Arch Linux

mdschechtman

Member

Registered: 2011-05-26

Posts: 14

[SOLVED] Wireless signal weaker than for Windows

Using the same laptop at the same location results in Windows being able to connect to my wireless network with "very good" signal strength, and Linux either not connecting at all or having a very weak connection.

Overall, Windows has a significantly stronger connection where as with Linux, I need to be within 10 feet of the router for it to consistently connect.  I'm using NetworkManager with the GNOME frontend and have IPv6 set to ignore.  My wireless card is the Broadcom BCM4313.

I am completely clueless as to what the cause is and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Last edited by mdschechtman (2011-10-11 04:44:59)

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Tide goes in, stain comes out. Never a miscommunication.

ngoonee

Forum Fellow

From: Between Thailand and Singapore

Registered: 2009-03-17

Posts: 7,356

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless signal weaker than for Windows

The drivers are typically different, you'd need to search for other (possible) users having similar problems to yours. I don't use such a chip, and haven't actually noticed any problems personally on my laptop. Not that I've ever used Windows on it for much anyway.

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mdschechtman

Member

Registered: 2011-05-26

Posts: 14

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless signal weaker than for Windows

I understand that different drivers will give different performance, but I figured since the broadcom drivers are actually included in the kernel, they should be well supported.

As for others searching for other instances of this issue, I get very murky results and no real solutions.  I don't like to be a help vampire, but I'm out of options...

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Tide goes in, stain comes out. Never a miscommunication.

elliott

Member

Registered: 2006-03-07

Posts: 296

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless signal weaker than for Windows

Are you using the b43 driver included with the kernel? Maybe you should try broadcom-wl, the official driver from Broadcom.

mdschechtman

Member

Registered: 2011-05-26

Posts: 14

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless signal weaker than for Windows

The wiki recommends not using the wl driver, but since I have no other leads at the moment, I'll give it a try.

Update: Switching to broadcom-wl was the solution.  Thanks, elliott.

Last edited by mdschechtman (2011-10-11 04:44:43)

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Tide goes in, stain comes out. Never a miscommunication.