[NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

dhalgren · 2024-07-14 06:46:56

For one reason or another I have purchased a new cheap laptop, an Acer Aspire 3 with an Intel Celeron N4500 @ 1.1GHz

For another reason, I need to use it in a room where I cannot plug an RJ45 cable into the side, (and I don't really want a 10 metre cable lying around) so wifi is necessary, but no wifi networks appear with NetworkManager.

I've searched internet and forums here, and have found no solution, so, here is the main information I have got about the problem (hope it is enough for immediate purposes):

bruce@inana2:~$ uname -r
6.1.0-22-amd64

bruce@inana2:~$ inxi -nx
Network:
  Device-1: MEDIATEK vendor: AzureWave driver: N/A port: N/A bus-ID: 01:00.0
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
    vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 driver: r8169 v: kernel
    port: 4000 bus-ID: 06:00.0
  IF: enp6s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 40:c2:ba:f4:e6:2a

bruce@inana2:~$ rfkill list
0: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
1: acer-bluetooth: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: no
2: hci0: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: no

bruce@inana2:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

enp6s0    no wireless extensions.

There is no "enable wifi" when I right click on the network manager icon. Needless to say, the internet works fine when a cable is plugged in.

I kept Windows 11, just to see how much I hate it, and O boy do I hate it. Windows was in "S mode" but I removed that, so presumably Windows, which runs the wifi fine, shouldn't be the problem. But: correct me if I am wrong about this.

I am not sure this is a bug, so move it to an appropriate place if it is not a bug, or tell me if I need to provide some other information that will establish whether or not it is a bug.

The only solution I have read about that I have not tried is to update the image to a backported image.

Anyway, advice, solutions, and hopefully a fix, would be appreciated.

Cheers, good folk!

Last edited by dhalgren (2024-07-21 00:01:43)

PackRat · 2024-07-14 12:50:49

The driver for that wireless card - MT7921 - appears to be problematic.

Check if there is anything in dmesg about it.

Some users get the wireless working by upgrading to the latest kernel, or going with a 3rd party kernel like xanmod.

Since you are dual booting you may also need to make some configuration changes in Windows; like this user:

I had the same problem. I resolved it by unchecking the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power option.
The otpion can be found under Device Manager → Network Adapters → your network adapter → Properties → Power Management. I guess it's more of a Windows problem than Ubuntu.

Another option is to do a full shutdown of Windows. Boot into Windows and then shutdown by pressing the Shift key and the Poweroff option. That should do a full shutdown of Windows and hopefully free up the wireless.

Bearded_Blunder · 2024-07-14 15:48:13

I's the same Realtek hardware (different vendor ID) as a laptop I have up & working, did you install from the full iso? Or do a netinstall?

Just so I can make a comparison (since mine worked from the off) what is the content of /etc/network/interfaces and of /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf

dhalgren · 2024-07-15 01:04:52

@PackRat
Neither option with Windows made any difference, sadly. dmesg gave the following information, under a set of references to bluetooth, so I imagine that it is about bluetooth, but that is just a guess.

[    6.028622] NET: Registered PF_QIPCRTR protocol family
[    6.067706] r8169 0000:06:00.0: firmware: direct-loading firmware rtl_nic/rtl8168h-2.fw
[    6.094531] Generic FE-GE Realtek PHY r8169-0-600:00: attached PHY driver (mii_bus:phy_addr=r8169-0-600:00, irq=MAC)

@Bearded_Blunder
It was a fresh install using the downloaded iso from the official website, but /home is on an old drive which I installed. I couldn't find anything in there that should effect the network, though I am more than open to being pointed to some configuration setting that may be hidden there. The other information you requested is as follows:

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system
# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).

source /etc/network/interfaces.d/*

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

[main]
plugins=ifupdown,keyfile

[ifupdown]
managed=false

I am completely open to upgrading to a new kernel, but advice concerning this would be appreciated.
Edit: what I mean is advice as to which kernel to choose for the upgrade. Since I first started using Crunch as Ng many years ago, and then BL, I've let my reading slip due to the utter reliability of both in my experience, anyway.
Thanks for your replies.

Last edited by dhalgren (2024-07-15 01:27:20)

Bearded_Blunder · 2024-07-15 05:12:35

dhalgren wrote:

I am completely open to upgrading to a new kernel, but advice concerning this would be appreciated.

If you're going to go down that route, for ease of doing so I'd start with enabling backports & trying the one from there, if you want newer than that you're basically into compiling your own. For which there used to be a pretty good guide either in the Debian Administrators handbook, or on the Debian wiki. Long time since I've had a need to look.

Thanks for the info, it looks pretty standard, on my system if i look in /etc/network/interfaces.d/ there's nothing there, if there's anything there on your system I'd be interested to see what..

Main reason I asked is if you'd installed debian base, added repos & did a metapackage install using wifi, the wifi would appear in /etc/network/interfaces which stops NetworkManager managing it unless the entries are commented out or removed.

Since you are Dual booting, it's a good idea to turn off Fast Startup foolproof guide here Windows has been known to lock the wifi into an unuseable state with fast startup enabled (which it usually is by default).

Edit to add a reference: link

And to also disable hibernation which can be done by opening an elevated command prompt & issuing

POWERCFG /HIBERNATE /OFF

Otherwise you risk damaging Windows if you access the partition from Linux while it's hibernated. Possible data loss or corruption if you as much as mount any partition Windows was using when it was hibernated.

It's safe to hibernate Linux though, since Windows can't read the Linux filesystems anyway... However, I'd avoid the "Sleep then hibernate" or is it the "Hybrid Sleep" one? I always get those oddball useless sleep modes mixed up.. function in Linux, or you might see the same trouble in Windows caused by using it.
Fortunately the oddball modes are deliberately not exposed by default in bl-exit.

Last edited by Bearded_Blunder (2024-07-15 06:54:52)

unklar · 2024-07-15 11:46:20

You could use the tool isenkram-cli to search for missing firmware...

You could check if these packages are installed:
firmware-linux
firmware-linux-free
firmware-linux-nonfree
firmware-misc-nonfree

dpkg -l firmware* | grep ii

dhalgren · 2024-07-17 06:45:35

@unklar: Yes, all of those packages are installed, and the following information is available:

bruce@inana2:~$ dpkg -l firmware* | grep ii
ii  firmware-amd-graphics          20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for AMD/ATI graphics chips
ii  firmware-ast                   20140808-7                           all          Binary firmware for ASpeed Technologies graphics chips
ii  firmware-ath9k-htc             1.4.0-108-gd856466+dfsg1-1.3+deb12u1 all          firmware for AR7010 and AR9271 USB wireless adapters
ii  firmware-atheros               20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Qualcomm Atheros wireless cards
ii  firmware-b43-installer         1:019-8                              all          firmware installer for the b43 driver
ii  firmware-b43legacy-installer   1:019-8                              all          firmware installer for the b43legacy driver
ii  firmware-bnx2                  20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Broadcom NetXtremeII
ii  firmware-bnx2x                 20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Broadcom NetXtreme II 10Gb
ii  firmware-brcm80211             20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Broadcom/Cypress 802.11 wireless cards
ii  firmware-cavium                20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Cavium Ethernet adapters
ii  firmware-intel-sound           20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Intel sound DSPs
ii  firmware-ipw2x00               20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Intel Pro Wireless 2100, 2200 and 2915
ii  firmware-ivtv                  20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for iTVC15-family MPEG codecs (ivtv and pvrusb2 drivers)
ii  firmware-iwlwifi               20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Intel Wireless cards
ii  firmware-libertas              20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Marvell wireless cards
ii  firmware-linux                 20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for various drivers in the Linux kernel (metapackage)
ii  firmware-linux-free            20200122-1                           all          Binary firmware for various drivers in the Linux kernel
ii  firmware-linux-nonfree         20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for various drivers in the Linux kernel (metapackage)
ii  firmware-misc-nonfree          20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for various drivers in the Linux kernel
ii  firmware-myricom               20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Myri-10G Ethernet adapters
ii  firmware-netronome             20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Netronome network adapters
ii  firmware-netxen                20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for QLogic Intelligent Ethernet (3000 and 3100 Series)
ii  firmware-qlogic                20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for QLogic HBAs
ii  firmware-realtek               20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Realtek wired/wifi/BT adapters
ii  firmware-realtek-rtl8723cs-bt  20181104-2                           all          Bluetooth firmware for Realtek RTL8723CS
ii  firmware-siano                 20230210-5                           all          Binary firmware for Siano MDTV receivers
ii  firmware-sof-signed            2.2.4-1                              all          Intel SOF firmware - signed
ii  firmware-zd1211                1:1.5-10                             all          binary firmware for the zd1211rw wireless driver

I also ran isenkram-autoinstall-firmware and received the following, which makes little sense to me:

info: some kernel driver requested extra firmware files: i915/dg2_huc_gsc.bin i915/mtl_gsc_1.bin i915/mtl_guc_70.bin i915/mtl_huc_gsc.bin mediatek/mt7925/BT_RAM_CODE_MT7925_1_1_hdr.bin rtl_bt/rtl8723b_config.bin rtl_bt/rtl8723bs_config.bin rtl_bt/rtl8723cs_cg_config.bin rtl_bt/rtl8723cs_cg_fw.bin rtl_bt/rtl8723cs_vf_config.bin rtl_bt/rtl8723cs_vf_fw.bin rtl_bt/rtl8723ds_config.bin rtl_bt/rtl8723ds_fw.bin rtl_bt/rtl8761a_config.bin rtl_bt/rtl8821cs_config.bin rtl_bt/rtl8821cs_fw.bin rtl_bt/rtl8851bu_config.bin rtl_bt/rtl8851bu_fw.bin rtl_bt/rtl8852bs_config.bin rtl_bt/rtl8852bs_fw.bin rtl_bt/rtl8852cu_fw_v2.bin
info: unable to find any local firmware info for dist boron, using info for sid
info: locating packages with the requested firmware files
info: determining whether enabling other components is required
info: No new firmware package with requested firmware detected.

I also updated the kernel to the latest in backports, but with no change to the wifi, I have uninstalled and re-installed network-manager, though I did not purge, so I suspect I should do it again and remove all config files with a good-old purge.

I am beginning to doubt it is a BL problem, but I also intend to download an MX liver version and see how it handles the wifi.

The only other option I can think of is to re-install and delete windows 11 totally, which I shalll do should the problem continue.

Bearded_Blunder · 2024-07-17 07:58:55

Have you actually checked if fast start-up is enabled in Windows? It can prevent the wireless interface being initialised by Linux if it is. It does happen though it hasn't to me because it's one of my laundry list of "Things to turn off right away" whenever I get my hands on a Windows box.

dhalgren · 2024-07-17 08:41:54

Sadly, fast start-up is disabled both in the BIOS and in windows 11.

So that should not be the problem, unless it is that windows itself is the problem in a general way.

I'll dig around some more tomorrow, and see if I can turn up anything else.

Bearded_Blunder · 2024-07-17 08:55:50

Windows is the setting to double check, the BIOS setting might be called the same, but refers to an abbreviated power on self test.

unklar · 2024-07-17 10:23:47

which kernel ?

another attempt...
please show

lspci -nnk | grep -A3 net

dhalgren · 2024-07-18 01:07:40

Bearded_Blunder wrote:

Windows is the setting to double check, the BIOS setting might be called the same, but refers to an abbreviated power on self test.

The fast start-up is definitely turned off in windows. Double and triple checked that.

dhalgren · 2024-07-18 22:28:04

unklar wrote:

which kernel ?
another attempt...
please show
lspci -nnk | grep -A3 net

Apologies, I thought I posted this yesterday afternoon (my time), but I have been ill with some flu-like thing, and wasn't entirely mentally present yesterday.

bruce@inana2:~$ lspci -nnk | grep -A3 net
06:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [1025:150b]
	Kernel driver in use: r8169
	Kernel modules: r8169
0b:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller [0108]: Apacer Technology Device [1bcd:0180] (rev 01)

The actual image is

 bruce@inana2:~$ uname -r
6.7.12+bpo-amd64

unklar · 2024-07-19 06:58:37

https://linux-hardware.org/?d=BunsenLabs

Not a chance.
Another example that Linux users should avoid Acer products because they are absolutely geared towards M$.

Buy a cheap wifi stick that is Linux-friendly.

dhalgren · 2024-07-19 08:27:43

unklar wrote:

https://linux-hardware.org/?d=BunsenLabs
Not a chance.
Another example that Linux users should avoid Acer products because they are absolutely geared towards M$.
Buy a cheap wifi stick that is Linux-friendly.

Sadly I had arrived at the same conclusion today. I admit to some shortsightedness: my previous laptop was an Acer Aspire 5 that ran BL perfectly, with no wifi issues, so I just assumed this one would be much the same. I will not have such confidence again.

Thank you all for your comments and help.

Bearded_Blunder · 2024-07-19 20:01:34

Since it's a new install, & I've no idea how your install media was prepared, have you considered perhaps trying a reinstall? Start from scratch, re-download check the SHA sum, & write the install media again using a fool-proof (in terms of USB produced) method that doesn't interfere with the content like dd to write it? (Or burn an actual DVD).

If it was install media prepared under Windows using the defaults in Rufus, I've recently proved that interferes with firmware install for the Bunsen isos, Unetbootin is also known to be problematic & cause strange issues.
Something else & I've no idea, plus most people skip checking the SHA sum, which occasionally also results in mysterious issues.

As said, I didn't think to ask how your install media was made...

dhalgren · 2024-07-19 23:34:52

Bearded_Blunder wrote:

Since it's a new install, & I've no idea how your install media was prepared, have you considered perhaps trying a reinstall? Start from scratch, re-download check the SHA sum, & write the install media again using a fool-proof (in terms of USB produced) method that doesn't interfere with the content like dd to write it? (Or burn an actual DVD).
If it was install media prepared under Windows using the defaults in Rufus, I've recently proved that interferes with firmware install for the Bunsen isos, Unetbootin is also known to be problematic & cause strange issues.
Something else & I've no idea, plus most people skip checking the SHA sum, which occasionally also results in mysterious issues.
As said, I didn't think to ask how your install media was made...

Now that set of potential problems I had not thought of. I asked my son to do it for me, and he downloaded on Windows 10 and used Rufus in iso mode. I'm pretty sure he didn't check the SHA sum. (I can't blame him for that because I did not mention it, and although I often do it, I also don't do it often enough.)

I will purchase a new USB, just in case there is something wrong with the old one, and redo the download on BL check the SHA sum and burn it using dd or k3b

This might take me a couple of days simply because my flu has gone to my lungs and I am a bit slow physically and trying to avoid hospital.

But I will redo everything over the next couple of days and advise is that was not or was the issue.

For those who may be interested, the hw-probe @unklar suggested is here: https://linux-hardware.org/?probe=b0dd66f64e Looks like I am up for a new HDD soon. (Probably about time to make the switch to an SSD anyway.)

Bearded_Blunder · 2024-07-19 23:50:53

Rufus can do it correctly, you have to pick dd mode though, or else it gets written to a FAT32 partition (Default mode), lots of the firmware in the BL install iso, for things like WiFi are addressed by symlinks...

FAT32 doesn't support symlinks, so the installer doesn't find it.

It's pretty much vital you ignore what Rufus "advises" about how it should be written.

Or else use dd from Linux. Or if you're using Windows, Debian recommend win32diskimager (I can't recommend that myself, on my PC it starts a process, but never opens a user interface) I'm sure it works for most people.

dhalgren · 2024-07-21 00:09:17

Ok, nothing works. I have marked the thread as unresolvable.

Downloading a new copy, doing the checksum, using dd to copy to a USB, made absolutely no difference to the firmware situation.

I also have downloaded and tested several iive distros, e.g., Mint, Mx, but none have been able to deal with the wifi on this particular laptop.

I guess I am going to be doing a lot of cable work in this place, which I swore I would never do again (out of sheer laziness).

Once again, thnk you all for your input.

Zepher · 2024-07-21 01:07:49

For what it's worth, I too had very similar issues. My wifi and bluetooth wouldn't work or when working behaved in a bizarre way. I got rid of Windows on both my desktop and laptop. The problems I was having stopped. Just my severely uninformed opinion but it worked for me.

#1 2024-07-14 06:46:56

[NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#2 2024-07-14 12:50:49

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#3 2024-07-14 15:48:13

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#4 2024-07-15 01:04:52

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#5 2024-07-15 05:12:35

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#6 2024-07-15 11:46:20

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#7 2024-07-17 06:45:35

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#8 2024-07-17 07:58:55

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#9 2024-07-17 08:41:54

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#10 2024-07-17 08:55:50

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#11 2024-07-17 10:23:47

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#12 2024-07-18 01:07:40

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#13 2024-07-18 22:28:04

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#14 2024-07-19 06:58:37

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#15 2024-07-19 08:27:43

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#16 2024-07-19 20:01:34

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#17 2024-07-19 23:34:52

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#18 2024-07-19 23:50:53

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#19 2024-07-21 00:09:17

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

#20 2024-07-21 01:07:49

Re: [NOT RESOLVABLE---HARDWARE INCOMPATIBLE] Wifi Troubles on new install

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