wireless rt61pci driver buggy in Hardy alpha (only 1Mbit/s) - used to be fine on Gutsy

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. This bug did not have a package associated with it, which is important for ensuring that it gets looked at by the proper developers. You can learn more about finding the right package at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage . I have classified this bug as a bug in linux which is the kernel for Hardy Heron.

Yes, it would be linux if the driver used was the one included in linux (the kernel), which it probably was in Heron (as rt61 driver is included in the 2.6.24 version normally).
The thing is that even serialmonkey developers point out the version included in the kernel is "somewhat buggy" (at least for now) and it shows.
My point is that maybe it would be preferable not to use the kernel driver but use the same version that was included in Gutsy, if possible. Unless of course the reason for this mess lies somewhat else in the brand new 2.6.24 kernel.

Hi misiu_mp,

Per the kernel team's bug policy, can you please attach the following information. Please be sure to attach each file as a separate attachment.

* cat /proc/version_signature > version.log
* dmesg > dmesg.log
* sudo lspci -vvnn > lspci-vvnn.log

For more information regarding the kernel team bug policy, please refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeamBugPolicies . Thanks again and we appreciate your help and feedback.

Hi,

I have a rt62pci based card and i have the same problem.
The connection is slow (100 KBytes maximum), the latency is very high, and the link quality is constantly changing (my AP and wireless card are fixed).

For me, in Gutsy was worst, because the connection dropped from time to time.

I'm attaching version.log, dmesg.log and lspci-vvnn.log.

Same here, with rt61pci. Only 1Mb shown in NetworkManager. Kind of a big deal to me, since I only have wireless at home and I constantly need to transfer big files between my computers.

Same for me with my Linksys WMP54G v4.1 which uses the rt61pci driver. Manually setting the rate to 54Mbit as in misiu_mp's original bug report does work for me though (well, at least it manages to max out my 10mbit connection when I do so it's good enough for me).

Hi Guys,

Care to try installing the linux-backports-modules package? The reason I ask is that it contains an updated version of the rt2x00 drivers from serialmonkey. I believe the version in linux-backports-modules is version 2.1.4. You can verify the version of the driver you are using with the following command:

modinfo rt61pci

Please test and let us know your results. Thanks.

Guess that's better now! It shows different rates and I have no kernel panic(yet). Let's hope it keeps that way :D

Tiago, thanks for testing. I'm glad to hear it seems to be fixed.

misiu_mp, since you are the original bug reporter, care to comment if linux-backports-modules resolves this for you as well? Thanks.

Yes, the linux-backports-modules-hardy-generic package fixed this problem for me to

I purchased an Edimax EW-7608Pg wireless PCMCIA card using the rt61pci driver, before installing the backports modules I got 1mbps connection and the link light would not light up, only the activity light, but it did work.

After installing the backports modules and rebooting I am getting full speed now and the link light is now up.

Thank you.

Update:

After reboot, I got 1 mbps again, first I tried:

sudo ifdown -a
sudo ifup -a

Nothing happened at all, network manager didnt even seem to bring the link down at all typing the ifdown command, but then again I have had loads of issues with network manager both in gutsy and hardy, both for wireless and wired networks, I don't really trust that app it seems a bit flakey still.

Anyway, so I tried clicking on my wireless connection again, network manager reconnected to my network, and I got full speed again after the reconnect.

After a reboot I seem to have to simply click on my network to reconnect to get full speed, as it seems to still start at 1 mbits after a reboot. easily solved with a reconnect but shouldn't really be necessary.

The Ubuntu Kernel Team is planning to move to the 2.6.27 kernel for the upcoming Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release. As a result, the kernel team would appreciate it if you could please test this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. There are one of two ways you should be able to test:

1) If you are comfortable installing packages on your own, the linux-image-2.6.27-* package is currently available for you to install and test.

--or--

2) The upcoming Alpha5 for Intrepid Ibex 8.10 will contain this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. Alpha5 is set to be released Thursday Sept 4. Please watch http://www.ubuntu.com/testing for Alpha5 to be announced. You should then be able to test via a LiveCD.

Please let us know immediately if this newer 2.6.27 kernel resolves the bug reported here or if the issue remains. More importantly, please open a new bug report for each new bug/regression introduced by the 2.6.27 kernel and tag the bug report with 'linux-2.6.27'. Also, please specifically note if the issue does or does not appear in the 2.6.26 kernel. Thanks again, we really appreicate your help and feedback.

I tried the backports package on a laptop with a build-in intel wireless and a ralink pcmcia card.
It did make the ralink be set to 56mbps but i couldnt actually test it because when i deactivated the build-in wlan, the pcmcia card died too (disappeared from the network manager).
Tried both with a hw-switch and a sw-switch from acerhk (which normally works with the intel chip) .
I also deactivated roaming mode on the intel card in network settings and set it to zeroconf-something. Still, NetworkManager didnt see the ralink. As soon as it could see the intel, it saw the ralink too, but not alone.

Then i upgraded to Ibex alpha6. Here i could make the intel unavailable (even though there seems not to be a clean way - the hw-switch still turns off all wireless in Network Manager and the acerhk doesnt compile on 2.6.27 and gcc 4.3.2).
Either way, the ralink works okey, but not well: at half the speed of intel (660kbytes/s as opposed to 1.4Mbytes/sek downloading identical file) and it doesnt seem to be able to connect to wpa protected network. Also it doesnt list all the networks intel lists.

In my opinion this particular bug is resolved in Interpid Ibex, but there is the wpa and performance issue and what the hell is up with NetworkManager disconnecting the card after the build-in card is disconnected (a NetworkManager bug?).

Also, the blinken-lights still arent consistent on the ralink (sometimes there is one green light on (the link indicator?), other time it is not; the ACT light blinks when accesing the internet).

Hi misiu_mp,

Per your last comment I'll go ahead and close this bug. However, it would be good if you would open a new report for each of the other issues you commented on, assuming they are still an issue with the latest Intrepid Release Candidate. Thanks.

Per a decision made by the Ubuntu Kernel Team, bugs will longer be assigned to the ubuntu-kernel-team in Launchpad as part of the bug triage process. The ubuntu-kernel-team is being unassigned from this bug report. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeamBugPolicies for more information. Thanks.