Ubuntu keeps booting me off of 5GHz WiFi network and prompting for password

Question

I know this is a common problem. I've searched and searched for a solution but nothing has helped me.

I have a 5GHz WiFi network that I'd rather be on because it allows me to reach higher speeds, but Ubuntu regularly boots me off the network and prompts me for the password. It's rather sporadic and inconsistent - sometimes I'll be randomly prompted for the network password, and sometimes it'll take it and reconnect me, or it'll prompt again a few seconds later, or it'll just boot me off entirely. This issue also occurs on a clean installation of Ubuntu.

Similar issues do not occur on other computers running other operating systems. I've discovered that I can delay the issue from occurring by rebooting my router, but it will only be okay for a day or two before Ubuntu starts kicking me off the network again. This issue does not occur on the 2.4GHz variant of my network. I don't recall all of the things that I've tried (and failed) to solve my issue, but I do recall disabling 802.11n in Ubuntu. Unsurprisingly, this did nothing to alleviate the problem.

I am not well-versed when it comes to using Linux and I usually don't understand how to carry out another user's instructions which is part of what made researching solutions so difficult. Can anyone help me out here? I've almost completely lost my patience with this rather ridiculous problem.

Edit: Here's the output of iwconfig (I've cut out my SSID name and replaced it with ProblematicNetwork):

lo        no wireless extensions.

enp6s0    no wireless extensions.

wlp7s0    IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"ProblematicNetwork"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: FC:2B:B2:BF:0F:92   
          Bit Rate=65 Mb/s   Tx-Power=22 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on
          Link Quality=69/70  Signal level=-41 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:106   Missed beacon:0

And, here's the output of iwconfig, but showing the network's 5GHz ability:

lo        no wireless extensions.

enp6s0    no wireless extensions.

wlp7s0    IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"ProblematicNetwork"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:5.785 GHz  Access Point: FC:2B:B2:BF:0F:96   
          Bit Rate=292.6 Mb/s   Tx-Power=22 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on
          Link Quality=61/70  Signal level=-49 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:3  Invalid misc:79   Missed beacon:0

Edit your question and show me iwconfig. Start comments to me with @heynnema or I'll miss them. — heynnema, May 30 '20 at 19:04
@user68186 I've edited the post (posted twice so both will be notified). — Richie Goldsworthy, May 30 '20 at 19:41
@user68186 done. I realized that it was only running at 2.4GHz when I first ran iwconfig. The first time I ran the command was soon after I rebooted the router because I couldn't even connect to the 5GHz network. — Richie Goldsworthy, May 30 '20 at 20:01
Both networks exhibit the same problem. It looks like channel interference. What channels are you using on both? — heynnema, May 30 '20 at 20:22
@heynnema It's currently set for 80MHz. I can also use 20 or 40MHz. — Richie Goldsworthy, May 30 '20 at 20:48
@heynnema I misunderstood the question. It's currently on 5GHz. It's actually a singular network that supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Besides this one, I have two other networks which are 2.4GHz and 5GHz variants. I should have clarified this earlier. This issue also occurs on my other 5GHz network, but does not happen on my 2.4GHz one. — Richie Goldsworthy, May 30 '20 at 21:00
You still misunderstand. How many routers do you have? In your router(s) you can set each 2.4/5GHz network to specific channels. In 2.4GHz it might be channels 1-11 or auto. In 5GHz it might be between ~36 to ~149. That's the info I'm looking for. Do you have Wifi Analyzer installed on your smartphone? Also show me iwlist wlp7s0 freq. — heynnema, May 30 '20 at 21:03
@heynnema sorry for the wait, I was waiting to see if the issue would show up again, and it has once again. I'm currently working on your answer at the bottom right now, but I'm going to have to put it on hold for a bit as I need to go to bed, then I'll go back at it tomorrow. — Richie Goldsworthy, Jun 02 '20 at 07:09
@heynnema After reading both the answers, it seems the question is not about Ubuntu. — user68186, Jun 02 '20 at 15:34
kindly try the solution here. might work for you https://askubuntu.com/questions/1080645/how-do-i-set-5ghz-as-preferred-band — ptetteh227, Jun 02 '20 at 17:41

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered May 30 '20 at 20:21

First, there are two SSIDs with the same name, ProblematicNetwork. One is the 2.4 gHz segment and the other is the 5 gHz segment of, I assume, the same router. I am quite confident that you have told Network Manager to connect automagically to ProblematicNetwork when available and that your dropping is the wireless device hopping from one instance of ProblematicNetwork to the other, always looking for a better connection, sort of like my ex-girlfriend!

I suggest that you rename one or both to prevent this. Perhaps ProblematicNetwork-2.4 and ProblematicNetwork-5.

Next, there are several things that you might tweak to make your connection even better.

First, check the settings in the router. WPA2-AES is preferred; not any WPA and WPA2 mixed mode and certainly not TKIP. Second, if your router is capable of N speeds, you may have better connectivity with a channel width of 20 MHz in the 2.4 GHz band instead of automatic 20/40 MHz, although it is likely to affect N speeds. I also have better luck with a fixed channel, either 1, 6 or 11, rather than automatic channel selection. Also, be certain the router is not set to use N speeds only; auto B, G and N is preferred. After making these changes, reboot the router.

Then set your regulatory domain explicitly. Check yours:

sudo iw reg get

If you get 00, that is a one-size-maybe-fits-all setting. Find yours here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2 Then set it temporarily:

sudo iw reg set IS

Of course, substitute your country code if not Iceland. Set it permanently:

sudo nano /etc/default/crda

Change the last line to read:

REGDOMAIN=IS

Proofread carefully, save (Ctrl+o followed by Enter) and close (Ctrl+x) the text editor.

Any improvement?

I've followed through all your instructions, but it'll be at least a day before I can confirm whether or not this solved my issue as I've recently rebooted my router, and the issue tends to only show itself no sooner than one day after a reboot. The network in question is actually a singular network capable of both 2.4GHz and 5GHz operation (I have two others which are separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks). The security of the network is WPA2-AES that supports channel widths of 20/40/80, and is set for 802.11 A, N, AC (when in 5GHz mode). In 2.4, it's set for B, G, and N, all default. — Richie Goldsworthy, May 30 '20 at 20:44
If this router/network is a mesh with Smartconnect, one network name for both 2.4/5GHz is fine. — heynnema, May 31 '20 at 20:09

heynnema · Answer 2 · 2020-06-02T18:46:14.280

0

I need a better understanding of your network configuration, as I suspect a channel interference problem.

How many routers do you have?

In your router(s) you can set each 2.4/5GHz network to specific channels. In 2.4GHz it might be channels 1-11 or auto. In 5GHz it might be between ~36 to ~149. That's the info I'm looking for.

Do you have Wifi Analyzer installed on your smartphone? Also show me iwlist wlp7s0 freq.

Please complete this table and enter it into your question...

Router #1   2.4GHz name   2.4GHz channel   5GHz name      5GHz channel
--------- | ----------- | -------------- | ------------ | ------------
basement                     11/auto                          140?

Router #2   2.4GHz name   2.4GHz channel   5GHz name      5GHz channel
--------- | ----------- | -------------- | ------------ | ------------
upstairs

Update #1:

The problem is that the basement router's 5 GHz network is set to a channel that's outside of the capabilities of your modem card. Note on the iwlist wlp7s0 freq command when connected to the 5 GHz network, it shows that you're connected to frequency 5.785 GHz, but the your card only goes as high as channel 140, frequency 5.7 GHz.

      Channel 140 : 5.7 GHz
      Current Frequency:5.785 GHz

You need to set the 5GHz channel to one of the highest number channels that both the router and the modem card support. It might be 140, or it might be a channel slightly lower. Higher channels work better.

You also need to assure that the upstairs router's 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channel settings are different than the basement router's settings.

Better yet, would be to eliminate the upstairs router, move the basement router upstairs, and let it cover the entire house. Any blind spots should be fixed by adding repeaters, or by getting a newer/stronger router.

Lastly, how are you connecting two routers to one cable/DSL modem?

edited Jun 02 '20 at 18:46

answered Jun 01 '20 at 16:11

heynnema

70,711

I've got two routers. There's one for the network I'm having issues with (which is for the basement), and there's the other that broadcasts for the upstairs (which has the 2.4GHz and 5GHz variants, not the ones I'm having issues with). They're both the same network. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 02 '20 at 07:14
Here's the output of iwlist wlp7s0 freq on 2.4GHz: https://pastebin.ubuntu.com/p/WZDmVgDcSY/ and here it is on 5GHz: https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/kdPM2h9wZ5/ and I'd have filled the table, but I'm not sure which specific information would go where. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 02 '20 at 07:15
@RichieGoldsworthy I've added Update #1 to my answer. – heynnema Jun 02 '20 at 14:34
@RichieGoldsworthy If my answer is helpful, and solves your problem, please remember to accept it by clicking on the checkmark icon that appears just to the left of my answer. – heynnema Jun 02 '20 at 14:34
I don't know how the two routers are connected, that's how the service provider did it. The idea was to have the two networks so that other people connected to the upstairs network don't experience slowness when I'm connected to the basement network because of my tendency to upload YouTube videos, download games, or play games online (sometimes all at once). Here is a screenshot of my current network settings: https://imgur.com/a/PQYgcaj – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 02 '20 at 21:18
The settings I changed: channel width from 80MHz to 40MHz, channel from "Initial channel selection only" to "auto detect" (the only other options I'm given are channels 36, 44, 149, and 157), as well as enabling scheduled optimization. I changed nothing else. I'll also try getting into my upstairs router's configuration menu to make sure its settings are different. I'll wait a few days and see if that helps, because I rebooted the router last night. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 02 '20 at 21:21
You current 5 GHz network settings are channel 157, which is also out of range for your modem card (theoretically). Go ahead and try and change the channel #, and make sure the upstairs is set to a different channel. – heynnema Jun 02 '20 at 21:22
I can't seem to get into the configuration menu for my upstairs router. It never connects. In the mean time, I've set my downstairs router for channel 44, and that's the channel my computer has connected to. https://imgur.com/a/rFO6NwD I'll be back in a few days to report whether or not this has helped me. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 02 '20 at 21:46
Is the upstairs router not letting you log in? Power cycle it. Pull the AC power. Count to 15. Plug it back in. Wait 15+ seconds and try and log in again. – heynnema Jun 02 '20 at 21:48
I'll try that tomorrow when I go back at the issue. In the mean time, I still haven't solved the problem. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 05 '20 at 09:39
@RichieGoldsworthy Please keep me posted after you get the upstairs router rebooted and the channel checked. If the router is messed up, it may be the cause of your problem :-) – heynnema Jun 05 '20 at 15:10
I've rebooted the upstairs router, and it still wouldn't connect. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 06 '20 at 01:47
@RichieGoldsworthy You pulled AC power, waited 10+ seconds, and then re-plugged it, yes? Do a hard reset on it. Find the reset button/hole and depress it until the lights flash. Then reset the settings the way you need them. – heynnema Jun 06 '20 at 02:35
Okay, I'll try that out and report in a few days to see if that resolved the issue. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 06 '20 at 03:06
@RichieGoldsworthy Status please... – heynnema Jun 09 '20 at 23:54
Sorry about the late response. I recently broke my installation of Ubuntu and had to reinstall. Instead of reinstalling Ubuntu 20.04, I installed Pop!_OS 20.04, and so far it hasn't dropped my connection to my 5GHz network in the several days since I've installed it. There's something with Ubuntu and my network that doesn't seem to happen on Pop!_OS. I suppose the issue has been solved. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 11 '20 at 16:34
@RichieGoldsworthy Did you ever resolve the problem with the upstairs router not responding with its admin web page, and did you check the channels for overlap with your basement router? Reinstalling Ubuntu would have probably solved the problem also. – heynnema Jun 11 '20 at 16:41
No, I haven't. No amount of twiddling seems to get me in. I think that the upstairs router is set up as a secondary one routed through my house's wiring to the one in the basement, which is set up as a primary, which would explain why devices connected to my upstairs network show up on my basement network (and why the upstairs network doesn't disappear when the basement network is rebooted, but doesn't connect to the Internet). Either way, I still can't get into my upstairs network configuration menu, so I think I'd have to get a hold of my ISP. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 11 '20 at 16:56
@RichieGoldsworthy If the upstairs router is properly set up as an access point, you may have to access its admin page whilst connected to its own wireless network. Otherwise you'll have to access it from the LAN, but you'll have to know its IP address. Your ISP can't/won't help you with this, as it's your own equipment. – heynnema Jun 11 '20 at 17:02
That's what I was thinking. I'm not too concerned about it though, since everything seems to be working as it should now. – Richie Goldsworthy Jun 11 '20 at 17:30

Ubuntu keeps booting me off of 5GHz WiFi network and prompting for password

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