Terminal fails to connect to internet even though everything else is connected to the internet

Question

So, I just recently upgraded to ubuntu 18.04, and I've had this bug showing up lately. The terminal fails to connect to the internet, and so does the Software Updater. I'm guessing it's problem not related to the terminal itself, but the archive.ubuntu thing in whole, as the GUI updater isn't working as well.

I'm running the apt-get install command to install a package (grub-customizer) and it gets stuck on 54% and it just freezes while downloading the library known as libx86emu. No kb/s sign, just the yellow coloured line shows the message libx86emu downloading.

With the GUI Software Updater, it shows "Unable to connect to archive.ubuntu, Please check your internet connection.

The Ubuntu Software Store works perfectly and is sucessfull in downloading any program Every other program including the very web browser I'm typing in successfully connects to the internet, I don't have a clue as to why the terminal/software updater fails to do so.

This was my first post here, so please tell me if I need to be more specific in my question.

Thanks in advance!

Yes - you need to be more specific: please [edit] your question to include the actual terminal command you are using and any resulting error messages — steeldriver, May 19 '18 at 15:54
I've specified the command etc, is this okay? Or do I need to provide any ss? — Pratik Harani, May 20 '18 at 05:34
It would have been better if you had copied + pasted the apt-get install command output so we could see what repositories it was trying to contact and whether a proxy is involved. As it is, the best I can do is suggest you try a different mirror: see for example How can I get apt to use a mirror close to me, or choose a faster mirror? — steeldriver, May 20 '18 at 13:50
Okay, It's all fixed now. I switched mirrors from my country's to the main mirror of Canonical. Thanks for the help — Pratik Harani, May 21 '18 at 10:03

Chai T. Rex · Answer 1 · 2018-05-20T06:11:50.490

0

I have the same sorts of problems because my home Internet connection is spotty recently. I have better luck taking my laptop to a place with free WiFi and upgrading stuff there. That being said, there's something you can do if a file download freezes with apt-get.

Do NOT interrupt apt-get when it's actually installing anything. However, while it's merely downloading the software packages, if one of the files stops making any progress for a significant amount of time, press Ctrl+C to quit and then run the command again.

apt-get is not smart about figuring out when a download has permanently frozen.

edited May 20 '18 at 06:11

answered May 20 '18 at 06:04

Chai T. Rex

5,193

I did that. No luck still. – Pratik Harani May 21 '18 at 09:49
I finally solved the problem by switching mirrors. – Pratik Harani May 21 '18 at 10:05
If you want to, you can add that as an answer below if you're willing to add the steps to do it. – Chai T. Rex May 21 '18 at 22:29

Terminal fails to connect to internet even though everything else is connected to the internet

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