Intel 3165 Wifi not working on Debian Jessie

[Jean]

Hi

I just installed Debian Jessie (8.6) on my Laptop MSI PE60 6QE

Everything is fine but the I cannot setup the wifi adapter or card.

Someone can hell me to install this ?

I followed the guide on https://wiki.debian.org/WiFi but I get blocked on the Network manager.

Reading some blogs on other flavors (Mint, Ubuntu) I could install some firmware and packages, but still not result.

1.- So, I run this "$>iwconfig" and I got :
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.

2.- So I suppose no any driver is installed, so I ran "$>lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 net" to see which card I have :
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Device [8086:3165] (rev 81)
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device [8086:4010]
03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Qualcomm Atheros AR8161 Gigabit Ethernet [1969:1091] (rev 10)
Subsystem: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. [MSI] Device [1462:115a]
Kernel driver in use: alx

3.- So, I went to Intel site to get the driver for Intel 3165, and I downloaded the package "iwlwifi-7265-ucode-25.30.14.0",unzipped and then and copied to /lib/firmware :

$> cp iwlwifi-7265-14.ucode /lib/firmware
$> cp iwlwifi-7265D-14.ucode /lib/firmware

I even copied like this

$> cp iwlwifi-7265D-14.ucode /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-3265-14.ucode

4.- Reboot but nothing, still no network manager detection and "iwconfig:" says that no any wireless adapter.

5.- II tried on KDE, GNOME, Mate, but I cannot see where is the famous NetWorkAdapter.
The command "$>apt-get install network-manager-gnome" don't show nothing.
And installing bumblebee didn't help (I don't know if related)

Can someone give me a hand ?

Thank you
Jean

[bw123]

It's okay, if you're sure that is the right firmware, you can make sure it's loading

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$ dmesg | grep firm


Looks like the correct place would be /lib/firmware/intel/ so maybe you'll need to move it.

you probably should snag the debian package and install that instead of ripping the intel firmware package? That way if it needs updating later apt will take care of that for you.

https://packages.debian.org/jessie-back ... re-iwlwifi

You can download it and install it with dpkg if your machine isn't online and you can't use apt.

Sometimes newer devices need a newer kernel from backports, but it looks like this is supported on jessie?

[Head_on_a_Stick]

This thread suggests that support was added in kernel 4.2.3 so, yes, try the backported version.

https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic.php?id=1257

[stevepusser]

An alternative to upgrading the kernel is building and installing updated wireless drivers in your existing kernel, but it takes a few more steps and you'll probably also need the upgraded firmware from backports anyway, plus you'll also need a Net connection with a working USB wireless dongle or a wired connection.

1. Set up a module build environment:
a: install module-assistant
b: In a terminal as root or with sudo, run m-a prepare.

2. Get the 4.2.6 driver source from here: http://drvbp1.linux-foundation.org/~mcg ... backports/

3. Extract the tarball into a folder, making sure there are no spaces in the path to the folder.

4. Enter the extracted source folder, and to speed up compilation, specify a target driver, in your case iwlwifi. So in a terminal, run

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make defconfig-iwlwifi
make

Possible targets are in the defconfig folder.

5. Install: in that same terminal, either use root or sudo to install, depending on what you use:

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su -c 'make install'

sudo make install

6. Reboot.

7. To check that you are really using iwlwifi from backports make sure that compat module is loaded and iwlwifi module uses it:

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$ lsmod | grep compat
compat                 36104  6 iwldvm,iwlwifi,ath10k_pci,ath10k_core,mac80

[Jean]

Hi

Thanks for your help.
Still not luck.

I tried first to test if the firmware was loading (as suggested by @bw123)

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$>dmesg | grep firm


At first there was 3 lines about bluetooth.

So I moved the files to the /lib/firmware/intel and reboot
But didn't work.

So, I tried by to snag the debian package and install it: https://packages.debian.org/jessie-back ... re-iwlwifi
Not luck and the iwconfig still didn't showed any wireless:

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lo        no wireless extensions.
eth0      no wireless extensions.


So, I tried with the backports approach (as suggested by @Head_on_a_Stick), but now the new kernel blocks and debian it's not loading.

So, I'm loading the old kernel with the entries on GRUB.
But now there are not any response from :

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$>dmesg | grep firm


Just an empty line.

Any ideas ?
Do I have to reinstall to get rid off the new kernel ?
How I know if everything is fine and how I can load the networkmanager ?

Thanks in advance.

[stevepusser]

Firmware is not a driver; it's just microcode that gets loaded into the device by a working driver. Without a driver in the kernel, it's useless, and the 3.16 kernel does not have that driver. Dmesg won't have any firmware messages if there's no driver that tries to load it. Not unless you build the driver for the 3.16 kernel per my post.

You're vague about what prevents the newer kernel from booting, but booting to a blank screen is a rather common issue, and can usually be fixed. With the older kernel, please install inxi and give us the output of "inxi -F" in a terminal so we have some idea of the graphics and other hardware we're dealing with.

[Jean]

Hi @stevepusser

Thanks for your clarification.

The "$>inxi -f" return the following info :

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CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-6700HQ (-HT-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB
           Clock Speeds: 1: 800 MHz 2: 800 MHz 3: 800 MHz 4: 800 MHz
           5: 800 MHz 6: 800 MHz 7: 800 MHz 8: 800 MHz
           CPU Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm acpi adx aes aperfmperf apic arat
           arch_perfmon avx avx2 bmi1 bmi2 bts clflush clflushopt cmov
           constant_tsc cx16 cx8 de ds_cpl dtes64 dtherm dts eagerfpu epb ept
           erms est f16c flexpriority fma fpu fsgsbase fxsr hle ht ida invpcid
           lahf_lm lm mca mce mmx monitor movbe mpx msr mtrr nonstop_tsc nopl
           nx pae pat pbe pcid pclmulqdq pdcm pdpe1gb pebs pge pln pni popcnt
           pse pse36 pts rdrand rdseed rdtscp rep_good rtm sep smap smep ss
           sse sse2 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 syscall tm tm2 tpr_shadow tsc
           tsc_adjust tsc_deadline_timer vme vmx vnmi vpid x2apic xsave
           xsaveopt xtopology xtpr


I was trying before debian to install SteamOS, and it was the same problem on the load.
I tried to install Suse, Ubuntu, Fedora and the only one that worked was Debian 8.6
Do I have to try the solution you provided about build and install updated drivers?
Or is too late ?


Thanks

[stevepusser]

Please run "inxi -F", not "inxi -f", please. There's a difference between the two. Command in *nix are case-sensitive; you can't leave Caps Lock on and expect "MAKE" to be the same command as "make".

I can see from the bit of output you showed that your CPU is a 6th generation Intel i7; if you're using its integrated graphics, stock Debian will have very poor performance, and you'll need the kernel and other stuff from jessie-backports anyway. That's why I wanted to see the results of the inxi command.

Do you have any connection to the Net in Debian without that wifi?

[Jean]

Sorry, i didn't realize it was capital.

So, the results for "$>inxi -F" are:

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System:    Host: debianpxx Kernel: 3.16.0-4-amd64 x86_64 (64 bit) Desktop: N/A Distro: Debian GNU/Linux 8
Machine:   System: Micro-Star product: PE60 6QE v: REV:1.0 serial: 9S716J514062ZFA000094
           Mobo: Micro-Star model: MS-16J5 v: REV:0.A serial: BSS-0123456789
           Bios: American Megatrends v: E16J5IMS.106 date: 09/04/2015
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-6700HQ (-HT-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB
           Clock Speeds: 1: 800 MHz 2: 800 MHz 3: 800 MHz 4: 800 MHz 5: 800 MHz 6: 2000 MHz 7: 800 MHz 8: 800 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Device 191b
           Card-2: NVIDIA Device 139b
           Display Server: X.org 1.16.4 drivers: fbdev,intel (unloaded: vesa)
           tty size: 148x44 Advanced Data: N/A for root
Audio:     Card Intel Device a170 driver: snd_hda_intel Sound: ALSA v: k3.16.0-4-amd64
Network:   Card-1: Intel Device 3165
           IF: N/A state: N/A speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
           Card-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR8161 Gigabit Ethernet driver: alx
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: d8:cb:8a:84:4c:b4
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 1000.2GB (3.6% used) ID-1: /dev/sda model: HGST_HTS721010A9 size: 1000.2GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 6.3G used: 6.1G (100%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda6
           ID-2: /home size: 308G used: 3.4G (2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda10
           ID-3: /tmp size: 361M used: 2.1M (1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda9
           ID-4: /var size: 2.7G used: 1.1G (43%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda7
           ID-5: swap-1 size: 25.57GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda8
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 46.0C mobo: 27.8C
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 241 Uptime: 26 min Memory: 1298.6/11950.7MB Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 2.1.28


Yes, I'm lucky, I have a wired connection, that's why I only can connect at night.

Thanks @stevepusser

[stevepusser]

You have two graphics adapters, perhaps an Optimus system, neither one of which is providing any acceleration. I have a 6th generation i5 with Optimus, and here's what I get for the Intel driver:

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Graphics:  Card-1: Intel HD Graphics 520 bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Card-2: NVIDIA Device 179c bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.16.4 driver: intel Resolution: 1920x1080@60.01hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 520 (Skylake GT2)
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 12.0.4 Direct Rendering: Yes

Compare with yours:

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Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Device 191b
           Card-2: NVIDIA Device 139b
           Display Server: X.org 1.16.4 drivers: fbdev,intel (unloaded: vesa)
           tty size: 148x44 Advanced Data: N/A for root


I also have Bumblee working, so I run the command with optirun to use the Nvidia card:

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Graphics:  Card-1: Intel HD Graphics 520 bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Card-2: NVIDIA Device 179c bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.16.4 driver: intel Resolution: 1920x1080@60.01hz
           GLX Renderer: GeForce 940MX/PCIe/SSE2 GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 367.44 Direct Rendering: Yes

So getting your wifi and graphics working correctly will require the backports kernel, kernel headers (for the backports nvidia-driver if desired), xserver-xorg-video-intel, and the newer Mesa 12.0.4 packages in jessie-backports. This is because you and I are using hardware developed since the Jessie 3.16 kernel came out more than two years ago.

https://wiki.debian.org/Bumblebee