[Solved] Unable to configure WiFi

[dpc25]

Hi all,

I'm trying to set up WiFi on my laptop (running Debian 9.6) and just can't seem to make any progress. I've come across a fair number of similar threads across the Internet but none of the methods described are working for me.
I installed Debian using the non-free/cd-including-firmware image, so that I could find the firmware for my particular WiFi adapter, but that doesn't seem to have helped.

So, some (hopefully) relevant info:
The hardware is 'GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0'

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lspci | tail -3
01:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Device 2526 (rev 29)
02:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8411B PCI Express Card Reader (rev 01)
02:00.1 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 12)

I downloaded the driver from Realtek (0012-r8168-8.046.00), ran the autorun shell script, which seemed to complete successfully.
Various sources online stated a need to blacklist r8169, which I have done using

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sudo sh -c 'echo blacklist r8169 >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf'

Some more things:

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lsmod | grep r8168 
r8168                 487424  0

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sudo iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

enp2s0f1  no wireless extensions.

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sudo ethtool -i enp2s0f1
driver: r8168
version: 8.043.02-NAPI
firmware-version: 
expansion-rom-version: 
bus-info: 0000:02:00.1
supports-statistics: yes
supports-test: no
supports-eeprom-access: no
supports-register-dump: yes
supports-priv-flags: no

I don't even have a Wireless Connection option in the Network settings.
At this point I just don't know how to proceed, so any help would be appreciated.

Cheers!

[arochester]

I downloaded the driver from Realtek

That's the Ethernet.

The wifi is

Network controller: Intel Corporation Device 2526 (rev 29)

Install firmware-iwlwifi.

[dpc25]

I downloaded the driver from Realtek

That's the Ethernet.

The wifi is

Network controller: Intel Corporation Device 2526 (rev 29)

Install firmware-iwlwifi.

OK, thanks for pointing that out.
I've installed firmware-iwlwifi, rebooted, still can't make any progress though.

'ip a' lists two devices: lo and enp2s0f1. Should there not be wlan0?

[bw123]

Lokks like 9260 firmware isn't in stretch, it's in stretch-backports. See if this is the right one? You might need the newer kernel too?

Let people know, thanks!
https://packages.debian.org/stretch-bac ... re-iwlwifi

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* Intel Wireless 9260 firmware, version 34.ba501b11.0
   (iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-34.ucode)
 * Intel Wireless 9260 firmware, version 38.c0e03d94.0
   (iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-38.ucode)

https://backports.debian.org/Instructions/

[dpc25]

Lokks like 9260 firmware isn't in stretch, it's in stretch-backports. See if this is the right one? You might need the newer kernel too?

Let people know, thanks!
https://packages.debian.org/stretch-bac ... re-iwlwifi

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* Intel Wireless 9260 firmware, version 34.ba501b11.0
   (iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-34.ucode)
 * Intel Wireless 9260 firmware, version 38.c0e03d94.0
   (iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-38.ucode)

https://backports.debian.org/Instructions/

Thanks for the suggestion. I've followed the instructions to install the backport package firmware-iwlwifi, but it doesn't seem to have helped.

My kernel version is 4.9.0-8-amd64

[bw123]

you can look in /lib/firmware and confirm the right files are present. Use dmesg to see that is loaded or if kernel is asking for another file, use apt policy to confirm the right pkg is installed.

my device uses different firmware, and I only need one file so I don;t use the whole pkg.

example:

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$ ls /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-5*
/lib/firmware/iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode
# dmesg | grep -i firmware
[140861.571639] (NULL device *): firmware: direct-loading firmware iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode
$ apt policy firmware-iwlwifi
firmware-iwlwifi:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: (none)
  Version table:

[dpc25]

you can look in /lib/firmware and confirm the right files are present. Use dmesg to see that is loaded or if kernel is asking for another file, use apt policy to confirm the right pkg is installed.

my device uses different firmware, and I only need one file so I don;t use the whole pkg.

example:

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$ ls /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-5*
/lib/firmware/iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode
# dmesg | grep -i firmware
[140861.571639] (NULL device *): firmware: direct-loading firmware iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode
$ apt policy firmware-iwlwifi
firmware-iwlwifi:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: (none)
  Version table:

Thanks - that's useful to know. Here's what it returned for me:

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ls /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-92* -l
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2678092 Sep 13 11:27 /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-34.ucode
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2521412 Sep 13 11:27 /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-38.ucode

So the firmware is there, but doesn't seem to be doing anything.

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apt policy firmware-iwlwifi
firmware-iwlwifi:
  Installed: 20180825+dfsg-1~bpo9+1
  Candidate: 20180825+dfsg-1~bpo9+1
  Version table:
 *** 20180825+dfsg-1~bpo9+1 100
        100 http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian stretch-backports/non-free amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     20161130-4 500
        500 http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian stretch/non-free amd64 Packages

And then

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dmesg | grep -i firmware
[    0.048414] Spectre V2 : Enabling Restricted Speculation for firmware calls
[    2.919959] i915 0000:00:02.0: firmware: failed to load i915/kbl_dmc_ver1_01.bin (-2)
[    2.919963] i915 0000:00:02.0: Direct firmware load for i915/kbl_dmc_ver1_01.bin failed with error -2
[    2.919965] i915 0000:00:02.0: Failed to load DMC firmware [https://01.org/linuxgraphics/intel-linux-graphics-firmwares], disabling runtime power management.
[    2.926867] [drm] GuC firmware load skipped

Doesn't seem to contain anything relevant.

[bw123]

yeah it looks like the module in stable kernel does not support that, try the backported kernel whatever the latest is.

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# modinfo iwlwifi | grep 'iwlwifi-9'
firmware:       iwlwifi-9000-pu-a0-lc-a0--26.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-9260-th-a0-jf-a0--26.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-9000-pu-a0-jf-a0--26.ucode
# uname -a
Linux debian 4.9.0-8-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.9.130-2 (2018-10-27) x86_64 GNU/Linux

When you get it working can you post the hex id string so people can find it later with a search? Thank, smoething like this will get it.

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$ lspci -nn | grep Network

.

[dpc25]

yeah it looks like the module in stable kernel does not support that, try the backported kernel whatever the latest is.

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# modinfo iwlwifi | grep 'iwlwifi-9'
firmware:       iwlwifi-9000-pu-a0-lc-a0--26.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-9260-th-a0-jf-a0--26.ucode
firmware:       iwlwifi-9000-pu-a0-jf-a0--26.ucode
# uname -a
Linux debian 4.9.0-8-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.9.130-2 (2018-10-27) x86_64 GNU/Linux

Ran 'apt-get -t stretch-backports install kernel-package', all completed successfully, rebooted, still no luck...

Ugh.

Alternatively - I have a TL-WN823N USB network adapter which says 'Linux supported' on the box. When I plug it in I can see wireless networks, and attempt to connect to mine. Despite entering the correct WPA key, it always fails to connect (I also set my phone as a portable hotspot without a password and it still failed to connect). I've tried adding

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[device]
wifi.scan-rand-mac-address=no

to /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf as has been suggested elsewhere, but it hasn't solved the problem.
Any ideas?

[bw123]

kernel-package isn't what you think, you probably want the backport of linux-image-amd64, but do some searches. Get the intel device working, if possible. Don't rush to get wireless, spend this time in the shell, using terminal an exploring things. Network-manager has issues, but it can be pretty reliable. Some people hate it, so they might tell you to explore other ways of connecting.

Take your time, I know it's frustrating but this is how you get your feet wet. I went to a lot of unnecessary trouble with wireless when I got on debian, but you know, it paid off anyway.

[stevepusser]

Yes...you really need the newer linux-image (kernel) for that adapter and firmware, but you probably also need a newer graphics driver stack (Mesa libraries) from backports, along with other backports.

We just released the Stretch-based MX 18 Linux with all these backports installed by default to support the newer hardware, if you'd like to run the Live session to confirm that those will fix the issue on standard Debian:

https://archive.org/details/MX18X64

My upload, but I'm an MX Linux developer.

[dpc25]

OK, so I did a quick install of Ubuntu (4.15.0-43-generic) to check that I could actually connect to WiFi. Lo and behold, I could.

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$ ls /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-92*
/lib/firmware/iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-33.ucode  /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-38.ucode
/lib/firmware/iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-34.ucode

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$ dmesg | grep -i firmware
[    0.028000] Spectre V2 : Enabling Restricted Speculation for firmware calls
[    1.916716] [drm] Finished loading DMC firmware i915/kbl_dmc_ver1_01.bin (v1.1)
[    4.279449] Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014
[    4.283724] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-18-16-1.sfi
[    4.303779] iwlwifi 0000:01:00.0: loaded firmware version 34.0.0 op_mode iwlmvm
[    5.529491] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete
[    5.530409] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware loaded in 1224801 usecs

So, does this suggest that if I install, say,
linux-image-amd64 (4.18+100~bpo9+1)
Linux for 64-bit PCs (meta-package),
with a backport containing iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-34.ucode that it should work?

And thanks for the suggestion stevepusser - I'll give that a try.

[stevepusser]

Yes, but your other newer hardware may also need other packages from backports. But we don't know what you have.

[dpc25]

OK, so after some time to let frustration subside, I tried again, installing backports linux-image-4.18...-amd64, then firmware-iwlwifi.
The thing I missed before was going to the advanced start-up menu to choose the kernel I wanted to boot.

Seems simple (and maybe even obvious) once you've done it successfully, but when you're used to your OS just doing seemingly basic stuff for you it seems a daunting task.
But yeah, cheers for the help guys!

[stevepusser]

If you install inxi and provide the output of

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inxi -Fxz

as a regular user, in code tags like above, we'll be able to see from the output what hardware you have, and how well it's working with the other Stretch libraries.

[dpc25]

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$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: ultranote Kernel: 4.18.0-0.bpo.1-amd64 x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 6.3.0)
           Desktop: Gnome 3.22.3 (Gtk 3.22.11-1)
           Distro: Debian GNU/Linux 9 (stretch)
Machine:   Device: laptop System: PC Specialist product: N2x0WU
           Mobo: CLEVO model: N2x0WU
           UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1.07.13 date: 06/02/2018
Battery    BAT0: charge: 20.7 Wh 72.3% condition: 28.6/30.0 Wh (96%)
           model: Notebook BAT status: Charging
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-8550U (-HT-MCP-) cache: 8192 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 15936
           clock speeds: max: 4000 MHz 1: 1143 MHz 2: 1952 MHz 3: 1919 MHz
           4: 1633 MHz 5: 1869 MHz 6: 1405 MHz 7: 1817 MHz 8: 1939 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel UHD Graphics 620 bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.19.2 driver: N/A
           Resolution: 1920x1080@60.01hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Kabylake GT1.5
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 13.0.6 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.18.0-0.bpo.1-amd64
Network:   Card-1: Intel Wireless-AC 9260 driver: iwlwifi bus-ID: 01:00.0
           IF: wlp1s0 state: up mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: e000 bus-ID: 02:00.1
           IF: enp2s0f1 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 628.1GB (3.9% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST500LM034 size: 500.1GB temp: 0C
           ID-2: /dev/sdb model: ADATA_SU800NS38 size: 128.0GB temp: 27C
Partition: ID-1: / size: 109G used: 16G (15%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb2
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 8.47GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sdb3
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 38.5C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 245 Uptime: 2:11 Memory: 1882.3/7856.9MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: N/A
           Client: Shell (bash 4.4.121) inxi: 2.3.5 

[stevepusser]

Inxi is reporting that your Intel graphics is working correctly with the standard Mesa libraries; hopefully that is correct. You're also using the kernel's built-in "modesetting" driver instead of the xserver-xorg-video-intel driver, which is expected and the default in Debian for recent Intel graphics. Some users, like me, prefer the "intel" driver because of its TearFree option and va-api hardware decoding and encoding options, which are not in the modesetting driver.

Start a new thread for this if you encounter video glitches with modesetting, or just want to switch to the intel driver.