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butabeka

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11 years ago

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butabeka

15 Posts

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220863

April 21st, 2015 14:00

[workaround] XPS 13 (9343) + BCM 4352 issues -> replace BCM with Intel 7265...

I have the new XPS 13 (9343) with the Broadcom wifi module. In Ubuntu 15.04 beta, the wifi is recognized and used automatically, but:

- the signal is weak (weaker than any of my other machines)

- it only connects in G mode even though I have a 2xN router.

$ lshw -C network
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: BCM4352 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
logical name: wlan0
version: 03
serial: ac:d1:b8:c0:ba:6d
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=wl0 driverversion=6.30.223.248 (r487574) ip=192.168.0.3 latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11abg
resources: irq:19 memory:f7200000-f7207fff memory:f7000000-f71fffff

No extra configuration parameters supported by the driver:

$ iwconfig
wlan0 IEEE 802.11abg ESSID:"NETGEAR93"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: 20:0C:C8:29:B8:22
Retry short limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:on

Am I the only one with this problem? Is there a way to force at least N mode?

  • 2269

    0

    Posted April 25th, 2015 10:00

    I looked into this on my XPS13 and seem to be having the same issue. My iwconfig output matches yours, showing connected as 802.11abg, and current connection speed shows at 33Mbps. I have an N router, and my MacBook sitting next to the XPS13 is currently connected at 217Mbps

  • middric28

    1 Message

    2269

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    Posted April 29th, 2015 11:00

    Having the same problem, exactly the same output. Latest drivers installed.

  • tmscsb

    3 Posts

    2269

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    Posted May 8th, 2015 14:00

    Same issue here, maybe even worst: if I connect to my main router the internet access will be suspended for the whole household (no drop of connection, but denial of service type symptoms).

    In case I use a backup router it works, but is slow.

    tamas@dell-tam:~$ iwconfig

    lo no wireless extensions.

    wlan0 IEEE 802.11abg ESSID:"zsuzsinet"

    Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: XX:XX:XX:XX

    Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off

    Power Management:off

  • butabeka

    15 Posts

    2269

    0

    Posted May 10th, 2015 08:00

    My Intel 7265 module arrived yesterday, and I have been smoke testing it since. First impressions are good, connection seems to be stable and speed is as expected.

    $ sudo lshw -C network
    *-network
    description: Wireless interface
    product: Wireless 7265
    vendor: Intel Corporation
    physical id: 0
    bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
    logical name: wlan1
    version: 33
    serial: 00:15:00:ec:c2:3c
    width: 64 bits
    clock: 33MHz
    capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
    configuration: broadcast=yes driver=iwlwifi driverversion=3.19.0-16-generic firmware=25.15.12.0 ip=192.168.0.6 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11abgn
    resources: irq:48 memory:f7000000-f7001fff

    $ iwconfig
    wlan1 IEEE 802.11abgn ESSID:"NETGEAR93" 

    Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: 20:0C:C8:29:B8:22
    Bit Rate=300 Mb/s Tx-Power=22 dBm
    Retry short limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
    Power Management:on
    Link Quality=66/70 Signal level=-44 dBm
    Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
    Tx excessive retries:1 Invalid misc:133 Missed beacon:0

    And of course, it just worked out of the box.

    I think this is the module Dell should be shipping the 9343 with, even if it costs more, the experience is so much better...

  • ralph.b

    8 Posts

    2269

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    Posted May 10th, 2015 13:00

    Glad it worked out for you in the end, but please note that the actual issue is NOT solved.  Not everybody is willing to replace hardware as a workaround, though.

    It seems that the root cause is a Broadcom driver bug, see this bug report.  I think it would make sense to keep this thread alive for updates regarding the driver.

  • butabeka

    15 Posts

    2269

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    Posted May 11th, 2015 02:00

    Fair enough - I changed the title to reflect that.

  • pilot625

    19 Posts

    2269

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    Posted August 22nd, 2015 19:00

    Has the issue been fixed for you?  I cannot connect on the 80ghz band and no amount of driver manipulation is helping.  I'm still within the 30 day window and this might be going back.

  • tmscsb

    3 Posts

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    Posted August 23rd, 2015 01:00

    Yes, the problem is worked around by using the intel chip.

  • cloph

    74 Posts

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    Posted August 23rd, 2015 03:00

    Hi *,

    the broadcom card *can* use N (and also ac modes) - but the driver is more picky about the station parameters - the Access Point must confirm to the N specification closely. While other adapters are more lax and use N mode while the Broadcom doesn't.

    I  had the same issue - and for me the problem was that the WMM setting was disabled on my Access Point - but that is required for N mode according to the spec. So double-check the settings of your router/wifi Access Points.

    No Idea what you mean with 80Ghz -  that's way beyond the capabilities of any wifi card. For those you need special hardware. (and probably also a  licence to operate them)

  • pilot625

    19 Posts

    911

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    Posted August 23rd, 2015 06:00

    Sorry, I wrote that wrong.  I meant 80MHz.  802.11ac only works on the 5GHz band on a 80GHz channel.  The XPS 13 with a Broadcom card won't connect to it.  i.e. I am sending this back to Dell.  Unfortunate, but going round and round with the techs they won't send me an intel card.  So they get the whole thing back.