Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

stevepa · 2012-06-21 02:23:52

Greetings,

I've used a TPLink Wifi adaptor USB device (TL-WN821N) in my Arch install for a long time. Last week, right after a pacman -Syu and reboot, it would not work. I mean, the green LED status light would not light, and I had no connectivity. I tried another identical adaptor and it did not work either. (Oddly, I picked this adaptor because it was known to work without config in Arch and others)

Connecting an ethernet cable works fine. Obviously I would like to get my wifi working again.

Any tips about how to troubleshoot this issue will be appreciated. I have seen scattered posts about Atheros problems but it seemed like they were in the earlier kernel. I am at: 3.4.2-2-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Mon Jun 11 22:27:17 CEST 2012 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Thanks in advance.
Steve.

My key settings are:

lsusb identifies the adaptor as:

Bus 008 Device 002: ID 0cf3:7015 Atheros Communications, Inc. TP-Link TL-WN821N v3 802.11n [Atheros AR7010+AR9287]

dmesg | grep Atheros gives:

ieee80211 phy2: Atheros AR9287 Rev:2
Registered led device: ath9k_htc-phy2

ifconfig gives:

eth0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500  metric 1
        inet 192.168.1.6  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.1.255
        inet6 fe80::224:e8ff:feb8:7fd0  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 00:24:e8:b8:7f:d0  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 1601  bytes 1241934 (1.1 MiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 1438  bytes 201563 (196.8 KiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
        device interrupt 22  memory 0xf6ae0000-f6b00000  

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 16436  metric 1
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0
        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>
        loop  txqueuelen 0  (Local Loopback)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

When I plug in the adaptor, /var/log/messages shows:

Jun 20 21:08:37 localhost kernel: [ 1388.466855] usb 8-2: new high-speed USB device number 4 using ehci_hcd
Jun 20 21:08:37 localhost kernel: [ 1388.592191] usb 8-2: ath9k_htc: Firmware htc_7010.fw requested
Jun 20 21:08:37 localhost kernel: [ 1388.700432] usb 8-2: ath9k_htc: Transferred FW: htc_7010.fw, size: 72992
Jun 20 21:08:37 localhost kernel: [ 1388.761670] ath9k_htc 8-2:1.0: ath9k_htc: HTC initialized with 45 credits
Jun 20 21:08:37 localhost kernel: [ 1388.887568] ath9k_htc 8-2:1.0: ath9k_htc: FW Version: 1.3
Jun 20 21:08:37 localhost kernel: [ 1388.888533] ieee80211 phy3: Atheros AR9287 Rev:2

Finally my /etc/rc.conf looks like this:

# LOCALIZATION
# ------------
HARDWARECLOCK="UTC"
TIMEZONE="America/Chicago"
KEYMAP="us"
CONSOLEFONT=
CONSOLEMAP=
LOCALE=
DAEMON_LOCALE="yes"
USECOLOR="yes"

# HARDWARE
# --------
MODULES=(vboxdrv)
USEDMRAID="no"
USEBTRFS="no"
USELVM="no"

# NETWORKING
# ----------
HOSTNAME=archlaptop

interface=eth0
address=
netmask=
broadcast=
gateway=
eth0="dhcp"
NETWORK_PERSIST="no"

# DAEMONS
# -------
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng dbus !network !dhcpcd wicd crond sshd mysqld acpid)

Strike0 · 2012-06-21 17:44:49

You are not alone, check here: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=143502
First you might want to update to try again, 3.4.3-1 is current stock kernel.

stevepa · 2012-06-21 19:14:06

Strike0 wrote:

You are not alone, check here: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=143502
First you might want to update to try again, 3.4.3-1 is current stock kernel.

Since the green LED never lit like it used to, I thought my device failure was different than described above.

I did pacman -Syu late last night but the problem persists.

thanks for the reply.
steve.

tequa · 2012-06-22 20:31:56

Hello,

i'm not sure, whether it is the same problem for me, but i have an ath9k usb-device, too (TP-Link TL-WN722N) and it makes problems since kernel 3.4 (or at least 3.4.2 and 3.4.3).
It worked fine up to kernel 3.3.*.

The main problem seems to be getting an IP via dhcp (dhcpcd and dhclient always timeout). The problem can be reproduced at my notebook (also archlinux, also only with 3.4.[23]-Kernel) with the USB-Adapter, the WLAN-Chip in the notebook (intel onboard) works fine, though.
Setting up WLAN with static IP works, but is not really an option.

Do you have similar problems? (connecting with wpa_supplicant works, dhcpcd or dhclient on wlan0 not?)

stevepa · 2012-06-23 01:50:03

Strike0 wrote:

You are not alone, check here: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=143502
First you might want to update to try again, 3.4.3-1 is current stock kernel.

I had hopes that the new kernel would help, but I can say that the problem remains with 3.4.3-1-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT.

stevepa · 2012-06-23 01:52:46

tequa wrote:

Hello,
i'm not sure, whether it is the same problem for me, but i have an ath9k usb-device, too (TP-Link TL-WN722N) and it makes problems since kernel 3.4 (or at least 3.4.2 and 3.4.3).
It worked fine up to kernel 3.3.*.
The main problem seems to be getting an IP via dhcp (dhcpcd and dhclient always timeout). The problem can be reproduced at my notebook (also archlinux, also only with 3.4.[23]-Kernel) with the USB-Adapter, the WLAN-Chip in the notebook (intel onboard) works fine, though.
Setting up WLAN with static IP works, but is not really an option.
Do you have similar problems? (connecting with wpa_supplicant works, dhcpcd or dhclient on wlan0 not?)

Tequa, at least your device attempts to work. Mine does not even "light up". I'm not sure of anything anymore, but it seems like my problem is different that yours.

Follow the link in a previous post here for info that may pertain to your problem.

Good luck to all of us.
Steve.

tequa · 2012-06-23 09:43:43

stevepa wrote:

Tequa, at least your device attempts to work. Mine does not even "light up". I'm not sure of anything anymore, but it seems like my problem is different that yours.
Follow the link in a previous post here for info that may pertain to your problem.
Good luck to all of us.
Steve.

Ok... i didn't get this part... then its probably worth a different thread...

Good luck to you

Strike0 · 2012-06-23 10:26:22

@stevepa: Whats the output of
1.

rfkill list all

and what happens if you 2.

rmmod ath9k 
modprobe ath9k
ip link set wlan0 up
ip a

?
edit: typo in command

Last edited by Strike0 (2012-06-23 10:31:09)

stevepa · 2012-06-23 17:14:35

Strike0 wrote:

@stevepa: Whats the output of
1.
rfkill list all
and what happens if you 2.
rmmod ath9k 
modprobe ath9k
ip link set wlan0 up
ip a
?
edit: typo in command

Ok, here goes!

[root@archlaptop steve]# rfkill list all
0: dell-wifi: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: yes
1: dell-bluetooth: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: yes
2: phy1: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no

[root@archlaptop steve]# rmmod ath9k
Error: Module ath9k is not currently loaded
root@archlaptop steve]# modprobe ath9k
[root@archlaptop steve]#

[root@archlaptop steve]# ip link set wlan0 up
[root@archlaptop steve]# ip a
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 16436 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN 
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:24:e8:b8:7f:d0 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.1.6/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global eth0
    inet6 fe80::224:e8ff:feb8:7fd0/64 scope link 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
3: wlan0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state DOWN qlen 1000
    link/ether f8:d1:11:66:5f:3f brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

This is what lsmod shows:

[root@archlaptop steve]# lsmod | grep ath
ath9k                  93134  0 
ath9k_htc              57868  0 
ath9k_common            2096  2 ath9k,ath9k_htc
ath9k_hw              342134  3 ath9k_common,ath9k,ath9k_htc
ath                    15361  4 ath9k_common,ath9k,ath9k_htc,ath9k_hw
mac80211              395680  3 b43,ath9k,ath9k_htc
cfg80211              170074  5 b43,ath,ath9k,mac80211,ath9k_htc
usbcore               147533  4 uhci_hcd,ehci_hcd,ath9k_htc

Note: I have seen the device LED blink briefly during the ip link commands.
Not sure what else to try.
Thanks for the reply.
Steve.

Edit: saw another thread where this worked: dhcpcd wlan0
but in my case, it times out 'waiting on carrier'.

Last edited by stevepa (2012-06-23 17:46:45)

MoonSwan · 2012-06-23 17:57:45

[root@archlaptop steve]# rfkill list all
0: dell-wifi: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: yes

That should tell you why you're not getting a link. Somehow you've "killed" or "blocked" your wireless card from even trying to come alive. On my laptop I have an Fn + F2 key that disables my network card. Perhaps you hit a similar key combination? Try using rfkill to unblock your ports too.

stevepa · 2012-06-23 18:22:49

MoonSwan wrote:

[root@archlaptop steve]# rfkill list all
0: dell-wifi: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: yes
That should tell you why you're not getting a link. Somehow you've "killed" or "blocked" your wireless card from even trying to come alive. On my laptop I have an Fn + F2 key that disables my network card. Perhaps you hit a similar key combination? Try using rfkill to unblock your ports too.

Moonswan,

The wifi adaptor that I am trying to get working is the tplink. rfkill says it is unblocked. the blocked wifi is the dell broadcom which I do not want to configure.
Note: the Tplink wifi adaptor has worked perfectly for a long time. It required no config, and that was the beauty of it. The broadcom is, well, can't describe it politely here.

any ideas on getting the tplink working?
Edit: I always hate to see this kind of thing written, but my other laptop running Win7 connects fine using wifi.

thanks for your help.
steve.

Last edited by stevepa (2012-06-23 18:25:54)

bernarcher · 2012-06-23 18:49:04

Hi, stevepa, in case you wonder, where your message went to. The mods received this from you recently:

Hi
The dell wifi is the built in broadcom wifi that has never worked and I have written it off.
the external USB tplink card is the one that has always always worked and is the one that does not work now.
I believe the wlan0 is the tplink one and that is not blocked.
Ideas?
thanks in advance
steve.

This is because you inadvertently did use the "Reort" link. But don't worry, this happens rather often.

Strike0 · 2012-06-23 18:59:00

you might want to blacklist the b43 driver also, if you dont want to use that internal wifi.
Try first to connect again after unloading b43.
If that still fails, I would suggest you do the manual connection method in the wireless wiki, so that you can be sure you did all the necessry steps for your local router connect. That way you see also if something fails before the dhcp.

stevepa · 2012-06-23 20:45:24

Strike0 wrote:

you might want to blacklist the b43 driver also, if you dont want to use that internal wifi.
Try first to connect again after unloading b43.
If that still fails, I would suggest you do the manual connection method in the wireless wiki, so that you can be sure you did all the necessry steps for your local router connect. That way you see also if something fails before the dhcp.

I blacklisted the b43 module and verified it was not loaded. Then attempted to ip link set wlan0 up and it returned no error, but the device has no carrier and the green LED is out.

Now, on to the manual wifi config.

I confirmed that the ath9k modules are loaded, then did:

[root@archlaptop steve]#ip link set wlan0 down
[root@archlaptop steve]# iwconfig wlan0 mode ad-hoc
[root@archlaptop steve]# iwlist wlan0 scan
wlan0     Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down

I confirm that the wireless is working because another (W7) laptop right beside the Arch laptop does connect.

Seems like there is a fundamental problem with the USB device. Just guessing, but if the module code is buggy, would that explain why the device would not work?

Thanks
Steve.

Last edited by stevepa (2012-06-23 20:47:00)

Gusar · 2012-06-23 20:46:55

Err, that message was quite clear: You can't scan when the network is down. So bring it back up before scanning.

stevepa · 2012-06-23 21:11:45

Gusar wrote:

Err, that message was quite clear: You can't scan when the network is down. So bring it back up before scanning.

Yep, you are right. after doing ip link set wlan0 up, and iwlist wlan0 scan does list broadcasting wifi spots!

I will continue with the manual wireless howto.

thanks to all!
Steve.

Last edited by stevepa (2012-06-23 21:12:32)

stevepa · 2012-06-24 01:25:46

Update:
I did another from scratch netinstall of Arch + XFCE + wicd + all configs, and got my adaptor working perfectly again.

So, it appears that the Atheros problem arises from updating a system, because it does not happen with a new system. I will see if future updates hose the adaptor...

I will do some more work on the problematic system yet.

Hope this helps someone.
steve.

Last edited by stevepa (2012-06-24 01:27:29)

stevepa · 2012-06-25 13:37:40

Update for Sunday:

Testing the dongle + system at home (Netgear wireless router with WPA2 and passphrase):
1. Fresh Arch install - works perfectly.
2. My longtime Arch system w/many updates - dongle fails as related in the preceeding threads.

Testing the dongle + system at Starbucks (Not sure what hardware they use, but it is an open connection, of course)
1. Fresh Arch Install - attempts to connect, but times out. I thought this was related to IPV6 so I disabled that with a boot parameter. No help. Also, put that hwcrypt=1 (may not be exact spelling I used) in the ath9 module config file, also no help.
2. My longtime Arch system w/many updates - dongle fails as related in the preceeding threads.

Update today (monday):
Testing the dongle + system at work (not sure what hardware they use, but it is essentially open to connect to)
1.Fresh Arch Install - works perfectly
2. Not tested.

So, the new install works everywhere except Starbucks. Silly!

I am still learning the various network and wireless config commands (like iwconfig, ip link) so I should be able to get a better idea what is failing, soon.

Hope this helps someone.
Steve.

Last edited by stevepa (2012-06-25 18:49:06)

Arch Linux

#1 2012-06-21 02:23:52

Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#2 2012-06-21 17:44:49

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#3 2012-06-21 19:14:06

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#4 2012-06-22 20:31:56

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#5 2012-06-23 01:50:03

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#6 2012-06-23 01:52:46

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#7 2012-06-23 09:43:43

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#8 2012-06-23 10:26:22

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#9 2012-06-23 17:14:35

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#10 2012-06-23 17:57:45

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#11 2012-06-23 18:22:49

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#12 2012-06-23 18:49:04

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#13 2012-06-23 18:59:00

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#14 2012-06-23 20:45:24

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#15 2012-06-23 20:46:55

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#16 2012-06-23 21:11:45

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#17 2012-06-24 01:25:46

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

#18 2012-06-25 13:37:40

Re: Long time Arch Install Wifi Issues: Atheros does not power up

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