Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

timfayz · 2016-04-22 09:50:11

I'm trying to figure out what the reason of so slow speed on my wi-fi. I have Windows 8 installed alongside with the Arch. And I can say for sure that at Windows the speed is much much higher. When switch to Arch and start surfing I feel like my internet speed is clipped half! I use Arch quite recently and many things don't know (especially networking). So here are the steps of how I usually connect to the internet:

cat wpa.conf
network={
	ssid="Home"
	#psk="pass"
	psk=05a9b845b68a55291d1d5b94e50b9b1811706b0746d89e67f581cc5f7b88b758
}
sudo wpa_supplicant -B -iwlp10s0b1 -cwpa.conf
sudo dhcpcd wlp10s0b1

There are card details:

iwconfig (after connection to internet)
wlp10s0b1  IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"Home"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: E0:CB:4E:ED:8F:48   
          Bit Rate=28.9 Mb/s   Tx-Power=19 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=70/70  Signal level=-39 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:2168  Invalid misc:12   Missed beacon:0

lspci -k
...
0a:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11bgn Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 1795
	Kernel driver in use: bcma-pci-bridge
	Kernel modules: bcma

The output of dmesg:

[   12.123632] bcma: bus0: Found chip with id 0x4313, rev 0x01 and package 0x08
[   12.123663] bcma: bus0: Core 0 found: ChipCommon (manuf 0x4BF, id 0x800, rev 0x24, class 0x0)
[   12.123689] bcma: bus0: Core 1 found: IEEE 802.11 (manuf 0x4BF, id 0x812, rev 0x18, class 0x0)
[   12.123741] bcma: bus0: Core 2 found: PCIe (manuf 0x4BF, id 0x820, rev 0x11, class 0x0)
[   12.135277] bcma: bus0: Bus registered
[   13.610907] b43: probe of bcma0:1 failed with error -524
[   13.695776] brcmsmac bcma0:1: mfg 4bf core 812 rev 24 class 0 irq 19
[   13.928846] brcmsmac bcma0:1 wlp10s0b1: renamed from wlan0
[  104.737832] brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: qos enabled: false (implement)
[  104.737847] brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_config: change power-save mode: false (implement)
[  448.818973] brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcmsmac: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: associated
[  448.818982] brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: qos enabled: true (implement)
[  449.080594] brcmsmac bcma0:1: wl0: brcms_c_d11hdrs_mac80211:  txop exceeded phylen 159/256 dur 1778/1504
[  449.085704] brcmsmac bcma0:1: wl0: brcms_c_d11hdrs_mac80211:  txop exceeded phylen 137/256 dur 1602/1504
[  528.990763] brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: arp filtering: 1 addresses (implement)
[  688.637057] brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: arp filtering: 0 addresses (implement)
[  698.117592] brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: arp filtering: 1 addresses (implement)
[  792.648850] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[  792.668819] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[  792.825554] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 1114.888310] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 1114.918308] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 1240.631071] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 2282.871425] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 2282.884764] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able

Can anyone help to solve the problem?

Last edited by timfayz (2016-04-22 10:30:27)

JohnBobSmith · 2016-04-22 15:42:58

AFAIK there is nothing useful in that dmesg output. Perhaps it would be better if you could post all of it to clbin like so:

dmesg | curl -F 'clbin=<-' https://clbin.com

This will give you a URL, post that here. Generally speaking is a good idea to paste entire errors/logs/etc.

EDIT: Added code tags to avoid messy formatting.

Last edited by JohnBobSmith (2016-04-22 15:45:00)

timfayz · 2016-04-22 15:47:50

Here is it: https://clbin.com/enBeH
or http://paste.ubuntu.com/15983912/

Last edited by timfayz (2016-04-22 15:48:50)

JohnBobSmith · 2016-04-22 16:00:20

The only thing out of the ordinary AFAIK in the dmesg is this:

[16931.989808] dhcpcd[29003]: segfault at 100ca ip 00000000004064c7 sp 00007ffcf046fb50 error 4 in dhcpcd[400000+43000]

DHCPCD Segfaulted?? O_o. This is highly unlikely to be the cause of your issues, unless it happens often, but that was the only entry in there. And I'm not a dmesg interpreter expert. So, we move on to other performance things. The first thing we need to know is, since you are using wifi, what your environement looks like. Things like:

-How many obstructions between router and adapter?
-What wireless channel are you using?
-2.4Ghz or 5Ghz?
-Wireless mode. B? G? N?

I'm not familiar with that card, but it might be worth looking into the driver as the culprit. There is also this: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/broadcom_wireless.

timfayz · 2016-04-22 16:14:21

Isn't it what you're asking for?

wlp10s0b1  IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"Home"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: E0:CB:4E:ED:8F:48   
          Bit Rate=28.9 Mb/s   Tx-Power=19 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=70/70  Signal level=-39 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:2168  Invalid misc:12   Missed beacon:0

Hence IEEE 802.11bgn, Frequency: 2.412 GHz. The router's wireless mode is set up to auto. I don't know how to check channel, but iw dev gave me the following: channel 1 (2412 MHz). I'm not network expert, so when you say "check this property", could you please provide the info how to make it .

The are only two obstructions - concrete wall with 19cm thick and ~2-3m.

Last edited by timfayz (2016-04-22 16:16:43)

nartes · 2016-04-22 22:05:28

Please provide journald logs.
Try to perform these steps:
- connect/disconnect to/from a router
- suspend on/off
- change router if it's possible
I had the same troubles few days ago. Now they are gone for some reason.
By the way my wifi card is the same, BCM4313.

JohnBobSmith · 2016-04-23 00:30:00

timfayz wrote:

Isn't it what you're asking for?
...
The are only two obstructions - concrete wall with 19cm thick and ~2-3m.

To the first point: Doh! I had totally missed that. Sorry. For the second point, if concrete is blocking the router, that is a very serious obstruction as far as I'm concerned. Especially if it's thick. The very first thing to try is moving your device into a clearer line of sight with the router, though it doesn't necessarily have to be closer to the router. Any metal objects, or other electrical objects like a fridge or having the router placed beyond a monitor will also kill performance. Try moving as much stuff around that way if you can, and record the performance change(s) if any.

Last edited by JohnBobSmith (2016-04-23 00:31:15)

Aro · 2016-04-23 09:45:10

I have the same issue using a different network card in my laptop.
Installed Arch on it for the first time last night. Was using Fedora and OpenSuse before without wifi-problems.

03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Wireless-N 2230 (rev c4)
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Centrino Wireless-N 2230 BGN
	Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
	Kernel modules: iwlwifi

3: wlp3s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 84:a6:c8:d4:a0:12 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.0.110/24 brd 192.168.0.255 scope global dynamic wlp3s0
       valid_lft 4355sec preferred_lft 4355sec
    inet6 fe80::86a6:c8ff:fed4:a012/64 scope link 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

Could this be a kernel issue?

I installed cinnamon and i'm using the networkmanager to connect to my network.
I even sometimes fail to connect to pacman - mirrors while updating or installing packages, so this is extremly annoying.

PS: If this is too much thread-hijacking i can start a own one if you guys want to.

nartes · 2016-04-23 17:35:29

I do experience the same problem, again will say with the same wifi card bcm4313. And it is not connected with any obstructions. Because i use laptop few centimeters from router. And it doesn't depend on router. I tried to run linux-lts 4.4.8-1 and it works! So it is something with a kernel update, certainly.

Short term solution:
- use linux-lts or rollback current kernel version

Aro · 2016-04-28 17:47:38

Linux-lts didn't fix it for me

Also there are multiple threads right now about bad wifi-performance.

Do you think this could all have the same issue?
Should we merge the threads?

timfayz · 2016-06-01 12:20:44

Sorry for such a long feedback. I have a tough time of preparing my Master Thesis

And it is not connected with any obstructions. Because i use laptop few centimeters from router.

Absolutely the same. Also, I've tested at the same place using Windows - and it shows ultimate speed comparing to Arch. @JohnBobSmith, so it has nothing to do with physical obstacles.

@Aro if you want to merge the threads and it may change something - you're welcome!

Short term solution:
- use linux-lts or rollback current kernel version

Could you please be more specific, because I've never used this package. Some instructions/steps will be useful.

Any news?

Aro · 2016-06-02 19:42:57

To change to linux-lts:

install linux-lts:
sudo pacman -S linux-lts

Then i edited my syslinux bootloader to use linux-lts instead of linux. (Not sure if really necessary, but it didn't do any damage at least)

Therefore:
sudo nano /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg

And change the line:

INITRD ../initramfs-linux.img

to

INITRD ../initramfs-linux-lts.img

I don't know how it works in grub, but should be similiar.
try 'uname -a' to check what kernel you are using

In the end the problem solved itself by now.

So I'm sorry I can't help you any further since I know how frustrating it was.
Good luck.

matersci · 2016-09-17 19:01:59

I have exactly the same problem. My laptop has a BCM4313 and it's just a few cm from the router.
Since an update my wifi speed is very low (maximum 350 KB/s). If I reboot to windows I can download with the maximum speed, ~MB/sec...

I already tried linux-lts 4.4.21 but exactly the same...

It's very strange that we have the same problem with our card (BCM4313) but it didn't occur at the same time for everyone. For me it started maybe 20 days ago, but timfayz reported this months ago, when I had no problem.

fedebyes · 2016-09-21 22:43:01

Same here, I would try downgrading kernel, but I hope there is a fix for that.

With Android hotspot there is no connection, slow with my college wifi, and ok at my home wifi. I cannot understand!

matersci · 2016-09-22 09:00:37

Try to downgrade kernel but I don't know if this will really help.
As I said some people had this problem months before me (a lot of kernel versions before) and even using lts didn't help.

Tromzy · 2016-09-27 08:42:39

matersci wrote:

I have exactly the same problem. My laptop has a BCM4313 and it's just a few cm from the router.
Since an update my wifi speed is very low (maximum 350 KB/s). If I reboot to windows I can download with the maximum speed, ~MB/sec...
I already tried linux-lts 4.4.21 but exactly the same...

It's very strange that we have the same problem with our card (BCM4313) but it didn't occur at the same time for everyone. For me it started maybe 20 days ago, but timfayz reported this months ago, when I had no problem.

i have the exact same problem on my girlfriend's laptop with the same Broadcom chip (BCM4313), Wifi became slow since a few weeks for no apparent reason ; on a LiveCD ubuntu it is fast, on Ethernet it is fast... And downgrading to an LTS kernel does not help.

Chazza · 2016-09-27 09:57:30

I've experienced exactly the same problem as described above - also with the 4313 chip. Ethernet speeds are normal but WiFi speeds are unacceptably slow and this is a recent development (it started for me some time in the last month). Switching to the broadcom-wl driver solved it: broadcom-wl or broadcom-wl-dkms

Last edited by Chazza (2016-09-27 15:14:14)

jeremy31 · 2016-09-27 10:14:11

Timfayz, you might need to blacklist b43 as it may cause issues with brcmsmac

matersci · 2016-09-29 20:17:11

I also tried broadcom-wl-dkms and it works. I can download full speed again

clearmartin · 2016-11-17 11:55:01

Exactly the same problem here with BCM4313. In the past when it started, it helped to downgrade the networkmanager (and libnm-glib) to 1.2.2-2. Then after some time I also had to start downgrading wpa_supplicant to 1:2.5-3. Now problem is here again and I "fixed" it by downgrading the kernel to 4.7.6-1. So by now I have full wi-fi speed with brcmsmac only when downgraded to:
networkmanager 1.2.2-2
libnm-glib 1.2.2-2
wpa_supplicant 1:2.5-3
linux 4.7.6-1

Intrestingly, before I was successful to have full wifi speed with connecting by netctl. I didn't try that now with the 4.8 kernel. I've also asked on networkmanager bugzilla (https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=772722) but possible causes like randomized mac address or powersave features of nm 1.4 was not the cause either.

To me it looks like there is something new wanted from the driver, possibly newer encryption (relation to wpa_supplicant), and the driver does implement it but badly. This is a wild guess though.

Do somebody have and idea where should I report it? To the kernel guys?

nartes · 2016-11-17 13:41:30

Hi, clearmartin, at this moment I can't myself reproduce the problem on the following configuration. Yet before I've experienced one with older kernel.

sergei_asus% uname -a
Linux sergei_asus 4.8.6-1-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Mon Oct 31 18:51:30 CET 2016 x86_64 GNU/Linux

sergei_asus% lspci -vk | grep -C 6 4313
lspci: Unable to load libkmod resources: error -12
00:18.6 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 5
        Flags: fast devsel

00:18.7 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 7
        Flags: fast devsel

01:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11bgn Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)
        Subsystem: AzureWave Device 2047
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
        Memory at fea00000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
        Capabilities: <access denied>
        Kernel driver in use: bcma-pci-bridge

sergei_asus% yaourt -Qi wpa_supplicant
Name            : wpa_supplicant
Version         : 1:2.6-2
Description     : A utility providing key negotiation for WPA wireless networks
Architecture    : x86_64
URL             : http://hostap.epitest.fi/wpa_supplicant
Licenses        : GPL
Groups          : None
Provides        : None
Depends On      : openssl  libdbus  readline  libnl
Optional Deps   : wpa_supplicant_gui: wpa_gui program [installed]
Required By     : networkmanager  wpa_supplicant_gui
Optional For    : netctl
Conflicts With  : None
Replaces        : None
Installed Size  : 2.01 MiB
Packager        : Bartłomiej Piotrowski <bpiotrowski@archlinux.org>
Build Date      : Sun 06 Nov 2016 10:02:38 PM +03
Install Date    : Mon 14 Nov 2016 04:37:11 PM +03
Install Reason  : Installed as a dependency for another package
Install Script  : No
Validated By    : Signature

sergei_asus% yaourt -Qi networkmanager
Name            : networkmanager
Version         : 1.4.2-2
Description     : Network connection manager and user applications
Architecture    : x86_64
URL             : https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/NetworkManager
Licenses        : GPL2  LGPL2.1
Groups          : None
Provides        : None
Depends On      : libnm-glib  iproute2  polkit  wpa_supplicant  libsoup  libmm-glib  libnewt  libndp  libteam
Optional Deps   : dnsmasq: connection sharing [installed]
                  bluez: Bluetooth support [installed]
                  openresolv: resolvconf support [installed]
                  ppp: dialup connection support
                  rp-pppoe: ADSL support
                  dhclient: External DHCP client [installed]
                  modemmanager: cellular network support
Required By     : proxydriver
Optional For    : firefox  libproxy
Conflicts With  : None
Replaces        : None
Installed Size  : 18.90 MiB
Packager        : Bartlomiej Piotrowski <bpiotrowski@archlinux.org>
Build Date      : Mon 07 Nov 2016 10:09:57 PM +03
Install Date    : Mon 14 Nov 2016 04:37:16 PM +03
Install Reason  : Installed as a dependency for another package
Install Script  : No
Validated By    : Signature

Last edited by nartes (2016-11-17 13:45:10)

Dreamer_r · 2017-01-09 09:01:04

I had the same problem. Switching to broadcom-wl helped me too.

UPD:
Brcmsmac dmesg output: http://pastebin.com/xhtA4khu

Last edited by Dreamer_r (2017-01-30 17:07:06)

clearmartin · 2017-01-19 21:59:30

Just an update for those still wanting to use the fully open source brcmsmac driver. I am able to have full speed wi-fi with latest kernel (4.8.13-1), wpa_supplicant (1:2.6-4) and downgraded NetworkManager to version lower then 1.4.0 (in my case 1.2.2-2). Full speed wi-fi is also possible using netctl.

Arch Linux

#1 2016-04-22 09:50:11

Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#2 2016-04-22 15:42:58

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#3 2016-04-22 15:47:50

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#4 2016-04-22 16:00:20

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#5 2016-04-22 16:14:21

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#6 2016-04-22 22:05:28

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#7 2016-04-23 00:30:00

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#8 2016-04-23 09:45:10

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#9 2016-04-23 17:35:29

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#10 2016-04-28 17:47:38

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#11 2016-06-01 12:20:44

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#12 2016-06-02 19:42:57

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#13 2016-09-17 19:01:59

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#14 2016-09-21 22:43:01

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#15 2016-09-22 09:00:37

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#16 2016-09-27 08:42:39

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#17 2016-09-27 09:57:30

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#18 2016-09-27 10:14:11

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#19 2016-09-29 20:17:11

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#20 2016-11-17 11:55:01

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#21 2016-11-17 13:41:30

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#22 2017-01-09 09:01:04

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

#23 2017-01-19 21:59:30

Re: Slow wi-fi speed/connection. Broadcom BCM4313.

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