I'm quite new to Arch and Garuda. I've been running linux in all my machines for quite a long time now. I'm no expert but generally I can find my way around the issues that I've encountered during this time. Yet, after installing Garuda, I'm having consistent connection issues (almost 2 months now). At first I couldn't connect with the internet at all, I then uninstalled and installed the driver again. After that, some how, the wifii came back to life, but since then I'm having issues with signal strength and I'm unable to connect with anything beyond 30 cm from the computer. Network is also unable to discovery my 2.4g and 5g wifii (router is 2,5m away from machine). Just to be clear, I have run around and tried different solutions over this 2 months, but now this issue has become super annoying, mainly because I couldn't solve it.
cheers filo for your quick reply, I tried =, nothing happened! I also try to install the lts kernel, did not work, jumped back to zen, and now grub give me a error during boot: "error: need to load kernel first "
Sorry it didn't work.
So now you can't launch zen kernel from GRUB, but the lts one still works I hope?
In that case you could try to update-grub or reinstall the zen and retry...
I've a few snapshots,and I'm running on it as a quick fix, just running a -Syu to see if it can fix the problem by updating the zen image, buapparently this isn't a very serious error.
This statement makes littles sense as the “driver” is included directly in every modern kernel. The driver cannot be directly installed/uninstalled, as it is part of the Linux kernel. Please clarify your above statement and what you actually have done.
Have you tested this system with other Linux distros? How is your reception on other distros? Note which kernel and linux-firmware version is being used if you find a distro that works well.
Have you tried disabling wifi power saving and MAC Address randomization? This can be easily done though the Garuda Network Assistant. Reboot both your computer and your router after implementing these changes.
I would also try changing your router’s channel bandwidth to 20Mhz, and test out different channels rather than using auto selection. There are tools you can install on your phone to aid in the best chanel to select in your home wifi area if congested with other signals.
Also test disabling IPv6 while in your routers setting utility.
I would also suggest testing further kernels such as lnux and linux-mainline.
Is your bios the most current version available?
Double check that you have the crda package installed and that your regdomain (REGDOM) is set to your home country. Search this info online.
If you use Bluetooth I would suggest disabling it temporarily as a test. If you do not use Bluetooth I would suggest disabling it permanently. There are many ways to do this. Search is your friend.
Have you tested Garuda from one of the most recent live environments? I would test the live environment using the LXQT-Kwin edition for troubleshooting purposes. This is extremely important as problems with this adapter have been linked to Network Manager usage. The LXQt edition uses Connman for managing your network connection and may fix this issue. Please do not request further help until you have tested the live LXQt ISO for troubleshooting purposes.
Please answer all my questions and test all suggestions for further assistance. Incomplete answers or failing to provide feedback on all suggestions is not likely to result in a resolution to your issue. To find the proper solution this issue must be worked through methodically in sequence. All the first questions/suggestions must be answered/implemented before further progress can be made.
Hi TBG, thanks for your reply! And sorry for the wait.
1st – I used both pacman -R and modprob –ignore-remove all modules as follow: ath9k, ath9k_common, ath9k_hw, ath, r8169 and realtek. Please, note that I previously have clone the git files for all modules been purged and I only needed to makepkg.
2nd – I have run 4 linux distros with their respective stock kernel previously without any problems, please note that all kernel used were derivated from Linux kernel either the 4.y.z and/or 5.y.z.
3rd – Both power save and mac address random are set off for a long time.
4th – I’ve re-config my router, disabled Ipv6, yet I can not change the cahnnel bands. My router only accepts predefined ranges (20Mhz – 40Mhz, for 2.5G) and (60Mhz – 160Mhz - 5G) and automatically choose between these arrays (router is a Sagemcom, EMTA D3.1).
5th – Unfortunaly, every time that I try to change the kernel, I’m contrasted with either a error that does not allow me to install the kernel (error is related with timeshift package) or either after install I’m surprized by a grub msg saying that it cannot find the kernel (I think it is related with the btrfs file system), so I’m unable to jump to Linux kernel, which I think would run the adapters without any problem.
6th – Used the live LXQt and Comnman, no luck there! Same issue.
Well then it sounds like you've got real problems with your system if you can't install and change kernels properly.
I know it's a headache, but in your case I would also suggest downloading a Garuda XFCE ISO to boot the live environment. The Xfce ISO uses the LTS kernel, so that will narrow down a bit if the kernel is a major part of the problem.
Thank you for your concise report on your efforts.
Are you using only the Garuda assistant tool or also the command line?
I’m asking this because yesterday I got a timeshift error from the assistant tool, while the installation via pacman went smoothly.
I understand this is a difficult situation but trying different kernals can really help.
mhwd-kernel -li
Currently running: 5.12.8-arch1-1 (linux)
The following kernels are installed in your system:
local/linux 5.12.8.arch1-1
local/linux-zen 5.12.8.zen1-1
Now my machine somehow manage to finding the router and connection, yet low strength (around 25%), only my 2.5Ghz band, and every time that I try to connect I get in a semi-infinite loop of “configuring interface” or something like that.
I’m going to install the LTS kernel and see if it gets any better!