Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

moljac024 · 2008-11-24 14:06:13

A while back I posted numerous times about the network problems I've been having with the new kernel.
There were also some others who had the same or a similar issue. Sometimes my wireless connection just dies off.
I can't ping anything, not my gateway/router, not any site but I still have my IP address and am associated to the AP but when I try to ping the router it says "Host Unreachable"
dmesg never showed anything, and it happens at random times, sometimes it won't happen for 10+ hours sometimes it will happen three times in 10 minutes. Never knew how to debug it, and I'm still having the issue.

But I just found out that whenever I start skype this happens. So this could maybe be a clue as to what is happening / where to look next.
Essentially, Skype is unusable then. It will try to connect, display the nice green icon as it connected but then the network dies.
Can someone replicate this, point me in the right direction ?
Here, some output:

ping 192.168.254.254

PING 192.168.254.254 (192.168.254.254) 56(84) bytes of data.
From 192.168.254.1 icmp_seq=7 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.254.1 icmp_seq=11 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.254.1 icmp_seq=14 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.254.1 icmp_seq=23 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.254.1 icmp_seq=29 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.254.1 icmp_seq=30 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.254.1 icmp_seq=32 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.254.1 icmp_seq=33 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.254.1 icmp_seq=37 Destination Host Unreachable
^C
--- 192.168.254.254 ping statistics ---
37 packets transmitted, 0 received, +9 errors, 100% packet loss, time 36092ms

dmesg | grep wlan0

ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:18:d1:50:7d:01
wlan0: authenticated
wlan0: associate with AP 00:18:d1:50:7d:01
wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:18:d1:50:7d:01 (capab=0x451 status=0 aid=1)
wlan0: associated
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready
wlan0: no IPv6 routers present
wlan0: No ProbeResp from current AP 00:18:d1:50:7d:01 - assume out of range
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:80:48:54:86:35
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:18:d1:50:7d:01
wlan0: authenticated
wlan0: associate with AP 00:18:d1:50:7d:01
wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:18:d1:50:7d:01 (capab=0x451 status=0 aid=1)
wlan0: associated
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready
wlan0: no IPv6 routers present
wlan0: No ProbeResp from current AP 00:18:d1:50:7d:01 - assume out of range
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:80:48:54:86:35
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:18:d1:50:7d:01
wlan0: authenticated
wlan0: associate with AP 00:18:d1:50:7d:01
wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:18:d1:50:7d:01 (capab=0x451 status=0 aid=1)
wlan0: associated
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready
wlan0: no IPv6 routers present

I just tried to post this after reconnecting while skype was still running and no cigar. I have to close it and reconnect.
So, I can't have skype and my network working at the same time...

EDIT: Wireless card in question is an USB MSI card, which seems to use the ralink chipset, the driver is rt73usb

Last edited by moljac024 (2008-11-24 14:08:01)

quetzyg · 2008-11-24 14:23:28

Do you have a usb webcam? And if you do, do you have the "Start video automatically" option in skype when calling other people?

moljac024 · 2008-11-24 18:09:15

The laptop has a built-in webcam but lsusb doesn't see it and the little time that I've tried to set the camera up I wasn't successful.
I don't use it anyway.

The option for starting video automatically wasn't turned on and I've also tried disabling video altogether and still the same issue.
Something has to be causing these network lockups or whatever and Skype seems to be doing that all the time. Damn if I know what it could be.

Anyone ?
Can anyone even try replicating this ? I will be grateful for any advice.

eldragon · 2008-11-24 18:19:17

moljac024 wrote:

The laptop has a built-in webcam but lsusb doesn't see it and the little time that I've tried to set the camera up I wasn't successful.
I don't use it anyway.
The option for starting video automatically wasn't turned on and I've also tried disabling video altogether and still the same issue.
Something has to be causing these network lockups or whatever and Skype seems to be doing that all the time. Damn if I know what it could be.
Anyone ?
Can anyone even try replicating this ? I will be grateful for any advice.

ive got the same chipset in this notebook.

under ubuntu, i experienced the very same problems (dont know about skype, but network worked really bad).

under arch, i expected to have the same problems, but this is not the case. im using the rt73usb module shipped with the kernel.

what i did is compile the rt73 legacy driver from serialmonkey, AUR link: http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=9690

you will have to blacklist rt73usb, rt2x00lib and rt2x00usb then modprobe the installed rt73 module.

i dont know if wireless tools from arch will work with them. im positive it doesnt work with the gnome network manager so remove that if you got it installed.

moljac024 · 2008-11-24 18:28:44

eldragon wrote:

moljac024 wrote:
The laptop has a built-in webcam but lsusb doesn't see it and the little time that I've tried to set the camera up I wasn't successful.
I don't use it anyway.
The option for starting video automatically wasn't turned on and I've also tried disabling video altogether and still the same issue.
Something has to be causing these network lockups or whatever and Skype seems to be doing that all the time. Damn if I know what it could be.
Anyone ?
Can anyone even try replicating this ? I will be grateful for any advice.
ive got the same chipset in this notebook.
under ubuntu, i experienced the very same problems (dont know about skype, but network worked really bad).
under arch, i expected to have the same problems, but this is not the case. im using the rt73usb module shipped with the kernel.
what i did is compile the rt73 legacy driver from serialmonkey, AUR link: http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=9690
you will have to blacklist rt73usb, rt2x00lib and rt2x00usb then modprobe the installed rt73 module.
i dont know if wireless tools from arch will work with them. im positive it doesnt work with the gnome network manager so remove that if you got it installed.

Thanks for the response, but I'm not sure I really like this solution.
I'd like to get to the core of the problem and find out what is causing this. Then I would gladly file a bug report.
I'm just stumped. I Don't know where to look for clues next.. Skype doesn't dump any info into a terminal

But, as I said in my first post, this doesn't only happen with Skype, but it seems to happen every time I start skype.
What could I try running to see what is causing these issues ? What is it anyway ? The router suddenly becoming unreachable?
This has to be a bug in the kernel/drivers somewhere....

Last edited by moljac024 (2008-11-24 18:30:38)

moljac024 · 2008-11-25 10:41:41

Something is terribly wrong, either skype or my router.
I just tried Skype under Windows XP on my PC (which is connected by LAN cable to the router) and it took down the whole damn router!
The router restarted!

eldragon · 2008-11-25 13:57:53

moljac024 wrote:

Something is terribly wrong, either skype or my router.
I just tried Skype under Windows XP on my PC (which is connected by LAN cable to the router) and it took down the whole damn router!
The router restarted!

well, of course the solution is not optimal, but i wouldnt know how to debug the thing, least i could do is use the leagacy drivers.

one thing i can add is ive got a custom kernel due to some other problems with my hardware. but i seriously doubt it would make a difference. i just added a patch not related to wireless or usb.

what make is your router? does it support dd-wrt? im running that on a linksys wrt54g..

moljac024 · 2008-11-25 14:02:40

It's a Siemens SE567 Wireless router/ADSL2+ modem.

It didn't support dd-wrt or tomato or any of those the last time I checked.
You think I wouldn't want to flash the firmware if I could ?
I only got it because I didn't want a separate router and modem on my desk, wanted to reduce clutter.
Obviously, that was the wrong way to go...

I'll be damned If I know what the blazes is going on here...

Last edited by moljac024 (2008-11-25 14:03:45)

iphitus · 2008-11-25 14:05:43

guessing.... skype might use upnp, and that causes the crash?

moljac024 · 2008-11-25 14:17:05

iphitus wrote:

guessing.... skype might use upnp, and that causes the crash?

Thought about that too... there's nothing about upnp in the skype settings, but should it crash the router ?
I just fired up skype to check the settings and the router rebooted again.
Will have to poke around in the router it seems, although the settings are really sparse...

If that could be it, that would sort of answer the question about skype, but I'm still having the issue with the network just not responding any more from time to time....

Last edited by moljac024 (2008-11-25 14:20:21)

psld · 2009-08-13 13:40:31

I'm having the same problem. When I start Skype it's ok but as soon as I log in I just get the contactlist then the network is down ...
Weird!!
I've been using Skype on Ubuntu before on the same computer and that worked fine!

psld · 2009-08-13 13:59:12

maybe I should add that it works when i downloaded the binary file from skype.com instead of using pacman

EDIT: No, it just worked a bit longer, still same problem ...

Last edited by psld (2009-08-13 14:15:11)

R00KIE · 2009-08-13 20:27:16

This seems to be a tough one ....
One thing I see is that you still ipv6 support turned on, that is, the module loaded, lots of messages about that in your dmesg, try blacklisting the ipv6 module and give it another go.

About skype supporting upnp ... not the linux version as far as I can see (no option to turn it on/off) but it wouldn't hurt to disable it in the router if supported, reboot the router and try again. I always had upnp turned of in the routers though, all port forwarding is done by hand.

The only other thing I see that can be causing trouble is a message that I get in dmesg when I run skype

process `skype' is using obsolete setsockopt SO_BSDCOMPAT

Maybe this is related .... or maybe not, I don't have problems here, used to have an edimax router before and now I have a dlink one and it always worked fine, but maybe this is making that specific driver go nuts, can also be a bug in the router's firmware.

virusso80 · 2009-10-25 07:31:47

Hi guys,
I have the same problem! Everytime i start skype from the launch button wireless network goes down, nothing to do. If i try to reconnect again, wicd shows me available networks, but gives always a message saying impossible to connect. If I restart the laptop then network is up again.

I also realized that if i start skype from command line, there's no problem! can you confirm this?

I'm using a dell xps m1330 and before my last update everything seemed to work perfectly! I always use skype to have videochat.

Thanks in advance.

What do you think is the issue?

Thanks in advance

Last edited by virusso80 (2009-10-25 07:35:59)

Vladman · 2009-10-27 19:53:23

No problems here on dell 1525 using linksys router.
If the same thing happens in arch and windows I would suspect the router.
Try connecting directly to the modem and see if that helps.

I had similar problems in the past with netgear router, after upgrading to linksys I had 0 problems for over 2 years.

moljac024 · 2009-10-27 23:33:10

I resolved this by disabling uPnP in my router - not a perfect solution but hey,,,

Arch Linux

#1 2008-11-24 14:06:13

Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#2 2008-11-24 14:23:28

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#3 2008-11-24 18:09:15

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#4 2008-11-24 18:19:17

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#5 2008-11-24 18:28:44

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#6 2008-11-25 10:41:41

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#7 2008-11-25 13:57:53

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#8 2008-11-25 14:02:40

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#9 2008-11-25 14:05:43

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#10 2008-11-25 14:17:05

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#11 2009-08-13 13:40:31

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#12 2009-08-13 13:59:12

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#13 2009-08-13 20:27:16

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#14 2009-10-25 07:31:47

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#15 2009-10-27 19:53:23

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

#16 2009-10-27 23:33:10

Re: Got a good one for you - starting Skype kills wireless connection...

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