WiFi does not work but it also does

bumptop · 2021-12-21 07:54:07

Hi! I have recently installed Arch Linux after trying Windows 11 which I did not enjoy too much. Most of the applications I use have native Linux versions these days and I used Ubuntu years ago, but Ubuntu seems more sluggish these days so why not try Arch.

I tried installing using a usb wifi adapter which failed at first. The tp-link Archer T2U V3 did not show up in the device list so no luck there. I couldn't really find a solution but I also had this older tp-link TL-WN821N which instantly worked. Connected using iwctl and proceeded with the installation.

After installation and loading my KDE desktop problems started. Every few seconds the adapter would disconnect, disappear/deactive and come back again. I did not manage to find a working solution and was preparing to install some wired network or buy a different adapter. Meanwhile I had put back in the T2U adapter and this somehow started to work. Sometimes it works a couple of minutes after boot, where it first tries to connect, fails/disconnects/deactivates, reconnects and works without problems. If it does not it appears to help to restart the NetworkManager and wpa_supplicant.

Now what I understand from the wiki and several forum posts that these should not be used at the same time as they start fighting over who gets to manage the wifi adapter. Makes sense given the connecting/disconnecting behavior. However I cannot get wifi to work if I disable either one of them. If wifi does not work after boot, I do manage to get it working again after restarting both the NetworkManager and wpa_supplicant services. Once the wifi is up and running it stays that way until a reboot.

I feel like I'm pretty close but I'm missing some details. How can I make the wifi adapter work directly after boot?

V1del · 2021-12-21 08:53:27

You normally only need to have NetworkManager enabled as that will invoke wpa_supplicant as needed and a "reconnection cycle" should be as simple as trying to connect again through your widget in the panel.. However it's not entirely clear what appears/disappears means exactly. Check/post the output of a

sudo journalctl -b

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/List_o … n_services while going through such a cycle. In any case, realtek chipsets are known for a variety of weird bugs so you might not get around this "properly" I'm assuming you can enforce a cycle by reloading the relevant kernel module with modprobe.

bumptop · 2021-12-21 14:57:58

V1del wrote:

You normally only need to have NetworkManager enabled as that will invoke wpa_supplicant as needed and a "reconnection cycle" should be as simple as trying to connect again through your widget in the panel.. However it's not entirely clear what appears/disappears means exactly.

It means the connection appears to be made, immediately terminated and then the usb device is 'deactivated' according to the popup.

I must have made a mistake though. I believed I already tried disabling wpa_supplicant but apparently I did not. It is disabled now and everything works directly after booting. It does not have an instant connection like it does on windows but, it does work without any extra effort. Thanks for your help.

V1del · 2021-12-21 15:08:23

That would be in line with what's expected as the presence of both networkmanager and the wpa_supplicant service will lead to the suggested conflict happening.

If this is resolved please mark it as such by editing the title and prepending [SOLVED] or so in your first post of the thread.

Arch Linux

#1 2021-12-21 07:54:07

WiFi does not work but it also does

#2 2021-12-21 08:53:27

Re: WiFi does not work but it also does

#3 2021-12-21 14:57:58

Re: WiFi does not work but it also does

#4 2021-12-21 15:08:23

Re: WiFi does not work but it also does

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