network manager takes long time to connect then connection drops - ath9k

[notoriousdbp]

Binary package hint: network-manager-gnome

I'm using Ubuntu 9.04 (64-bit edition) and my wireless connection takes ages to connect and sometimes fails to connect at all, then when you first go to use the internet the connection drops and then re-establishes. My wireless card uses the ath9k driver and up until recently it had been very reliable. Once the connection re-establishes it stays up fine.

I'm using Network Manager 0.7.0.100 and kernel 2.6.28-13

[arda (subscribe-creacode)]

I'm using Asus K50IN notebook pc. Ubuntu 9.04 is running. Wireless signal strength looks low and wireless connection drops too often and is not reconnecting automatically. My network connection is quite unstable.

I had installed linux-backports-modules-jaunty package.

lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Host Bridge (rev b1)
00:00.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Memory Controller (rev b1)
00:03.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 LPC Bridge (rev b3)
00:03.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Memory Controller (rev b1)
00:03.2 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP79 SMBus (rev b1)
00:03.3 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Memory Controller (rev b1)
00:03.5 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Co-processor (rev b1)
00:04.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP79 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev b1)
00:04.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP79 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev b1)
00:08.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP79 High Definition Audio (rev b1)
00:09.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Bridge (rev b1)
00:0b.0 SATA controller: nVidia Corporation MCP79 AHCI Controller (rev b1)
00:0c.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
00:10.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
00:15.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
00:16.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Device 0873 (rev b1)
04:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 01)
05:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)

uname -r
2.6.28-13-generic

lshw -C network
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:04:00.0
       logical name: eth0
       version: 01
       serial: 00:26:18:22:25:bc
       size: 10MB/s
       capacity: 1GB/s
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm vpd msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=half latency=0 link=no module=r8169 multicast=yes port=MII speed=10MB/s
  *-network
       description: Wireless interface
       product: AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
       vendor: Atheros Communications Inc.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:05:00.0
       logical name: wmaster0
       version: 01
       serial: 00:22:43:9c:8f:f9
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list logical ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ath9k latency=0 module=ath9k multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bgn
  *-network DISABLED
       description: Ethernet interface
       physical id: 1
       logical name: pan0
       serial: c2:1f:54:b7:66:e4
       capabilit...

[Peter Davoust (worldgnat)]

This bug seems to be affecting me on Ubuntu 10.10, using the Broadcom STA drivers. Connecting to a wireless network takes me around 5 minutes, and after the connection is made, it will occasionally drop again after I attempt to use the network.

I've used Wicd before, and it did not have these issues, so I suspect the issue is not with the wireless driver.

[Cerin (chrisspen)]

I also have this issue on a Macbook Pro 5,5 running Ubuntu 10.04. NM will try to connect for 5 minutes (with the laptop sitting right next to the wireless router), and will either re-prompt me for the WPA2 password a dozen times, or just give up and say it was disconnected (even though it was never connected in the first place). Only about 1 in 12 times it will connect successfully. This essentially makes wireless networking unusuable for me using NM. I've had no issues at all connecting to the same wireless router with other machines (Ubuntu desktop using a USB wireless dongle, and an Android phone), so the issue doesn't seem to be on the router's side.

The only workaround I've found is to remove ALL network-manager packages, and install the equivalent Wicd packages, which is able to connect immediately. It would be nice to have similar functionality with NM, since it has a more intuitive interface than Wicd IMHO.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Rafael Paim (rafa-tevez)]

I have a laptop Acer Aspire Timeline 48140T with this bug.
I've been using ubuntu since 10.04 and after the ubuntu 12.04.1 update, the wifi does not work properly.
after 2 or 3 minutes, the wireless connects and disconnects, the touchpad stops to work, and it seems to hang the system.

I used the line command 'lshw -c network' and it says that the wireless interface is from a "Ilegal Vendor ID". When the wireless is working, instead of Ilegal Vendor ID, it shows the name of the manufacturer, Atheros.

I attached some lines of the system log to help to identificate the problem.
I tried to boot using the live CD. With ubuntu 12.04 or lower, i dont experience this problem. When i boot with 12.04.1 the problem happens again.

I also installed the wicd, as in some asnwers in Ask Ubuntu website, but I couldnot be able to solve the problem.

Thanks for your help.
Rafael Paim

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.