Wireless hotkey does not work

[Chris Hornby]

The laptop with this problem is a Novatech X10-TP. The wireless card is a Ralink RT2870.

When the laptop is booted the wireless is always disabled by default. The laptop has a wireless hotkey (fn-F2) to enable wireless. Pressing this after the desktop has loaded switches the wireless led on, but Network Manager does not detect that the wireless is available. If I disable wireless in Network Manager, then re-enable it, the wireless card is detected and a connection is made.

If I press the wireless hotkey again the led goes off, but Network Manager again does not detect the change. Interestingly the wireless is still usable! I am completing this report on line with the wireless led off!

If I press the wireless hotkey as Ubuntu boots (before login) Network Manager detects the wireless and makes the connection.

Other info:
dmesg doesn't report anything when the wireless hotkey is used
acpi_listen does not detect any events for the wireless hotkey

Any thoughts or advice on this problem would be much appreciated.

Regards

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: linux-image-2.6.32-23-generic 2.6.32-23.37
Regression: No
Reproducible: Yes
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-23.37-generic 2.6.32.15+drm33.5
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-23-generic i686
AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.21.
AplayDevices:
 **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC662 rev1 Analog [ALC662 rev1 Analog]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Architecture: i386
ArecordDevices:
 **** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC662 rev1 Analog [ALC662 rev1 Analog]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: chris 1213 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'Intel'/'HDA Intel at 0x58200000 irq 16'
   Mixer name : 'Realtek ALC662 rev1'
   Components : 'HDA:10ec0662,1b7d0002,00100101'
   Controls : 17
   Simple ctrls : 10
Date: Tue Jul 6 10:52:09 2010
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=385f3322-4273-41bf-b6b7-3aa30ad2da95
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-Netbook 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" - Release i386 (20100429.4)
MachineType: NOVATECH X10-TP
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-23-generic.acpi root=UUID=9c38c23b-f7a8-4e62-9ccd-32d88db62660 ro quiet splash acpi_osi=Linux
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_GB.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
RelatedPackageVersions: linux-firmware 1.34.1
RfKill:

SourcePackage: linux
dmi.bios.date: 01/29/2010
dmi.bios.vendor: INSYDE
dmi.bios.version: IP-M10.64.0A
dmi.board.asset.tag: Base Board Asset Tag
dmi.board.name: X10-TP
dmi.board.vendor: NOVATECH
dmi.board.version: IP-M10.64.0A
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: Chassis Asset Tag
dmi.chassis.type: 1
dmi.chassis.vendor: Chassis Manufacturer
dmi.chassis.version: Chassis Version
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnINSYDE:bvrIP-M10.64.0A:bd01/29/2010:svnNOVATECH:pnX10-TP:pvrIP-M10.64.0A:rvnNOVATECH:rnX10-TP:rvrIP-M10.64.0A:cvnChassisManufacturer:ct1:cvrChassisVersion:
dmi.product.name: X10-TP
dmi.product.version: IP-M10.64.0A
dmi.sys.vendor: NOVATECH

[Chris Hornby (chris-orphix)]

A bit more info: If I disable acpi on boot with acpi=off, the wireless hotkey stops changing the led and the wireless card stays at "disconnected" in Network Manager. The implication of this (and I may be wrong here) is that acpi is involved in some way in activating the wireless card via the hotkey. Question is: How do I get it to talk to Network Manager?

[Jeremy Foshee (jeremyfoshee)]

Hi Chris,

If you could also please test the latest upstream kernel available that would be great. It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . 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.

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

[Chris Hornby (chris-orphix)]

Tested with the following kernels with these results:
Lucid 2.6.34-020634rc7-generic No difference at all
Lucid 2.6.35-020635rc1-generic System froze at login
Maverick 2.6.35-020635rc4-generic System froze at login

Regards

[Jeremy Foshee (jeremyfoshee)]

This bug report was marked as Incomplete and has not had any updated comments for quite some time. As a result this bug is being closed. Please reopen if this is still an issue in the current Ubuntu release http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download . Also, please be sure to provide any requested information that may have been missing. To reopen the bug, 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.]

[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

I'm having this issue as well, to specify it's a Novatech X10-TP and the results are exactly the same as Chris's initial report. I can check upstream kernels or whatever you deem missing to have closed this. Right now on 10.4 UNR kernel 2.6.32-24-generic gives same issue. Switching the Wireless on/off via the fn+f2 key only (not always) produces

ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP):wlan0: link is not ready

Network manager reports state change from 2 -> 3 (reason 42) then wpa_supplicant fails with [855] failed to initiate AP scan. By default as Chris stated the card is disabled on each boot. There's no BIOS option to force this.

[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.21.
AplayDevices:
 **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC662 rev1 Analog [ALC662 rev1 Analog]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Architecture: i386
ArecordDevices:
 **** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC662 rev1 Analog [ALC662 rev1 Analog]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: felim 1278 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'Intel'/'HDA Intel at 0x58200000 irq 16'
   Mixer name : 'Realtek ALC662 rev1'
   Components : 'HDA:10ec0662,1b7d0002,00100101'
   Controls : 17
   Simple ctrls : 10
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=c0944679-d062-47bd-9b01-ecaf5ee76036
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-Netbook 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" - Release i386 (20100429.4)
MachineType: NOVATECH X10-TP
Package: linux (not installed)
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-generic root=UUID=e7686699-26ea-443d-82de-0e2d0e3497fd ro quiet splash
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_GB.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-24.42-generic 2.6.32.15+drm33.5
Regression: No
RelatedPackageVersions: linux-firmware 1.34.1
Reproducible: Yes
RfKill:

Tags: ubuntu-une lucid networking needs-upstream-testing
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-24-generic i686
UserGroups: adm admin audio cdrom dialout dip fax floppy fuse lpadmin netdev plugdev sambashare tape video
dmi.bios.date: 01/29/2010
dmi.bios.vendor: INSYDE
dmi.bios.version: IP-M10.64.0A
dmi.board.asset.tag: Base Board Asset Tag
dmi.board.name: X10-TP
dmi.board.vendor: NOVATECH
dmi.board.version: IP-M10.64.0A
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: Chassis Asset Tag
dmi.chassis.type: 1
dmi.chassis.vendor: Chassis Manufacturer
dmi.chassis.version: Chassis Version
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnINSYDE:bvrIP-M10.64.0A:bd01/29/2010:svnNOVATECH:pnX10-TP:pvrIP-M10.64.0A:rvnNOVATECH:rnX10-TP:rvrIP-M10.64.0A:cvnChassisManufacturer:ct1:cvrChassisVersion:
dmi.product.name: X10-TP
dmi.product.version: IP-M10.64.0A
dmi.sys.vendor: NOVATECH

[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

apport information

[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

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[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

Just to note I can't get a network connection at all. Apologies for these appearing in multiple messages, it was apport that did it I'm afraid.

[Chris Hornby (chris-orphix)]

No worries about the emails - I was a bit surprised at the sudden flurry
of activity though!

I got wireless to work by using the hotkey to switch on the wireless,
then disable / re-enable wireless in Network Manager. Also I found that
if I used the hotkey to switch on the wireless as the netbook was
booting (before GDM starts) then Network Manager detected it.

Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: Félim Whiteley <email address hidden>
Reply-to: Bug 602213 <email address hidden>
To: <email address hidden>
Subject: [Bug 602213] Re: Wireless hotkey does not work
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:47:33 -0000

Just to note I can't get a network connection at all. Apologies for
these appearing in multiple messages, it was apport that did it I'm
afraid.

[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

Hey Chris,

Unfortunatly I've tried that and it doesn't seem to work at all. The whole activating of the wireless is a little odd in fact it doesn't seem to have an effect sometimes. dmesg doesn't report much either. /var/log/syslog does give NetworkManager errors and timeouts though. Very odd..

Félim

[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

Argh unbelievable, it must have been timing issue, I just retried activating the card at slightly later stage in the boot splash and it's worked! Is there anything I can re-add to this to help narrow down getting it activated without having to hit the power on during boot?

Thanks for the pointer Chris.. I think I was doing it too early, perhaps before kernel was ready... seriously strange goings on! But I'm happy at least it runs!

Félim

[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

Ah I've found out what actually activated it for me. I had installed

linux-backports-modules-wireless-lucid-generic

whilst testing. I've uninstalled it and again wireless just doesn't work. Reinstall and it does, so I'm 99.99% sure that's the cause for me. So something has changed between those two that allows it to work for me. I tried modinfo to see if there was any version changes between the two but they are identical version numbers. Not sure if there is anything else I can do to help here?

[Félim Whiteley (felimwhiteley)]

This issue still effects me running 10.10 after an upgrade. Wireless does work if I activate the wireless hotkey during the bootsplash.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Chris Hornby, this bug was reported a while ago and there hasn't been any activity in it recently. We were wondering if this is still an issue? If so, could you please test for this with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/ .

If it remains an issue, could you please run the following command in the development release from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal), as it will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report:

apport-collect -p linux <replace-with-bug-number>

Also, could you please test the latest upstream kernel available following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds ? It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Please do not test the daily folder, but the one all the way at the bottom. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested. If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tags:
kernel-fixed-upstream
kernel-fixed-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

where VERSION-NUMBER is the version number of the kernel you tested. For example:
kernel-fixed-upstream-v3.11-rc5

This can be done by clicking on the yellow circle with a black pencil icon next to the word Tags located at the bottom of the bug description. As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the following tags:
kernel-bug-exists-upstream
kernel-bug-exists-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

If you are unable to test the mainline kernel, please comment as to why specifically you were unable to test it and add the following tags:
kernel-unable-to-test-upstream
kernel-unable-to-test-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug's Status as Confirmed. Please let us know your results. Thank you for your understanding.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for linux (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]