WLAN disconnects after transferring 150Mb+ of data (smb/inet)

Soukyuu · 2014-04-12 17:22:34

I keep getting some peculiar behavior from my

01:05.0 Ethernet controller: Qualcomm Atheros AR5212/AR5213 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)

card. I am able to connect to my WLAN fine, the signal is relatively strong (70%+) and the connection is stable. I am using wicd with the gnome applet, dhcpcd/netctl services are not set to run at startup. Wicd seems to be starting its own instance of dhcpcd though.

I can browse the net just fine, and I can also download files < 150Mb. However, if I try to copy a file bigger than that over smb or download one from the internet, the connection starts to stall after a minute, and then times out.

Journalctl output shows me connecting to the smb share and starting to copy a file, which goes fine for seven minutes, except it's getting progressively slower, until it drops the connection.

Apr 12 18:56:54 Elder org.gtk.vfs.Daemon[268]: ### SMB: auth_callback - out: last_user = 'user', last_domain = 'WORKGROUP'
Apr 12 18:56:54 Elder org.gtk.vfs.Daemon[268]: tdb(__NULL__): tdb_open_ex: called with name == NULL
Apr 12 18:56:54 Elder org.gtk.vfs.Daemon[268]: tdb(__NULL__): tdb_open_ex: called with name == NULL
Apr 12 18:56:54 Elder org.gtk.vfs.Daemon[268]: tdb(__NULL__): tdb_open_ex: called with name == NULL
Apr 12 18:56:54 Elder org.gtk.vfs.Daemon[268]: ### SMB: do_mount - [smb://server/share; 1] res = 0, cancelled = 0, errno = [0] 'Success'
Apr 12 18:56:54 Elder org.gtk.vfs.Daemon[268]: ### SMB: do_mount - login successful
Apr 12 18:56:54 Elder org.gtk.vfs.Daemon[268]: no talloc stackframe at ../source3/libsmb/clifsinfo.c:444, leaking memory
Apr 12 19:03:05 Elder dhcpcd[525]: wlp1s5: carrier lost
Apr 12 19:03:05 Elder dhcpcd[525]: wlp1s5: deleting route to 192.168.178.0/24
Apr 12 19:03:05 Elder dhcpcd[525]: wlp1s5: deleting default route via 192.168.178.1
Apr 12 19:03:05 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211: World regulatory domain updated:
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:  DFS Master region: unset
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2472000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2457000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (57240000 KHz - 63720000 KHz @ 2160000 KHz), (N/A, 0 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA for country: JP
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Regulatory domain changed to country: JP
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:  DFS Master region: JP
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (4910000 KHz - 4990000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2300 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5030000 KHz - 5090000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2300 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5250000 KHz - 5330000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5490000 KHz - 5710000 KHz @ 160000 KHz), (N/A, 2300 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: authenticate with 20:cf:30:b7:d5:3e
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: send auth to 20:cf:30:b7:d5:3e (try 1/3)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: authenticated
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: associate with 20:cf:30:b7:d5:3e (try 1/3)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: RX AssocResp from 20:cf:30:b7:d5:3e (capab=0xc11 status=0 aid=2)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: associated
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA for country: GB
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: ath: EEPROM regdomain: 0x833a
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: ath: EEPROM indicates we should expect a country code
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: ath: doing EEPROM country->regdmn map search
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: ath: country maps to regdmn code: 0x37
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: ath: Country alpha2 being used: GB
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: ath: Regpair used: 0x37
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: ath: regdomain 0x833a dynamically updated by country IE
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Regulatory domain changed to country: GB
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:  DFS Master region: ETSI
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
Apr 12 19:03:06 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:07 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:07 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5250000 KHz - 5330000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:07 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5490000 KHz - 5710000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2700 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:07 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (57240000 KHz - 65880000 KHz @ 2160000 KHz), (N/A, 4000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:07 Elder dhcpcd[525]: wlp1s5: carrier acquired
Apr 12 19:03:07 Elder dhcpcd[525]: wlp1s5: IAID 96:84:34:05
Apr 12 19:03:07 Elder dhcpcd[525]: wlp1s5: soliciting an IPv6 router
Apr 12 19:03:07 Elder dhcpcd[525]: wlp1s5: rebinding lease of 192.168.178.30
Apr 12 19:03:09 Elder wicd[198]: dhcpcd[983]: sending signal ARLM to pid 525
Apr 12 19:03:09 Elder dhcpcd[983]: sending signal ARLM to pid 525
Apr 12 19:03:09 Elder dhcpcd[525]: received signal ALRM from PID 983, releasing
Apr 12 19:03:09 Elder dhcpcd[525]: wlp1s5: removing interface
Apr 12 19:03:09 Elder dhcpcd[983]: waiting for pid 525 to exit
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder dhcpcd[525]: exited
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: deauthenticating from 20:cf:30:b7:d5:3e by local choice (reason=3)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211: World regulatory domain updated:
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:  DFS Master region: unset
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2472000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2457000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (57240000 KHz - 63720000 KHz @ 2160000 KHz), (N/A, 0 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA for country: JP
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlp1s5: link is not ready
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Regulatory domain changed to country: JP
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:  DFS Master region: JP
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (4910000 KHz - 4990000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2300 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5030000 KHz - 5090000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2300 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5250000 KHz - 5330000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5490000 KHz - 5710000 KHz @ 160000 KHz), (N/A, 2300 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder wicd[198]: dhcpcd[983]: waiting for pid 525 to exit
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder wicd[198]: dhcpcd[1022]: dhcpcd not running
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder dhcpcd[1022]: dhcpcd not running
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): enp1s8: link is not ready
Apr 12 19:03:10 Elder wicd[198]: Failed to connect to non-global ctrl_ifname: enp1s8  error: No such file or directory
Apr 12 19:03:14 Elder kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlp1s5: link is not ready
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder wicd[198]: dhcpcd[1033]: dhcpcd not running
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder dhcpcd[1033]: dhcpcd not running
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlp1s5: link is not ready
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder dhcpcd[1039]: dhcpcd not running
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder wicd[198]: Failed to connect to non-global ctrl_ifname: wlp1s5  error: No such file or directory
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): enp1s8: link is not ready
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder wicd[198]: dhcpcd[1039]: dhcpcd not running
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder wicd[198]: Failed to connect to non-global ctrl_ifname: enp1s8  error: No such file or directory
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder wicd[198]: dhcpcd[1047]: dhcpcd not running
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder dhcpcd[1047]: dhcpcd not running
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlp1s5: link is not ready
Apr 12 19:03:16 Elder wicd[198]: Failed to connect to non-global ctrl_ifname: wlp1s5  error: No such file or directory
Apr 12 19:03:18 Elder wicd[198]: ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: Invalid argument
Apr 12 19:03:18 Elder wicd[198]: ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: Invalid argument
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: authenticate with 20:cf:30:b7:d5:3e
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: send auth to 20:cf:30:b7:d5:3e (try 1/3)
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: authenticated
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: associate with 20:cf:30:b7:d5:3e (try 1/3)
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: RX AssocResp from 20:cf:30:b7:d5:3e (capab=0xc11 status=0 aid=2)
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: wlp1s5: associated
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlp1s5: link becomes ready
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA for country: GB
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: ath: EEPROM regdomain: 0x833a
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: ath: EEPROM indicates we should expect a country code
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: ath: doing EEPROM country->regdmn map search
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: ath: country maps to regdmn code: 0x37
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: ath: Country alpha2 being used: GB
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: ath: Regpair used: 0x37
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: ath: regdomain 0x833a dynamically updated by country IE
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: cfg80211: Regulatory domain changed to country: GB
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: cfg80211:  DFS Master region: ETSI
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5250000 KHz - 5330000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (5490000 KHz - 5710000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2700 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:19 Elder kernel: cfg80211:   (57240000 KHz - 65880000 KHz @ 2160000 KHz), (N/A, 4000 mBm)
Apr 12 19:03:20 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: version 6.3.2 starting
Apr 12 19:03:20 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: DUID 00:01:00:01:1a:d6:0a:93:00:08:0d:72:38:d6
Apr 12 19:03:20 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: wlp1s5: IAID 96:84:34:05
Apr 12 19:03:20 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: wlp1s5: soliciting an IPv6 router
Apr 12 19:03:20 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: wlp1s5: soliciting a DHCP lease
Apr 12 19:03:21 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: wlp1s5: offered 192.168.178.30 from 192.168.178.1
Apr 12 19:03:26 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: wlp1s5: leased 192.168.178.30 for 864000 seconds
Apr 12 19:03:26 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: wlp1s5: adding route to 192.168.178.0/24
Apr 12 19:03:26 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: wlp1s5: adding default route via 192.168.178.1
Apr 12 19:03:26 Elder dhcpcd[1064]: forked to background, child pid 1156

The first message of interest is "carrier lost". No details on why.
I see it saying "deauthenticated by local choice (reason 3)" at some point when it tries to reconnect, which is "The access point went offline, deauthenticating the client." according to this link. It did not though, I am monitoring the wireless log on my router and what I see there is the laptop disappearing, while the other clients stay in list.

This is not what always happens though, as I've also seen it state "reason 4" - "Client session timeout exceeded." I can also see the "bandwidth" parameter of the card decreasing over time from 54 to 5Mbps on the wireless log of my router.

There is also a "dhcpcd not running" message which I attempted to fix by starting the dhcpcd.service as mentioned on the wiki, but it didn't change anything. I have also tried switching to dhclient in the wicd applet, but that doesn't change the behavior.

It also does not matter how close to the AP I am - the timeout/disconnect happens even if I place the laptop near the router (100% signal). The behavior stays the same, good transfer speed which then seemingly decays over time.

I do have the nohwcrypt=1 in module options (ath5k.conf) and the module is loaded as such:

sudo modprobe -v ath5k
insmod /lib/modules/3.14.0-4-ARCH/kernel/net/wireless/cfg80211.ko.gz 
insmod /lib/modules/3.14.0-4-ARCH/kernel/net/mac80211/mac80211.ko.gz 
insmod /lib/modules/3.14.0-4-ARCH/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath.ko.gz 
insmod /lib/modules/3.14.0-4-ARCH/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath5k/ath5k.ko.gz nohwcrypt=1

I added it in an attempt to fix the speed drop/disconnect, and it did seem to help with the speed at least. Disconnect still happens though.

Any idea what I could do to fix that? I've seen similar threads, but all of them seem to either get random disconnects or fail to connect to the WLAN right away. Do tell me if you need me to provide more information.

Last edited by Soukyuu (2014-04-12 17:24:13)

ewaller · 2014-04-12 18:07:11

Ensure you've but one thing trying to control your network.
Please post the output of systemctl --type=service --no-pager

Soukyuu · 2014-04-12 19:00:53

Here you go:

UNIT                                                LOAD   ACTIVE SUB     DESCRIPTION
acpid.service                                       loaded active running ACPI event daemon
dbus.service                                        loaded active running D-Bus System Message Bus
kmod-static-nodes.service                           loaded active exited  Create list of required static device nodes for the
lxdm.service                                        loaded active running LXDE Display Manager
polkit.service                                      loaded active running Authorization Manager
systemd-backlight@backlight:acpi_video0.service     loaded active exited  Load/Save Screen Backlight Brightness of backlight:
systemd-backlight@backlight:toshiba.service         loaded active exited  Load/Save Screen Backlight Brightness of backlight:
systemd-fsck@dev-disk-by\x2duuid-60588968\x2dce04\x2d4204\x2d994c\x2d956e37a05af9.service loaded active exited  File System Check on /dev/disk/by-uuid/60588968-ce0
systemd-journald.service                            loaded active running Journal Service
systemd-logind.service                              loaded active running Login Service
systemd-random-seed.service                         loaded active exited  Load/Save Random Seed
systemd-remount-fs.service                          loaded active exited  Remount Root and Kernel File Systems
systemd-rfkill@rfkill0.service                      loaded active exited  Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status of rfkill0
systemd-rfkill@rfkill1.service                      loaded active exited  Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status of rfkill1
systemd-rfkill@rfkill2.service                      loaded active exited  Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status of rfkill2
systemd-sysctl.service                              loaded active exited  Apply Kernel Variables
systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev.service                  loaded active exited  Create Static Device Nodes in /dev
systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service                      loaded active exited  Create Volatile Files and Directories
systemd-udev-trigger.service                        loaded active exited  udev Coldplug all Devices
systemd-udevd.service                               loaded active running udev Kernel Device Manager
systemd-update-utmp.service                         loaded active exited  Update UTMP about System Boot/Shutdown
systemd-user-sessions.service                       loaded active exited  Permit User Sessions
systemd-vconsole-setup.service                      loaded active exited  Setup Virtual Console
udisks2.service                                     loaded active running Disk Manager
user@1000.service                                   loaded active running User Manager for UID 1000
wicd.service                                        loaded active running Wicd a wireless and wired network manager for Linux

LOAD   = Reflects whether the unit definition was properly loaded.
ACTIVE = The high-level unit activation state, i.e. generalization of SUB.
SUB    = The low-level unit activation state, values depend on unit type.

26 loaded units listed. Pass --all to see loaded but inactive units, too.
To show all installed unit files use 'systemctl list-unit-files'.

ewaller · 2014-04-12 19:45:43

Looks reasonable. I see you are using wicd to control your wireless and nothing else is enabled that might cause a conflict.
I know that Atheros causes some issue, but I have never encountered one of those interfaces myself. I know there are a few threads on the Atheros here on the forums.

Soukyuu · 2014-04-13 17:32:40

I'm starting to lean towards it being a hardware problem. The WLAN card gets uncomfortably hot during the transfer, I can barely hold my finger on the chip without getting burnt. In fact, I even thought it was the CPU getting so hot you can't safely leave your hand on the palmrest until I opened the laptop. I saw there is a way to enable power saving on WLAN cards here and I executed the steps, but I don't see a difference. Maybe the card is overheating without powersaving for some reason? I will set up windows on the machine to test it, but I don't remember the palmrest getting this hot back when I was running winXP on it =/

I'm running the ath5k driver atm because it is considered more up-to-date, is there anything the madwifi driver did better than ath5k?

edit: I don't like what I'm reading here. Unless I misunderstand, at least some part of the power saving functions are disabled on current versions? Does that mean I'd have to get the source, enable them and build my own version?

Last edited by Soukyuu (2014-04-13 17:39:03)

ewaller · 2014-04-13 23:00:13

You can probably touch a 50C component indefinitely, 60C for a couple seconds, 70C will burn the skin. Add about 20C from the surface temperature to the junction temperature, and I would guess that your part is probably running at T(junction) around 85C. That is getting near the top end (Something on the order of 100C)

If you think it is a thermal issue, and you have access to the part, try attaching a heat sink. You can get a head sink from Digikey complete with thermal tape for ~USD$ 5

Note, there are other sources of mail order heat sinks. This was an example. I have absolutely no affiliation with Digikey.

Soukyuu · 2014-04-14 14:29:52

According to your description, I'd say it's around 50-60°C (so about 70-80°C internally). I can definitely hold a finger on it longer than a couple of seconds, but it gets progressively hotter and after about a minute I start to get a burning sensation. The temperature doesn't seem to be a factor, though, as it's running as hot on windows.

I have installed winXP on the laptop again (backing up my arch installation) and I am able to transfer an 8GB file without any disconnects. So the issue is definitely with the ath5k driver =/
I will try using ndiswrapper and loading the windows drivers instead, but I don't see my device listed as "(probably) working", so chances are no one tried. At least it's also not in the ndiswrapper's "not working" list either.

Speaking of ath5k, any idea how I could improve stability with it? I also see that the windows driver is about twice as fast, without the quality of connection dropping from the 54Mbps level, unlike with ath5k where it drops to 5-22Mbps level most of the time.

edit2: I have found a thread with a similar issue, and apparently, the issue could be solved by downgrading wpa_supplicant to 2.0.4
I have looked at the wiki, and the only way to downgrade to a previous package version seems to be via the cache. I cannot do this because I only recently installed arch on this machine, so the only version of wpa_supplicant I have is 2.1-3. What other options do I have?

Last edited by Soukyuu (2014-04-14 17:29:01)

Soukyuu · 2014-04-19 16:53:00

I have tried the 2.0 version of wpa_supplicant now using the Arch Rollback Machine. The connection seemed stable for a longer period, but it still disconnects. It was also still much slower than the windows driver.

Now, I'm running the windows driver (netathw from here) via ndiswrapper (from AUR) and the speed is much higher. No disconnects, and doesn't seem to be as hot.

The only thing that is bothering me is that arch somehow names the interface enp1s5 instead of wlp1s5 as ath5k did, and I can't check the features it supports anymore with iw list. Any idea how to persuade arch to see it as a wlan device? Doing iwconfig does show wireless extensions.

Arch Linux

#1 2014-04-12 17:22:34

WLAN disconnects after transferring 150Mb+ of data (smb/inet)

#2 2014-04-12 18:07:11

Re: WLAN disconnects after transferring 150Mb+ of data (smb/inet)

#3 2014-04-12 19:00:53

Re: WLAN disconnects after transferring 150Mb+ of data (smb/inet)

#4 2014-04-12 19:45:43

Re: WLAN disconnects after transferring 150Mb+ of data (smb/inet)

#5 2014-04-13 17:32:40

Re: WLAN disconnects after transferring 150Mb+ of data (smb/inet)

#6 2014-04-13 23:00:13

Re: WLAN disconnects after transferring 150Mb+ of data (smb/inet)

#7 2014-04-14 14:29:52

Re: WLAN disconnects after transferring 150Mb+ of data (smb/inet)

#8 2014-04-19 16:53:00

Re: WLAN disconnects after transferring 150Mb+ of data (smb/inet)

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