

alias: pci:v0000168Cd00000036sv*sd*bc*sc*i*

This corresponds to your device:

Qualcomm Atheros QCA9565 / AR9565 Wireless Network Adapter [168c:0036]

Let's see if there is any clue in the log:

sudo modprobe ath9k
dmesg | grep ath
rfkill list all

We are close!!

[Murasaki_san]

modinfo ath9k | grep 0036 didn't return any result. Then I entered the next command and this is what came up:

 dmesg | grep ath
[   13.883274] usbcore: registered new interface driver ath3k

(I searched "ath3k" and if I'm not mistaken it refers to the Bluetooth?)


rfkill list all ==> still only the Bluetooth appears listed

[chili555]

Let's see:

modinfo ath9k | head -n5

If it doesn't report that the filename includes 'updates' and 'cw' then reinstall the backports package:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall linux-backports-modules-cw-3.8-precise-generic

Unload and reload:

sudo modprobe -r ath9k && sudo modprobe ath9k

And check again:

modinfo ath9k | head -n5

Now are we on updates and cw? If so, your wireless should be working.

I searched "ath3k" and if I'm not mistaken it refers to the Bluetooth

Correct.

$ modinfo ath3k | head -n6
filename:         /lib/modules/3.11.0-17-generic/kernel/drivers/bluetooth/ath3k.ko
firmware:        ath3k-1.fw
license:           GPL
version:          1.0
description:    Atheros AR30xx firmware driver
author:           Atheros Communications

[Murasaki_san]

If it doesn't report that the filename includes 'updates' and 'cw' then reinstall the backports package

It didn't, so I followed the instructios (reinstall, unload and reload), then checked, and this was the outcome:

 modinfo ath9k|head -n5

filename:       /lib/modules/3.5.0-46-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k.ko
license:        Dual BSD/GPL
description:    Support for Atheros 802.11n wireless LAN cards.
author:         Atheros Communications
srcversion:     2739A66454A502EC7DA66D6

Wireless still not working (feels like the package is playing hide and seek with me hehe )

[chili555]

KKKKrazy!! Please see if the matching package is installed:

sudo dpkg -s linux-backports-modules-cw-3.8-`uname -r`

Those backticks are on the left side of my US keyboard on the same key with ~. If it is not installed, try installing it:

sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-cw-3.8-`uname -r`

Reboot and check again:

modinfo ath9k | head -n5

If you have Synaptic installed, you might see what linux-backports-modules-cw are available. We need one at or above 3.8, I believe.

Don't make me come over there with my hammer and saw and "fix" your computer!!