How to measure wifi connection duration?

[kerryhall]

I'm trying to help a friend diagnose their wifi issues but I can't repro their issue.

They state that their wifi connection will drop after a certain amount of time, but after giving me their laptop, I can't get the connection to drop.

First of all, how do I record the length of time that a connection will stay connected, so I can gather some hard data? Using the default network manager applet that comes with MATE.

Secondly, how would I set up logging for disconnection events? What logs contain this information?

Third, assuming they are simply connecting to an AP that "doesn't like" their wifi card, would it help to try a different card? (I'm assuming certain wifi / AP combinations are simply not ideal or have problems) Their AP is a XB6 but they state they have this issue with other APs.

[sickpig]

Using the default network manager applet that comes with MATE.

Don't know how you can do that with the nm applet but you can use sar command from https://packages.debian.org/buster/sysstat. After setting sysstat up you can use-

Code: Select all

sar -n EDEV -f /yourlogfile

will give you errors recorded for the interface

Secondly, how would I set up logging for disconnection events? What logs contain this information?

You can co-relate the above with the router logs.