Wifi Downloads Fast in Live Environment, Slow after booting install

amsesk · 2019-12-16 17:28:42

Hey everyone,

First time poster here and still very young linux user, so I appreacite your kindness in advance. I just installed Arch on an HP Stream 11 with no major hiccups. However, I've run into issues with the wlan0 interface after booting into my install for the first time. My ISP gives me ~ 350Mb/s, but I'm only getting 3-5 Mb/s over the wlan0 interface in my new Arch install. I've confirmed that it's not the ISP since other computers on the network reflect download speeds in the hundreds of Mb/s. The upload speeds in Arch are fine, hovering around 25 Mb/s. Note in the outputs below i've blurred out IP addresses and such with Xs.

Here's the output of `speedtest`

speedtest 
Retrieving speedtest.net configuration...
Testing from Comcast Cable (XX.XX.XX.XX...
Retrieving speedtest.net server list...
Selecting best server based on ping...
Hosted by XXXXX (XXXXX, XX) [28.03 km]: 66.158 ms
Testing download speed................................................................................
Download: 4.93 Mbit/s
Testing upload speed......................................................................................................
Upload: 22.08 Mbit/s

Here's the output of `iwconfig`:

wlan0     IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"XXXXX"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:5.18 GHz  Access Point: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX   
          Bit Rate=6.5 Mb/s   Tx-Power=23 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on
          Link Quality=70/70  Signal level=-40 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

This translates to slow internet browser connections and really slow pacman downloads (~200kb/s - which may involve another issue, I'm not sure yet). I should state that download speeds in the live environment were fine (10s to 100s of Mb/s). This leads me to believe that everything is fine with my RealTek WIFI card and it's supported by Arch, but that I've failed to configure something properly. I've come here to get some help figuring out which configuration part is missing and get some help fixing it.

In the live environment, all I had to be was start `dhcpcd` and `iwd` to get the WIFI running well and fast using iwctl. I've tried to recreate this in the installed environment to no avail, trying with NetworkManager, but just getting the same results. The Wifi card definitely has a driver and associated kernal module seen below in the output of `lscpi -nnk`. I even installed broadcom-wl to replicate the output of `lspci` from the live environment which had both wl and rtwpci listed as kernal modules associated with the card (even though from my reading it seems that this is not a broadcom card).

00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SoC Transaction Register [8086:2280] (rev 35)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SoC Transaction Register [103c:85e9]
	Kernel driver in use: iosf_mbi_pci
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:22b1] (rev 35)
	DeviceName: Intel(R) HD Graphics
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Integrated Graphics Controller [103c:85e9]
	Kernel driver in use: i915
	Kernel modules: i915
00:0b.0 Signal processing controller [1180]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Power Management Controller [8086:22dc] (rev 35)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Power Management Controller [103c:85e9]
	Kernel driver in use: proc_thermal
	Kernel modules: processor_thermal_device
00:14.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series USB xHCI Controller [8086:22b5] (rev 35)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series USB xHCI Controller [103c:85e9]
	Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: xhci_pci
00:1a.0 Encryption controller [1080]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Trusted Execution Engine [8086:2298] (rev 35)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Trusted Execution Engine [103c:85e9]
	Kernel driver in use: mei_txe
	Kernel modules: mei_txe
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series High Definition Audio Controller [8086:2284] (rev 35)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series High Definition Audio Controller [103c:85e9]
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Express Port #1 [8086:22c8] (rev 35)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Express Port #2 [8086:22ca] (rev 35)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCU [8086:229c] (rev 35)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCU [103c:85e9]
	Kernel driver in use: lpc_ich
	Kernel modules: lpc_ich
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx SMBus Controller [8086:2292] (rev 35)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx SMBus Controller [103c:85e9]
	Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c_i801
01:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Device [10ec:c822]
	DeviceName: Realtek Canary 802.11b/g/n 2x2 Wi-Fi + BT 5.0 Combo Adapter
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device [103c:85f7]
	Kernel driver in use: rtw_pci
	Kernel modules: rtwpci, wl
02:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS522A PCI Express Card Reader [10ec:522a] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company RTS522A PCI Express Card Reader [103c:85e9]
	Kernel driver in use: rtsx_pci
	Kernel modules: rtsx_pci

I have followed threads with advice on changing the region domain, downloading specific RealTek drivers, installing dnamasq alongside networkmanager to speed-up name resolution, and just about everything I could find online related to Wifi download speeds being slower than normal in Arch. I'm hoping that by bringing up my specific problem, I could get some help from all of you toward getting this working. The Wifi isn't completely broken (most OPs problems), it's just slow.

Thanks for your help and please let me know what other outputs I can post to help you help me diagnose this problem.

Last edited by amsesk (2019-12-16 20:10:09)

Zod · 2019-12-16 20:20:15

This is as close as I have been able to run it down.

Using device ID [10ec:c822] translates to RTL8822CE

Upstream for this driver is..
https://github.com/alanfox2000/realtek- … /RTL8822CE

It's in the aur here...
https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/rtl88x2ce-dkms/

loqs · 2019-12-16 20:29:25

What is the kernel version in use `uname -a` in both the live and install systems'?

latalante1 · 2019-12-16 21:26:02

In my knowledge, this Realtek chipset is supported by a module called rtw88. In the torvalds branch since kernel 5.2.
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke … ltek/rtw88

Firmware is also needed.
firmware/rtw88/rtw8822c_fw.bin

Last edited by latalante1 (2019-12-16 21:39:53)

amsesk · 2019-12-17 01:52:29

Thanks so much for the fast replies everyone. @Zod 's answer seems to have had a significant effect on download speeds. Adding the rtl88x2ce-dkms package brought me up to ~100 Mb/s on my home network- thanks! Here's the applicable `lspci` output showing that the driver/kernal module have taken effect:

01:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Device [10ec:c822]
	DeviceName: Realtek Canary 802.11b/g/n 2x2 Wi-Fi + BT 5.0 Combo Adapter
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device [103c:85f7]
	Kernel driver in use: rtl88x2ce
	Kernel modules: rtwpci, 88x2ce

Now I have two wirelness interfaces, wlan0 and wlan1 (the one that works), that are listed by iwconfig:

wlan1     IEEE 802.11gn  ESSID:"couchcity"  Nickname:"<WIFI@REALTEK>"
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX   
          Bit Rate:144.4 Mb/s   Sensitivity:0/0  
          Retry:off   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:****-****-****-****-****-****-****-****   Security mode:open
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=81/100  Signal level=64/100  Noise level=0/100
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

lo        no wireless extensions.

wlan0     unassociated  Nickname:"<WIFI@REALTEK>"
          Mode:Managed  Frequency=5.18 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Sensitivity:0/0  
          Retry:off   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

I wonder if the presenece of this second interface should be dealt with as perhaps this is having a negative effect on my current speed versus full speed from ISP (~100 Mb/s versus the ~250 Mb/s I noticed in the live environment. I'm also sitting in the same place I was at time of posting, and the signal strength has gone way down now that there are two interfaces. Do I need to remove the `rtwpci` module entirely or can I simply deactivate the interface via `iwctl`? I'm worried the other `rtwpci` module may be controlling other hardware, although I don't see it listed elsewhere the `dmesg` output I posted originally.

So, the problem has been partially resolved, but it seems that there may be more to it. I wonder if DNS is having trouble because webpages take awhile to resolve/start loading and pings take a couple seconds to start returning bytes. I have `dnsmasq` working with network manager, but that's all I've done or configured. Does anyone have any guidance on where to start testing DNS and diagnosing potential problems on that front?

Zod wrote:

Using device ID [10ec:c822] translates to RTL8822CE

This is probably and very noob question, but how is this translation made? It'd be nice to be able to do this next time!

loqs wrote:

What is the kernel version in use `uname -a` in both the live and install systems'?

Install system `uname -a` :

Linux XXXXXX 5.4.3-arch1-1 #1 SMP PREEMPT Fri, 13 Dec 2019 09:39:02 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Live environment `uname -a` :

 Linux archiso 5.3.13-arch1-1 #1 SMP PREEMPT Sun, 24 Nov 2019 10:15:50 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux

They're different! The installed environment is newer, which makes sense. But, do you think this would have an effect re: realtek driver or dns

latalante1 wrote:

In my knowledge, this Realtek chipset is supported by a module called rtw88. In the torvalds branch since kernel 5.2.
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke … ltek/rtw88
Firmware is also needed.
firmware/rtw88/rtw8822c_fw.bin

I haven't looked into this yet, but I need to. I tried the suggestions in order and @Zod answer made a different. I need to look into which firmware option is ideal. Do you have any input on the rtl88x2ce AUR package versus your solutions?

Thanks again for the replies everyone and your continued insight into these problems.

Last edited by amsesk (2019-12-17 02:02:39)

Zod · 2019-12-17 02:26:49

Nearest I've been able to sort out, RTW88 is included in the kernel since 5.2 but only for some of the realtek chipsets in this series. I don't know if yours is or not.

However, there is an aur package with the RTW88 code and your chipset is mentioned.

The aur package is here...
https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/rtlw … tw88-dkms/

Upstream for this package is here...
https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new

The best advise I have is that I would give it a try to see how it compares with what your using now.

Edit:

amsesk wrote:

This is probably and very noob question, but how is this translation made? It'd be nice to be able to do this next time!

Do you see where I got that from? I think it's a manufactures ID associated with the device. Then Google.

Last edited by Zod (2019-12-17 02:40:10)

amsesk · 2019-12-17 03:39:11

Zod wrote:

The best advise I have is that I would give it a try to see how it compares with what your using now.

Will do, thanks for the links and guidance. I'll see which one performs the best with respect the speed and connectivity.

Is there a simple way to "turn-off" kernel modules for particular pieces of hardware without uninstalling the drivers, so that I could test each side-by-side? I suspect this would help me remove the additional interfaces to my wifi card as well (ie by turning off rtwpci). Apologies if this question has an obvious answer - I appreciate all your help.

Zod wrote:

Do you see where I got that from? I think it's a manufactures ID associated with the device. Then Google.

Oh awesome, I see where you got it from - I guess I never tried that. Figured there would be more information in the PCI headers and that's where everyone was getting manufacturer numbers from. Good to know, thank you!

Zod · 2019-12-17 03:56:59

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ke … acklisting

The question remains, when booted into the live environment your wifi worked as advertised so the support is there. One of these days, if I were you, I'd go about sorting that out.

If you haven't, you should install linux-firmware. The firmware that latalante1 mentioned is in it.

Arch Linux

#1 2019-12-16 17:28:42

Wifi Downloads Fast in Live Environment, Slow after booting install

#2 2019-12-16 20:20:15

Re: Wifi Downloads Fast in Live Environment, Slow after booting install

#3 2019-12-16 20:29:25

Re: Wifi Downloads Fast in Live Environment, Slow after booting install

#4 2019-12-16 21:26:02

Re: Wifi Downloads Fast in Live Environment, Slow after booting install

#5 2019-12-17 01:52:29

Re: Wifi Downloads Fast in Live Environment, Slow after booting install

#6 2019-12-17 02:26:49

Re: Wifi Downloads Fast in Live Environment, Slow after booting install

#7 2019-12-17 03:39:11

Re: Wifi Downloads Fast in Live Environment, Slow after booting install

#8 2019-12-17 03:56:59

Re: Wifi Downloads Fast in Live Environment, Slow after booting install

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