MacBook Pro 3.1 Very Weak Wireless Performance Using Jaunty (Intrepid Works Fine)

[Krzysztof Janowicz]

Hi,

I updated to jaunty yesterday and want to report on wifi problems. running newer atheros chips with ubuntu was always difficult but IMO intrepid and ath9k solved these kind of issues more or less. surprisingly they are back in jaunty (rc1) now. my connection is very weak which especially affects surfing, in fact you always have to reload a page several times to get it working. the connection always stops for some seconds (!) before it works again, see ping example below. maybe this corresponds to the comment on another bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/342802/comments/5 (however in my case it only disconnects very rarely).

ping example:
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=175 ttl=250 time=42.7 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=176 ttl=250 time=39.2 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=177 ttl=250 time=42.5 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=221 ttl=250 time=5413 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=222 ttl=250 time=4414 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=223 ttl=250 time=3407 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=224 ttl=250 time=2407 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=225 ttl=250 time=1409 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=226 ttl=250 time=403 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=227 ttl=250 time=42.5 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=228 ttl=250 time=41.6 ms
64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=229 ttl=250 time=42.0 ms

i was using ndiswrapper in 8.04 but ath9k since 8.10.

modprobe wl results in:
...@simbox:~$ sudo modprobe wl
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper, it will be ignored in a future release.
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia-kernel-nkc, it will be ignored in a future release.
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/mactel-support-srosa-sound-fix, it will be ignored in a future release.
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/oss-compat, it will be ignored in a future release.
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/mactel-support-fnmode-fix, it will be ignored in a future release.

lscpi:
0b:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5008 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)

dmesg:
...
[ 16.911078] ath9k: 0.1
[ 16.911120] ath9k 0000:0b:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
[ 16.911131] ath9k 0000:0b:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
[ 17.038580] phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'ath9k_rate_control'
[ 17.077654] Registered led device: ath9k-phy0:radio
[ 17.077670] Registered led device: ath9k-phy0:assoc
[ 17.077682] Registered led device: ath9k-phy0:tx
[ 17.077696] Registered led device: ath9k-phy0:rx
[ 17.078037] phy0: Atheros 5416: mem=0xffffc200043c0000, irq=16
...

anyway, thanks for jaunty and for putting so much work in to linux making it a great alternative.

[Alex (alexanderlane)]

Krzysztof,

Similar WiFi issues with my Jaunty MacBook Pro 3,1. Took several attempts to connect to my WAP; was unable to reconnect after resuming from Suspend; was able to reconnect after rebooting, but signal strength was VERY poor.

Install the following packages:

linux-backports-modules-jaunty
wicd

This took care of all my wireless problems in Jaunty. Hope it works for you, too!

Alex

[Krzysztof Janowicz (janowicz)]

one comment in addition, the connection only works using 11g, if i switch the router to 11n i cannot connect anymore.

[Alex (alexanderlane)]

Saw your reply in the other thread @ https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/278190 -- glad to hear this solved your problem.

Re: your second post...just curious, does N seem to work properly after installing backports?

[Peter Nordin (jpn-peter)]

I am also having this problem with jaunty. The network seems to freeze every 66 seconds for about 27 seconds (i timed it a few times with a stop watch). I was also looking at syslog, kern.log, messages in /var/log but no error messages appeared. I was having this problem both with NetworkManger (in KDE) and when setting up wireless in /etc/network/interfaces (the old way of doing it). After installing linux-backports-modules-jaunty this problem seems to have gone away. I am now using NetworkManager to connect o my wireless N network.

The network speed is bad though. In intrepid I got wierless G speed when connected to wireless N. About 20 Mbit/s data throughput in both directions. Now I get 16,4 Mbit/s down and 1,7 Mbit/s up. Even though my router claims I am connected with wireless N at a "linkspeed" of 162 Mbits.

In Vista (same computer) I get around 60 Mbit/s download rate when using wireless N.
I have a Dlink DWA-556 wireless pci card, lspci say:
Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5008 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)

[Peter Nordin (jpn-peter)]

I might have been to quick to blame jaunt for my poor upload rate. It seemed to some thing else causing it. Requesting a new IP from my ISP brought back the same speed as in Intrepid. 20 Mbit/s which seems to be my maximum allowed upload rate. But still I will never get more speed than what I get at wireless G even though my router tells me that I am connected with wireless N. Download speed should go up to about 60 Mbit/s as in Vista.

I might also add that I am running the 64 bit version of Kubuntu Jaunty, upgraded from Intrepid.

[Krzysztof Janowicz (janowicz)]

the bug is back :-(. I had to use jaunty-proposed to solve another error and also got the new kernel with the update (2.6.18.12). since then the bug is back again because it is not possible to also update the linux-backports-modules-jaunty package.

linux-backports-modules-jaunty:
  Hängt ab: »linux-backports-modules-jaunty-generic (=2.6.28.12.16)«, aber es wird »2.6.28.11.15« installiert.

[Luis R. Rodriguez (mcgrof)]

I'm not sure what your issue is with lbm, but if you have issues with it can you just try compat-wireless directly:

http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download

[Alex (alexanderlane)]

In this case, lbm resolves the issues while compat-wireless does not.
Strange but true.

On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 2:04 PM, Luis R. Rodriguez <email address hidden> wrote:

> I'm not sure what your issue is with lbm, but if you have issues with it
> can you just try compat-wireless directly:
>
> http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download
>
> --
> MacBook Pro 3.1 Very Weak Wireless Performance Using Jaunty (Intrepid Works
> Fine)
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/362985
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Mactel Support: New
> Status in “linux” source package in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Hi,
>
> I updated to jaunty yesterday and want to report on wifi problems. running
> newer atheros chips with ubuntu was always difficult but IMO intrepid and
> ath9k solved these kind of issues more or less. surprisingly they are back
> in jaunty (rc1) now. my connection is very weak which especially affects
> surfing, in fact you always have to reload a page several times to get it
> working. the connection always stops for some seconds (!) before it works
> again, see ping example below. maybe this corresponds to the comment on
> another bug:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/342802/comments/5(however in my case it only disconnects very rarely).
>
> ping example:
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=175 ttl=250 time=42.7
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=176 ttl=250 time=39.2
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=177 ttl=250 time=42.5
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=221 ttl=250 time=5413
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=222 ttl=250 time=4414
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=223 ttl=250 time=3407
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=224 ttl=250 time=2407
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=225 ttl=250 time=1409
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=226 ttl=250 time=403
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=227 ttl=250 time=42.5
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=228 ttl=250 time=41.6
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=229 ttl=250 time=42.0
> ms
>
> i was using ndiswrapper in 8.04 but ath9k since 8.10.
>
> modprobe wl results in:
> ...@simbox:~$ sudo modprobe wl
> WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper, it will
> be ignored in a future release.
> WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia-kernel-nkc, it
> will be ignored in a future release.
> WARNING: All config files need .conf:
> /etc/modprobe.d/mactel-support-srosa-sound-fix, it will be ignored in a
> future release.
> WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/oss-compat, it will
> be ignored in a future release.
> WARNING: All config files need .conf:
> /etc/modprobe.d/mactel-support-fnmode-fix, it will be ignored in a future
> release.
>
> lscpi:
> 0b:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5008 Wireless
> Network Adapter (rev 01)
>
> dmesg:
> ...
> [ 16.9110...

[Luis R. Rodriguez (mcgrof)]

On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 11:13 AM, Alex <email address hidden> wrote:
> In this case, lbm resolves the issues while compat-wireless does not.
> Strange but true.

Huh? Keep in mind if you use compat-wireless and have lbm installed
lbm might be picked up first. It depends on /etc/depmod.d/* files. If
updates is first than where the ath9k from lbm comes in then updates
will be prefered otherwise lbm will be picked.

Also keep in mind lbm uses compat-wireless.

  Luis

[Alex (alexanderlane)]

Sorry, that could have been more clear.

My first instinct was to build compat-wireless (from linuxwireless.org) in
attempt to resolve the aforementioned problem. Unfortunately,
compat-wireless itself did not help at all, so I uninstalled it and then
installed lbm, which did indeed fix it.

On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 2:28 PM, Luis R. Rodriguez <email address hidden> wrote:

> On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 11:13 AM, Alex <email address hidden> wrote:
> > In this case, lbm resolves the issues while compat-wireless does not.
> > Strange but true.
>
> Huh? Keep in mind if you use compat-wireless and have lbm installed
> lbm might be picked up first. It depends on /etc/depmod.d/* files. If
> updates is first than where the ath9k from lbm comes in then updates
> will be prefered otherwise lbm will be picked.
>
> Also keep in mind lbm uses compat-wireless.
>
> Luis
>
> --
> MacBook Pro 3.1 Very Weak Wireless Performance Using Jaunty (Intrepid Works
> Fine)
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/362985
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Mactel Support: New
> Status in “linux” source package in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Hi,
>
> I updated to jaunty yesterday and want to report on wifi problems. running
> newer atheros chips with ubuntu was always difficult but IMO intrepid and
> ath9k solved these kind of issues more or less. surprisingly they are back
> in jaunty (rc1) now. my connection is very weak which especially affects
> surfing, in fact you always have to reload a page several times to get it
> working. the connection always stops for some seconds (!) before it works
> again, see ping example below. maybe this corresponds to the comment on
> another bug:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/342802/comments/5(however in my case it only disconnects very rarely).
>
> ping example:
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=175 ttl=250 time=42.7
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=176 ttl=250 time=39.2
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=177 ttl=250 time=42.5
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=221 ttl=250 time=5413
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=222 ttl=250 time=4414
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=223 ttl=250 time=3407
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=224 ttl=250 time=2407
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=225 ttl=250 time=1409
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=226 ttl=250 time=403
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=227 ttl=250 time=42.5
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=228 ttl=250 time=41.6
> ms
> 64 bytes from www.heise.de (193.99.144.85): icmp_seq=229 ttl=250 time=42.0
> ms
>
> i was using ndiswrapper in 8.04 but ath9k since 8.10.
>
> modprobe wl results in:
> ...@simbox:~$ sudo modprobe wl
> WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper, it will
> be ignored in a future release.
> WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia-kernel-nkc, it
> will be ignored in a fu...

[Luis R. Rodriguez (mcgrof)]

On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 12:00 PM, Alex <email address hidden> wrote:
> Sorry, that could have been more clear.
>
> My first instinct was to build compat-wireless (from linuxwireless.org) in
> attempt to resolve the aforementioned problem. Unfortunately,
> compat-wireless itself did not help at all, so I uninstalled it and then
> installed lbm, which did indeed fix it.

Then in that case lbm hasn't yet been updated to reflect new
compat-wireless changes.

  Luis

[Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara)]

I'm glad to hear this is resolved with linux-backports-modules-jaunty. I'll mark this fix released against linux-backports-modules-2.6.28 but I'd like to keep this open against the actively developed "linux (Ubuntu)" task as we head into the Karmic release based on the comment that the latest compat-wireless stack seemed to be problematic still. If those of you who have this issue could test the Karmic Alpha releases as they come out and give us your feedback that would be great. Thanks.

[Jeremy Foshee (jeremyfoshee)]

This bug report was marked as Triaged a while ago but has not had any updated comments for quite some time. Please let us know if this issue remains in the current Ubuntu release, http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download . If the issue remains, click on the current status under the Status column and change the status back to "New". Thanks.

[This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[Brad Figg (brad-figg)]

This bug was filed against a series that is no longer supported and so is being marked as Won't Fix. If this issue still exists in a supported series, please file a new bug.

This change has been made by an automated script, maintained by the Ubuntu Kernel Team.