[SOLVED] usb wifi rtl8191s stopped working after update

[gilado]

I have been running 3.2.18 with kde 4.6.5 on Asus ux31e using an external usb wifi.  When I first got the usb wifi it worked out of the box.

I have updated this machine using the recent 2012 iso, then updated to the latest kde (4.9.2) and other packages from synaptic.

Now the external usb wifi does not work.  dmesg reports:

usb 2-1: new high-speed USB device number 4 using xhci_hcd
xhci_hcd 0000:03:00.0: WARN: short transfer on control ep
xhci_hcd 0000:03:00.0: WARN: short transfer on control ep
xhci_hcd 0000:03:00.0: WARN: short transfer on control ep
xhci_hcd 0000:03:00.0: WARN: short transfer on control ep
usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8172
usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
usb 2-1: Product: RTL8191S WLAN Adapter
usb 2-1: Manufacturer: Manufacturer Realtek
usb 2-1: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
usb 2-1: ep 0x83 - rounding interval to 32768 microframes, ep desc says 0 microframes
usb 2-1: ep 0x4 - rounding interval to 32768 microframes, ep desc says 0 microframes
usb 2-1: ep 0x6 - rounding interval to 32768 microframes, ep desc says 0 microframes
usb 2-1: ep 0xd - rounding interval to 32768 microframes, ep desc says 0 microframes
r8712u: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.
r8712u: DriverVersion: v7_0.20100831
r8712u: register rtl8712_netdev_ops to netdev_ops
r8712u: USB_SPEED_HIGH with 4 endpoints
r8712u: Boot from EFUSE: Autoload OK
r8712u: CustomerID = 0x0000
r8712u: MAC Address from efuse = 80:1f:02:4b:31:16
r8712u: Loading firmware from "rtlwifi/rtl8712u.bin"
usbcore: registered new interface driver r8712u

I'm pretty sure that is incorrect.

In synaptic looking for 8191s I get

[not installed] dkms-r8192se
[installed      ] rtl8192se-firmware

If I mark dkms-r8192se for installation synaptic wants to remove my system (the kernel, bassystem, dkms, etc.)

more info

# uname -a
Linux giladoz 3.2.18-pclos2.bfs #1 SMP PREEMPT Thu May 24 04:44:50 CEST 2012 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

# kde-open --version
Qt: 4.8.2
KDE Development Platform: 4.9.2
KIO Client: 2.0

# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 064e:f300 Suyin Corp.
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:0139 Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 0bda:8172 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8191SU 802.11n WLAN Adapter

How can I fix that?

[muungwana]

different kernels may use different drivers to control the same hardware.

what does these commands give you,run them from root terminal

iwconfig

iw XYZ scan

where XYZ is the wireless interface given above if the above command identified a wireless interface

[gilado]

wlan1 is the usb wifi (wlan0 is the built-in wifi)

# iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

wlan1     unassociated  Nickname:"rtl_wifi"
          Mode:Auto  Access Point: Not-Associated   Sensitivity:0/0  
          Retry:off   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"wLAN1000"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.457 GHz  Access Point: 5A:8D:09:E2:9A:71  
          Bit Rate=5.5 Mb/s   Tx-Power=16 dBm  
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=40/70  Signal level=-70 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:3  Invalid misc:73   Missed beacon:0

# iw wlan1 scan
command failed: No such device (-19)

[muungwana]

I cant find the driver your kernel loaded on my system

what do these command give you?

find /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ -iname "*rtl*"

uname -r

[gilado]

Below is the information you requested.  The driver loaded when I insert the usb wifi is

/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/staging/rtl8712/r8712u.ko.gz

It loads the 'firmware' file

/lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8712u.bin

The device is edimax ew-7612uan. Poking around edimax web site it seems the driver indeed is 8712

http://www.edimax.com/images/Image/Driver_Utility/Wireless/NIC/EW-7612UAn/7612_22_Linux_Driver.zip

#  uname -r
3.2.18-pclos2.bfs

# find /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ -iname "*rtl*"
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/staging/rtl8192e
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/staging/rtl8187se
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/staging/rtl8192u
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/staging/rtl8712
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/platform/x86/ibm_rtl.ko.gz
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/usb/rtl8150.ko.gz
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtl818x
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtl818x/rtl8180
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtl818x/rtl8180/rtl8180.ko.gz
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtl818x/rtl8187
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtl818x/rtl8187/rtl8187.ko.gz
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192cu
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192cu/rtl8192cu.ko.gz
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtlwifi.ko
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192ce
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192ce/rtl8192ce.ko
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192ce/rtl8192ce.ko.gz
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192de
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192de/rtl8192de.ko
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192de/rtl8192de.ko.gz
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtlwifi.ko.gz
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192se
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192se/rtl8192se.ko
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192se/rtl8192se.ko.gz
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192c
/lib/modules/3.2.18-pclos2.bfs/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192c/rtl8192c-common.ko.gz

[gilado]

I have another machine, which I upgraded just before I did the ux32e. I had never used the usb wifi with it before and decided to try it now. It works! To summarize:

usb wifi worked on Asus ux31e with a 2012.2 iso install followed by a 3.2.18 kernel upgrade. After reinstalling with a 2012.8 iso and full upgrade it does not work.

never tried usb wifi on other machine.  After reinstalling with a 2012.8 iso and full upgrade it _does_ work.

Running dmesg on both machines, the log is dinetical, except that the other machine has some additional lines

Identical section

usb 1-4: new high-speed USB device number 14 using ehci_hcd
usb 1-4: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8172
usb 1-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
usb 1-4: Product: RTL8191S WLAN Adapter
usb 1-4: Manufacturer: Manufacturer Realtek
usb 1-4: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
r8712u: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.
r8712u: DriverVersion: v7_0.20100831
r8712u: register rtl8712_netdev_ops to netdev_ops
r8712u: USB_SPEED_HIGH with 4 endpoints
r8712u: Boot from EFUSE: Autoload OK
r8712u: CustomerID = 0x0000
r8712u: MAC Address from efuse = 80:1f:02:4b:31:16
r8712u: Loading firmware from "rtlwifi/rtl8712u.bin"
usbcore: registered new interface driver r8712u

Only on working machine

r8712u: 1 RCR=0x153f00e
r8712u: 2 RCR=0x553f00e
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
r8712u: r8711_wx_set_enc: EncryptionDisabled
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready

[gilado]

One more thing I forgot to mention is that the Asus has a built in wifi so the usb wifi is wlan1, where the other machine does not have wifi so the usb wifi is wlan0.

After disconnecting the internal wifi fro net_applet and clicking connect on the usb wifi it all of a sudden started to work!

Perhaps it is the same problem as this post ?

http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,110940.msg946978.html#msg946978

[muungwana]

i am confused,so ...umm,things work now?

If that is so,then go to the first post,click edit and add "solved" to the title and consider it job well done 

[gilado]

I also am confused. There are two possible explanations to what had happend

 1. Somehow the usb wifi became messed up (bad firmware download?) and recovered once I plugged it into the second machine.

 2. Turning off the inbuilt wifi (wlan0) allowed the system to access/configure/enable the usb wifi (wlan1) on the first machine.

Anyway I marked it "solved"