Intel wifi card troubles

[harune1 (J D)]

Hello,

I’ve been trying Fedora (and Linux in general) for about 3 weeks now. Everything works great so far except my wifi card.

When I play online games I always get high ping shortly followed by disconnect.

I tried a couple of things I found on the internet but nothing seems to work. What I did so far:

lspci

21:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX210/AX211/AX411 160MHz (rev 1a)
	DeviceName: Broadcom 5762
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX210 160MHz
	Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx+
	Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx-
	Latency: 0, Cache Line Size: 64 bytes
	Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 34
	IOMMU group: 17
	Region 0: Memory at fc900000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
	Kernel modules: iwlwifi

I checked dmesg with following output:

[   12.031700] wlo1: authenticate with 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e
[   12.034383] wlo1: send auth to 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e (try 1/3)
[   12.095876] wlo1: authenticated
[   12.095995] wlo1: associate with 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e (try 1/3)
[   12.098689] wlo1: RX AssocResp from 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=3)
[   12.103274] wlo1: associated
[   12.146490] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlo1: link becomes ready
[   12.148175] wlo1: Limiting TX power to 27 (30 - 3) dBm as advertised by 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e

because of [12.148175] wlo1: Limiting TX power to 27 (30 - 3) dBm as advertised by 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e I thought it was wifi card power management

So I tried to turn it off with:

sudo touch nano /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/00-wifi-powersave.conf

[connection]
wifi.powersave = 2

sudo chmod 755 /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/00-wifi-powersave.conf && sudo ip link set wlo1 mode default
sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager.service

I am also not really sure if the .conf name matters. On google I also found default-wifi-powersave-on.conf wifi-powersave-off.conf, but I just went with 00-wifi-powersave.conf

Just in case I also ran:

sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /etc/grub2.cfg

sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /etc/grub2-efi.cfg 

sudo ip link show

3: wlo1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP mode DORMANT group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 84:5c:f3:51:95:eb brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    altname wlp33s0

Sadly the problem seems to persist. Does anyone has any idea what it could be?
Thanks in advance!

[augenauf (Flo)]

@harune1

27 (30 - 3) dBm as advertised by 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e

Who or what is 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e? This seems to be your router or access point (AP)? Could well be that your wireless AP is limiting TX power. It’s usually better when your client doesn’t scream at the AP because the AP won’t hear other clients. Btw, 27dB signal strength is not little.

@harune1

When I play online games I always get high ping shortly followed by disconnect.

Are you near two wireless access points? Could it be your client switching from one to another?
Are you far away from the AP?

Forgot to mention, I don’t necessarily think that the TX power limit is related to the dropouts. It may well be a driver/firmware issue.

[harune1 (J D)]

Hello! Thanks for your reply.

@augenauf

Who or what is 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e? This seems to be your router or access point (AP)? Could well be that your wireless AP is limiting TX power. It’s usually better when your client doesn’t scream at the AP because the AP won’t hear other clients. Btw, 27dB signal strength is not little.

Yes, 1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e is my router.

@augenauf

Are you near two wireless access points? Could it be your client switching from one to another?
Are you far away from the AP?

It is the only one in the house, so it’s the only access point around here. But to be sure I even assigned the BSSID in the wifi settings to connect only to that address.
It’s not far, just over the wall. Maybe about 4 to 5 meters.

@augenauf

Forgot to mention, I don’t necessarily think that the TX power limit is related to the dropouts. It may well be a driver/firmware issue.

I think so too, but it was the only clue I could find.

I also forgot to mention that it doesn’t happen in windows. Seems to be either Fedora or Linux problem in general.

Do you have any suggestions how to troubleshoot? dmesg was sadly my only real idea.

I also tried systemctl status systemd-networkd.service

the output was:

● systemd-networkd.service - Network Configuration
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/systemd-networkd.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
    Drop-In: /usr/lib/systemd/system/service.d
             └─10-timeout-abort.conf
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2023-07-26 13:40:52 CEST; 23min ago
TriggeredBy: ● systemd-networkd.socket
       Docs: man:systemd-networkd.service(8)
             man:org.freedesktop.network1(5)
   Main PID: 1079 (systemd-network)
     Status: "Processing requests..."
      Tasks: 1 (limit: 19039)
     Memory: 3.2M
        CPU: 32ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/systemd-networkd.service
             └─1079 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-networkd

Jul 26 13:40:52 fedora systemd[1]: Started systemd-networkd.service - Network Configuration.
Jul 26 13:40:52 fedora systemd-networkd[1079]: enp34s0: Link UP
Jul 26 13:40:52 fedora systemd-networkd[1079]: wlo1: Link UP
Jul 26 13:40:52 fedora systemd-networkd[1079]: wlo1: Link DOWN
Jul 26 13:40:52 fedora systemd-networkd[1079]: wlo1: Link UP
Jul 26 13:40:56 fedora systemd-networkd[1079]: wlo1: Link DOWN
Jul 26 13:40:56 fedora systemd-networkd[1079]: wlo1: Link UP
Jul 26 13:40:56 fedora systemd-networkd[1079]: wlo1: Connected WiFi access point: FRITZ!Box 6660-5 Cable JS (1c:ed:6f:d2:8d:8e)
Jul 26 13:40:56 fedora systemd-networkd[1079]: wlo1: Gained carrier
Jul 26 13:40:57 fedora systemd-networkd[1079]: wlo1: Gained IPv6LL

But I’m not even sure if it’s related to the disconnects

[jakfrost (Stephen Douglas Snow)]

Hello @harune1 ,
Out of curiosity, what does nmcli show, then what does nmcli <device> show give?

[harune1 (J D)]

Hello!

nmcli

[jd@fedora ~]$ nmcli
wlo1: connected to FRITZ!Box 6660-5 Cable JS
        "Intel 6 AX210/AX211/AX411 160MHz"
        wifi (iwlwifi), 84:5C:F3:51:95:EB, hw, mtu 1500
        ip4 default
        inet4 192.168.178.28/24
        route4 192.168.178.0/24 metric 600
        route4 default via 192.168.178.1 metric 600

lo: connected (externally) to lo
        "lo"
        loopback (unknown), 00:00:00:00:00:00, sw, mtu 65536
        inet4 127.0.0.1/8
        inet6 ::1/128

p2p-dev-wlo1: disconnected
        "p2p-dev-wlo1"
        wifi-p2p, hw

enp34s0: unavailable
        "Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411"
        ethernet (r8169), 00:D8:61:D5:A3:75, hw, mtu 1500

nmcli device show

GENERAL.DEVICE:                         wlo1
GENERAL.TYPE:                           wifi
GENERAL.HWADDR:                         84:5C:F3:51:95:EB
GENERAL.MTU:                            1500
GENERAL.STATE:                          100 (connected)
GENERAL.CONNECTION:                     FRITZ!Box 6660-5 Cable JS
GENERAL.CON-PATH:                       /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/ActiveConnection/2
IP4.ADDRESS[1]:                         192.168.178.28/24
IP4.GATEWAY:                            192.168.178.1
IP4.ROUTE[1]:                           dst = 192.168.178.0/24, nh = 0.0.0.0, mt = 600
IP4.ROUTE[2]:                           dst = 0.0.0.0/0, nh = 192.168.178.1, mt = 600
IP4.DNS[1]:                             192.168.178.1
IP4.DOMAIN[1]:                          fritz.box
IP6.GATEWAY:                            --

GENERAL.DEVICE:                         lo
GENERAL.TYPE:                           loopback
GENERAL.HWADDR:                         00:00:00:00:00:00
GENERAL.MTU:                            65536
GENERAL.STATE:                          100 (connected (externally))
GENERAL.CONNECTION:                     lo
GENERAL.CON-PATH:                       /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/ActiveConnection/1
IP4.ADDRESS[1]:                         127.0.0.1/8

[computersavvy (Jeff V)]

I also would be interested in what lspci -nnk would show for that device. These lines in that output above seem a bit strange.

@harune1

21:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX210/AX211/AX411 160MHz (rev 1a)
	DeviceName: Broadcom 5762
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX210 160MHz

Your output does not show any chipset information which the -nnk should provide.

[harune1 (J D)]

Hello!

lspci -nnk

21:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX210/AX211/AX411 160MHz [8086:2725] (rev 1a)
	DeviceName: Broadcom 5762
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX210 160MHz [8086:0024]
	Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
	Kernel modules: iwlwifi

[computersavvy (Jeff V)]

There is an earlier reference to that exact chipset and problems reported.

Low Wifi Speed after Installing Fedora - Intel 6E AX211

Heya y’all, a few weeks ago I made the switch to dual boot fedora and windows 11, and for the most part it’s been a fun experience, except for the wifi. On my (still active) windows install, my phone, and my tablet, speedtest.net records about 100-200 Mbps on the same wifi within inches of each other, but on fedora I am lucky to get over 5 Mbps download and 2 Mbps upload. I am on fedora 37, Kernel 6.1.12-200.fc37.x86_64, this has been happening since I first installed, with I believe 6.1.9 or 6.…

I have seen other notes about problems with the AX211 chipset.

[harune1 (J D)]

Well, that’s really unfortunate.
I also saw that post, but I tought that their card being Intel 6E AX211 and mine 6 AX210 would be a different chipset.

But to be honest, I tried Ubuntu sometime two years ago and I would not get any connection at all with the same card. So I think the problem persists in Linux still.

Thank you very much for your trouble!

Kind regards

[computersavvy (Jeff V)]

Please be aware that even with a laptop most wifi cards can be easily replaced. The intel AX210NGW card works perfectly for me even in my desktop that has an M.2 wifi connector.

Amazon.com: AX210NGW WiFi Card, WiFi 6E M.2 laptop Wireless Card, 5400Mbps...

I would probably suggest that one purchase the replacement (< $30 from amazon) and swap the cards for better connectivity and well known support with fedora. An alternative would be to purchase a supported wifi dongle and use that instead of the internal card.

[gnwiii (George N. White III)]

@harune1

I t[h]ought that their card being Intel 6E AX211 and mine 6 AX210 would be a different chipset.

Yes: Kernel.org iwlwifi support says “6E AX211” and “6E AX210” devices are supported, but not “6 AX211” and the Linux Hardware Database has no records for 8086:0024 device ID.