rt2500usb wireless does not work

[mescator]

I've upgraded from 9.04 to 9.10. Had ralink on usb rt2500usb working fine before it. After upgrade wifi is not able to connect. When configured manual, radio seems working and status is connected, while DHCP does not assign IP and even when using manual IP there is no communication with access point.
When using jounty kernel with 9.10 everything works fine just like in previous distribution.
Additionally, on karmic kernel, it happens quite often than the usb wifi is not recognized at all, it seems hanging for a while. Removing for a short time does not help, when removed for longer (more that 20 seconds) it is able to recognize the card again, but of course there is no communication.

[Pawel Szopinski (pawel-szopinski)]

I can confirm this bug after upgrading to 9.10 this evening.

All I have noticed that it is specific to 2.6.31-14 kernel as the dongle works fine in 2.6.28-16 from 9.04. However, I also seem to be missing the sound if I use the old kernel from Jaunty, so it's not really an option.

I haven't tried rebuilding the kernel or compiling the latest rt2x00 drivers.

[Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara)]

[This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately.]

This bug was reported against the linux-meta package when it likely should have been reported against the linux package instead. We are automatically transitioning this to the linux kernel package so that the appropriate teams are notified and made aware of this issue.

If this bug really is a bug in the linux-meta package you can move it back to linux-meta and set the Status to Confirmed, or contact us on the #ubuntu-kernel channel on the FreeNode IRC server. Thanks.

[Alan Treadway (alantreadway)]

Just to add that I believe I am suffering from the same problem - I'm using a Belkin F5D7050 USB adaptor which worked flawlessly under 9.04; under 9.10 I am having the same weird behaviour whereby association with the AP seems to succeed, but no packets ever seem to make it across the link (including DHCP requests).

[L.D. Paniak (ldpaniak)]

I am seeing similar problems with an rt2500usb device in karmic. It will connect on boot and be usable for several minutes and then drop. It cannot be reconnected from the Network Manager without a reboot.

The funny part is that the wifi was stable with alpha versions of karmic (kernel 2.6.31-10,11,12). Now, in the final release, wifi is essentially unusable.

[Elsevier (kofferpc)]

I want to confirm this bug.

I have two computers with Ralink rt2500pci and rt2500usb wireless cards and i cannot connect to any wireless, using both the network-manager-plasmoid and WICD in kubuntu karmic. It workes with 9.04 in both cases though.

The nm-plasmoid does connect to the network but fails in the assigning IP step.

Seems to be a kernel driver regression introduced in the kernel from jaunty to karmic (the poster before me states some alpha version when it still worked).

[Kent G. Budge (kgb-kgbudge)]

I can join the list of people confirming this bug. Under Hardy 8.04 LTS on my Dell Inspiron 530 desktop PC, my card works fine, being detected by the wireless manager as:

Intel Corporation 82562V-2 10/100 Network Connection (rev 02)
RaLink RT2561/RT61 802.11g PCI

and I get good connectivity. It continued to work fine under 8.10 and 9.04, but when I tried to update to Karmic 9.10, the update hiccuped halfway through. After that, I found that my network connectivity stank. I could connect reliably to my wireless router: Typing the stereotypical 192.168.0.1 into my browser address box immediately brought up the control panel for the wireless router. However, actual Internet sites were, at best, very slow to load and, at worst, completely inaccessible. My mail was also completely inaccessible. It was always the same sites I couldn't reach; those I could, were a bit faster when accessed repeatedly.

I burned a Karmic 9.10 disk on 20 Nov 2009 and ran it as LiveCD. The problem was still there, so it wasn't a corruption of my configuration files on my hard disk due to the hiccup during installation.

I had to reinstall Hardy 8.04 LTS on my system. (Fortunately I had the wit to thoroughly back up before trying to update to Karmic.) Everything is working great now, so it's not my hardware.

It looks very much like something went wrong with the RaLink RT2500-series wireless card drivers between 9.04 and 9.10.

[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

I think this patch should fix it, but i have no idea how to apply it:
http://people.canonical.com/~apw/lp396417-karmic/.

--jim

[papukaija (papukaija)]

Adding the patch to this bug report. The rt2500 should be fully working in Marvic (10.10) or in any Ubuntu with 2.6.34-rc4 or higher kernel. In Lucid, you probably need to add "iwconfig wlan0 power off" before ext 0 in /etc/rc.local after making that file executable.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

* exit 0

[Kent G. Budge (kgb-kgbudge)]

Has this been properly patched in 10.04.1 LTS?

[papukaija (papukaija)]

@Kent G. Budge: No since this bug is marked as confirmed.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

Remeved the patch since it isn't related to this bug.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

Can anyone reproduce this bug in Lucid or Maverick? If yes, please attach the output of dmesg to this bug or run 'apport-collect 468072' from terminal.

[mescator (mpuczynski)]

Here is is:

My Ubuntu: Linux laptok 2.6.32-24-generic #41-Ubuntu SMP Thu Aug 19 01:12:52 UTC 2010 i686 GNU/Linux

Log (messages) when attaching Wifi:
Aug 21 12:14:14 laptok kernel: [ 1326.232050] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
Aug 21 12:14:14 laptok kernel: [ 1326.536995] usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Aug 21 12:14:14 laptok kernel: [ 1326.663443] Registered led device: rt2500usb-phy1::radio
Aug 21 12:14:14 laptok kernel: [ 1326.665536] Registered led device: rt2500usb-phy1::quality
Aug 21 12:14:15 laptok kernel: [ 1326.862561] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Aug 21 12:14:22 laptok kernel: [ 1334.420533] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready

Requested dmesg in attachment.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

@mescator: Please don't use zipped attachments, that prevent reading the logs from a web browser.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

We'd like to figure out what's causing this bug for you, but we haven't heard back from you in a while. Could you please provide the requested information (from comment 13)? Thanks!

[retrinqueiro (robe-retrincos)]

El 09/09/10 12:43, papukaija escribió:
> We'd like to figure out what's causing this bug for you, but we haven't
> heard back from you in a while. Could you please provide the requested
> information (from comment 13)? Thanks!
>

     I'm sorry, but I don't have any rt2500 dongle available anymore. I
switched it for a zd1211rw a few days afterwards, because it was my only
means of connection and I needed it ASAP.

--
 Roberto Suarez Soto

[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

I will see if I can give the requested information

[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.21.
AplayDevices:
 **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC268 Analog [ALC268 Analog]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Architecture: i386
ArecordDevices:
 **** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC268 Analog [ALC268 Analog]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: jim 1331 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'Intel'/'HDA Intel at 0x58540000 irq 16'
   Mixer name : 'Realtek ALC268'
   Components : 'HDA:10ec0268,1025015b,00100101'
   Controls : 8
   Simple ctrls : 5
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS "Lucid Lynx" - Release i386 (20100429)
MachineType: Acer AOA110
Package: linux (not installed)
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-generic root=UUID=5654596c-88c4-4cdb-8da9-b16f5df869b3 ro quiet splash pciehp.pciehp_force=1 elevator=noop
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-24.41-generic 2.6.32.15+drm33.5
Regression: Yes
RelatedPackageVersions: linux-firmware 1.34.1
Reproducible: Yes
Tags: lucid ubuntu-unity networking regression-release needs-upstream-testing
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-24-generic i686
UserGroups: adm admin cdrom dialout lpadmin plugdev sambashare
dmi.bios.date: 05/09/2008
dmi.bios.vendor: Acer
dmi.bios.version: v0.3305
dmi.board.asset.tag: Base Board Asset Tag
dmi.board.vendor: Acer
dmi.board.version: Base Board Version
dmi.chassis.type: 1
dmi.chassis.vendor: Chassis Manufacturer
dmi.chassis.version: Chassis Version
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAcer:bvrv0.3305:bd05/09/2008:svnAcer:pnAOA110:pvr1:rvnAcer:rn:rvrBaseBoardVersion:cvnChassisManufacturer:ct1:cvrChassisVersion:
dmi.product.name: AOA110
dmi.product.version: 1
dmi.sys.vendor: Acer

[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

apport information

[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

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[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

Please note that the stck is wlan1, not wlan0
This bug was not present in 9.04, but is present in 9.10, 10.04.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

@Jim: I see from your log that you have usesuspend/hibernate:

 4009.210018] PM: resume devices took 1.992 seconds
[ 4009.210112] PM: Finishing wakeup.

Does your wifi work if you reboot (without suspending/hibernating)? I am asking this because there is a known issue with networking and resuming (se bug 524454 for more information). Thanks in advance!

@mescator: Can you reproduce this bug in Lucid or Maverick? If yes, please attach the output of dmesg (unzipped, please) to this bug or run 'apport-collect 468072' from terminal.

[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

The stick can see networks, but cannot connect. It tries, but fails.

[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

No, It doesn't work even when not suspending/hibernating.
A time ago I tried the stick in a mint system with WICD, and the problem occured when fetching the IP adress from dhcp.
I then set it to manual, it show that it was connected, but I still didn't have internet.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

@mescator: I looked at your zipped attachement, but it does not have an up to date dmesg file (it only has to boot time log). Please attach the output of dmesg (unzipped, please) to this bug if you can reproduce this bug in Lucid or Maverick. To get an up to date dmesg, please run from terminal 'dmesg > ~/dmesg.txt' (the file will go to your home folder) after you have tried to connect your card to your wlan. Since the file gets saved, you are free to replace any private data (eg. your wlan's ssid) with asterisks (*). Thanks in advance!

[papukaija (papukaija)]

@Jim: I'm asking the logs from merkator (the original reporter of this bug) since some upstreams don't like debug logs from other users than the original reporter.

[mescator (mpuczynski)]

I think I dumped dmesg, but obviously I was wrong. See attachment (good one hopefully this time).
I confirm other's observations regarding wifi behavior. If I configure it to use static IP it seems connected but there is no communication. With DHCP it is not able to get the IP and system decides to drop the connection.

[mescator (mpuczynski)]

The previous dmesg was from 10.04 32-bit. The 9.04 and 9.10 are from amd64, I do not have them in 32bit installed. On 9.04 the wifi works like a charm. Simple as simple can be, I just plugged in, selected network and provided password. Done. On 9.10 the indicator keeps spinning for a long while, then it gives possibility to connect. But try to connect fails. The query for password does not popup.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

@Jim: Could you please try to disable power management for the wlan1, with the following command
'iwconfig wlan1 power off'; put it in your /etc/rc.local file before exit 0 and reboot. Please make sure that your rc.local file is executable* before rebooting. I'm asking this because, thr rt2500 driver has some known issues on 26.32 - .33 with the power management. Thanks in advance!

@mescator: Could you do to the same if your card has power management enabled (its status can be checked with iwconfig command)? Thanks in advance!

*: you can make it executable by running sudo chmod +x /etc/rc.local

[Jim Bauwens (jimbauwens)]

Papukaija, no, it does not work with powermanagement disabled.
Btw, don't be afraid to ask me difficult stuff, I would even compile a kernel If you asked :lol:

Jim

[mescator (mpuczynski)]

Not working with power management disabled. Added that to rc.local and rebooted with wifi attached. After bootup the status (iwconfig) showed power management disabled, but connection failed. Reconnecting the wifi enabled the power management. Disabling it again manually also did not help.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

Could you test the latest upstream kernel available? Also, if you could test the corresponding upstream kernel for your kernel that would be great. It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds for instructions. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text. Please let us know your results. Thanks in advance.

[mescator (mpuczynski)]

Honestly it seems to risky to change kernels on machines I am running. I do not have any spare to make experiments. I can however run LiveCD if there is any with upstream kernel. Please suggest one.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

You are free to uninstall mainline kernels after testing. Testing Maverick's live cd (that of course doesn't have an upstream kernel but at least a newer kernel) would help too since there are many rt2500 related changes both in 2.6.34 and 2.6..35. Thanks in advance!

[mescator (mpuczynski)]

I have downloaded current 10.10 i386 (16-sep-2010) with kernel 2.6.35-21 #31 SMP. There is a difference but still the WiFi does not work. The difference is that the LED on the device blinks immediately after connecting it and it seems blinking while trying to connect. If previous issue with that was a power management disabling the device it seems not existing anymore. However authentication on the network fails (or seems failing). I tried several time even rebooting the system after first failure.

See last dmesg I've captured.

[mescator (mpuczynski)]

Good news. Hopefully 10.10 will have this kernel:
Linux laptok 2.6.36-020636rc4-generic #201009130905 SMP Mon Sep 13 10:15:27 UTC 2010 i686 GNU/Linux

On this one it works. I just plugged in. Also, on 2.6.35 it did not connect with some messages about regulatory on different bands so I though it might be an error in some package so I changed channel to 1 (from 5). Now running 2.6.36 I've checked both channel 1 and 5 and it works. Connection seems stable.

The only thing I noticed is some error messages during kernel boot process. Something with ACPI.
dmesg attached.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

Thanks for testing. Unfortunately Maverick won't get 2.6.36 kernel since its feature freeze has started on august 12th. However, Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty) should get 2.6.36 or newer kernel. I'm not marking this bug as fixed since Natty doesn't yet have repositories and because this bug is affecting 9 people. Thank you again for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please submit any future bugs you may find.

Ps. Please don't forget when reporting future kernel bugs that both upstream's kernels (from kernel.org) and mainline kernels (from https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/MainlineBuilds) are unsupported.

[papukaija (papukaija)]

This bug is being marked as Fix Released as according to your testing, kernel 2.6.36 fixes this bug and that kernel has been uploaded to Natty's repositories (with 2.6.36-0.1 as version) [1]. Thank you again for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please submit any future bugs you may find.

[1]: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2010-October/000022.html

[David Poetzsch-Heffter (davidpoetzsch)]

The new kernel also fixes the bug with the Belkin usb wlan stick for me. Thanks for your work!

[Kent G. Budge (kgb-kgbudge)]

It's splendid that I will have wireless connectivity when I upgrade to Natty Narwhal.

The problem is getting from here to there. I'm still running Hardy Heron precisely because incremental upgrading eventually puts me into a version of Ubuntu with the buggy driver, ruining my Internet connectivity and bringing the upgrade process to a screeching halt.

I'd like to upgrade to Lucid Lynx but it sounds like the fix has only gone into Natty Narwhal.

Any suggestions? Should I upgrade directly to Natty Narwhal? Can I even *do* that without going through the intermediate upgrades?

Sorry if these seem like silly questions.