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I like to connect my laptop to an external monitor and close my laptop's lid. However, I noticed something. According to internet speedtests (and my personal knowledge from downloading large files), my wireless networking speed is nearly 10X faster when my lid is open than when my lid is closed (or more!). How do I make it so my speed is just as fast when the lid is closed?

NOTE: In an internet speed test with the lid open I got about 20 Mbps down. In an internet speed test with the lid closed I got about 2 Mbps down.

NOTE: I am using a Gateway NE56R41u if that helps. The Gateway NE56R41u is not Ubuntu certified. It has a Broadcom BCM4313.

Alaa Ali
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John Scott
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    Have you checked if your wlan signal is worse with closed lid? – Pabi Jul 21 '14 at 20:54
  • I haven't and I am unable to test. – John Scott Jul 21 '14 at 20:59
  • Unless wlan is my wireless adapter. Then I DO know that it is slower with the lid closed. – John Scott Jul 23 '14 at 18:17
  • I just realized that I am using a proprietary driver for the wireless adapter. – John Scott Jul 25 '14 at 00:10
  • Please run the script that is in the accepted answer in the link below so we may see the information needed to help diagnose the issue. http://askubuntu.com/questions/425155/my-wireless-wifi-connection-does-not-work-what-can-i-do – Wild Man Jul 28 '14 at 04:42
  • @WildMan You can see the results with my lid closed at https://www.dropbox.com/s/stl8n1gtywzirg1/wireless-info.txt?dl=1 – John Scott Jul 28 '14 at 19:03
  • Is there another driver I can use? – John Scott Jul 28 '14 at 19:09
  • Let's start by adding the best driver which is brcmsmac, do sudo apt-get purge bcmwl-kernel-source Then sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf put a # in front of #blacklist bcma and a # infront of #blacklist brcmsmac then save and close gedit and reboot. Then post another file from the script using the new driver if that does not fix your issue. – Wild Man Jul 29 '14 at 01:52
  • I did not see either of those entries in the file. Please help me install that driver. – John Scott Jul 29 '14 at 03:44
  • I am away from my house and my laptop is barely working at the moment so I am going be slow to reply. That driver is apart of the kernel so we do not need to install it just unblacklist it as per the instructons above, I will make sure that is the correct file because there is more then one. – Wild Man Jul 29 '14 at 17:21
  • Those drivers are in these two files: sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/broadcom-sta-common.conf and sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/broadcom-sta-dkms.conf it is possible that the purge command will remove them from the file sometimes it does so they may not still be there. After you are done with the blacklist file reboot, and if wireless do not come on do sudo modprobe brcmsmac and post a new file. – Wild Man Jul 29 '14 at 17:27
  • @WildMan You were right! I was able to get that driver working! I then ran speed tests and showed that the more closed my laptop's lid is the slower the connection is, gradually. I think that means that it was obstructions or signal problems causing my problems and not the driver. However, I will keep using the brcmsmac driver anyway because I like free and open-source software and I will be less likely to have problems in the future. Thank you. – John Scott Jul 29 '14 at 19:32
  • Case closed. I'll move my desk to the other side of my office to get better signal. – John Scott Jul 29 '14 at 19:34
  • I am on my cell when i get to internet connection i Will write up the answer if you post a new file i will look and see if there are any parameters we can set with that driver – Wild Man Jul 29 '14 at 20:49

3 Answers3

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The antenna for the wireless in your laptop is probably in the screen. I have noticed that the connection on my laptop is slightly slower with the lid shut but by nowhere near the amount you describe.

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    This is due to the antenna, and if you have studied antenna, you will know the antenna forward power, reverse power, and directional power. Laptop's design usually have its antenna install at the screen, most, vertically upwards.

    You can try this: Tilt your gateway to 90 degrees and see if it'll help. I usually did mine like that whenever I close my laptop lid while use an external screen. It might help a little.

     – user220402 Jul 25 '14 at 05:50
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You can disable power saving for you wifi adapter with:

sudo iwconfig wlan0 power off

To make the change persistent after reboots:

cd /etc/pm/power.d then sudo nano wifi_pwr_off this will create a new file, paste: 

#!/bin/sh 
/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 power off

Save the file and run sudo chmod +x wifi_pwr_off to make it executable.

Pabi
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As has been mentioned, your antenna is probably around the screen, so when you close the lid, you have rotated it 90 degrees, and may have degraded the signal. With the screen open, find the signal strength with:

sudo iwconfig wlan0

Do this with the laptop turned in several directions and see if the quality/strength of the signal varies. (Probably highest with the screen perpendicular to the router). Now, close the lid, and put the laptop in a plastic rack or plate holder (or someplace stable so it doesn't fall) with the same orientation as the screen when the signal was maximum. Does this help? If not, turn the laptop completely around, the bottom may block the signal. Any luck?
Now, if you find some improvement, think about changing the router's antenna (if you are not concerned with any other devices on your network which you might degrade). Most antennas may be tilted and turned, so maybe laying it flat instead of upright may improve the closed laptop signal (when sitting normally, not on edge). Since the bottom of the laptop may interfer, nothing may help much unless you are willing to modify the laptop for an external antenna.

ubfan1
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