Slow speed on Hotspot created from Ubuntu 16.04 with RTL8723BE Wireless Network Adapter

Question

History

I ran into a weird problem yesterday(on 13 Jan 2018). My Ubuntu was not able to get strong signals of Wifi. I once encountered this problem before and was able to fix it using this post. The solution was to make a config file as follows -

sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf <<< "options rtl8723be ant_sel=1"

But this time it was not working. I found this article and was able to resolve the "weak Wifi signal" issue successfully. It asked to download drivers from this repo and install it using

sudo make install

Followed by executing these commands and then making a config file to make the setting permanent

sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be
sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=2
sudo ip link set wlp13s0 up
echo "options rtl8723be ant_sel=2" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/50-rtl8723be.conf

The Problem

But soon I discovered that the hotspot I used to enjoy created from my laptop was giving terrible speed(of only around 0.5Mbps). The speed I get on my LAN is around 80Mbps. I switched to Windows and found that the Hotspot created there gives Wifi speed of around 30 Mbps. I would also like to add that I am using Speedtest by Ookla and the Ping in each speedtest is normal(in range of 8 to 10), which I used to get before. So there is no change in ping. I tried searching for this issue but was not able to find anything related. Your help will be appreciated.

Related Information

My wireless driver is rtl8723be

Output of `iwconfig`

enp2s0    no wireless extensions.

lo        no wireless extensions.

wlo1      IEEE 802.11  Mode:Master  Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on

Output of `ifconfig`

enp2s0    Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr a0:8c:fd:4d:1b:0d  
          inet addr:172.25.30.203  Bcast:172.25.30.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::90b5:2747:93a9:f969/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:39347 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:22188 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:9004186 (9.0 MB)  TX bytes:14741038 (14.7 MB)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:1608 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1608 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:141049 (141.0 KB)  TX bytes:141049 (141.0 KB)

wlo1      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 74:df:bf:8b:11:17  
          inet addr:10.42.0.1  Bcast:10.42.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::76df:bfff:fe8b:1117/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:12069 errors:0 dropped:1 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:8846 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:13285506 (13.2 MB)  TX bytes:2959250 (2.9 MB)

Output of `lspci | grep Wireless`

03:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8723BE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter

Output of `route`

Here 10.42.0.47 is my device connected to the hotspot.

Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface
default         172.25.30.1     0.0.0.0         UG    100    0        0 enp2s0
10.42.0.0       *               255.255.255.0   U     600    0        0 wlo1
link-local      *               255.255.0.0     U     1000   0        0 enp2s0
172.25.30.0     *               255.255.255.0   U     100    0        0 enp2s0

Recent Software Update Log

I think there is a high probability that the problem is due to auto-update of some software. I am sure that this problem started between 8-11 Jan and it was definitely discovered on 13 Jan.
EDIT #1- I see that the kernel was updated to v4.13 on 11 Jan. I suspect that the problem occurred because of this update.
EDIT #2- I tried reverting back to previous kernel (v4.10) through grub and followed this post which explains what to do when kernel is upgraded(or perhaps even downgraded). It didn't work.

Start-Date: 2018-01-05  10:31:01
Commandline: /usr/bin/unattended-upgrade
Upgrade: ruby2.3:amd64 (2.3.1-2~16.04.2, 2.3.1-2~16.04.4), apport:amd64 
(2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), libruby2.3:amd64 (2.3.1-2~16.04.2, 
2.3.1-2~16.04.4), python3-apport:amd64 (2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), 
libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37:amd64 (2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), 
apport-gtk:amd64 (2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), gir1.2-webkit2-4.0:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), libjavascriptcoregtk-4.0-18:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), python3-problem-report:amd64 
(2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37-gtk2:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), gir1.2-javascriptcoregtk-4.0:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1)
Error: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)
End-Date: 2018-01-05  10:31:01

Start-Date: 2018-01-07  08:51:55
Commandline: /usr/bin/unattended-upgrade
Upgrade: ruby2.3:amd64 (2.3.1-2~16.04.2, 2.3.1-2~16.04.4), apport:amd64 
(2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), libruby2.3:amd64 (2.3.1-2~16.04.2, 
2.3.1-2~16.04.4), python3-apport:amd64 (2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), 
libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37:amd64 (2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), 
apport-gtk:amd64 (2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), gir1.2-webkit2-4.0:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), libjavascriptcoregtk-4.0-18:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), python3-problem-report:amd64 
(2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37-gtk2:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), gir1.2-javascriptcoregtk-4.0:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1)
Error: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)
End-Date: 2018-01-07  08:51:55

Start-Date: 2018-01-08  16:34:54
Commandline: /usr/bin/unattended-upgrade
Upgrade: ruby2.3:amd64 (2.3.1-2~16.04.2, 2.3.1-2~16.04.4), apport:amd64 
(2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), libruby2.3:amd64 (2.3.1-2~16.04.2, 
2.3.1-2~16.04.4), python3-apport:amd64 (2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), 
libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37:amd64 (2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), 
apport-gtk:amd64 (2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), gir1.2-webkit2-4.0:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), libjavascriptcoregtk-4.0-18:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), python3-problem-report:amd64 
(2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37-gtk2:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), gir1.2-javascriptcoregtk-4.0:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1)
Error: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)
End-Date: 2018-01-08  16:34:54

Start-Date: 2018-01-09  16:32:45
Commandline: /usr/bin/unattended-upgrade
Upgrade: ruby2.3:amd64 (2.3.1-2~16.04.2, 2.3.1-2~16.04.4), apport:amd64 
(2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), libruby2.3:amd64 (2.3.1-2~16.04.2, 
2.3.1-2~16.04.4), python3-apport:amd64 (2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), 
libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37:amd64 (2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), 
apport-gtk:amd64 (2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), gir1.2-webkit2-4.0:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), libjavascriptcoregtk-4.0-18:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), python3-problem-report:amd64 
(2.20.1-0ubuntu2.14, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15), libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37-gtk2:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), gir1.2-javascriptcoregtk-4.0:amd64 
(2.18.3-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1)
End-Date: 2018-01-09  16:34:23

Start-Date: 2018-01-10  16:55:32
Commandline: /usr/bin/unattended-upgrade
Upgrade: poppler-utils:amd64 (0.41.0-0ubuntu1.5, 0.41.0-0ubuntu1.6), linux-libc-dev:amd64 
(4.4.0-104.127, 4.4.0-108.131), firefox-locale-en:amd64 (57.0.3+build1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 
57.0.4+build1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), firefox:amd64 (57.0.3+build1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 
57.0.4+build1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), libpoppler-glib8:amd64 (0.41.0-0ubuntu1.5, 
0.41.0-0ubuntu1.6), libpoppler58:amd64 (0.41.0-0ubuntu1.5, 0.41.0-0ubuntu1.6)
End-Date: 2018-01-10  16:56:08

=====================================================================
Start-Date: 2018-01-11  14:39:00
Commandline: /usr/bin/unattended-upgrade
Install: linux-image-4.13.0-26-generic:amd64 (4.13.0-26.29~16.04.2, automatic), 
linux-headers-4.13.0-26:amd64 (4.13.0-26.29~16.04.2, automatic), 
linux-signed-image-4.13.0-26-generic:amd64 (4.13.0-26.29~16.04.2, automatic), 
linux-image-extra-4.13.0-26-generic:amd64 (4.13.0-26.29~16.04.2, automatic), 
linux-headers-4.13.0-26-generic:amd64 (4.13.0-26.29~16.04.2, automatic)
Upgrade: linux-libc-dev:amd64 (4.4.0-108.131, 4.4.0-109.132), ruby2.3:amd64 
(2.3.1-2~16.04.4, 2.3.1-2~16.04.5), linux-image-generic-hwe-16.04:amd64 (4.10.0.42.44, 
4.13.0.26.46), linux-signed-generic-hwe-16.04:amd64 (4.10.0.42.44, 4.13.0.26.46), 
linux-generic-hwe-16.04:amd64 (4.10.0.42.44, 4.13.0.26.46), 
linux-signed-image-generic-hwe-16.04:amd64 (4.10.0.42.44, 4.13.0.26.46), libruby2.3:amd64 
(2.3.1-2~16.04.4, 2.3.1-2~16.04.5), linux-headers-generic-hwe-16.04:amd64 (4.10.0.42.44, 
4.13.0.26.46)
End-Date: 2018-01-11  14:42:54
=====================================================================

Start-Date: 2018-01-13  15:57:28
Commandline: apt upgrade
Requested-By: rohan (1000)
Install: libllvm5.0:amd64 (1:5.0-3~16.04.1, automatic), libdrm-common:amd64 
(2.4.83-1~16.04.1, automatic)
Upgrade: suru-icon-theme:amd64 (14.04+16.04.20161024-0ubuntu1, 
14.04+16.04.20171116-0ubuntu1), libgles2-mesa:amd64 (17.0.7-0ubuntu0.16.04.2, 
17.2.4-0ubuntu1~16.04.2), libseccomp2:amd64 (2.2.3-3ubuntu3, 2.3.1-2.1ubuntu2~16.04.1), 
intel-microcode:amd64 (3.20170707.1~ubuntu16.04.0, 3.20180108.0~ubuntu16.04.2), 
libdrm-nouveau2:amd64 (2.4.76-1~ubuntu16.04.1, 2.4.83-1~16.04.1), libgweather-3-6:amd64 
(3.18.2-0ubuntu0.1, 3.18.2-0ubuntu0.2), grub-common:amd64 (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.14, 
2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.15), libglapi-mesa:amd64 (17.0.7-0ubuntu0.16.04.2, 
17.2.4-0ubuntu1~16.04.2), snapd:amd64 (2.28.5, 2.29.4.2), squashfs-tools:amd64 
(1:4.3-3ubuntu2, 1:4.3-3ubuntu2.16.04.1), google-chrome-stable:amd64 (63.0.3239.108-1, 
63.0.3239.132-1), libxatracker2:amd64 (17.0.7-0ubuntu0.16.04.2, 17.2.4-0ubuntu1~16.04.2), 
grub2-common:amd64 (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.14, 2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.15), libegl1-mesa:amd64 
(17.0.7-0ubuntu0.16.04.2, 17.2.4-0ubuntu1~16.04.2), initramfs-tools-bin:amd64 
(0.122ubuntu8.9, 0.122ubuntu8.10), libgbm1:amd64 (17.0.7-0ubuntu0.16.04.2, 
17.2.4-0ubuntu1~16.04.2), adapta-gtk-theme:amd64 (3.92.2.57-0ubuntu1~xenial1, 
3.93.0.38-0ubuntu1~xenial1), libdrm-amdgpu1:amd64 (2.4.76-1~ubuntu16.04.1, 
2.4.83-1~16.04.1), grub-efi-amd64-bin:amd64 (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.14, 
2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.15), libwayland-egl1-mesa:amd64 (17.0.7-0ubuntu0.16.04.2, 
17.2.4-0ubuntu1~16.04.2), ubuntu-core-launcher:amd64 (2.28.5, 2.29.4.2), libdrm2:amd64 
(2.4.76-1~ubuntu16.04.1, 2.4.83-1~16.04.1), libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37:amd64 
(2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.5-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), ubuntu-mobile-icons:amd64 
(14.04+16.04.20161024-0ubuntu1, 14.04+16.04.20171116-0ubuntu1), libgl1-mesa-dri:amd64 
(17.0.7-0ubuntu0.16.04.2, 17.2.4-0ubuntu1~16.04.2), grub-efi-amd64:amd64 
(2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.14, 2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.15), xserver-xorg-core-hwe-16.04:amd64 
(2:1.19.3-1ubuntu1~16.04.4, 2:1.19.5-0ubuntu2~16.04.1), light-themes:amd64 
(14.04+16.04.20161024-0ubuntu1, 14.04+16.04.20171116-0ubuntu1), ubuntu-artwork:amd64 
(1:14.04+16.04.20161024-0ubuntu1, 1:14.04+16.04.20171116-0ubuntu1), libgl1-mesa-glx:amd64 
(17.0.7-0ubuntu0.16.04.2, 17.2.4-0ubuntu1~16.04.2), grub-efi-amd64-signed:amd64 
(1.66.14+2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.14, 1.66.15+2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.15), 
gir1.2-webkit2-4.0:amd64 (2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.5-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), 
unattended-upgrades:amd64 (0.90ubuntu0.8, 0.90ubuntu0.9), libdrm-intel1:amd64 
(2.4.76-1~ubuntu16.04.1, 2.4.83-1~16.04.1), libdrm-radeon1:amd64 (2.4.76-1~ubuntu16.04.1, 
2.4.83-1~16.04.1), xserver-xorg-legacy-hwe-16.04:amd64 (2:1.19.3-1ubuntu1~16.04.4, 
2:1.19.5-0ubuntu2~16.04.1), mesa-vdpau-drivers:amd64 (17.0.7-0ubuntu0.16.04.2, 
17.2.4-0ubuntu1~16.04.2), libjavascriptcoregtk-4.0-18:amd64 (2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 
2.18.5-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), ubuntu-mono:amd64 (14.04+16.04.20161024-0ubuntu1, 
14.04+16.04.20171116-0ubuntu1), libgweather-common:amd64 (3.18.2-0ubuntu0.1, 
3.18.2-0ubuntu0.2), initramfs-tools-core:amd64 (0.122ubuntu8.9, 0.122ubuntu8.10), 
initramfs-tools:amd64 (0.122ubuntu8.9, 0.122ubuntu8.10), libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37-gtk2:amd64 
(2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.5-0ubuntu0.16.04.1), gir1.2-javascriptcoregtk-4.0:amd64 
(2.18.4-0ubuntu0.16.04.1, 2.18.5-0ubuntu0.16.04.1)
End-Date: 2018-01-13  16:00:19

Start-Date: 2018-01-13  18:09:45
Commandline: apt install papirus-icon-theme
Requested-By: rohan (1000)
Install: libreoffice-style-papirus:amd64 (20170914-44+pkg3~ubuntu16.04.1, automatic), 
papirus-icon-theme:amd64 (20180113-2047+pkg17~ubuntu16.04.1)
End-Date: 2018-01-13  18:10:12

Start-Date: 2018-01-13  18:14:39
Commandline: apt-get install arc-theme
Requested-By: rohan (1000)
Install: gnome-themes-standard:amd64 (3.18.0-2ubuntu1, automatic), 
gnome-themes-standard-data:amd64 (3.18.0-2ubuntu1, automatic), arc-theme:amd64 
(1488477732.766ae1a-0)
End-Date: 2018-01-13  18:14:43

Start-Date: 2018-01-13  21:22:41
Commandline: apt autoremove
Requested-By: rohan (1000)
Remove: linux-image-4.10.0-40-generic:amd64 (4.10.0-40.44~16.04.1), 
linux-signed-image-4.10.0-40-generic:amd64 (4.10.0-40.44~16.04.1), libllvm4.0:amd64 
(1:4.0-1ubuntu1~16.04.2), linux-image-extra-4.10.0-40-generic:amd64 
(4.10.0-40.44~16.04.1), linux-headers-4.10.0-40:amd64 (4.10.0-40.44~16.04.1), 
linux-headers-4.10.0-40-generic:amd64 (4.10.0-40.44~16.04.1)
End-Date: 2018-01-13  21:24:20

are you using your computer as an acess point where other devices connect to it. — ptetteh227, Jan 16 '18 at 13:02

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 13 '18 at 13:13

4

I think that wifi power management is responsible for the slow speeds, it can be disabled with

echo "options rtl8723be ips=0" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/50-rtl8723be.conf
sudo sed -i 's/wifi.powersave = 3/wifi.powersave = 2/' /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

Reboot

answered Jan 13 '18 at 13:13

Jeremy31

12,602
10
58
114

Tried it. Now Power Management is off but the problem still persists. – Rohan Bhatia Jan 13 '18 at 14:40
Is your hotspot using AP mode rather than ad-hoc. I would also use WPA2 encrytpion – Jeremy31 Jan 13 '18 at 18:00
Yes, my Hotspot is using AP mode and I am using WPA & WPA2 Personalencryption. – Rohan Bhatia Jan 13 '18 at 18:53
I tried creating an adhoc connection but my device won't connect to it. – Rohan Bhatia Jan 13 '18 at 18:55
I made some changes since you answered. – Rohan Bhatia Jan 15 '18 at 08:58

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 15 '18 at 17:38

Regarding to https://forum.ubuntuusers.de/topic/w-lan-geht-nicht-auf-laptop-bzw-hat-starke-sch/#post-8108483 (German Forum) the cause might be a setting that you can check and reset.

To check use modinfo -F parm rtl8723be

The output should look like this:

parm:           swlps:bool
parm:           swenc:using hardware crypto (default 0 [hardware]) (bool)
parm:           ips:using no link power save (default 1 is open) (bool)
parm:           fwlps:using linked fw control power save (default 1 is open) (bool)
parm:           msi:Set to 1 to use MSI interrupts mode (default 0) (bool)
parm:           debug:Set debug level (0-5) (default 0) (int)
parm:           disable_watchdog:Set to 1 to disable the watchdog (default 0) (bool)
parm:           ant_sel:Set to 1 or 2 to force antenna number (default 0) (int)

The last line is the interesting one. You can change the value of ant_sel from 0 to 1 to 2. Reboot and check. - You have to try and find out the correct value on your own.

echo "options rtl8723be swenc=1 fwlps=0 ips=0 ant_sel=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf

I dont know if this resolves your problem, but you could give it a try.

I have ant_sel=2 in a config file. Reducing it results in a weaker signal strength of Wifis that are detected and hotspots that are created. Also, I tried experimenting with other variables but nothing worked. — Rohan Bhatia, Jan 15 '18 at 19:26

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 16 '18 at 17:04

Check your entropy available:

cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/entropy_avail

from an arch wiki on haveged and entropy:

If [entropy] is rather low (<1000), you should probably install haveged. Otherwise cryptographic applications will block until there is enough entropy available, which eg. could result in slow wlan speed, if your server is a Software access point.

Install haveged:

sudo apt install haveged

Check your wifi speed then start haveged:

sudo service haveged start

Now start your AP and check the speed again. Hopefully your issue should be resolved

Wow, I didn't know about this. Thank you. Although my entropy is 3733. What should I do now? — Rohan Bhatia, Jan 16 '18 at 22:15

WinEunuuchs2Unix · Answer 4 · 2018-01-23T23:54:54.443

1

Antennae #2 used to be the solution

Looking back through github bug reports, setting your Wifi to use Antennae #2 used to be the solution on kernels >= to 4.12. One person found success switching it back to Antennae #1 under kernel 4.13:

Ah yes, after finding that my kernel loads a firmware that it didn't before (rtl8723befw_36.bin instead of the regular one) i found this issue, very glad!

As far as i see it, 4.13.7 already includes the patch so no action to be made there. in /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf i used to have
options rtl8723be fwlps=0
options rtl8723be ant_sel=2
But now i need to ant_sel=1 for a good signal. took me quite a long time figuring this out.

Lots of reports when Ubuntu HWE (Hardware Enablement Stack) took users from Kernel 4.10 branch to kernel 4.13 branch around January 11, 2018. As far as your attempts to downgrade to kernel 4.10 some have had success. Others report success manually installing kernel 4.14 for RTL non-WiFi problems. Still others stayed on 4.13 kernel branch and used rmmod and modprobe as temporary fixes.

Turn off Network Manager WiFi Power saving

Network Manager Power Saving may be enabled by default. Someone reports disabling it improves speed. Look into the file /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf:

[connection]
#wifi.powersave = 3
# Slow speed fix: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1670041
wifi.powersave = 2

Commenting out powersave = 3 and using powersave = 2 disables power saving.

All the available options are:

NM_SETTING_WIRELESS_POWERSAVE_DEFAULT (0): use the default value
NM_SETTING_WIRELESS_POWERSAVE_IGNORE (1): don't touch existing setting
NM_SETTING_WIRELESS_POWERSAVE_DISABLE (2): disable powersave
NM_SETTING_WIRELESS_POWERSAVE_ENABLE (3): enable powersave

Turn off ALL WiFi Power Saving

There are three areas of power saving. To turn off all three use:

cat > /etc/modprobe.d/options-rtl8723be.conf <<EOF
options rtl8723be ips=0 swlps=0 fwlps=0
EOF

Don't download and `make` old drivers

At one time you had to download source code and make the drivers yourself. This is no longer necessary:

The rtl8723ae and rtl8723be modules are included in the mainline Linux kernel.

If you are using DKMS make sure it's not recompiling an old driver with every kernel update.

edited Jan 23 '18 at 23:54

answered Jan 20 '18 at 20:33

WinEunuuchs2Unix

102,282

Before upgrading to 4.13, I used to have options rtl8723be ant_sel=1 in my config file. Then since I upgraded, I was receiving weak wifi signals, so I installed drivers and used a value of 2. It fixed my weak wifi signals issue, but the speed of hotspot was still terrible. Should I try to install v4.14 manually? Is it in beta? – Rohan Bhatia Jan 20 '18 at 21:06
1

Version 4.14 has been out for a long time (in weekly software years). I was running 4.14.13 for a week and 4.14.14 just came out today: https://askubuntu.com/questions/997861/why-was-kernel-4-9-77-released-but-not-kernel-4-14-14?noredirect=1#comment1612751_997861 That said sometimes changes in github fix WiFi bugs that don't get to upstream kernel for weeks if not months. Also kernel version 4.15 is the new release candidate (beta) which will probably be used by Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) – WinEunuuchs2Unix Jan 20 '18 at 21:34
@RohanBhatia I've added another option to disable WiFi power saving. – WinEunuuchs2Unix Jan 20 '18 at 23:31
@Jeremy31 already suggested turning off the power saving mode. It didn't have any effect. – Rohan Bhatia Jan 21 '18 at 05:06
Why do old kernels still receive updates? Shouldn't an update mean that users get themselves the latest version? Should I try a previous version or newer one? – Rohan Bhatia Jan 21 '18 at 05:15
1

@RohanBhatia The older kernels do not get updated. I've changed the wording in the link. Most times you find a bug report that points you to a specific kernel version to manually install. When a bug report isn't found I try a newer mainline kernel first to see if it is fixed there. – WinEunuuchs2Unix Jan 21 '18 at 18:58
1

And the way to find a bug report is just to Google it? Believe me, I have tried it. – Rohan Bhatia Jan 21 '18 at 21:42
There are many rtl8723be related bugs out there I can only imagine how tired you must be from reading them. I've read lots for my old rtl8168 driver and my new ath10k_pci driver. Did you notice the answer revision for THREE areas to turn off power savings? – WinEunuuchs2Unix Jan 21 '18 at 22:27
sorry I was busy at school. I tried turning off power savings as you mentioned but it didn't help. – Rohan Bhatia Jan 23 '18 at 14:46
@RohanBhatia I added a new section to the answer. Thank you for awarding me the bounty but I don't think I deserve it... – WinEunuuchs2Unix Jan 23 '18 at 23:57
You do deserve it. I have never used dkms and its not even installed on my computer. Although when this problem occurred, I did download and make drivers from this repo according to this article. It was of no use. My kernel got updated recently again, so the drivers would have gotten updated since then. – Rohan Bhatia Jan 25 '18 at 15:20

Slow speed on Hotspot created from Ubuntu 16.04 with RTL8723BE Wireless Network Adapter

History

The Problem

Related Information

Output of `iwconfig`

Output of `ifconfig`

Output of `lspci | grep Wireless`

Output of `route`

Recent Software Update Log

4 Answers4

Antennae #2 used to be the solution

Turn off Network Manager WiFi Power saving

Turn off ALL WiFi Power Saving

Don't download and `make` old drivers

Linked

Slow speed on Hotspot created from Ubuntu 16.04 with RTL8723BE Wireless Network Adapter

History

The Problem

Related Information

Output of iwconfig

Output of ifconfig

Output of lspci | grep Wireless

Output of route

Recent Software Update Log

4 Answers4

Antennae #2 used to be the solution

Turn off Network Manager WiFi Power saving

Turn off ALL WiFi Power Saving

Don't download and make old drivers

Linked

Output of `iwconfig`

Output of `ifconfig`

Output of `lspci | grep Wireless`

Output of `route`

Don't download and `make` old drivers