Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Hi Guys, nice OS.
It has been working good for a couple of months now.
Installed in multiboot with windows 10, Ubuntu20.04, and EasyOS on an HP Convertible 360 using an rtl8821ce.
The problem of the wifi failing started a couple of weeks ago; it works fine for an hour or two then stops; the router is still connected.
Interestingly Ubuntu started with the same problem and now refuses to connect at all.
Win10 does not have this problem.
USB tethering from a tablet from my wifi router works fine.
I will appreciate any advice'
Russ

Which driver are you using - the in-kernel rtw88_8821ce or a third-party github build?

Run: lsmod | grep 8821ce

Does the dropout occur while the WiFi is in use or while it is unattended?

The grep command you gave came up empty but I have not altered anything, so I am running whichever driver came with the installation.
The dropout occurs while wifi is in use.
Russ

Run "lspci -nnk" and try to determine the wifi driver in use. Look in the Network section.

It says the driver is rtl8821ce.
Russ

Russ6814 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 11:09 am

The problem of the wifi failing started a couple of weeks ago; it works fine for an hour or two then stops; the router is still connected.

That would suggest either a hardware problem or some change you have made to your system. Boot with a temporary clean install and see if the problem persists.

Interestingly Ubuntu started with the same problem and now refuses to connect at all.

That certainly muddies the issue.

Win10 does not have this problem.

That suggests a problem with the Linux driver.

USB tethering from a tablet from my wifi router works fine.

Supposedly because that method bypasses your computer's wifi.

rcrsn51 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 6:05 pm

.Boot with a temporary clean install and see if the problem persists.

Any updates?

Just to update, over the last week or so I have run Ubuntu Studio, OSGeo 14, FatDog811 and Ubuntu 20.04 as well as Bionic 8.5. All have the same issue.
I ran Ubuntu 20.04 since its release and Bionic 8.0 from Jan 2020 and later FatDog 811 as well, with no problems up untill a couple of months ago: no problems in Win 10 ( as much as I hate using it ).
As you say this suggests a Linux driver issue, but do I go from here.
Thanks for your time.
Russ

You write that wifi used to work in Fatdog64 811 and now it doesn't. There have been no wifi driver updates in Fatdog 811. This suggests that the driver may not be the issue because it hasn't changed. You also say that wifi used to work with multiple Linux versions and now it doesn't -- not with a single one of them. Because of this I am inclined to think that your wifi hardware may be the issue.
Then why does wifi in Win10 still work if the hardware is supposedly faulty? I can't tell for sure. It could be that the Win10 driver -- unlike the Linux drivers -- "talks" to the hardware in a way that doesn't exercise that undetermined wifi hardware issue that makes Linux fail. This is all speculation so far.
You need to rule out the possibility that your wifi hardware isn't faulty when running Linux. Perhaps you could try replacing the small wifi card inside your notebook with another card borrowed from an old notebook? If you aren't comfortable replacing hardware parts seek help from someone who does.