unsupported wireless (168c:003e QCNFA344) blocks USB WiFi

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saja
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Posts: 3
Joined: Sat May 17, 2014 4:33 pm

unsupported wireless (168c:003e QCNFA344) blocks USB WiFi

Post by saja »

Hi,

this post relates to difficulties installing an external USB Wifi dongle workaround for a non supported WiFi chipset (Qualcomm Atheros Device 003e , QCNFA344).

The non supported WiFi Chipset (ath10k driver type) is already discussed in length here:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... ug/1383184
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=200859

After several failed tries (4 new installations of Rebecca 17.2, different kernels between 3.16 all the way up to 4.2rc with and without backport installations) I finally decided to go for a USB dongle WiFi workaround. However the workaround failed as the defunctional internal WiFi Chipset still seems to interfere.

When inserting the USB dongle the WiFi section of the desktop network manager becomes visible and connecting to my Wifi network is possible. However after a couple of minutes the internet and router connection is lost, while the network manager shows the opposite. It appears from dmesg that the not supported WiFi card has taken over during the connection process.

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[   11.228785] init: plymouth-upstart-bridge main process ended, respawning
[   11.547308] vgaarb: this pci device is not a vga device
[   11.547633] nvidia 0000:04:00.0: irq 69 for MSI/MSI-X
[   11.550134] ACPI Warning: \_SB_.PCI0.RP05.PXSX._DSM: Argument #4 type mismatch - Found [Buffer], ACPI requires [Package] (20140424/nsarguments-95)
[   11.550170] ACPI Warning: \_SB_.PCI0.RP05.PXSX._DSM: Argument #4 type mismatch - Found [Buffer], ACPI requires [Package] (20140424/nsarguments-95)
[   11.550189] ACPI Warning: \_SB_.PCI0.RP05.PXSX._DSM: Argument #4 type mismatch - Found [Buffer], ACPI requires [Package] (20140424/nsarguments-95)
[   11.550217] ACPI Warning: \_SB_.PCI0.RP05.PXSX._DSM: Argument #4 type mismatch - Found [Buffer], ACPI requires [Package] (20140424/nsarguments-95)
[   11.550243] ACPI Warning: \_SB_.PCI0.RP05.PXSX._DSM: Argument #4 type mismatch - Found [Buffer], ACPI requires [Package] (20140424/nsarguments-95)
[   11.550260] ACPI Warning: \_SB_.PCI0.RP05.PXSX._DSM: Argument #4 type mismatch - Found [Buffer], ACPI requires [Package] (20140424/nsarguments-95)
[   11.550299] ACPI Warning: \_SB_.PCI0.RP05.PXSX._DSM: Argument #4 type mismatch - Found [Buffer], ACPI requires [Package] (20140424/nsarguments-95)
[   11.550317] ACPI Warning: \_SB_.PCI0.RP05.PXSX._DSM: Argument #4 type mismatch - Found [Buffer], ACPI requires [Package] (20140424/nsarguments-95)
[   11.973142] init: plymouth-stop pre-start process (1529) terminated with status 1
[   11.984752] wlan0: authenticate with 59:cd:ff:ff:ff:ff
[   11.995591] wlan0: send auth to 59:cd:ff:ff:ff:ff (try 1/3)
[   12.033447] wlan0: authenticated
[   12.035303] wlan0: associate with 59:cd:ff:ff:ff:ff (try 1/3)
[   12.075449] wlan0: RX AssocResp from 59:cd:ff:ff:ff:ff (capab=0x1411 status=0 aid=2)
[   12.075487] wlan0: associated
[   12.075516] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready
[   13.973489] ACPI Warning: \_SB_.PCI0.RP05.PXSX._DSM: Argument #4 type mismatch - Found [Buffer], ACPI requires [Package] (20140424/nsarguments-95)
[   14.150220] r8169 0000:02:00.0 eth0: link up
[   14.150227] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth0: link becomes ready
[   14.453830] vgaarb: this pci device is not a vga device
[ 3721.243026] r8169 0000:02:00.0 eth0: link down
mintwifi shows very conflicting information, as wlan0 seems to be overloaded with both wifi devices (see differences between iwconfig and ifconfig).

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mintwifi
-------------------------
* I. scanning WIFI PCI devices...
  -- Qualcomm Atheros Device 003e (rev 20)
      ==> PCI ID = 168c:003e (rev 20)
-------------------------
* II. querying ndiswrapper...
-------------------------
* III. querying iwconfig...
eth0      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"mynetwork"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: 59:cd:ff:ff:ff:ff   
          Bit Rate=72.2 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=58/70  Signal level=-52 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:6   Missed beacon:0

lo        no wireless extensions.

-------------------------
* IV. querying ifconfig...
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 31:cd:ff:ff:ff:ff  
          inet6 addr: 1234::5678:9999:9999:9999/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:22052 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:11950 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:20778687 (20.7 MB)  TX bytes:1719666 (1.7 MB)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:1461 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1461 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:175208 (175.2 KB)  TX bytes:175208 (175.2 KB)

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 75:cd:ff:ff:ff:ff<  
          inet addr:192.168.0.17  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: 1234::9875:8888:8888:8888/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:2290 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:155 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:421580 (421.5 KB)  TX bytes:28443 (28.4 KB)
rfkill list shows the following:

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0: hci0: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
1: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
2: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no

It is not possible to hardblock the internal wifi using BIOS and it is also not possible to hard block the device using the reserved Fn-key combination (all other Fn keys seem to be working fine). When soft blocking the internal WiFi using rfkill block 2 then also the dongle would deactivate.

I am now running out of ideas how to workaround this issue with the WiFi dongle. Anybody has some ideas? Any help would be much appreciated as I am about to give up and return this hardware (it came without any alternative OS). :shock:

A inxi description of my Acer Nitro VN7-571G laptop is found below:

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inxi -Fxi  (edited)
System:    Host: lotus Kernel: 3.16.0-38-generic x86_64 (64 bit, gcc: 4.8.2) 
           Desktop: Cinnamon 2.6.13  Distro: Linux Mint 17.2 Rafaela
Machine:   Mobo: Acer model: Aspire VN7-571G version: V1.14 Bios: Insyde version: V1.14 date: 01/08/2015
Graphics:  Card: Intel Broadwell-U Integrated Graphics bus-ID: 00:02.0 
           X.Org: 1.15.1 driver: nvidia Resolution: 1920x1080@60.0hz 
           GLX Renderer: GeForce GTX 950M/PCIe/SSE2 GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 346.72 Direct Rendering: Yes
Network:   Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros Device 003e bus-ID: 03:00.0
           IF: N/A state: N/A speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
           Card-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller 
           driver: r8169 ver: 2.3LK-NAPI port: 4000 bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 31:cd:ff:ff:ff:ff
           Card-3: Edimax EW-7811Un 802.11n Wireless Adapter [Realtek RTL8188CUS] driver: rtl8192cu usb-ID: 002-002
           IF: wlan0 state: up mac: 75:cd:ff:ff:ff:ff
           WAN IP: 43.56.12.88 IF: eth0 ip: 192.168.0.15 ip-v6: 1234::5678:9999:9999:9999 
           IF: wlan0 ip: 192.168.0.17 ip-v6: 1234::9875:8888:8888:8888

NB. all edited IP and MAC addresses are consistent.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
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JeremyB
Level 21
Level 21
Posts: 13854
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:17 am

Re: unsupported wireless (168c:003e QCNFA344) blocks USB WiF

Post by JeremyB »

Your USB dongle should work after

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sudo apt-get install git linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential dkms

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git clone https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes.git

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sudo dkms add ./rtl8192cu-fixes

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sudo dkms install 8192cu/1.10

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sudo depmod -a

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sudo cp ./rtl8192cu-fixes/blacklist-native-rtl8192.conf /etc/modprobe.d/
You may have to reboot but if you still have issues it will likely be caused by the wifi router encryption settings, WPA2-AES, WPA2-PSK, or WPA2 only with no WEP or TKIP enabled
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saja
Level 1
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Posts: 3
Joined: Sat May 17, 2014 4:33 pm

Re: unsupported wireless (168c:003e QCNFA344) blocks USB WiF

Post by saja »

Dear Jeremy,

thank you for your answer. You are fast!

I found your solution in a different post from you: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=199732 about an hour ago and until now it seems to work without any problems.

So in the end it appears that the non-supported WiFi did not interfere with the USB dongle (Edimax Technology Co., Ltd EW-7811Un 802.11n Wireless Adapter [Realtek RTL8188CUS]). It was the USB dongle which was not supported out of the box in rebecca 17.2. I have noticed some issue with this dongle in some older posts so it never occurred to me that it would not be supported with the latest linux mint version. Is there any way a user like me can help to expedite this process?

Looking back: what put me on the wrong track was that when I block with rfkill the "acer-wireless" it would also turn-off the dongle. And it still does. However rfkill list reads now:

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0: hci0: Bluetooth
   Soft blocked: no
   Hard blocked: no
1: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
   Soft blocked: no
   Hard blocked: no
So rfkill misses the 1: phy0: Wireless LAN device part from before now. I wonder whether this is a bug of rfkill or I just misinterpret rfkill list output.

Anyway thank you for your solution again.
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