Laptop update from Mate 19.2 to 21.1

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[Slowpoke47]

Update completed, HP Envy 17, sha sums checked, new system functional.  With this update, wifi connection poor to none.  Cable connection good.  No changes to laptop or router.  Rt-click on network icon shows this:

S/shot of router screen shows

network elements:
HP manual shows sequence to edit network connections:

But I can’t find a means to do any of this, BIOS or otherwise.  It does seem that the SSID and WPA2 are the same, router and laptop, but also looks like the router established a new network element for the laptop with the new OS install.  Any suggestions on this?

• This topic was modified 2 years ago by Slowpoke47.

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It could be IPV 6.  I turned mine off on the router.  But I had other issues on another machine awhile back and this solved my problem

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=239854

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Slowpoke47

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IIRC you’ve had wifi problems before when updating. Once was due to a password issue of some kind (entered wrong PW or a typo in the correct PW?) and another was due to a driver issue. First thing I’d do is shut down the computer, the start it and see if that does anything. Then, you have a wifi dongle, right? If so, plug it into a usb port and see if you connect wirelessly through that. If you can, then I’d say you have a driver issue, in which case open “Driver Manager” and see what it says. Might take a few minutes but then might tell you there’s a wifi driver available for your machine and you should be able to install it from there.

If the dongle doesn’t work, then I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve read that IPV6 can cause problems, but don’t have any personal experience with it.

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Slowpoke47

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No change using dongle.  Same results on restart.  The new OS picked up the root p/w from the old system w/o help.

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DrBonzo

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Slowpoke47 wrote:

But I can’t find a means to do any of this, BIOS or otherwise. It does seem that the SSID and WPA2 are the same, router and laptop, but also looks like the router established a new network element for the laptop with the new OS install. Any suggestions on this?

You’ve found out how to view the basic Connection Information and probably noticed that the connection speed fluctuates.

I’m going to suggest you look at a few other things that can effect connection speed: power management, band, channel and (possibly) IP protocol.

Power Management:

1. Click on the Terminal icon in the panel:

2. When the Terminal opens, type iwconfig and press RETURN/ENTER:

The results will show you whether power management is enabled:

Band, channel and IP protocols can be checked by right-clicking on the network icon in the System tray and choosing the Edit Connections… option:

Select your WiFi connection then click on the ‘gearwheel’ icon to open the Editing… dialog.

Band:

If your router is capable, the Band dropdown on the Wi-Fi tab lets you choose between Automatic, 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Broadly speaking, use 2.4GHz for better range and 5GHz for better speed.

Channel:

If you live in an area with lots of nearby WiFi access points then there’s a chance that the channel that’s been automatically chosen may already be congested, especially if your neighbours are using the same ISP/router combo (as the default channel will probably be the same).  You’ll need to use Mate’s Package Manager to install a WiFi channel scanner like LinSSID to see what’s happening around you in order to manually select the least congested channel:

I’ve just done the same on my own Linux Mint Mate 21.1 laptop:

My 2.4GHz connection (in green) was on channel 12 (along with several of my neighbours) with a signal strength of -59dBm. This is an OK signal strength that was giving me an average speed of 52Mb/s… but I noticed that mid-range channels (4-8) were not being used by anyone else.

I changed Wi-Fi channel for the 2.4GHz band from 12 to 6 on my router… and the signal strength shown in LinSSID went from -59dBm to -48dBm, a considerable improvement… and my connection speed increased from 52Mb/s to 144Mb/s. LinSSID now shows my 2.4GHz WiFi connection well away from others on the same channel except for one single distant router that doesn’t affect me.

IP protocol:

I’ve noticed several posts about WiFi issues on Windows machines following recent updates… and turning IPv6 off has been mentioned as a possible cure. The jury is still out whether disabling IPv6 has any real effect… but, if you want to try it, go to the IPv6 Settings tab and change the Method dropdown from Automatic to Disabled then click on the Save button.

Hope this helps…

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Slowpoke47, DrBonzo

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An update… mainly because I’ve learned someting and nearly trebled my Wi-Fi connection speed yet again as well!

My ISP-supplied router is now many years old. (I’ve never bothered asking for it to be upgraded as I have no wish to change package and start a new contract.) Although dual-band, up to now I’ve only used the 5GHz band for my iPhone and iPad which are much newer than my Dell Latitude E7450 laptop.

As an experiment I decided to disconnect my laptop from my router’s 2.4GHz band, with its now much improved 144 Mb/s connection speed and, instead, connect to its 5GHz band. To my surprise the connection speed shot up to 400 Mb/s with a signal strength of -63dBm!

LinSSID showed I was sharing the channel range with several neighbours so, in the router, I changed the channel range from 44+48 to 100+104… and agreed this warning:

After the change LinSSID showed the router was now well clear of my neighbours but, even though the signal strength had improved significantly from -63dBm to -52dBm the connection speed stayed at 400Mb/s… which I suspect is the best I’m ever going to get from the laptop’s ancient Wi-Fi adapter:

Still, a speed increase from 52Mb/s to 400Mb/s for a few minutes tinkering made it all very worthwhile… and I didn’t even disable IPv6! 🙂

Hope this helps…

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Bill C., Slowpoke47

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Big thanks for your time, effort, and expertise on this.  Will do my best to follow your guidance.

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The puzzle here is that the only change was the updated OS in the laptop.  No elements of the network were changed, no settings altered.  Tested signal strength using smartphone (1st device on list) in various parts of the house, and signal is adequate everywhere.

There are 3 locations where the laptop is typically used, never had wifi connectivity problems before.  Now the furthest location from the router will not maintain the wifi connection and goes online only via ethernet.

Also seems odd that the router sees the updated laptop as a new device on the network, for wifi purposes only, for a total of 3 entries to the list (2nd, 4th, and 5th in the column).  FWIW here are additional s/shots from router.

These statistics are mostly above my pay grade.

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Your first screenshot shows a MAC address of 28:cd:c4:64:55:87. The first 3 pairs of a MAC address are known as the OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier) and used to identify the manufacturer/vendor of network adapters.

Looking that OUI up in a database shows your HP Envy 17‘s wireless adapter is apparently manufactured by Chinese company Chongqing Fugui Electronics Co. Ltd.

I’m a bit surprised by that… because I cannot find that 28:CD:C4 OUI in the database listing for Hewlett-Packard network adapters and a Google search shows the company is more usually known for its Wi-Fi adapters in Dell laptops… but also:

• Epson printers
• Brother printers
• HP laser printers
• Canon printers
• Samsung smart TVs
• Sony smart TVs
• Sony Blu-Ray disc players.
• Chromebooks

Slowpoke47 wrote:

Also seems odd that the router sees the updated laptop as a new device on the network, for wifi purposes only, for a total of 3 entries to the list (2nd, 4th, and 5th in the column). FWIW here are additional s/shots from router.

IMO even odder is that the 4th and 5th entries have different MAC addresses to the 2nd entry (new-host-3) in the list.

The OUI for Steven-HP-Laptop-17-by0xxx (MAC address 84:2a:fd:c5:21:85) shows the network adapter is manufactured by HP. This is what I would have expected.

The OUI for new-host (MAC address 1a:83:c7:8e:69:2b) is unknown, even though I tried a couple of OUI databases, e.g. https://mac.lc/address/1a:83:c7:8e:69:2b.

Also a little odd is that DHCP services usually offer dynamic IP addresses sequentially, yet there’s no 192.168.1.9 showing in the router screenshot.

I suggest the next step is to turn your HP Envy 17 laptop off then check the router list again from steve-OptiPlex-5060 to see whether all 3 other entries disappear… ‘cos I can’t think of a logical explanation except they are different devices.

Alternatively, turn off everything wireless you can except for a smart phone. Use it to run Fing to double-check what the router is seeing.

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Slowpoke47

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Rick Corbett wrote:

I suggest the next step is to turn your HP Envy 17 laptop off then check the router list again from steve-OptiPlex-5060 to see whether all 3 other entries disappear… ‘cos I can’t think of a logical explanation except they are different devices.

With the laptop shut down, the router home screen (red border, 1st post) now shows 5 devices- the phone and the desktop “active” and 3 listings for the laptop “inactive.”  The printer (.4, last listing on s/shot) is now not shown.  Odd, because in that s/shot, the printer is listed and marked “active” but it was shut off when the s/shot was taken.

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The oddities with the router are still unsolved, but the primary issue- wifi connectivity to the laptop- was corrected with help from the Mint forum.  Turns out SecureBoot was enabled in the BIOS- once disabled, wifi was available.

Don’t know whether the apparently extra network entry in the router needs to be addressed or not.  Perhaps someone can say whether that is a sleeping dog or needs attention.  Big thanks to Rick Corbett and everyone else who worked on this on my behalf!

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DrBonzo

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@slowpoke47. Appreciate your post which is relevant to what I plan to do with my linux distros. Seems it is still best to disable secure boot when not needed for other OSs. Glad all worked out ok.

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Slowpoke47, DrBonzo

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I’ve never paid much attention to Secure Boot, but now I’m wondering how it will affect my plan to convert a Windows 8.1 laptop to a dual boot Windows 10 and Mint laptop.

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Slowpoke47

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I would never have made that connection (no pun intended).

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DrBonzo

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The Mint forum has the closest approximations I have found to various tutorials on some of the behind-the-curtain workings of Mint.  But if you post there, you may have to eat some occasional sarcasm.

https://forums.linuxmint.com/

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Rick Corbett, DrBonzo

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Slowpoke47 wrote:

Turns out SecureBoot was enabled in the BIOS- once disabled, wifi was available.

That’s really good to hear.

For the benefit of others, do you have a link to the Mint forum post/article in case this comes up again?

Slowpoke47 wrote:

Don’t know whether the apparently extra network entry in the router needs to be addressed or not. Perhaps someone can say whether that is a sleeping dog or needs attention.

Doubtful, unless it becomes a problem. I’m not familiar with HP Envoy laptops but, for all I know, it could have 4 network adapters (ethernet, wifi, cell, bluetooth), all of which will have unique MAC addresses.

The important thing is that Wi-Fi is now working.

I’m a firm believer in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. YMMV. 🙂

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DrBonzo, Slowpoke47

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Rick Corbett wrote:

I’m a firm believer in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

And a hearty second from this corner. 👍

Thread on Mint forum:

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=393978

Rick- Once I recover from this ordeal I plan to study your posts here to see whether I can improve the wifi signal to the laptop.  Wouldn’t call it “broke” but marginal.  Sometimes the tray icon lights up just the dot, shows strength as low as 35%.  Machine is about 30′ from router.

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Rick Corbett, DrBonzo

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Slowpoke47 wrote:

Thread on Mint forum

Thanks for this. ‘sleeper12′ made *very* useful posts… and shows much greater knowledge and experience than I have so it was really useful to read them.

(One small point… if you cross-post on other forums, please add a note and link so no-one duplicates responses already made elsewhere.)

If your laptop is only 30’ from your router then I would look at environment. Fish tank(s)? Radiators? Router low down (‘cos we water-filled humans absorb Wi-Fi)? Cordless phone and/or baby monitor on same 2.4GHz frequency?

With that short distance I suggest you try using the 5GHz band to see if your Wi-Fi speed results improve the same way mine did. Me? I’m really pleased to have responded to your OP… ‘cos it made me look at my own circumstances (to screenshot) instead of being so complacent… and my own results improved exponentially, so thank you! 🙂

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Slowpoke47

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Turns out there was a wifi driver missing.  Installed same and signal is now good throughout the house.

Footnote:  that center panel in the router s/shot (1st post) is not static- varies but not exactly in relation to which devices are powered up.  That info does not seem crucial in any case.

 

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Rick Corbett, DrBonzo

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Thanks to all who posted.

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DrBonzo

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