karniv0re's Journal: Weird Ubuntu Wireless Shenannigans

I got a call from the gf the other day at work. She was at home doing homework on her Ubuntu laptop and said the Internet wasn't working. I believe she said she couldn't connect to the Wireless, actually. So I had her turn off the router and turn it back on. When that didn't work, I said I'd be home in a bit, because trying to walk her through troubleshooting is a nightmare. So first thing's first, I tried pinging Google from my desktop, which also connects wirelessly. I'd get about 39 pings off and then it'd freeze for about a minute. Then I'd get some more pings off and it'd freeze again. I powered off the modem and powered it back on. Same thing.

So I didn't have time to dig into it anymore, so I told her to just come to my work and she could use the office WiFi.

When I got home, I tried again, and everything was hunkey dorey until I turned my laptop on. Then I saw the problem again. I set both the laptop and desktop up to ping Google and I'd get the same thing - on again off again connectivity, but they would alternate. Ah ha! I had a theory. So then I pointed them both at 192.168.1.1 and got the same result, proving it wasn't the Internet.

The theory was gaining traction.

I pointed my desktop to the router's admin console and checked my devices. I saw there were 3 connected (my phone was on too), but only two were identified with an IP address, and the other was just all dashes (-------- ----------). So it saw a device, but couldn't assign it an IP. I checked all the settings to make sure my DHCP wasn't set to only allow 2 devices (something I have done in the past), or that I didn't have any static IPs set. Nothing.

I grew more frustrated.

Then I disabled networking on the laptop. When I turned it back on, problem solved.

So this must be a weird Ubuntu bug, or something related to the driver for that card. I dunno. But I'm glad it's fixed. That would have driven me nuts for a long time to come.

Wierd, indeed

[mcgrew]

If it's Ubuntu, it's a new problem, or only affects certain makes and models. I ran kubuntu on an Acer notebook for quite a while, and its wifi was far better than Windows.

I suspect it's an issue with drivers; Linux has had driver issues in the past, especially with newer equipment.

Re:

[karniv0re]

Most likely drivers. It's a Sony Vaio. It's just weird that the old Turn it On and Off Again trick is what fixed it.