Arch Linux

rpt

Member

Registered: 2013-07-31

Posts: 14

[Solved] RTL8188CE on Thinkpad x120e can scan, but no association

Hello,

I just yesterday installed Archlinux from an iso I downloaded from the site. A few hours ago I was able to get my NIC to associate, but it would immediately disassociate once a DHCP request was initially. Currently, I am able to scan correctly with `iwlist`, but setter commands in `iwconfig` (in particular, for the ESSID and AP) have no effect:

    wlp4s0    IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:off/any  
              Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
              Tx-Power=20 dBm   
              Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
              Encryption key:off
              Power Management:off

More precisely, for the ESSID at least, they have an effect for a fraction of a second before being reset.

Clearly there are numerous discussions about this chipset, but all of them seem to have progressed past the association and into issues like speed, connection dropping, DHCP, etc. Is there some possible difference with this card that isn't supported? Should I look into finding an alternative driver? (e.g., https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/dkms-8192cu/)

Thanks!

Last edited by rpt (2013-08-02 22:29:05)

rpt

Member

Registered: 2013-07-31

Posts: 14

Re: [Solved] RTL8188CE on Thinkpad x120e can scan, but no association

Update: I attempted to install the AUR package mentioned above, with the following results:

make ARCH=x86_64 CROSS_COMPILE= -C /lib/modules/3.10.3-1-ARCH/build M=/home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749  modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-3.10.3-1-ARCH'
  CC [M]  /home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/core/rtw_cmd.o
In file included from /home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/core/rtw_cmd.c:23:0:
/home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/include/osdep_service.h: In function 'thread_enter':
/home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/include/osdep_service.h:575:2: error: implicit declaration of function 'daemonize' [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
  daemonize("%s", "RTKTHREAD");
  ^
In file included from /home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/include/drv_types.h:69:0,
                 from /home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/core/rtw_cmd.c:24:
/home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/include/rtw_recv.h: In function 'rxmem_to_recvframe':
/home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/include/rtw_recv.h:626:30: warning: cast from pointer to integer of different size [-Wpointer-to-int-cast]
  return (union recv_frame*)(((uint)rxmem>>RXFRAME_ALIGN) <<RXFRAME_ALIGN) ;
                              ^
/home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/include/rtw_recv.h:626:9: warning: cast to pointer from integer of different size [-Wint-to-pointer-cast]
  return (union recv_frame*)(((uint)rxmem>>RXFRAME_ALIGN) <<RXFRAME_ALIGN) ;
         ^
cc1: some warnings being treated as errors
make[2]: *** [/home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749/core/rtw_cmd.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/home/rpt/8192cu-v3.4.4_4749] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-3.10.3-1-ARCH'
make: *** [modules] Error 2

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: [Solved] RTL8188CE on Thinkpad x120e can scan, but no association

If you have a RTL8188CE card (which requires the rtl8192ce module), why are you trying to install the rtl8192cu driver?  They are not the same thing.

Realtek provides a driver on their site for this card, but for one, I don't know if it is actually different than the in-tree sources, and two, I don't think the one on their site is updated regularly enough to stay compile-able against the most recent kernels.

Indeed this card sucks with Linux.  I had it in my machine when I first got it, and I eventually found another card on ebay to replace it.  Though I have a Thinkpad, which has a whitelist for Lenovo only wifi cards (actually I think it is whitelisted by the FRU number).  So there were only a very few cards that would work with my machine... it took quite a bit of searching though ebay, but I found what I needed evnetually.  Unfortunately, the best advice for anyone with this card is to get a different card.

In the mean time, there are a couple things you could try.  I had mildly better success with that card by using a few particular module options.  First, I turned off all power saving features.  So ips=0 fwlps=0 and swlps=0 takes care of those (note that swlps is 0 by default, so that one is not necessary).  Then, I found that using software encryption seemed to work slightly better, swenc=1.  To see the options, you can use modinfo.

rpt

Member

Registered: 2013-07-31

Posts: 14

Re: [Solved] RTL8188CE on Thinkpad x120e can scan, but no association

Thanks for the help. True, for some reason I didn't even notice the difference, or I assumed the drivers were the same. Which card did you end up using? I haven't found the whitelist online anywhere, and I definitely am not confident enough to flash the BIOS. I'll try the settings you mentioned and see if the driver on the Realtek site works anyway.

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: [Solved] RTL8188CE on Thinkpad x120e can scan, but no association

Each machine allows for a different selection of wireless cards.  There is a parts/FRU list that you can get for your machine off the Lenovo support site.  I think it might be on the same page as you would fine the service manual.

I ended up with three cards.  I have the original Realtek card, which is a pile of crap.  At one point though I installed windows to see what it would be like, and it was fantastic with windows.  I also have the Intel 2230 which was an option for my machine.  It worked pretty well, I had no complaints.  I did see a whole lot of Tx excessive retries in the output of iwconfig, but it did not seem to affect the functionality of the card overall.  I know that some people complain of the iwlwifi module being really not good particularly with the 2230.  Then I also have the broadcom bcm943228.  It is really just a bcm43228, but the leading '9' of the numerical part just means that it is a bluetooth combo card.  Though I have to use the broadcom-wl package/module for this (which is the proprietary one), it works pretty amazingly.  This was the only dual band option for my machine.  So this is what I have been using for the past couple months, since I have dual band routers as well.

rpt

Member

Registered: 2013-07-31

Posts: 14

Re: [Solved] RTL8188CE on Thinkpad x120e can scan, but no association

Unfortunately, it seems that the only cards compatible with my model are the built-in ones:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/researc … MIGR-74258

Apparently the RTL8192CE driver supports 8188CE.

Actually, while in the process of writing this post and looking up other posts, I seem to have found a solution:

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php … 0#p1067350

I'm not sure what the issue was -- perhaps it was that I never executed modprobe -- but that exact series of commands (minus the key information) has associated me and I am able to communicate.

Thanks for the help and sorry for the trouble.

Last edited by rpt (2013-08-02 22:28:30)

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: [Solved] RTL8188CE on Thinkpad x120e can scan, but no association

About 90% down the page of FRU's there is the listing of the Broadcom card.  It has a FRU of 60Y3251 (on this page).

I found it on ebay for $10.