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Title: Internet Does Not Work Over Wi-Fi (Ethernet Fine)
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Cyba.Cowboy 16 Mar 2022
My System Info
Linux Distribution: Pop!_OS 21.10
Desktop Environment: GNOME 40.4.0
Graphics Card: Intel HD Graphics 4000 (IVB GT2)
GPU Driver Version: 09

Have you checked for system updates?: Yes

If this is not Steam, you can still give us a system readout using inxi with "inxi -SbCGxx" in terminal (please put that into Pastebin/Gist as linked above!):
https://pastebin.com/M9j2ybi6

You can note your issue below here
My computer can successfully connect to my Wi-Fi (wireless) network using the correct password, but when I try to access anything online (websites, updates, etc...), I am told that the computer cannot connect to the Internet.

This issue occurs even when within one meter (3.2 feet) of my modem / router.

No other devices have connectivity issues with this particular Wi-Fi (wireless) network, even devices physically further away and / or devices close to things that will likely cause interference.

This issue does not occur when connecting via ethernet (physical connection).

This issue is intermittent when using my Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max as a "hotspot"; though it generally leans towards being unable to connect to the Internet (probably 99% of the time). My cellular network has ample 4G / LTE coverage in the area, and limited 5G NR coverage (besides, here in Australia, our cellular network is far superior to our fixed broadband network - which is why my wife and children primarily use that for all of their Internet connections at home!).

I do not have my VPN running (it's not even logged-in yet, because I am not able to go online), and this issue persists regardless of whether my firewall (ufw) is activated or not.

With the exception of my VPN - which is installed, but has not been configured, is not logged-in and has never been used on this particular computer - this is a "clean" system (i.e. it just had a "fresh" installation of Pop!_OS)... All of the available updates or upgrades for a "fresh" installation of Pop!_OS have been installed at the time of writing.

Last edited by Cyba.Cowboy on 17 Mar 2022 at 11:00 am UTC
damarrin 16 Mar 2022
nvm.

Can you try with a different wifi card?

Also, with the card you already have, have you looked at the system log for any errors related to wifi? Especially firmware errors?

Last edited by damarrin on 16 Mar 2022 at 10:17 am UTC
Cyba.Cowboy 16 Mar 2022
Quoting: damarrinCan you try with a different wifi card?
It's one of those stupid "all in one" things. It seemed like a good idea at the time. 🤦‍♂️

From memory, I think the Wi-Fi card might be a RAM-like "plug-in" module though... Not designed to be replaceable or anything like that, but accessible (the guts of this computer is basically the same as a laptop, slapped onto the back of a giant touchscreen, complete with a battery); so I'll check the seating of the Wi-Fi module in the morning.

I honestly don't think that will be the problem though, because this computer maintains a consistent - and strong - connection to my Wi-Fi network... It just can't connect to the Internet itself.

Were the Wi-Fi module itself the issue, I would expect to see a weak Wi-Fi signal or more likely, complete loss of signal. That's not the case here.

But it never hurts to check, just to rule it out...

Quoting: damarrinAlso, with the card you already have, have you looked at the system log for any errors related to wifi? Especially firmware errors?
This is a good idea, but in what directory do I actually find the system log? I'm not using the affected computer at the moment, but I can see an awful lot of logs on my "primary" computer, so I imagine it will be the same on the affected computer...

Last edited by Cyba.Cowboy on 16 Mar 2022 at 12:36 pm UTC
whizse 16 Mar 2022
User Avatar
A couple of things from the top of my head:

* I don't think the card would be enabled or connect if firmware wasn't loaded. But I could be wrong. There's usually messages in dmesg (the kernel log) for firmware.

* There are some odd issues with iwlwifi and a few options to try:
https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Iwlwifi#No_internet_connection

* if the VPN stuff is something not bundled with your distro I guess it's possible for it to screw something up by just being installed, but probably unlikely.

* You don't have to remove/replace the built-in WiFi card. Trying a WiFi USB dongle would help to figure out if the problem is with the iwlwifi driver/hardware or something else. Another option is to try a live USB of another distro to rule out broken hardware.
whizse 16 Mar 2022
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An example from my laptop with firmware successfully loading:

dmesg | grep -i iwl
[Wed Mar 16 14:56:54 2022] iwlwifi 0000:04:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
[Wed Mar 16 14:56:54 2022] iwlwifi 0000:04:00.0: firmware: direct-loading firmware iwlwifi-8000C-36.ucode
[Wed Mar 16 14:56:54 2022] iwlwifi 0000:04:00.0: loaded firmware version 36.ad812ee0.0 8000C-36.ucode op_mode iwlmvm


For network logs something like
sudo journalctl -f -u NetworkManager  before connecting to the router should hopefully give some clues. (Assuming PopOS uses NetworkManager?)

Also, checking and comparing network settings between the wired and the wifi, using something like ip route might be useful.

Last edited by whizse on 16 Mar 2022 at 2:19 pm UTC
damarrin 16 Mar 2022
There's also the question of various firmware versions for a given card and some of them working and some not.

I'm not saying you should replace the built-in card, just connect one through USB if you can and see if there's connectivity then.
Cyba.Cowboy 17 Mar 2022
Quoting: whizse* You don't have to remove/replace the built-in WiFi card. Trying a WiFi USB dongle would help to figure out if the problem is with the iwlwifi driver/hardware or something else. Another option is to try a live USB of another distro to rule out broken hardware.
I don't have one of those... I know they're out there, but the last time I even saw something like that was probably 20 years ago (or close to it), because pretty much everything since then has had Wi-Fi built-in or an ethernet (physical) connection port.

Quoting: whizseFor network logs something like
sudo journalctl -f -u NetworkManager  before connecting to the router should hopefully give some clues. (Assuming PopOS uses NetworkManager?)
Here's the output:
-- Journal begins at Sun 2022-03-13 13:00:51 AEST. --
Mar 17 14:28:33 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491313.6193] device (wlp1s0): supplicant interface state: authenticating -> associating
Mar 17 14:28:33 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491313.6200] device (wlp1s0): supplicant interface state: associating -> 4way_handshake
Mar 17 14:28:33 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491313.6205] device (wlp1s0): DHCPv4 lease renewal requested
Mar 17 14:28:33 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491313.6414] dhcp4 (wlp1s0): canceled DHCP transaction
Mar 17 14:28:33 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491313.6416] dhcp4 (wlp1s0): state changed bound -> terminated
Mar 17 14:28:33 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491313.6439] dhcp4 (wlp1s0): activation: beginning transaction (timeout in 45 seconds)
Mar 17 14:28:33 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491313.6863] device (wlp1s0): supplicant interface state: 4way_handshake -> completed
Mar 17 14:28:36 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491316.1569] dhcp4 (wlp1s0): state changed unknown -> bound, address=192.168.20.32
Mar 17 14:29:13 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491353.1556] manager: NetworkManager state is now CONNECTED_GLOBAL
Mar 17 14:31:43 admin-vaio-tap20 NetworkManager[865]: <info>  [1647491503.5396] agent-manager: agent[e170969baf31a144,:1.86/org.gnome.Shell.NetworkAgent/1000]: agent registered


Quoting: whizseAlso, checking and comparing network settings between the wired and the wifi, using something like ip route might be useful.
The output for my Wi-Fi (wireless) connection:
default via 192.168.20.1 dev wlp1s0 proto dhcp metric 600 
169.254.0.0/16 dev wlp1s0 scope link metric 1000 
192.168.20.0/24 dev wlp1s0 proto kernel scope link src 192.168.20.32 metric 600


And my ethernet (physical) connection:
default via 192.168.20.1 dev enp3s0 proto dhcp metric 100 
default via 192.168.20.1 dev wlp1s0 proto dhcp metric 600 
169.254.0.0/16 dev wlp1s0 scope link metric 1000 
192.168.20.0/24 dev enp3s0 proto kernel scope link src 192.168.20.34 metric 100 
192.168.20.0/24 dev wlp1s0 proto kernel scope link src 192.168.20.32 metric 600


And stated before, the ethernet (physical) connection is able to access the Internet, but my Wi-Fi (wireless) connection is not...

Last edited by Cyba.Cowboy on 17 Mar 2022 at 10:58 am UTC
tuxintuxedo 17 Mar 2022
Things to consider:
-Try out a different distribution in Live mode.
-Try out a different router if possible.
-Try a different wireless network from your own (e.g. library, café, ...).
The above things can help you find the root cause.
whizse 17 Mar 2022
User Avatar
I'm still leaning towards some driver issue as mentioned in the Gentoo wiki in the link above.

Do you have working DNS? What does cat /etc/resolv.conf say? (After connecting the WiFi, Ethernet unplugged).

Can you ping the router? E.g. ping 192.168.20.1 (or Google, 8.8.8.8 or Cloudflare 1.1.1.1?)

Anything interesting concerning iwlwifi or NetworkManager in the more general logs like dmesg or journalctl?

(Apologies if this sounds like a wild goose chase. I'm trying to thing of things I would try under similar circumstances, and it is very much a throw everything on the wall and see what sticks kind of approach!)

Last edited by whizse on 17 Mar 2022 at 11:54 pm UTC
HyperRealisticRock 18 Mar 2022
User Avatar
Quoting: Cyba.Cowboy169.254.0.0/16 dev wlp1s0 scope link metric 1000
I think this is the issue.
Cyba.Cowboy 20 Mar 2022
Quoting: tuxintuxedoThings to consider:
-Try out a different distribution in Live mode.
So I tried Manjaro with KDE Plasma, 21.2.4, Fedora 35 and Ubuntu 21.10... All three were able to connect to the Internet, without issue when running in "live" mode.

Interestingly, Ubuntu 21.10 is what Pop!_OS 21.10 is based on and to the best of my knowledge, they use the same network stuff (i.e. anything relating to the networking is the same for both distros)...

Clearly the issue is a software issue, considering the above distros were able to connect just fine in "live" mode.

Quoting: tuxintuxedo-Try a different wireless network from your own (e.g. library, café, ...).
Yeah, I tried using my iPhone as a "hotspot" with mobile data (i.e. Wi-Fi turned off)... Same issue.

Quoting: whizseDo you have working DNS? What does cat /etc/resolv.conf say? (After connecting the WiFi, Ethernet unplugged).
This is /run/systemd/resolve/stub-resolv.conf managed by man:systemd-resolved(8).
# Do not edit.
#
# This file might be symlinked as /etc/resolv.conf. If you're looking at
# /etc/resolv.conf and seeing this text, you have followed the symlink.
#
# This is a dynamic resolv.conf file for connecting local clients to the
# internal DNS stub resolver of systemd-resolved. This file lists all
# configured search domains.
#
# Run "resolvectl status" to see details about the uplink DNS servers
# currently in use.
#
# Third party programs should typically not access this file directly, but only
# through the symlink at /etc/resolv.conf. To manage man:resolv.conf(5) in a
# different way, replace this symlink by a static file or a different symlink.
#
# See man:systemd-resolved.service(8) for details about the supported modes of
# operation for /etc/resolv.conf.

nameserver 127.0.0.53
options edns0 trust-ad
search Home


Quoting: whizseCan you ping the router? E.g. ping 192.168.20.1 (or Google, 8.8.8.8 or Cloudflare 1.1.1.1?)
The first time I pinged my router, I got:
PING 192.168.20.1 (192.168.20.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
From 192.168.20.32 icmp_seq=19 Destination Host Unreachable
64 bytes from 192.168.20.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=5.33 ms


The last line would repeat, seemingly endlessly (I'm assuming it'll just pining repeatedly until I close Terminal?), changing the number after 'icmp seq=' each time by one. The ping timings would vary considerably with each entry.

When I pinged my router a second time, I got the same as the above, but it did not show this line:
From 192.168.20.32 icmp_seq=19 Destination Host Unreachable

If I tried to ping Google or Cloudflare, I got the same resule without the 'unreachable' line above...

Quoting: whizseAnything interesting concerning iwlwifi or NetworkManager in the more general logs like dmesg or journalctl?
Oh boy, 'journalctl' has some content... I got up to about 3,000 lines before I gave up any hope of copying its entire contents!

What is 'journalctl'? A journal of everything that's ever happened on this computer?

As for dmesg, you can find its output over here:
https://pastebin.com/PpFBgPnM
tuxintuxedo 20 Mar 2022
Quoting: Cyba.CowboyThis is /run/systemd/resolve/stub-resolv.conf managed by man:systemd-resolved(8).
# Do not edit.
#
# This file might be symlinked as /etc/resolv.conf. If you're looking at
# /etc/resolv.conf and seeing this text, you have followed the symlink.
#
# This is a dynamic resolv.conf file for connecting local clients to the
# internal DNS stub resolver of systemd-resolved. This file lists all
# configured search domains.
#
# Run "resolvectl status" to see details about the uplink DNS servers
# currently in use.
#
# Third party programs should typically not access this file directly, but only
# through the symlink at /etc/resolv.conf. To manage man:resolv.conf(5) in a
# different way, replace this symlink by a static file or a different symlink.
#
# See man:systemd-resolved.service(8) for details about the supported modes of
# operation for /etc/resolv.conf.

nameserver 127.0.0.53
options edns0 trust-ad
search Home
I am not sure what the last two lines are doing, but I have doubts about whether they are really needed.
whizse 20 Mar 2022
User Avatar
It seems you have some sort of DNS issue. If you can ping Google (8.8.8.8) you clearly have an Internet connection, though not a particularly useful one...

I haven't used systemd-resolved for DNS so I'm not sure how much advice I can give, but running resolvectl status as the /etc/resolv.conf file suggests might be helpful, especially if you can compare DNS settings between the wired and the wifi connections.
Shmerl 20 Mar 2022
What kind of WiFi card do you have? In my experience, anything but Intel WiFi on Linux is usually a major pain to use especially when compatibility with routers is in question.
14 21 Mar 2022
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Do your NIC and WiFi interfaces have different IP addresses?
DHCP or static?
Do you have another device on the network that is already using the same IP as the WiFi interface?
Can you ping your WiFi address from another device on the network?
Does your WiFi access point set all the clients in isolation mode and you didn't add your DNS server as pass-through?
Cyba.Cowboy 21 Mar 2022
Quoting: whizseI haven't used systemd-resolved for DNS so I'm not sure how much advice I can give, but running resolvectl status as the /etc/resolv.conf file suggests might be helpful, especially if you can compare DNS settings between the wired and the wifi connections.
Here's the output when using my Wi-Fi (wireless) connection:

Global
       Protocols: -LLMNR -mDNS -DNSOverTLS DNSSEC=no/unsupported
resolv.conf mode: stub

Link 2 (enp3s0)
Current Scopes: none
     Protocols: -DefaultRoute +LLMNR -mDNS -DNSOverTLS DNSSEC=no/unsupported

Link 3 (wlp1s0)
    Current Scopes: DNS
         Protocols: +DefaultRoute +LLMNR -mDNS -DNSOverTLS DNSSEC=no/unsupported
Current DNS Server: 192.168.20.1
       DNS Servers: 192.168.20.1
        DNS Domain: Home


And here's the output when using my ethernet (physical) connection:

Global
       Protocols: -LLMNR -mDNS -DNSOverTLS DNSSEC=no/unsupported
resolv.conf mode: stub

Link 2 (enp3s0)
    Current Scopes: DNS
         Protocols: +DefaultRoute +LLMNR -mDNS -DNSOverTLS DNSSEC=no/unsupported
Current DNS Server: 192.168.20.1
       DNS Servers: 192.168.20.1
        DNS Domain: Home

Link 3 (wlp1s0)
    Current Scopes: DNS
         Protocols: +DefaultRoute +LLMNR -mDNS -DNSOverTLS DNSSEC=no/unsupported
Current DNS Server: 192.168.20.1
       DNS Servers: 192.168.20.1
        DNS Domain: Home


Quoting: ShmerlWhat kind of WiFi card do you have? In my experience, anything but Intel WiFi on Linux is usually a major pain to use especially when compatibility with routers is in question.
According to HardInfo / System Profiler and Benchmark, my Sony SVJ20215CG VAIO Tap 20 has an 'Intel Centrino Wireless-N 135 (rev c4)'.

Quoting: 14Do your NIC and WiFi interfaces have different IP addresses?
DHCP or static?
How do I check this?

Quoting: 14Do you have another device on the network that is already using the same IP as the WiFi interface?
I'm only using my ISP's NetComm NF18ACV - it supported faster speeds than my last router, and I'm waiting until "Wi-Fi 6E" becomes commonplace before I replace my router yet again (my last router cost ~AU$900!)... But it's interface is garbage and confusing, compared to my old router.

My last router was rubbish and I'll never buy a Netgear router again; but I'll give credit where credit is due, and its interface was fantastic, both in the "basic" view" and the "advanced" view... Anyway, not really too sure how to check this with my current router, though I'll update this post or post again if I work it out.

Quoting: 14Can you ping your WiFi address from another device on the network?
The IP address of the computer I'm having issues with - the Sony SVJ20215CG VAIO Tap 20 - is the IP address shown in the 'IPv4 Address" section of the 'Details' tab of the (connected wireless) network, right?

I get the same result as shown here...

Quoting: 14Does your WiFi access point set all the clients in isolation mode and you didn't add your DNS server as pass-through?
I'm not even going to pretend to know what you're asking here...
Shmerl 21 Mar 2022
According to HardInfo / System Profiler and Benchmark, my Sony SVJ20215CG VAIO Tap 20 has an 'Intel Centrino Wireless-N 135 (rev c4)'.
That's a pretty old card, but not sure if it's the issue here.
tuxintuxedo 21 Mar 2022
Quoting: Shmerl
According to HardInfo / System Profiler and Benchmark, my Sony SVJ20215CG VAIO Tap 20 has an 'Intel Centrino Wireless-N 135 (rev c4)'.
That's a pretty old card, but not sure if it's the issue here.
It shouldn't be. He already said that it works with other distributions, Pop! OS is the source of the problem.
Cyba.Cowboy 21 Mar 2022
Quoting: tuxintuxedoIt shouldn't be. He already said that it works with other distributions, Pop! OS is the source of the problem.
Do you reckon it's possible that something went screwy during the installation of Pop!_OS, and the driver was corrupted or something? It seems awfully strange that Pop!_OS 21.10 - which is based on Ubuntu 21.10 and in its current form, doesn't really change all that much - has connectivity issues, but Ubuntu 21.10 does not...
tuxintuxedo 21 Mar 2022
I don't believe there was something wrong with the installation (in that case you would experience other problems as well). Pop! OS guys like to tinker with the software (including the base), so that is more likely the case here.
I remember a few years ago I had an awful experience with Linux Mint. I don't know what they did, but after an update one of my hand written bash programs stopped working. It worked on any other distribution, including its Ubuntu counterpart. I am sure they fixed it not long after, but that was a big letdown for me.
Arehandoro 21 Mar 2022
What do you see when you go to Wi-Fi settings and select the IPV4 tab? Are DNS and Routes sliders set to automatic? Do they have any info in the boxes below? What happens if you disable automatic DNS and enter in the box Google or Cloudflare DNS servers? (After entering the DNS servers, disconnect and connect again to your Wi-Fi)

The way to enter the servers in the box would be like this:

 
1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8


Last edited by Arehandoro on 21 Mar 2022 at 2:58 pm UTC
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