How to remove a WiFi channel using terminal?

Question

When I use Ubuntu, my laptops can't see my WiFi network if it's on channels above 11. Both my laptops have the same issue despite the different hardware (one of the two was bought two months ago), but all the smart phones and Windows can detect the WiFi network, so it might be a problem with drivers, although I've tried using the open source driver and nothing changed at all. Therefore I turned to the solution of setting the channel myself.

But limiting my connection to a single channel means limiting much of it, and having it slow at times. Therefore I had to put it back to auto and restart the modem multiple times, till it got the channel that would let Ubuntu detect it.

After many tests I can say that the problem is any channel above 11. Therefore my question is: How can I remove those channels, in order to have the modem use only the first 11 channels?

Channel 14 is never used. 12 and 13 are not allowed in the US. Channels 12 and 13 are used in the UK for low power devices. So you are in Britain? >:-D — Rinzwind, Sep 11 '17 at 13:52
Possibly related: https://askubuntu.com/questions/392562/cannot-see-wifi-channels-above-11-despite-setting-region — Terrance, Sep 11 '17 at 14:00
Here is a reversed question: https://askubuntu.com/questions/59310/how-to-use-wi-fi-channels-above-11 — Rinzwind, Sep 11 '17 at 14:11
@Redbob ithas no WPA set, but even if I set it won't change... — Giorgio Vitanza, Sep 12 '17 at 18:02
@Rinzwind I'm in Italy man, can this help? And the modem is a TPLink one — Giorgio Vitanza, Sep 12 '17 at 18:03

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 11 '17 at 14:13

1

I believe this is related to the region code.

I recommend that your regulatory domain be set 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 and close the text editor.

answered Sep 11 '17 at 14:13

chili555

60,188

I set the region to IT, since it is Italy, but my connection won't appear in the list of the available ones... – Giorgio Vitanza Sep 12 '17 at 18:02
Did the setting remain set as expected? iw reg getMay we also see: sudo iwlist channel – chili555 Sep 12 '17 at 20:57

How to remove a WiFi channel using terminal?

1 Answers1