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TL;DR: two Dell XPS 13 (9360) with Intel Dual Band-Wireless-AC 8265 have weak wifi signal.

I have two Dell XPS 13 (9360) running Ubuntu Mate 17.10 and Ubuntu Mate 16.04. I recently replaced the original wifi card from Killer with the mentioned wifi card as I read that this could solve a lot of the encountered wifi problems I had. In fact it speeded up the connection process to a network, but still the signal is quite weak when compared to Microsoft Windows.

I already turned off the power management and verified the region code, which was correct. I also read a lot about similar issues on the internet, but apparently people barely have problems with the wifi strength.

At home I have to be within a distance of 1 meter to the routher so that the icon shows 4 bars. If the distance is greater, it will already reduce to 3 bars. While at home this isn't such a huge problem, at university I'm always losing connection to the network (eduroam) after an undefined amount of time. Unfortunately, I, a student, just can't tell the sysadmins that they should put an AP close to my lecture room because Linux drivers don't work as they should. Reconnecting by clicking the network in the context menu of the notification icon works most of the time, but sometimes only a reboot helps to reconnect again.

Both laptops don't run Windows anymore.

A bit off-topic but I would love to pay someone to write a good working driver, is there a way to sponsor driver development for linux for a specific device?

yoshegg
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  • 'eduroam' is painful in and of itself - it's entirely possible that that network is evil at your location, especially if more than one device was tested and had the same issue. (Are you sure it's a driver issue and not a network issue? Because MS is horrible at reporting wifi strength sometimes, says you have a strong signal but you really don't) – Thomas Ward Oct 30 '17 at 14:25
  • I had quite bad experiences with eduroam here at my university, especially at the beginning of a semester. As the devices worked perfectly fine when using windows, I'm pretty sure it's a driver problem.

    Do you have any sources for what you say about MS? It's not that I don't believe you, but it I'm interested in finding more about that.

     – yoshegg Oct 30 '17 at 15:05

1 Answers1

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I recently replaced the original wifi card

And next:

I have to be within a distance of 1 meter to the icon show 4 bars. If the distance is greater, it will already reduce to 3 bars.

You have the telltale signs of a loose or disconnected antenna wire. Please note that these devices have two connectors: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81Q1EQ20OTL.SY450.jpg In the linked image, they are at the upper right and marked 1 and 2. Both must be firmly connected and snapped in place securely.

I suggest that you retrace your steps and check the antenna wires.

chili555
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  • Both cables are firmly connected and snapped. The problem is exactly the same on two different devices. – yoshegg Oct 30 '17 at 14:18
  • Eduroam? Eduroam, you say?? https://askubuntu.com/questions/841620/my-ubuntu-16-04-keeps-disconnecting-from-the-wi-fi-eduroam-why/841624#841624 – chili555 Oct 30 '17 at 14:22
  • Interesting, I'll definetely try that. This would at least explain why I lose connection from time to time, but it does not explain why the strength is so low compared to Windows. – yoshegg Oct 30 '17 at 14:27