Fixing Wi-Fi Drops on Ubuntu

Fixing Wi-Fi Drops on Ubuntu | Generated by AI

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Wi-Fi disconnections on Ubuntu while wired connections remain stable can be caused by several factors. Here’s a step-by-step guide to diagnose and fix the issue:

1. Check for Driver Issues

Your MSI B760M Mortar WiFi motherboard likely uses an Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211/AX210 card. While Intel drivers are generally well-supported in Linux, issues can still arise.

Steps:

Identify your Wi-Fi chipset:
Run in terminal:
```
lspci -knn | grep -iA3 net
```
Look for the Wi-Fi adapter (likely Intel Corporation Device [8086:...]).
Check if the correct driver is loaded:
```
lsmod | grep iwlwifi
```
If nothing appears, the driver isn’t loaded.
Install/Update drivers:
Intel Wi-Fi drivers (iwlwifi) are included in the Linux kernel, but you may need firmware updates:
```
sudo apt update && sudo apt install --reinstall linux-firmware
```

2. Disable Power Saving for Wi-Fi

Linux sometimes aggressively powers down the Wi-Fi card to save energy, causing drops.

Steps:

Temporarily disable power saving:

sudo sed -i 's/wifi.powersave = 3/wifi.powersave = 2/' /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

Or manually check with:

iw dev wlan0 get power_save

(Replace wlan0 with your interface name from ip a.)

Apply changes:
```
sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager
```

3. Check for Interference or Router Issues

Test with another device (phone/laptop) to see if the issue persists.
Change Wi-Fi channel (use iwlist to scan for congested channels):
```
sudo iwlist wlan0 scan | grep Frequency
```
Try 5GHz band (if available) for less interference.

4. Disable IPv6

Some routers/ISPs have IPv6 compatibility issues.

Steps:

Edit /etc/sysctl.conf and add:

net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6=1
net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6=1

Apply:
```
sudo sysctl -p
```

5. Update Kernel & NetworkManager

Newer kernels often fix Wi-Fi issues.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

If needed, install a mainline kernel (e.g., 6.5+):

sudo apt install linux-image-generic-hwe-22.04

6. Disable Hardware Encryption (if applicable)

Some Intel Wi-Fi cards have issues with hardware encryption.
Edit /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf (create if missing):

options iwlwifi 11n_disable=1

Then:

sudo modprobe -r iwlwifi && sudo modprobe iwlwifi

7. Check for RFKill or Blocked Wi-Fi

rfkill list

If the Wi-Fi is blocked (e.g., soft blocked: yes), unblock it:

sudo rfkill unblock wifi

8. Test with a USB Wi-Fi Adapter

If the issue persists, try a Linux-compatible USB Wi-Fi adapter (e.g., TP-Link Archer T4U) to isolate whether the problem is with the Intel card.

9. Check Logs for Errors

journalctl -u NetworkManager --no-pager -n 50

Look for iwlwifi errors or disconnection events.

Final Notes

If none of the above works, consider dual-booting Windows to check if the issue is hardware-related.
Alternatively, use a USB-to-Ethernet adapter if Wi-Fi remains unreliable.

Let me know if you need further debugging!

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