[Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

LudaOtaku · 2013-09-08 20:32:35

Hey there!

So I've recently installed ArchLinux on my HP Elitebook. Everything works fine except for the WiFi card which is blocked by default.

I can fix this by typing following command

# rfkill unblock all

but it isn't persistent, therefore I have to type it everytime I want to connect my laptop to the internet after turning it on, which is really boring. I tried

# systemctl enable rfkill-unblock@all.service

but it doesn't work.

I greped dmesg and here's the output

[lotaku@lotaku-elitebook-arch ~]$ dmesg | grep wifi
[    4.089718] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: irq 47 for MSI/MSI-X
[    4.092676] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: loaded firmware version 8.83.5.1 build 33692 op_mode iwldvm
[    4.122028] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEBUG disabled
[    4.122033] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEBUGFS disabled
[    4.122035] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEVICE_TRACING enabled
[    4.122038] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEVICE_TESTMODE disabled
[    4.122040] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_P2P disabled
[    4.122043] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: Detected Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN, REV=0x54
[    4.122071] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: L1 Disabled; Enabling L0S
[    4.122459] iwlwifi 0000:02:00.0: RF_KILL bit toggled to disable radio.

It looks like iwlwifi disables the wifi card when the system finishes booting (last line). Or am I wrong?

$ systemd-analyze

Startup finished in 3.760s (kernel) + 788ms (userspace) = 4.549s

I think that the rfkill service doesn't work because my wifi card is re-blocked later in the boot process by iwlwifi.

How can I fix that? Thank for your help!

Last edited by LudaOtaku (2013-09-17 04:11:41)

Trilby · 2013-09-08 20:46:13

Welcome to the forums - this is a refreshingly complete and well structured post.

Unfortunately other than noting that, I don't have a great solution, but perhaps some ideas to start with:

As a work-around, you could modify the rfkill service file, or write a new similar one to launch a script that will sleep for a second or two, then run rfkill unblock all.

A better solution, though, would be to stop iwlifi from blocking. Do you use/need iwlwifi for your card? If not, perhaps blacklisting it would do - though if it's active, I'd guess you may need it. I just did a quick search and saw nothing obvious, but I suspect there is a module parameter that would stop this blocking by iwlwifi.

Also, depending on how you connect, your connection service or tool could just run the rfkill unblock command right before connecting.

Last edited by Trilby (2013-09-08 21:02:36)

cfr · 2013-09-08 21:00:18

Could you post the output of

modinfo iwlwifi

I'm using the same module and don't have this problem and I'm just wondering if different defaults are getting set for your card or something like that.

LudaOtaku · 2013-09-08 21:06:45

Thank you! I don't like it when posts are poorly written.

I already tried to write my own rfkill service file but it never worked as intended, I still had to unblock my card manually.

iwlwifi was present by default, thus I have absolutely no idea how to configure it, I'm still pretty new to the Arch world, sorry. I googled "iwlwifi" but I didn't find much. It looks like it is my wifi chip's driver (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wi … up#iwlwifi).

cfr > Here's the terminal output

[lotaku@lotaku-elitebook-arch ~]$ modinfo iwlwifi
filename:       /lib/modules/3.10.10-1-ARCH/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/iwlwifi.ko.gz
license:        GPL
author:         Copyright(c) 2003-2013 Intel Corporation <ilw@linux.intel.com>
version:        in-tree:
description:    Intel(R) Wireless WiFi driver for Linux
firmware:       iwlwifi-100-5.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-1000-5.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-135-6.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-105-6.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-2030-6.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-2000-6.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-5150-2.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-6000g2b-6.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-6000g2a-5.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-6050-5.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-6000-4.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-3160-7.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-7260-7.ucode
srcversion:     D91504AC58165508805B703
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008B3sv*sd00008070bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008B3sv*sd00000070bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008B1sv*sd0000C070bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008B1sv*sd00004062bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008B1sv*sd00004070bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000892sv*sd00000462bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000893sv*sd00000262bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000892sv*sd00000062bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000894sv*sd00000822bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000894sv*sd00000422bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000895sv*sd00000222bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000894sv*sd00000022bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000088Fsv*sd00005260bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000088Esv*sd00004860bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000088Esv*sd00004460bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000088Fsv*sd00004260bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000088Esv*sd00004060bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000887sv*sd00004462bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000888sv*sd00004262bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000887sv*sd00004062bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000890sv*sd00004822bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000890sv*sd00004422bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000891sv*sd00004222bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000890sv*sd00004022bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000896sv*sd00005027bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000896sv*sd00005025bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000897sv*sd00005017bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000897sv*sd00005015bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000896sv*sd00005007bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000896sv*sd00005005bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008AEsv*sd00001027bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008AEsv*sd00001025bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008AFsv*sd00001017bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008AFsv*sd00001015bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008AEsv*sd00001007bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d000008AEsv*sd00001005bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000084sv*sd00001316bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000084sv*sd00001216bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000083sv*sd00001326bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000083sv*sd00001226bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000083sv*sd00001306bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000083sv*sd00001206bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000084sv*sd00001315bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000084sv*sd00001215bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000083sv*sd00001325bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000083sv*sd00001225bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000083sv*sd00001305bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000083sv*sd00001205bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000886sv*sd00001317bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000886sv*sd00001315bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000885sv*sd00001327bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000885sv*sd00001325bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000885sv*sd00001307bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000885sv*sd00001305bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000089sv*sd00001316bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000089sv*sd00001311bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000087sv*sd00001326bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000087sv*sd00001321bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000087sv*sd00001306bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000087sv*sd00001301bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000091sv*sd00005226bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000091sv*sd00005225bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000091sv*sd00005221bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000091sv*sd00005207bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000091sv*sd00005206bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000091sv*sd00005205bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000091sv*sd00005201bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000090sv*sd00005216bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000090sv*sd00005215bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000090sv*sd00005211bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000008Bsv*sd00005317bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000008Bsv*sd00005315bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000008Asv*sd00005327bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000008Asv*sd00005325bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000008Asv*sd00005307bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000008Asv*sd00005305bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000082sv*sd00001305bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000082sv*sd00001304bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000082sv*sd00004820bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000085sv*sd0000C220bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000082sv*sd0000C020bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000085sv*sd00001316bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000085sv*sd00001311bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000082sv*sd00001326bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000082sv*sd00001321bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000082sv*sd00001307bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000082sv*sd00001306bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00000082sv*sd00001301bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004239sv*sd00001316bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004239sv*sd00001311bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004238sv*sd00001111bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000422Csv*sd00001326bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000422Csv*sd00001321bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000422Csv*sd00001307bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000422Csv*sd00001306bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000422Csv*sd00001301bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000422Bsv*sd00001121bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000422Bsv*sd00001101bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Dsv*sd00001316bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Dsv*sd00001216bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Dsv*sd00001311bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Dsv*sd00001211bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Csv*sd00001326bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Csv*sd00001321bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Csv*sd00001221bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Csv*sd00001306bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Csv*sd00001206bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Csv*sd00001301bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Csv*sd00001201bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Bsv*sd00001011bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Asv*sd00001021bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d0000423Asv*sd00001001bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004236sv*sd00001114bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004236sv*sd00001014bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004236sv*sd00001111bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004236sv*sd00001011bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004235sv*sd00001104bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004235sv*sd00001004bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004235sv*sd00001101bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004235sv*sd00001001bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004235sv*sd00001124bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004235sv*sd00001024bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004235sv*sd00001121bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004235sv*sd00001021bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004237sv*sd00001316bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004237sv*sd00001216bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004237sv*sd00001315bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004237sv*sd00001215bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004237sv*sd00001314bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004237sv*sd00001214bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004237sv*sd00001311bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004237sv*sd00001211bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001326bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001226bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001325bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001225bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001324bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001224bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001321bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001221bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001306bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001206bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001305bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001205bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001304bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001204bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001301bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00008086d00004232sv*sd00001201bc*sc*i*
depends:        cfg80211
intree:         Y
vermagic:       3.10.10-1-ARCH SMP preempt mod_unload modversions 
parm:           swcrypto:using crypto in software (default 0 [hardware]) (int)
parm:           11n_disable:disable 11n functionality, bitmap: 1: full, 2: agg TX, 4: agg RX (uint)
parm:           amsdu_size_8K:enable 8K amsdu size (default 0) (int)
parm:           fw_restart:restart firmware in case of error (default true) (bool)
parm:           antenna_coupling:specify antenna coupling in dB (defualt: 0 dB) (int)
parm:           bt_ch_inhibition:Enable BT channel inhibition (default: enable) (bool)
parm:           plcp_check:Check plcp health (default: 1 [enabled]) (bool)
parm:           wd_disable:Disable stuck queue watchdog timer 0=system default, 1=disable, 2=enable (default: 0) (int)
parm:           bt_coex_active:enable wifi/bt co-exist (default: enable) (bool)
parm:           led_mode:0=system default, 1=On(RF On)/Off(RF Off), 2=blinking, 3=Off (default: 0) (int)
parm:           power_save:enable WiFi power management (default: disable) (bool)
parm:           power_level:default power save level (range from 1 - 5, default: 1) (int)
parm:           auto_agg:enable agg w/o check traffic load (default: enable) (bool)

cfr · 2013-09-08 21:27:28

Have you configured any custom settings for modules e.g. in /etc/modprobe.d/* or /etc/modules-load.d/* or anything similar?

Can you post the output of

cat /proc/cmdline

?

Are you using any power-saving scripts such as powerdown or laptop-mode-tools?

LudaOtaku · 2013-09-08 21:32:46

No I'm not using any of these and I didn't edit anything.

Here's the command output

[lotaku@lotaku-elitebook-arch ~]$ cat /proc/cmdline
root=/dev/sda1 rw quiet vga=current initrd=../initramfs-linux.img BOOT_IMAGE=../vmlinuz-linux

WonderWoofy · 2013-09-08 21:34:02

I think this simplest workaround (not a solution) would be to have a systemd.timer that waits a bit and then launches that rfkill-unblock@all.service. I think you would have to call the timer unit rfkill-unblock@all.timer in order for it to launch the unit with the correct instance. The last I checked/tried, I was unable to specify 'Unit=rfkill-unblock@all.service' in a timer unit (it wouldn't let me do anything with an '@' in the name).

Edit: BTW, @cfr and OP, in addition to seeing the defaults to the module's options, it might also help to actually see what things are set to. You can do this with systool (systool -m iwlwifi -av issued as root).

Last edited by WonderWoofy (2013-09-08 21:36:32)

cfr · 2013-09-08 21:44:32

Excellent - thanks! That's much easier than retrieving the info from under /sys/module/iwlwifi/ which was what I was trying before.

LudaOtaku · 2013-09-08 21:50:31

There! :

[lotaku@lotaku-elitebook-arch ~]$ sudo systool -m iwlwifi -av
[sudo] password for lotaku: 
Module = "iwlwifi"

  Attributes:
    coresize            = "136611"
    initsize            = "0"
    initstate           = "live"
    refcnt              = "1"
    srcversion          = "D91504AC58165508805B703"
    taint               = ""
    uevent              = <store method only>
    version             = "in-tree:"

  Parameters:
    11n_disable         = "0"
    amsdu_size_8K       = "0"
    antenna_coupling    = "0"
    auto_agg            = "Y"
    bt_ch_inhibition    = "Y"
    bt_coex_active      = "Y"
    fw_restart          = "Y"
    led_mode            = "0"
    plcp_check          = "Y"
    power_level         = "0"
    power_save          = "N"
    swcrypto            = "0"
    wd_disable          = "1"

  Sections:
    .altinstr_replacement= "0xffffffffa095f8e7"
    .altinstructions    = "0xffffffffa0967008"
    .bss                = "0xffffffffa096a1e0"
    .data               = "0xffffffffa0967580"
    .data.unlikely      = "0xffffffffa0969298"
    .exit.text          = "0xffffffffa095f8dc"
    .gnu.linkonce.this_module= "0xffffffffa0969f80"
    .init.text          = "0xffffffffa0976000"
    .note.gnu.build-id  = "0xffffffffa095f8f4"
    .parainstructions   = "0xffffffffa0967108"
    .ref.data           = "0xffffffffa0969380"
    .rodata             = "0xffffffffa095fd60"
    .rodata.str1.1      = "0xffffffffa0963cf8"
    .rodata.str1.8      = "0xffffffffa0964d60"
    .smp_locks          = "0xffffffffa0967050"
    .strtab             = "0xffffffffa097d700"
    .symtab             = "0xffffffffa0976d58"
    .text               = "0xffffffffa094b000"
    __bug_table         = "0xffffffffa0967020"
    __jump_table        = "0xffffffffa0968788"
    __kcrctab           = "0xffffffffa095fbf0"
    __kcrctab_gpl       = "0xffffffffa095fc60"
    __ksymtab_gpl       = "0xffffffffa095fa00"
    __ksymtab_strings   = "0xffffffffa09634ff"
    __ksymtab           = "0xffffffffa095f920"
    __mcount_loc        = "0xffffffffa0963908"
    __param             = "0xffffffffa0966e68"
    __tracepoints_ptrs  = "0xffffffffa09672b8"
    __tracepoints_strings= "0xffffffffa0967360"
    __tracepoints       = "0xffffffffa0969a40"
    _ftrace_events      = "0xffffffffa09692c0"

WonderWoofy > Yeah I already considered doing that but I'd like to actually solve the problem, since I know what it is.

Well it's pretty late here, I'll probably answer tomorrow.
Thanks again for you help!

cfr · 2013-09-08 22:11:30

Are those results after you've unblocked it or before? I guess we'd need to see the results before to know if they reveal the problem or not?

LudaOtaku · 2013-09-09 04:32:18

Oops, you're right, my bad.

Output before unblocking :

[lotaku@lotaku-elitebook-arch ~]$ sudo systool -m iwlwifi -av
[sudo] password for lotaku: 
Module = "iwlwifi"

  Attributes:
    coresize            = "136611"
    initsize            = "0"
    initstate           = "live"
    refcnt              = "1"
    srcversion          = "D91504AC58165508805B703"
    taint               = ""
    uevent              = <store method only>
    version             = "in-tree:"

  Parameters:
    11n_disable         = "0"
    amsdu_size_8K       = "0"
    antenna_coupling    = "0"
    auto_agg            = "Y"
    bt_ch_inhibition    = "Y"
    bt_coex_active      = "Y"
    fw_restart          = "Y"
    led_mode            = "0"
    plcp_check          = "Y"
    power_level         = "0"
    power_save          = "N"
    swcrypto            = "0"
    wd_disable          = "1"

  Sections:
    .altinstr_replacement= "0xffffffffa08578e7"
    .altinstructions    = "0xffffffffa085f008"
    .bss                = "0xffffffffa08621e0"
    .data               = "0xffffffffa085f580"
    .data.unlikely      = "0xffffffffa0861298"
    .exit.text          = "0xffffffffa08578dc"
    .gnu.linkonce.this_module= "0xffffffffa0861f80"
    .init.text          = "0xffffffffa0866000"
    .note.gnu.build-id  = "0xffffffffa08578f4"
    .parainstructions   = "0xffffffffa085f108"
    .ref.data           = "0xffffffffa0861380"
    .rodata             = "0xffffffffa0857d60"
    .rodata.str1.1      = "0xffffffffa085bcf8"
    .rodata.str1.8      = "0xffffffffa085cd60"
    .smp_locks          = "0xffffffffa085f050"
    .strtab             = "0xffffffffa086d700"
    .symtab             = "0xffffffffa0866d58"
    .text               = "0xffffffffa0843000"
    __bug_table         = "0xffffffffa085f020"
    __jump_table        = "0xffffffffa0860788"
    __kcrctab           = "0xffffffffa0857bf0"
    __kcrctab_gpl       = "0xffffffffa0857c60"
    __ksymtab_gpl       = "0xffffffffa0857a00"
    __ksymtab_strings   = "0xffffffffa085b4ff"
    __ksymtab           = "0xffffffffa0857920"
    __mcount_loc        = "0xffffffffa085b908"
    __param             = "0xffffffffa085ee68"
    __tracepoints_ptrs  = "0xffffffffa085f2b8"
    __tracepoints_strings= "0xffffffffa085f360"
    __tracepoints       = "0xffffffffa0861a40"
    _ftrace_events      = "0xffffffffa08612c0"

Edit:

Just noticed something: The wifi led turns blue (which means the chip is enabled) when I turn on the computer, then becomes orange (which means it is disabled) short before login screen.

Last edited by LudaOtaku (2013-09-09 10:03:14)

cfr · 2013-09-09 20:58:35

So what does it mean that the content of those values differs like that, I wonder? That is, all the stuff under "Sections"...

kbuzby · 2013-09-09 22:30:34

Hi,
I'm extremely new to this forum, been messing around with linux for a while though, and just installed arch on my old school laptop (an Elitebook 8530w), which seems to have the same wifi functionality your looking at.
I've been trying to solve this problem with rfkill the last few days myself, and I think the issue is that the rfkill list includes phy0 which is the wired connection where as (for me) hp-wifi is the wireless, even though both of them are listed as Wireless LAN under "rfkill list"
What I just tried, when booting was unblocking all and then blocking the phy0. After that I was able to restart my network using netctl without any problems that I previously was encountering.

Now following this, I know that there is the rfkill-unblock@all.service option, but if phy0 needs to be blocked this option does not work.
Is there a way to unblock all except phy0?

I apologize if my formatting is poor, this is literally my first post, and I'd rather get to the bottom of this then spend time with formatting at the moment.

skanky · 2013-09-10 09:40:06

kbuzby wrote:

Hi,
I'm extremely new to this forum, been messing around with linux for a while though, and just installed arch on my old school laptop (an Elitebook 8530w), which seems to have the same wifi functionality your looking at.
I've been trying to solve this problem with rfkill the last few days myself, and I think the issue is that the rfkill list includes phy0 which is the wired connection where as (for me) hp-wifi is the wireless, even though both of them are listed as Wireless LAN under "rfkill list"
What I just tried, when booting was unblocking all and then blocking the phy0. After that I was able to restart my network using netctl without any problems that I previously was encountering.
Now following this, I know that there is the rfkill-unblock@all.service option, but if phy0 needs to be blocked this option does not work.
Is there a way to unblock all except phy0?
I apologize if my formatting is poor, this is literally my first post, and I'd rather get to the bottom of this then spend time with formatting at the moment.

You can copy the rfkill-unblock@.service file to /etc/systemd/system and add an ExecStart= line to call rfkill and block phy0. Then enable it as rfkill-unblock@all.
Make sure you disable it first (which I've forgotten to do in the past).

WonderWoofy · 2013-09-10 13:46:15

The rfkill-unblock@.service can also be enabled with as many options as you want. So you could hvae rfkill-unblock@<something>.service enabled at the same time as you have rfkill-unblock@<otherthing>.service. These are referred to as "per-instance" units, and part of what is executed (and sometimes named, or who executes it) is determined by the area after the '@'.

prash · 2013-09-10 16:49:09

LudaOtaku, I have an HP ProBook, and just like yours, it has an Intel 5100 wifi card. And, I have the same problem as you, with wifi and bluetooth getting soft-blocked on boot-up. This problem started for me when we moved from Linux 3.9.x to 3.10.x.

These are the things I have tried so far:

enabling rfkill-unblock@all.service
This does nothing to fix either the bluetooth problem or the wifi problem.
Disabling/enabling 11n functionality. On the interwebs, some people fixed their problem by disabling 11n, and others by enabling it. I tried both. You can look at the configurable params of iwlwifi with this command:
```
modinfo -p iwlwifi
```
You can set the options in /etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf. My power_save and power_level options seemed fine, so I did not try modifying them.

Modifying module parameters for rfkill. I have:

% modinfo -p rfkill                
master_switch_mode:SW_RFKILL_ALL ON should: 0=do nothing (only unlock); 1=restore; 2=unblock all (uint)
default_state:Default initial state for all radio types, 0 = radio off (uint)

I tried modifying both parameters, individually, and together. Nothing seems to make a difference.

This is my /etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf now:

% cat /etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf
options usbcore autosuspend=1

# disable autoload of ipv6
# alias net-pf-10 off
options i915 modeset=1
options kvm_intel nested=1
options rfkill master_switch_mode=2 
# options rfkill default_state=1
# options iwlwifi 11n_disable=1

Perhaps one or more of these things will make it work for you?

Installing blueman 'fixed' my bluetooth problem, but my wifi problem still goes unsolved. So these days, I manually do an 'rfkill unblock wifi' whenever I need it.

Edit: someone seems to have reported the bug already, at https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60595, but no one has responded to it. Maybe because the report is too vague.

Last edited by prash (2013-09-10 16:58:30)

kokoloco · 2013-09-10 17:50:50

Hi, I have the same problem with my HP Compaq nx6325 since I installed Arch Linux a few weeks ago.
I am using the b43 driver for my WIFI card, and it seems that phy0 is getting disabled at startup.

Here the output of "dmesg | grep b43"

[konstantin@comparch ~]$ dmesg | grep b43
[   11.181749] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4311 WLAN found (core revision 10)
[   11.216735] b43-phy0: Found PHY: Analog 4, Type 2 (G), Revision 8
[   11.763410] b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 666.2 (2011-02-23 01:15:07)
[   17.360099] b43-phy0: Radio hardware status changed to DISABLED

I do not know if that helps, but I guess the problem is not iwlwifi specific.

LudaOtaku · 2013-09-10 19:26:04

prash > Thanks for your reply. I've, already tried the first two things, but neither of these worked for me. I'll try the third one tomorrow.

This is really annoying, my card turns on and gets blocked half a second before the login screen appears!

LudaOtaku · 2013-09-15 09:51:46

Sorry for late reply.

I have the same rfkill settings as you by default. However, my card is still blocked.

Does anyone know how to edit iwlwifi configuration? I can't find anything using google...

bjornoslav · 2013-09-15 10:16:53

I had the same problem. I've solved it by blacklisting hp_wmi. Do this as root:

# echo "blacklist hp_wmi" > /etc/modprobe.d/hp.conf

Reboot, then unblock all WiFi with (as root):

# rfkill unblock all

That's all.

LudaOtaku · 2013-09-17 04:11:19

Thank you so much, that solved my problem!

tulcod · 2013-11-13 16:09:55

cheers, same issue, same solution.

aikathila · 2016-01-28 11:08:43

Thanks very much! This helped me as well.

WorMzy · 2016-01-28 11:22:16

Please don't necrobump, aikathila.

Closing.

Arch Linux

#1 2013-09-08 20:32:35

[Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#2 2013-09-08 20:46:13

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

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Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

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#11 2013-09-09 04:32:18

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#12 2013-09-09 20:58:35

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#13 2013-09-09 22:30:34

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#14 2013-09-10 09:40:06

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

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Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#16 2013-09-10 16:49:09

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#17 2013-09-10 17:50:50

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#18 2013-09-10 19:26:04

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#19 2013-09-15 09:51:46

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#20 2013-09-15 10:16:53

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#21 2013-09-17 04:11:19

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#22 2013-11-13 16:09:55

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#23 2016-01-28 11:08:43

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

#24 2016-01-28 11:22:16

Re: [Solved] rfkill : WiFi card blocked

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