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RTL8723BE weak signal strength with 4.4.0 or rtlwifi_new #88
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and others
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This is a well-known problem and has been discussed in several issues in this repo. Your vendor, which you did not name, saved money by only including a single antenna on this laptop. They should have flashed the EEPROM to indicate which connector of two on the device is being used. They failed to do that. You have two options:
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Realtek just informed me that the routine to select the connected antenna automatically has been delayed, but they supplied a corrected routine to fix the "ant_sel" module parameter. To access this new code, use the "rock.new_btcoex" branch and load the module with the "ant_sel=Y" option, where Y is 1 or 2. |
damocles-git
commented
Jan 16, 2016
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Hello lwfinger, thank you for aswering, the laptop is a HP 13,3'' Pavilion x360 13-s100ns. I'm testing this branch and indeed the ant_sel parameter is available but it makes not diference in the signal strength. with ant_sel=1 and over one meter away from the AP hp ~ # for f in /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/*; do echo -n "$f: " ; cat "$f" ; done
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/ant_sel: 1
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/debug: 1
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/disable_watchdog: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/fwlps: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/ips: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/msi: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/swenc: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/swlps: N
hp ~ # iwconfig wlan-01
wlan-01 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"olimpo"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437 GHz Access Point: A0:A8:CD:A7:1B:4C
Bit Rate=1 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry short limit:7 RTS thr=2347 B Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=34/70 Signal level=-76 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:42 Missed beacon:0
with ant_sel=2 and over one meter away from the AP hp ~ # for f in /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/*; do echo -n "$f: " ; cat "$f" ; done
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/ant_sel: 2
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/debug: 1
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/disable_watchdog: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/fwlps: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/ips: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/msi: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/swenc: N
/sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/swlps: N
hp ~ # iwconfig wlan-01
wlan-01 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"olimpo"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437 GHz Access Point: A0:A8:CD:A7:1B:4C
Bit Rate=1 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry short limit:7 RTS thr=2347 B Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=30/70 Signal level=-80 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:34 Missed beacon:0
I still have a few days before the return period ends. Meanwhile. I can prove all the patches you have. |
damocles-git
commented
Jan 16, 2016
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the option of physically moving the antenna wire is not easy since the botton case is held in place by screws under adhesive rubber feets and removing the feets causes an important loss of adhesion. |
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You need to test both ant_sel=1 AND ant_sel=2 as there is no way of knowing which antenna is selected in the EFUSE. |
damocles-git
commented
Jan 16, 2016
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I did so, in the above example I post the output for both settings (ant_sel=1 AND ant_sel=2). The difference is minimal, both values results in poor signal quality. I can provide you ssh access to this laptop but I think I checked properly |
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Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I found the bug and just pushed code that works here. With a single antenna connected to connector 2 and sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=2, I get finger@linux:~/rtlwifi_new> sudo iwlist wlp2s0 scan | egrep "SSID|level" With sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=1, I get finger@linux:~/rtlwifi_new> sudo iwlist wlp2s0 scan | egrep "SSID|level" |
LinearSpoon
commented
Jan 17, 2016
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I just tried the new code and it's working great. HP Pavilion 15t with one antenna using ant_sel=2. Thanks a lot for working on this! |
grahamee
commented
Jan 17, 2016
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Brilliant, my wifi now works for the first time with this new version. HP Pavilion, Ubuntu 15.10 using ant_sel=2. Thanks! |
damocles-git
commented
Jan 18, 2016
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Yes, now it works .... (goodbye microsoft). Thank you very much Larry!!. Now the laptop is able to use the wifi with full signal strength. I can see this kernel messages each 600 seconds but they seem harmless since all comunications are working. [ 6951.251162] rtlwifi:rtl_cam_del_entry():<0-0> cam_bitmap: 0x14 [ 7551.253199] rtlwifi:rtl_cam_del_entry():<0-0> cam_bitmap: 0x12 [ 8151.256507] rtlwifi:rtl_cam_del_entry():<0-0> cam_bitmap: 0x14 [ 8751.256771] rtlwifi:rtl_cam_del_entry():<0-0> cam_bitmap: 0x12 [ 9351.260873] rtlwifi:rtl_cam_del_entry():<0-0> cam_bitmap: 0x14 [ 9951.261235] rtlwifi:rtl_cam_del_entry():<0-0> cam_bitmap: 0x12 [10551.262971] rtlwifi:rtl_cam_del_entry():<0-0> cam_bitmap: 0x14 Please if you have an Amazon wish list let me know it. |
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That message is coming up because your TKIP rekeying interval is 600 seconds. Most people set their AP to rekey at 3600 sec, but the messages are harmless. Thank you for the offer, but I do this as a volunteer. |
opoplawski
commented
Jan 20, 2016
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This branch (rock.new_btcoex) works for me too with a HP Pavilion 360. Thanks. (The test branch did not). |
LauraCreampie
commented
Jan 24, 2016
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Does this ant_sel option fix the drop-out problems or just the signal-strenght? or both? |
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It only addresses the problem caused by having only one antenna and the manufacturer stupidly encoding the wrong one in the EEPROM. The best we can do about the drop-out problems is to use the "ips=0" option. Any further fixes would require knowledge of the internal workings of the chip, and no one outside of Realtek has that information. |
dmdevries
commented
Jan 26, 2016
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I downloaded "rtlwifi_new-rock.new_btcoex" and executed: The .ko files in the module directory (/lib/modules/4.2.0-25-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi) are updated (based on date and time). However the ant_sel parameter is not available. Output of "modinfo - p rtl8723be" is: What step did I miss? |
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I do not know. Did you download a zip file or did you do a git clone? It appears that you built the driver as root. That is a big no-no as any bug in a make file could destroy your system. It is not usually necessary to use the "make clean" step. You should do the following as a normal user git clone http://lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git At that point, it should work. |
mrinalabrol
commented
Jan 26, 2016
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hi lwfinger, I ran the commands from your latest comment and the problem isn't solved. I am on an HP Pavilion 15ab laptop running Ubuntu 14.04, kernel version 3.16.0. |
alambike
commented
Jan 26, 2016
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Hi, I have a HP Pavilion 15ab with Ubuntu 14.04.3 64bits, and have tried with latest kernels (3.19.0.47 and 4.2.0-25-generic) but couldn't make the card works. This happens with master and standard driver too. |
alambike
commented
Jan 26, 2016
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Found a solution in #83. |
mrinalabrol
commented
Jan 26, 2016
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I was reading some of the other issues and i found a command here's the output Notice that in some lines it says that ant_sel is an unknown parameter and is being ignored. I was using a wireless adapter with card "rtl8192cu" as a substitute. I thought that maybe this was causing some trouble(as it had the same "rtlwifi" dependency) so i removed the module and tried running all commands again but it shows the same error (unknown parameter ant_sel ignored). i checked the ~/rtlwifi_new/rtl8723be/sw.c file and it is indeed the correct one from the rock.new_btcoex branch. What should i do next? |
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If you are seeing the unknown parameter line, then you ARE NOT running the modified driver. I do not know what you did wrong, but repeat carefully every step! |
LauraCreampie
commented
Jan 26, 2016
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hey lwfinger, it seems to work with the ant_sel 2 to option. i am so happy ! No drop outs scince 3 days!! xD the laptop was produced april 2015 its a Lenovo b50-10 ! I made it exactly how you said it on another isue: Reboot. After the system comes up: Now test. If that still does not work, then try sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be with ant_sel=2 ! There are no other parameters in the modrobe file, just ant_sel=2 and it works!!! for you information. Very thx to you!!! I have one more question: do I have to do this steps again if I upgrade on Kernel 4.4? Or at wich point I have to do this steps again? |
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First of all, create (as root) a file named /etc/modprobe.d/50-rtl8723be.conf. This file should contain one line that says "options rtl8723be ips=0 ant_sel=2". Without this, you will need to do the modprobe pair EVERY reboot. No out-of-kernel driver will survive a change of kernel, but you will not have to do all of the steps. Only the cd to the source directory, make, and 'sudo make install' will be necessary. |
dmdevries
commented
Jan 27, 2016
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I downloaded the zip file from <https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new/tree/ when I go to /sys/modules/rtl8723be/parameters I only find: Do I need to manually create the parameter in /sys/modules.rtl8723be/ I'll try the same steps with sudo... On Monday, January 25, 2016 07:09:41 PM lwfinger wrote:
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dmdevries
commented
Jan 27, 2016
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You know it had to be something silly, right? As a check I deleted the rtlwifi directory from /lib/modules.../wireless when I ran "modprobe -v rtl8723be", the module loaded... turns out I had a Then I was able to run make and make install and get the current verion. It works great with "ant_sel=2" On Monday, January 25, 2016 07:09:41 PM lwfinger wrote:
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mrinalabrol
commented
Jan 27, 2016
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hi again, so I tried the new code on a couple of different laptops with the same wireless card and it works flawlessly. With me it's a different story altogether. Yesterday, i did something extremely idiotic. i deleted the rtl8723be.ko, rtlwifi.ko, rtl_pci.ko files in /lib/modules/updates/3.16.0-51-generic/updates/dkms and then repeated the process( make and make install) and then when i did sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be, this is what i got;- I checked in /sys/module/ and no directory with the name rtl8723be exists. i reinstalled the kernel image hoping that it would fix it but it didn't help. Kindly suggest something as to how i should proceed. Thanks |
damocles-git
commented
Jan 27, 2016
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I would like to ask if this solution will be pushed to the kernel tree or it is maintened as an independent project. |
kumarsav
commented
Jan 29, 2016
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Thanks for updating . You save my many hours. Shouldn't this be pushed to main branch? |
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I will push the fix to mainline as soon as I get time to figure out how to do it. The btcoex routines in this repo are very different from those in the kernel. Unfortunately, the Realtek engineers used some coding features that are completely unacceptable for the kernel. That blocks the easy solution of updating those features. |
aut0
commented
Feb 13, 2016
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Is this something that could also be fixed by HP e.g. with a BIOS update? |
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It would require a reflashing of the EEPROM on the RTL8723BE chip. The BIOS for the computer is not involved. |
jairook
commented
Feb 20, 2016
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Why are you forcing the driver to use software encryption? That option is only there for testing and dire emergencies. If your card is that broken, then discard it! Nearly all devices like yours can function with "ips=N ant_sel=2". If that fails, add the "msi=1". |
jairook
commented
Feb 20, 2016
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Ok, i don't much about this. My device is new and is the same as that of alambike, and i was facing the same issue as his. Hence, i used his way. I will edit the file as per you. |
alambike
commented
Feb 21, 2016
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I tried again with only the recommended options "ips=N ant_sel=2 msi=1" but can't make it works. The card sees the APs with good signal strength but can't connect: So I just get connect if I set "swenc=Y". |
alambike
commented
Feb 21, 2016
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OK, the problem seems with ubuntu kernel 4.2 ( |
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I have no idea what Ubuntu is doing with their kernels. Please verify your firmware. Running the command 'md5sum /lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8723befw.bin' should result in bc828ddc6cd700abb79a8df5794bcf04 /lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8723befw.bin |
jairook
commented
Feb 22, 2016
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Mine shows different : jai@Jai-HP-Pavilion-Notebook:~$ md5sum /lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8723befw.bin Should not this be different for every other piece of the same hardware.? |
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Do 'sudo make install'. |
manihere
commented
May 26, 2016
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Hi @lwfinger , when i run 'make' command, i am getting this error. makemake -C /lib/modules/4.4.0-22-generic/build M=/home/mani/Desktop/Untitled Folder/rtlwifi_new modules |
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For that error, complain to your distro. They have built the kernel with CONFIG_CC_STACKPROTECTOR_STRONG=y, but they are distributing a compiler that cannot handle that parameter. There is nothing I can do. |
manihere
commented
May 27, 2016
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@lwfinger : Thanks for your quick response. |
jetojedno
commented
Jun 11, 2016
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I have a similar problem with the rtl8723be not connecting when using hardware encryption, but OK with software encryption with your rtl8723be module (and thanks for that). I followed the instructions, and added ant_sel=2 (along with disabling power saving so the connection is stable). After the sudo make install I get md5sums: Should I find & reinstall the ubuntu rtl8723befw.bin? I'm using Linux Mint Cinnamon (based on ubuntu) on an HP Stream 11. |
jetojedno
commented
Jun 11, 2016
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Edited 1 time
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jetojedno
Jun 11, 2016
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Jun 11, 2016
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I've reinstalled the linux-firmware package to get the "packaged" firmware:
and now have a firmware with a different md5sum, but not the same as above:
With this firmware, the card won't connect with hardware encryption, so going back to software. Any suggestions about how to get hardware encryption working? |
jetojedno
commented
Jun 11, 2016
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Edited 1 time
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jetojedno
Jun 11, 2016
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Jun 11, 2016
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OK. I've downloaded the rtl8723befw.bin from http://ftp2.halpanet.org/source/_dev/linux-firmware.git/rtlwifi/rtl8723befw.bin which has the same md5sum as you've given, and put it in the right location. I now have:
WiFi now working with hardware encryption:
Thanks, David |
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I have no idea where the other firmware versions are derived, but the one with md5sum of bc828ddc6cd700abb79a8df5794bcf04 is correct. That is what is in the official Linux firmware repo, and it is what you get when you do a 'sudo make install' from this repo. |
jetojedno
commented
Jun 11, 2016
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I've just retried
I've copied the one with the right md5sum back :-) |
pezarro
commented
Jun 16, 2016
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I am running ubuntu 15.10 on an HP Pavilion 15-AB168CA which uses the realtech RTL8723BE chipset and appears to have the miss-configured antenna eprom issue. I am dual boot to windows 10. Wifi works as expected with Windows10. I followed the instructions to compile and install the patch. I can see the patch driver is being used as the ant_sel option is available. I try both anntena options and performance is poor in both cases. I can only see my android which is sitting next to my laptop and none of the ~6 wifi networks that my android phone can see. Below are the instructions I ran to toggle between the antenna options. What did I do wrong? Or, do you believe I have a different problem? Thanks in advance.... user@laptop:~$ sudo modinfo -p rtl8723be When I switch try both antenna options, there appears to be no difference. Wifi performance is poor. user@laptop:~$ sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=1 user@laptop:~$ iwconfig wlo1 user@laptop:~$sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be user@laptop:~$ sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=0 user@laptop:~$ iwconfig wlo1 |
alambike
commented
Jul 7, 2016
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Edited 1 time
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alambike
Jul 7, 2016
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Jul 7, 2016
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@pezarro, try with ant_sel=2 My line in /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf that works flawlessly: |
pezarro
commented
Jul 8, 2016
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@alambike, thanks! this is what worked for me: mkdir -p ~/bin/realtek/ I then created the file with contents: This makes the kernel module change survive reboot. Cheers, |
pezarro
commented
Jul 8, 2016
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Also, you can see the link quality is 70/70 user@laptop:~/bin/realtek$ iwconfig wlo1 |
Arielo87
commented
Jul 15, 2016
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@alambike I then created the file with contents: This makes the kernel module change survive reboot. Cheers, This worked like a charm on my hp pavilion with current Sabayon 4.6 kernel, thanks again |
ron4stoppable
commented
Oct 12, 2016
tbcam88
commented
Nov 2, 2016
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Hi all, I realise you guys are on/discussing Linux but I'm having similar RTL8723BE speed and signal issues using Windows 7 (Windows 10 works perfectly as OP originally stated...) I've contacted Realtek regarding this but haven't had a response. I don't suppose any of you can shed any light on how this issue can be fixed on Windows 7 also? Thanks! |
batista17
commented
Nov 5, 2016
manihere
commented
Nov 6, 2016
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Hi, If anyone is receiving the following error, install gcc-4.9 to resolve. Follow this link here to install : http://askubuntu.com/questions/466651/how-do-i-use-the-latest-gcc-on-ubuntu **Errormake -C /lib/modules/4.8.6-040806-generic/build M=/home/mani/Documents/m/rtlwifi_new modules |
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A completely new version of the drivers has just been pushed. It fixes a lot of things. As a result, I am closing all open issues. If you get a new one, please create a new issue. Note: The new driver fixes the problems with power save. It is recommended that you clear all ips, swlps, and fwlps options. |
lwfinger
closed this
Dec 2, 2016
shahbaz275817
commented
Dec 3, 2016
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Edited 1 time
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shahbaz275817
Dec 3, 2016
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Dec 3, 2016
[Solved] kernel does not support PIC modeAfter updating my Debian system, I was unable to compile/install the drivers. The error message seemed to be "kernel does not support PIC mode".Seems like a kernel configurations issue `root@strange:~/rtlwifi_new# make /usr/src/linux-headers-4.8.0-kali1-common/scripts/Makefile.build:294: recipe for target '/root/rtlwifi_new/base.o' failed Luckily I found a fix and I have shared it below so that anyone who ran into this problem of kernel configuration issue in debian can use tihs. Just copy paste this commands in terminal.
I too don't know about actually what those commands do but it fix my problem so if anyone can explain, it would be helpful. |
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Symbol CPPFLAGS is the one that sets the global parameters for the compiler. I would recommend adding that line to the rc file for your default shell, i.e. ~/.bashrc if you use bash. That way the revised value for CPPFLAGS will be available every rime you log in. By the way, setting PIC as the default is a very stupid choice for any distro. You should consider changing. Who knows what other bad choices they have made? |
L-Amstutz
commented
Dec 29, 2016
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Can someone (preferably lwfinger or someone who really understands the topic) post specific instructions for downloading and applying the latest rtlwifi_new driver in Lubuntu 15.10 with kernel 4.2.0-42generic or equivalent? We can't upgrade to Lubuntu 16.04 or 16.10 due to issues with specific software applications, but with (L)ubuntu version 15 the RTL8723be wifi is not reliable with all the random dropouts. Sometimes we lose over 50% of PING packets. I see many different and contradictory recommendations and CLI commands in all the ubuntu forums and I don't know enough about Linux to know which ones are best. And it seems rather scary to think that anytime the computer finds and installs an update we might have to "re-make" the driver? Is there a better way? |
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The first thing you need to determine is if your computer is one of those with only one antenna, and with the EEPROM miscoded so that the driver is told that the other connector is being used. If that is true, then your wireless device effectively has no antenna. The way to test this is with the command sudo iw dev wlan0 scan | grep signal If your device has a name other than "wlan0", adjust the command appropriately. If the largest value for the signal is on the order of -70 dBm, then you have the problem. If you see values larger than -40, then your problem is something else. If you have the antenna problem, AND you cannot run a kernel newer that 4.7, then this repo is your best bet. Do the following (one time only): sudo apt-get install git Anytime you need to build or rebuild (more later), then do the following: change directory to rtlwifi_new The pull gets you the latest version. The next two commands build the new version and install the new versions where the kernel can find them. The next two unload the old versions and load the new ones. These could be replaced by a reboot. When do you need to rebuild the drivers? Linux is very particular about requiring drivers to be built using the same layout as the kernel. This is because drivers have unchecked access to the hardware. A random update of the system does not require external drivers to be rebuilt UNLESS the kernel is changed. At that point, the loaded drivers will revert to the standard ones, and you will need to repeat the build. Finally, if you do have the antenna selection problem, you will need to conduct an experiment once the new drivers are built. Use the following sequence: sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be Did the printed signal values get better? If not, repeat the above with "ant_sel=1". If that does not help, then I have no idea what problem you have. If one of the two choices for ant_sel is definitely better, then run the following command: echo "options rtl8723be ant_sel=X" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf Replace X with 1 or 2 depending on which sequence gives you the stronger signal. You will only need to do this ONCE. The system will remember that value. |
L-Amstutz
commented
Dec 29, 2016
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THANK YOU!
We definitely have the single antenna condition on the dozens of HP Stream 11 netbooks that we purchased to place in school labs in Liberia, and we have already verified that the antenna select sometime switches to the vacant port. The signal scan you suggest sometimes returns around -34dbm for several scans, and then suddenly will drop and report in neighborhood of -68dbm. Running “iwconfig” also shows similar results with changing link quality and signal level readings. PINGs may run fine for a while and then suddenly report no destination and lost packets. I have also played with the buffer sizes, power saving options, etc. I will try your instructions and let you know if we see improvement.
Now if I could only find someone to write a driver for the BCM43142 Wi-Fi card that HP randomly put in about half of the production models of these HP Stream 11 instead of RTL8723be, I might be able get ALL of our schools working reliably! So far my only solution for the netbooks that have the BCM cards is to disable it and plugin a USB Wi-Fi but those get lost and broken easily in Africa plus it adds to our budget and as a non-profit org relying on donations, we need to keep costs down, so am still looking for a BCM solution.
Happy New Year to you.
Leon
From: lwfinger [mailto:notifications@github.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2016 2:45 PM
To: lwfinger/rtlwifi_new <rtlwifi_new@noreply.github.com>
Cc: Leon Amstutz <leon.amstutz@ambassador-enterprises.com>; Comment <comment@noreply.github.com>
Subject: Re: [lwfinger/rtlwifi_new] RTL8723BE weak signal strength with 4.4.0 or rtlwifi_new (#88)
The first thing you need to determine is if your computer is one of those with only one antenna, and with the EEPROM miscoded so that the driver is told that the other connector is being used. If that is true, then your wireless device effectively has no antenna. The way to test this is with the command
sudo iw dev wlan0 scan | grep signal
If your device has a name other than "wlan0", adjust the command appropriately. If the largest value for the signal is on the order of -70 dBm, then you have the problem. If you see values larger than -40, then your problem is something else.
If you have the antenna problem, AND you cannot run a kernel newer that 4.7, then this repo is your best bet. Do the following (one time only):
sudo apt-get install git
sudo apt-get install kernel-headers-$(uname -r)
git clone http://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git<https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git>
Anytime you need to build or rebuild (more later), then do the following:
change directory to rtlwifi_new
git pull
make
sudo make install
sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be
sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be
The pull gets you the latest version. The next two commands build the new version and install the new versions where the kernel can find them. The next two unload the old versions and load the new ones. These could be replaced by a reboot.
When do you need to rebuild the drivers? Linux is very particular about requiring drivers to be built using the same layout as the kernel. This is because drivers have unchecked access to the hardware. A random update of the system does not require external drivers to be rebuilt UNLESS the kernel is changed. At that point, the loaded drivers will revert to the standard ones, and you will need to repeat the build.
Finally, if you do have the antenna selection problem, you will need to conduct an experiment once the new drivers are built. Use the following sequence:
sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be
sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=2
sudo iw dev wlan0 scan | grep signal
Did the printed signal values get better? If not, repeat the above with "ant_sel=1". If that does not help, then I have no idea what problem you have. If one of the two choices for ant_sel is definitely better, then run the following command:
echo "options rtl8723be ant_sel=X" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf
Replace X with 1 or 2 depending on which sequence gives you the stronger signal. You will only need to do this ONCE. The system will remember that value.
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This is the first instance where the antenna selection jumps. All the others have had the wrong configuration be fixed. The driver you need for the BCM43142 is likely the hybrid wl driver from Broadcom. They have provided only that binary blob for that device. |
L-Amstutz
commented
Dec 29, 2016
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Well, that didn’t work at all – it “broke” the wireless completely, so that I can’t enable any wireless device and can’t see any signals in the wireless network manager (although lspci still shows the RTL Wi-Fi device). I have noted in RED below results from the install procedure. Fortunately I can easily “re-image” the netbook to restore it back to original config.
I’ll wait to do that in case you respond with something else for me to try.
.
The toggling of antenna ports has been noted many times in the BCM forums, saying that if there is a momentary fade, the device attempts to switch to the opposite port even if there is no antenna on that port. It then takes a disable of Wi-Fi or network (or reboot) to reset it. I’m assuming the RTL does something similar if the ant_sel isn’t forced to one port or the other.
The other thing I’ve noted in extended PING tests is that it will run for a long time with ping response times of a few ms, then suddenly will see PINGs of thousands of ms (ie., several seconds) before returned, often accompanied at that point by some lost sequence numbers, but then sometimes it recovers and runs good again for a while but other times it begins destination host unreachable and all pings are lost until restart. This is at the same time as another laptop connected to same AP server is running clean, and it has happened even in jungles of Africa where there are absolutely no other RF devices or networks around. One theory is that these cheap Wi-Fi cards don’t have enough processing power or buffer storage to handle situations where there are errors or lost packets so they “overflow” and dump the connection. The RTL cards are not quite as bad as the BCM in our machines, but both still have similar troubles. Plugging in external USB Wi-Fi adapter lets them run for hours with no errors, so we know it isn’t the OS, radio path, and server.
Leon
From: lwfinger [mailto:notifications@github.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2016 2:45 PM
To: lwfinger/rtlwifi_new <rtlwifi_new@noreply.github.com>
Cc: Leon Amstutz <leon.amstutz@ambassador-enterprises.com>; Comment <comment@noreply.github.com>
Subject: Re: [lwfinger/rtlwifi_new] RTL8723BE weak signal strength with 4.4.0 or rtlwifi_new (#88)
The first thing you need to determine is if your computer is one of those with only one antenna, and with the EEPROM miscoded so that the driver is told that the other connector is being used. If that is true, then your wireless device effectively has no antenna. The way to test this is with the command
sudo iw dev wlan0 scan | grep signal
If your device has a name other than "wlan0", adjust the command appropriately. If the largest value for the signal is on the order of -70 dBm, then you have the problem. If you see values larger than -40, then your problem is something else.
If you have the antenna problem, AND you cannot run a kernel newer that 4.7, then this repo is your best bet. Do the following (one time only):
sudo apt-get install git (successfully installed git )
sudo apt-get install kernel-headers-$(uname -r) ‘unable to locate package kernel-headers-4.2.0-42-generic . . . couldn’t find any package by regex ‘kernel-headers-4.2.0-42-generic’ “
git clone http://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git<https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git> (appeared to be successful)
Anytime you need to build or rebuild (more later), then do the following:
change directory to rtlwifi_new /home/<username>/rtlwifi_new
git pull ‘already up to date’
make --> usr/src/linux-headers-4.2.0-42-generic
sudo make install
sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be
sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be insid /lib/modules/4.2.0-42-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8723be.ko fwlps=0 ips=0 ant_sel=2 msi=1 swenc=Y
The pull gets you the latest version. The next two commands build the new version and install the new versions where the kernel can find them. The next two unload the old versions and load the new ones. These could be replaced by a reboot.
When do you need to rebuild the drivers? Linux is very particular about requiring drivers to be built using the same layout as the kernel. This is because drivers have unchecked access to the hardware. A random update of the system does not require external drivers to be rebuilt UNLESS the kernel is changed. At that point, the loaded drivers will revert to the standard ones, and you will need to repeat the build.
Finally, if you do have the antenna selection problem, you will need to conduct an experiment once the new drivers are built. Use the following sequence:
sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be
sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=2
sudo iw dev wlan0 scan | grep signal
Did the printed signal values get better? If not, repeat the above with "ant_sel=1". If that does not help, then I have no idea what problem you have. If one of the two choices for ant_sel is definitely better, then run the following command:
echo "options rtl8723be ant_sel=X" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf
Replace X with 1 or 2 depending on which sequence gives you the stronger signal. You will only need to do this ONCE. The system will remember that value.
—
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Using 'sudo make uninstall' should restore the original. I saw nothing in RED anywhere. The fact that BCM hardware/software can switch antennas does not mean the Realtek drivers will do that. You do not need to quote my previous mails. The issue thread has everything. |
L-Amstutz
commented
Jan 3, 2017
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Sorry if I didn't understand the protocol for responding. GitHub strips out the red font comments in the email I used to respond point by point what happened when I followed the instructions, and I was hoping you would notice something that "went wrong" and could help get around it. I will restore the computer back to original configuration and await a workable solution. Thanks |
samames
commented
Mar 4, 2017
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I installed this driver using the following commands but can no longer start Debian in gui mode. Ctrl, alt and F1 so what appears to be the same segment of code running repeatedly without ending. change directory to rtlwifi_new Please see the following YouTube video depicting the current repeating code: https://youtu.be/oVCPxK8Ii9E I made a topic here which details my hardware setup which may be of use: http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=131923 Please help! :) |
xjcl
commented
Apr 13, 2017
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Hi, just wanted to chip in and said that the approach of building the |
xjcl
commented
Apr 18, 2017
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Hm, I'd like to redact my previous statement. When waking from suspend, the laptop often doesn't try to connect to any of the available networks. After I try my self-defined command |
zekage2
commented
Jun 14, 2017
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Hey, I just want to add that to get it to work I HAD to create the "/etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf file and then add "options rtl8723be ips=N fwlps=N swlps=N swenc=Y disable_watchdog=Y ant_sel=2 msi=1" like @alambike suggested. I've seen other people have problems using the same parameters but without the .conf file. So if you've tried everything else give it a go. Thanks @lwfinger and @alambike I really appreciate it. |
xjcl
commented
Sep 25, 2017
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I updated from Linux Mint 18 to Linux Mint 18.2 and now I'm back to my original issues :(( My wifi is basically unusable now for anything but text but even those may take minutes to load :( |
xjcl
commented
Sep 25, 2017
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Edited 1 time
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xjcl
Sep 25, 2017
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Sep 25, 2017
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Hm, this seems to be fixed by replacing |
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Remember that the entire ant_sel mess was done as a service to help those of you with a lousy vendor and who also refuse to open the case and move an antenna wire. There are no guarantees that the value will not change. In fact, ant_sel=2 was intended to be reserved for unexpected cases and the code for ant_sel=2 is essentially the same as ant_sel=0. The fact that it changed means we fixed a bug! We fixed the power-save issue months ago, thus the Xps options should not be needed. Using the swenc option means that you are making your CPU work harder than necessary. I think you should use "ant_sel=1 msi=1" as your only options! |
xjcl
commented
Sep 27, 2017
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Hm, but even when I don't pass So should I pass |
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That set of options is coming from a .conf file in /etc/modprode.d/. You can choose to do whatever you want! I just gave you my opinion. |
xjcl
commented
Sep 27, 2017
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So your opinion is I should pass |
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modinfo rtl8723be lists the following: parm: swenc:Set to 1 for software crypto (default 0) (bool) As 0 is the same as N, the default is swenc=N. You can specify it as N or not, it will not make a difference. |
added a commit
to khanzf/freebsd
that referenced
this issue
Oct 9, 2017
damocles-git commentedJan 14, 2016
Hello,
I bought a new laptop with this wireless card thinking it was well supported but unfortunately it has a very weak signal strength, the only way to get near 100% is "touching" the AP with the laptop. As far as I go away from it, even one meter, the signal drops to 50% and if I walk a few meters the signal is so weak that it drops the connection.
Almost all reports I could read from the net suffer similar symtomps, specially with heavy transfers ... packet lost, tcp segment retries and there are reports older than one year.
The laptop has dual boot so I can test the wireless card with windows 10 drivers and the signal is perfect, even several rooms away I get a decent speed, with linux exiting from the room is granted to drop de connection.
Disabling/enabling module's parameters (fwlps, ips, msi) either 4.4.0 or rtlwifi_new doesn't make any difference.
any idea what could be happening here?
# for f in /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/*; do echo -n "$f: " ; cat "$f" ; done /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/debug: 0 /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/disable_watchdog: N /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/fwlps: N /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/ips: N /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/msi: N /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/swenc: N /sys/module/rtl8723be/parameters/swlps: N # iwconfig wlan-01 wlan-01 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:"olimpo" Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437 GHz Access Point: A0:A8:CD:A7:1B:4C Bit Rate=1 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm Retry short limit:7 RTS thr=2347 B Fragment thr:off Encryption key:off Power Management:off Link Quality=50/70 Signal level=-60 dBm Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0 Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0 # lspci -s 2:0.0 02:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8723BE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter (rtlwifi_new module) # modinfo rtl8723be filename: /lib/modules/4.4.0-gentoo-hp/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtlwifi/rtl8723be/rtl8723be.ko firmware: rtlwifi/rtl8723befw.bin description: Realtek 8723BE 802.11n PCI wireless license: GPL author: Realtek WlanFAE author: PageHe alias: pci:v000010ECd0000B723sv*sd*bc*sc*i* depends: rtlwifi,rtl_pci,btcoexist,mac80211 vermagic: 4.4.0-gentoo-hp SMP preempt mod_unload [...]