Weird behavior from wifi network card

msl09 · 2022-10-01 21:01:23

My network card behaves weirdly on kernel 5.19.12. I have a RTL8812AE, it's using the driver rtl8821ae with no firmware loaded by the kernel.
I have two networks available to connect, one normal and another 5Ghz. Both of them work fine when I access them from other devices, however I can either not connect to the 5Ghz network or connect to it at extremely slow speeds. The 2.4Ghz network works fine (capped at 1MBps).

I have tried using either iw and NetworkManager, iw only seem to connect to one network per boot (the first one I try), NM can connect to either sometimes, but more often than not it has the same behavior.

I'm using NetworkManager 1.40.0-1 and I'm using systemd-resolvd as the DNS resolver my dhcp daemon is dhcpd (9.4.1)

Any tips to what I should try to diagnose the problem?

Last edited by msl09 (2022-10-05 20:34:18)

seth · 2022-10-01 21:18:49

I'm using NetworkManager 1.40.0-1 and I'm using systemd-resolvd as the DNS resolver my dhcp daemon is dhcpd

find /etc/systemd -type l -exec test -f {} \; -print | awk -F'/' '{ printf ("%-40s | %s\n", $(NF-0), $(NF-1)) }' | sort -f

Any tips to what I should try to diagnose the problem?

Look at your system journal.

msl09 · 2022-10-01 23:23:37

When attempting to connect to the 5Ghz network I got this.

https://paste.debian.net/1255658/

Seems to be failing at the authentication step. I found a ubuntu post from someone having a similar problem https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2235768

Sadly they seem to be using an intel card, which it's not my case. Using modinfo I can see that my card doesn't have the options 11n_disable or wd_disable I can however see that there's supposed to be two firmwares for that device driver (rtlwifi/rtl8821aefw_29.bin, rtlwifi/rtl8821aefw.bin), however neither are being loaded. Could this be related to the problem?

loqs · 2022-10-01 23:48:57

Please post the full system journal for a boot with the issue rather than just the covering the time period for a failed connect.

msl09 · 2022-10-02 00:10:14

I couldn't post on debian's paste service cause the log was bigger than 140kb
https://pastebin.com/hHv0n37w

seth · 2022-10-02 06:06:31

sudo journalctl -b

But

Oct 01 17:51:52 arch-msl09 NetworkManager[431]: <info>  [1664657512.3738] dhcp: init: Using DHCP client 'internal'
Oct 01 17:51:52 arch-msl09 dhcpcd[427]: enp4s0: waiting for carrier

You've at least dhcpcd and NetworkManager enabled and they trip over each other
=> disable dhcpcd, reboot post the output of the find command in #2 and if the problem still happens, an updated system journal.

msl09 · 2022-10-02 13:18:03

You've at least dhcpcd and NetworkManager enabled and they trip over each other
=> disable dhcpcd, reboot post the output of the find command in #2 and if the problem still happens, an updated system journal.

Thank you for spotting that. From the installation guide I was unsure as to whether NM would come with a dhcp manager. I fixed that, rebooted and got the boot log as you requested (the problem persists).

https://pastebin.com/rmqwVkhB

seth · 2022-10-02 17:38:18

You associate w/ "c0:b1:01:fb:49:0a (SSID='Beinha57' freq=2437 MHz)" but then NM wants to connect to "c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (SSID='Beinha57 5G' freq=5745 MHz)" and that keeps failing.

Oct 02 08:05:51 arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: authenticated
Oct 02 08:05:51 arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: associate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 1/3)
Oct 02 08:05:51 arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: associate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 2/3)
Oct 02 08:05:51 arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: associate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 3/3)
Oct 02 08:05:51 arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: association with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b timed out

Configure NM to connect to the 2.4GHz BSSID "c0:b1:01:fb:49:0a", *not* the SSID "Beinha57"

msl09 · 2022-10-02 17:46:12

Yep, after the change the speed increased immensely. I think that was the issue. Thanks a bunch seth!

Last edited by msl09 (2022-10-02 17:46:57)

msl09 · 2022-10-05 20:38:21

Ah, sorry, turns out that only some times the wifi board can connect to the 5Ghz network. I have pasted below the logs of each behavior.
Can you guys help me out?

With connection
Without connection

msl09 · 2022-10-05 21:10:14

You might notice that I have stripped the hour from the logs. That's because I tried using diff to check for differences between the boots. Sadly I couldn't find anything suspicious, mostly what changes is the PID and the connection failure.

seth · 2022-10-05 21:29:09

Please don't filter timestamps.

arch-msl09 wpa_supplicant[479]: wlan0: Trying to associate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0a (SSID='Beinha57' freq=2442 MHz)
…
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[403]: <info> [1664989531.4914] manager: NetworkManager state is now CONNECTED_GLOBAL
…
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[403]: <info> [1664989560.5751] device (wlan0): disconnecting for new activation request.
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[403]: <info> [1664989560.5751] device (wlan0): state change: activated -> deactivating (reason 'new-activation', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
…
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: deauthenticating from c0:b1:01:fb:49:0a by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING)
arch-msl09 wpa_supplicant[479]: wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=c0:b1:01:fb:49:0a reason=3 locally_generated=1
…
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[403]: <info> [1664989561.4618] Config: added 'ssid' value 'Beinha57 5G'
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[403]: <info> [1664989561.4619] Config: added 'scan_ssid' value '1'
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[403]: <info> [1664989561.4619] Config: added 'bssid' value 'C0:B1:01:FB:49:0B'

But in either case it looks like you explcitly moved from one AP to the other.
Just in the first case

arch-msl09 wpa_supplicant[484]: wlan0: SME: Trying to authenticate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (SSID='Beinha57 5G' freq=5745 MHz)
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: authenticate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: send auth to c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 1/3)
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962058.1608] device (wlan0): supplicant interface state: scanning -> authenticating
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962058.1609] device (p2p-dev-wlan0): supplicant management interface state: scanning -> authenticating
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: send auth to c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 2/3)
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: send auth to c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 3/3)
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: authentication with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b timed out
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962058.4979] device (wlan0): supplicant interface state: authenticating -> disconnected
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962058.4980] device (p2p-dev-wlan0): supplicant management interface state: authenticating -> disconnected
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962058.5979] device (wlan0): supplicant interface state: disconnected -> scanning
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962058.5980] device (p2p-dev-wlan0): supplicant management interface state: disconnected -> scanning
arch-msl09 wpa_supplicant[484]: wlan0: SME: Trying to authenticate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (SSID='Beinha57 5G' freq=5745 MHz)
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: authenticate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: send auth to c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 1/3)
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962061.8004] device (wlan0): supplicant interface state: scanning -> authenticating
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962061.8005] device (p2p-dev-wlan0): supplicant management interface state: scanning -> authenticating
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: send auth to c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 2/3)
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: send auth to c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 3/3)
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: authentication with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b timed out
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962062.1478] device (wlan0): supplicant interface state: authenticating -> disconnected
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962062.1478] device (p2p-dev-wlan0): supplicant management interface state: authenticating -> disconnected
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962062.6482] device (wlan0): supplicant interface state: disconnected -> scanning
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962062.6483] device (p2p-dev-wlan0): supplicant management interface state: disconnected -> scanning
arch-msl09 systemd[1]: NetworkManager-dispatcher.service: Deactivated successfully.
arch-msl09 audit[1]: SERVICE_STOP pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=NetworkManager-dispatcher comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
arch-msl09 kernel: audit: type=1131 audit(1664962064.060:67): pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=NetworkManager-dispatcher comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
arch-msl09 wpa_supplicant[484]: wlan0: SME: Trying to authenticate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (SSID='Beinha57 5G' freq=5745 MHz)
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: authenticate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: send auth to c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 1/3)
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962065.8634] device (wlan0): supplicant interface state: scanning -> authenticating
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962065.8634] device (p2p-dev-wlan0): supplicant management interface state: scanning -> authenticating
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: send auth to c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 2/3)
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: send auth to c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (try 3/3)
arch-msl09 wpa_supplicant[484]: wlan0: Trying to associate with c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (SSID='Beinha57 5G' freq=5745 MHz)
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962066.0929] device (wlan0): supplicant interface state: authenticating -> associating
arch-msl09 NetworkManager[429]: <info> [1664962066.0930] device (p2p-dev-wlan0): supplicant management interface state: authenticating -> associating
arch-msl09 kernel: wlan0: authenticated

after many timeouts you manage to authenticate in the 9th attempt while in the other one NM gives up after the 12th failure:

arch-msl09 wpa_supplicant[479]: wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-SSID-TEMP-DISABLED id=0 ssid="Beinha57 5G" auth_failures=1 duration=10 reason=CONN_FAILED

Scan the network and check the signal strength of the 2.4 and 5GHz AP - I asume the latter is almost™ in reach, but the signal too weak to be really usable.

msl09 · 2022-10-05 22:09:54

seth wrote:

But in either case it looks like you explcitly moved from one AP to the other.
Just in the first case

Yeah, it auto-connected to Beinha57 so I had to change to Beinha 57 5G

seth wrote:

Scan the network and check the signal strength of the 2.4 and 5GHz AP - I asume the latter is almost™ in reach, but the signal too weak to be really usable.

Visually both networks seem to be as much in reach as each other.

https://imgur.com/a/NgjqYfs

msl09 · 2022-10-05 22:18:49

$ nmcli device wifi list
IN-USE  BSSID              SSID          MODE   CHAN  RATE        SIGNAL  BARS  SECURITY  
        C0:B1:01:FB:49:0B  Beinha57 5G   Infra  149   540 Mbit/s  84      ▂▄▆█  WPA1 WPA2 
*       C0:B1:01:FB:49:0A  Beinha57      Infra  7     195 Mbit/s  66      ▂▄▆_  WPA1 WPA2

Looks like the 5G network is even better than the 2.4.

seth · 2022-10-06 07:02:30

You wrote:

Yeah, it auto-connected to Beinha57 so I had to change to Beinha 57 5G

Seth wrote:

You associate w/ "c0:b1:01:fb:49:0a (SSID='Beinha57' freq=2437 MHz)" but then NM wants to connect to "c0:b1:01:fb:49:0b (SSID='Beinha57 5G' freq=5745 MHz)" and that keeps failing.
Configure NM to connect to the 2.4GHz BSSID "c0:b1:01:fb:49:0a", *not* the SSID "Beinha57"

The plan was to avoid the 5GHz AP.

The signal looks indeed good, so that wouldn't explain the timeouts.
Stop NetworkManager and try to connect to the 5GHz AP w/ either wpa_supplicant or iwd, https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Networ … 2_Personal
You can also try to use iwd as NM backend, https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Networ … Fi_backend
Some APs don't like https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Networ … domization so try to deactivate that.

Arch Linux

#1 2022-10-01 21:01:23

Weird behavior from wifi network card

#2 2022-10-01 21:18:49

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#3 2022-10-01 23:23:37

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#4 2022-10-01 23:48:57

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#5 2022-10-02 00:10:14

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#6 2022-10-02 06:06:31

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#7 2022-10-02 13:18:03

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#8 2022-10-02 17:38:18

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#9 2022-10-02 17:46:12

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#10 2022-10-05 20:38:21

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#11 2022-10-05 21:10:14

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#12 2022-10-05 21:29:09

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#13 2022-10-05 22:09:54

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#14 2022-10-05 22:18:49

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

#15 2022-10-06 07:02:30

Re: Weird behavior from wifi network card

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