Wifi problems on Centrino Wireless-N 1030, replace it?

Question

Recently I've switched from Windows to Ubuntu. I really love it, but one thing is a real pain: my wifi (Dell Vostro V131 notebook, Centrino Wireless-N 1030) isn't working most of the time with different routers. I've spend many hours to fix this problem, but it still doesn't work. The problem is complex, because it's the combination of my wifi card, Ubuntu and some of the networks I try to connect with.

I can connect to a wifi network, but it's very slow (<1 Mbit/s).

To summerize:

• I've reinstalled Ubuntu and switched from Ubuntu 14.04 to Kubuntu 14.10. I've disabled IPv6 and turn off WPA2-security (used a mac-filter instead) and disabled N-mode (Network Issues since Trusty). I've disabled power management and changed many different settings in my router. And I've changed my country code (https://askubuntu.com/a/171398/297583). And I'm sure I forgot 23231 other things I did.
• I've tried many different routers/access points: D-Link DIR-636L, TP-Link TL-WR1043ND, TL-Link TL-WDR3600, ZyXel P-2812HNU-F1 and many others. They all had problems.
• There are many connections that don't have any problems at all. On many other networks, like public hotspots (i.e. in public transport or eduroam at my university) there is no problem.
• When I connect my phone to my notebook with USB (and connect the phone with wifi) it works.
• With an USB dongle (TP-Link TL-WN722N) it works perfectly.
• I haven't got problems in Windows

What else can I try?

If there is no simple solution, maybe it's better to replace the wifi card by another one. In that case, which one do I have to choose? Do I have to replace it by a device that's not on this list (http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/iwlwifi)?

Some configuration/log files:

• /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf
• dmesg | grep iwl

---

Update: high invalid misc value:

When I look at iwconfig I'm seeing a very high 'invalid misc' value:

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:"Zy_private_XJ7U37"  
    Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.417 GHz  Access Point: CC:5D:4E:1A:3C:7C   
    Bit Rate=54 Mb/s   Tx-Power=15 dBm   
    Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
    Power Management:off
    Link Quality=70/70  Signal level=-25 dBm  
    Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
    Tx excessive retries:379  Invalid misc:51889   Missed beacon:0

Another network (no security) is having many errors as well (only one minute connected):

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:"Test"  
      Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.417 GHz  Access Point: CC:5D:4E:1A:3C:7D   
      Bit Rate=1 Mb/s   Tx-Power=15 dBm   
      Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
      Power Management:off
      Link Quality=70/70  Signal level=-25 dBm  
      Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
      Tx excessive retries:48  Invalid misc:1273   Missed beacon:0

---

Update: switched to WiFi Link 5100

I just removed the wifi card from my previous laptop (Vostro V13). The other card (Intel WiFi Link 5100) doesn't work either.

Answer 1

I do not see the 'fifo queues' problem in your dmesg. Let's try a driver parameter:

sudo -i
echo "options iwlwifi 11n_disable=8"  >>  /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf
exit

Reboot and tell us if performance has improved. There may be other things we can try if this doesn't help.

If this is ineffective, please do:

gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf

Use nano or kate or leafpad if you don't have the text editor gedit. Change the last line to read:

options iwlwifi 11n_disable=1

Proofread carefully, save and close the text editor. Reboot and test.

Although your dmesg doesn't show the 'fifo queues' issue, I suggest, as a last resort, that we undertake the suggested fix. Please see this bug report: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1361809 I suggest you install the patched kernel as desribed here: Weak WiFi signal

If this does not fix your issue, then I haven't any other suggestions.

Answer 2

I have a HP Pavilion DM4 laptop with an intel wireless N 1030 card. A while back, the wifi stopped working. In short, all indications in device manager and elsewhere were normal, it was just that the wifi and bluetooth could not be turned on. I ended up rolling back the bios from F.0C to F.0B, which didn't fix things, but then reinstalled the current F.0C bios software, and everything now works fine. So the hardware was all serviceable, it was just the logic that wasn't telling it to turn on, from what I can see, hope that is of some help.