How to test different iwlwifi driver options on the fly
You can temporarily test different iwlwifi driver options to see if your connectivity improves.
You can change the Intel iwlwifi drivers on the fly via rmmoding and modprobing.
Test one choice of options at a time by entering the following commands in the terminal individually.
Start at the top and work your way down the list, testing your connection for improvement after each change.
Open a root terminal by running the commands below.
At the terminal prompt enter:
su
Then input your root password.
Work your way down the list below, running each command individually. Test your connection for improvement after running each command.
/bin/bash -lc 'lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs rmmod && sleep 3 && modprobe iwlwifi swcrypto=1'
/bin/bash -lc 'lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs rmmod && sleep 3 && modprobe iwlwifi 11n_disable=8'
/bin/bash -lc 'lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs rmmod && sleep 3 && modprobe iwlwifi 11n_disable=1'
/bin/bash -lc 'lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs rmmod && sleep 3 && modprobe iwlwifi swcrypto=1 11n_disable=8'
/bin/bash -lc 'lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs rmmod && sleep 3 && modprobe iwlwifi swcrypto=1 11n_disable=1'
/bin/bash -lc 'lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs rmmod && sleep 3 && modprobe iwlwifi swcrypto=1 11n_disable=1 bt_coex_active=0'
/bin/bash -lc 'lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs rmmod && sleep 3 && modprobe iwlwifi swcrypto=1 11n_disable=8 bt_coex_active=0'
/bin/bash -lc 'lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs rmmod && sleep 3 && modprobe iwlwifi swcrypto=1 11n_disable=1 bt_coex_active=0 power_save=0'
/bin/bash -lc 'lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs rmmod && sleep 3 && modprobe iwlwifi swcrypto=1 11n_disable=8 bt_coex_active=0 power_save=0'
Those are some of the most commonly used options to improve connectivity with the iwlwifi driver. There are other options as well, but the above options are are the one that are commonly the most effective. Those options when executed from the terminal are not permanent. The modified driver option only persists until you reboot. The options can be made permanent by creating a configuration file in /etc/modprobe.d.
How to make your iwlwifi driver option changes persistent
To permanently change the driver options, create the file:
/etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf
You can add any of the following lines to the iwlwifi configuration file /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf to make the option(s) persistent:
options iwlwifi bt_coex_active=0
options iwlwifi bt_coex_active=1
options iwlwifi 11n_disable=1
options iwlwifi 11n_disable=8
options iwlwifi swcrypto=1
options iwlwifi power_save=0
options iwlmvm power_scheme=1
options iwlwifi d0i3_disable=1
options iwlwifi uapsd_disable=1
Test the options individually, and in combination to find which option(s) are most effective in improving your connectivity. Rebooting will wipe any driver option you have tested via modprobing.
In sequence below is an explanation of what the above options actually do:
1st option: disables Bluetooth compatibility
2nd option: enables Bluetooth compatibility
3rd option: disables wireless N band
4th option enables antenna aggregation
5th option - adds software encryption
6th option - disables adapters power saving
7th option: another way to disable power saving (if also using the iwlmvm module)
8th option: disables the power save mode
9th option: disables the power save mode
Adding a comment ( # pound sign) in front of any option disables it. Try any, or all options in different combinations. Simply comment out, or delete any option that doesn’t improve your performance. You can also delete the /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf file completely if you find it is of no benefit.
Reboot after making any permanent driver option change in /etc/modprobe.d /iwlwifi.conf for the option to take effect.