KDE 4.2 wireless speed vs. Gnome

[Jmadero]

Hi All,

Same exact driver. Kubuntu vs. Ubuntu. Same computer, same position on my desk. In Kubuntu about half the time I connect with 2 bars (out of the 4 in the kde network manager) the other half I get full bars (no moving computer) while in Gnome I always get 85-90% full 4 bars. Internet runs slower with the weaker connection. Very strange since both use the same broadcom driver (native driver) and the systems are both buntu's.

Thanks all

I can post screenshots if it'll help, didn't think it would though

[Luke Jennings (ubuntujenkins)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Unfortunately, we can't fix it because your description didn't include enough information. You may find it helpful to read "How to report bugs effectively" http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html. We'd be grateful if you would then provide a more complete description of the problem.

Could you please provide the versions of Kubuntu and the version of Ubuntu used.
Does the Internet run slower in Ubuntu or Kubuntu.
Which version of the broadcom driver is used in each.
Does this always happen or is only some times?

[Jmadero (jmadero)]

I apologize for not filling in details:

Versions:
Ubuntu 8.10
Kubuntu 8.10 using KDE 4.2 from the neon repository (kde-nightly)

Speed:
The internet has a much weaker signal in Kubuntu (anywhere from 20-40% and fluctuation is common while in Ubuntu I see no fluctuation in my house, I get 5 bars with a range of 80-95% connection)

Version:
I am using the version provided in the Ubuntu/Kubuntu repositories by going to system->admin->hardware drivers
I'm not exactly sure how to get the version but it is whatever is in the main repositories

Frequency:
This problem does not always happen. I can restart my computer at times from Kubuntu and reboot into Kubuntu and the bars will show 5 bars while before reboot I'll see 3 bars.

Notes:
I am currently monitoring my speeds and I will post if I get more details. I also installed a new plasma add on to show a bit more detail in Kubuntu in terms of connection so I will see the issue closer

[Jmadero (jmadero)]

I'm attaching images of the wireless bars from Kubuntu and Ubuntu. The computer wasn't moved at all. I took the image in Kubuntu first, rebooted into Ubuntu, took image in Ubuntu. As you can see Kubuntu shows 2 bars, Ubuntu shows 4 bars (above I said 5 but there is a max of 4, my mistake).

Either there is a visual problem with how the KDE Wireless Manager is showing connection strength (ie I am getting same strength but it's showing 2 bars) or I am actually having a problem with connection in Kubuntu. I am going to do a speed test and provide results as well but I am unable to at this moment.

[Luke Jennings (ubuntujenkins)]

Thanks for all of the information, a speed test would be useful when you get time to do one. Also could you run

sudo lshw

and attach the output the most interesting bit should look something like the one I have attached.

[Jmadero (jmadero)]

Okay a bit more information. I did a speed test online and the results were almost identical despite having 2 bars in Kubuntu and 4 in Ubuntu (I actually had slightly faster results in Kubuntu)

Here is the output of lshw

*-network
                description: Network controller
                product: BCM4312 802.11a/b/g
                vendor: Broadcom Corporation
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:0c:00.0
                version: 01
                width: 32 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
                configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=0 module=ssb

So it looks to me like it's just a visual thing with knetworkmanager. Would you agree? If this is the case it's such a minor thing that I'm not even sure if it's worth marking as a bug.

[Luke Jennings (ubuntujenkins)]

It does appear to be a visual thing and probably just depend on how the signal is interpreted. unfortunately I don't think that we can class this as a bug, hence I am marking it invalid. Thank you very much for taking you time to help.