NM sometimes loses wireless connection, both Wi-Fi and wireless broadband -- Atheros AR5001 ath5k

[Erkkimon]

Binary package hint: network-manager

This has happened with very many versions of Ubuntu. The problem is that sometimes, like once a month, my computer loses the wireless connection. Then nm-applet starts trying to find the connection again. After that wireless networking doesn't work, until it does. I don't know why it starts work again, but i have rebooted Ubuntu until my wireless networking starts working again. Maybe something in the boot process goes sometimes wrong?

It also does the same with my mobile broadband. Mobile broadband and wireless networking don't usually get crippled at the same time. Sometimes the problem also occurs in a case in which the wireless networking or mobile broadband has been working last time the computer was on. On the next boot it just doesn't work.

I don't know is the problem in nm-applet or network-manager. I guess it is in network-manager. The problem could also be in hardware detection or kernel. Anyway, nowadays lots of things depend on Internet connection and I can't use Ubuntu for working purposes because I cannot trust my Internet connection just works.

* I'm using Ubuntu 10.04.1.
* My network-manager is 0.8-0ubuntu3.
* I expected my wireless networking to work.
* Instead of working, nm-applet didn't show any available wireless networks.

I don't exactly know how to reproduce the issue. With time it can be reproduced for example with Ubuntu 10.04 and Acer Aspire One 3G (model no. ZG5) and using it.

lspci: 03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5001 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: network-manager 0.8-0ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-24.42-generic 2.6.32.15+drm33.5
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-24-generic i686
Architecture: i386
CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
Date: Wed Sep 8 16:20:31 2010
IfupdownConfig:
 auto lo
 iface lo inet loopback
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS "Lucid Lynx" - Release i386 (20100429)
IpRoute:
 192.168.1.0/24 dev wlan0 proto kernel scope link src 192.168.1.2 metric 2
 169.254.0.0/16 dev wlan0 scope link metric 1000
 default via 192.168.1.1 dev wlan0 proto static
Keyfiles: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: network-manager

[zob (zob)]

My experience with the ar5001 is that connection has a tendency to drop when wifi-signal-strength gets below approximately 80%. Do you have the same experience?

By the way. It is not fixed in 10.10 beta.
See this: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/udev/+bug/647650

[Erkkimon (tom-himanen-gmail)]

Right now the strength of the signal is 55 - 60 %. I haven't noticed such a problem. Could the problem be something else but the strength of the signal?

[zob (zob)]

Ok. So we have the same problem, software-versions, and network-adator, but it seems we have different symptoms.
I get a practically non-working connection when signal-strength drops below around 80%. Maybe it's not the same problem after all.

[Thomas Hood (jdthood)]

Is this bug still present in Ubuntu 12.04?

[Erkkimon (tom-himanen-gmail)]

Yes, it is.

[Thomas Hood (jdthood)]

Does wicd work any better?