Wi-Fi not starting reliably

[shakex]

Hello All. I’ve added an Edimax EW-7822ULC Wi-Fi USB adapter to my MiSTer. I’ve configured the wpa_supplicant.conf file. There are times when I turn on my MiSTer, the Wi-Fi adapter will connect to my home network and there are times, it will not. I can’t figure out why this inconsistence occurs. I’m pretty proficient with networking. This issue doesn’t occur with my other wireless devices but only with my MiSTer. Anyone have some tips or know if I’m missing an additional configuration or setup to have my MiSTer wi-fi establish a wireless connection consistently. Thanks in advance.

[saucier]

That's been my experience with wifi also, but I also have it connected via ethernet so I haven't bothered investigating further.

[hyp36rmax]

I've almost given up with Wi-Fi on Mister. I think current wi-fi adapters are overheating causing them to fail with such a small size. I have one of these that still needs to be tested from my Odroid UX4. I'll let you guys know if it works.

https://ameridroid.com/products/wifi-mo ... 8044450850

[Newsdee]

Maybe obvious, but make sure to use the adapters with a powered hub. There is also a list of adapters in the wiki that was tested to work.

[hyp36rmax]

I've almost given up with Wi-Fi on Mister. I think current wi-fi adapters are overheating causing them to fail with such a small size. I have one of these that still needs to be tested from my Odroid UX4. I'll let you guys know if it works.

https://ameridroid.com/products/wifi-mo ... 8044450850

Happy to report this solution works great so far. My Wi-fi has not overheated and lost connection. I also want to add I'm using a short USB extension.

[ericgus09]

I also have had a very hit-n-miss affair with wifi adapters in the official wiki list and even using a powered hub.. somedays it works perfectly .. maybe for many days at a time, then just like that .. it wont work.. then just as mysteriously as it stopped working .. it starts again.. ive tried poking at it to see if I could find any sort of rhyme or reason and nothing.. ive tried manually restarting various wifi related services on the linux side with little to no luck, rebooting, warm, cold, total power off (and waiting many minutes before restarting -- no effect).. it just seems very iffy its its going to work or not.. now I just keep a hardwired cable connected if I can and just use wifi only when I really need it and hope its in the mood to work.

[Fallon]

Have the same experience with the same Edimax. Resetting my router sometimes works if the wifi is being stubborn connecting.

[Reverend Crush]

I've been using a CanaKit USB WiFi dongle for a few months now, and it had been working just fine up until today. For some reason, I can't connect at all anymore. All the login details in wpa_supplicant.conf is correct. Are the CanaKit dongles known for crapping out like this?

[ericgus09]

I've been using a CanaKit USB WiFi dongle for a few months now, and it had been working just fine up until today. For some reason, I can't connect at all anymore. All the login details in wpa_supplicant.conf is correct. Are the CanaKit dongles known for crapping out like this?

Give it a week and I bet it will just mysteriously start working again without any rhyme or reason.. (fwiw I dont think its any kind of actual hardware failing).

[Reverend Crush]

Give it a week and I bet it will just mysteriously start working again without any rhyme or reason.. (fwiw I dont think its any kind of actual hardware failing).

I'd say "You're not going to believe this", but you most likely will... damn thing is connecting again. /shrug

[ericgus09]

Give it a week and I bet it will just mysteriously start working again without any rhyme or reason.. (fwiw I dont think its any kind of actual hardware failing).

I'd say "You're not going to believe this", but you most likely will... damn thing is connecting again. /shrug

No.. I actually believe it because thats what mine does .. works fine for weeks.. then craps out.. then just as suddenly as it stopped working, starts working again without a reason or excuse as to why..

[Thad]

My experience is that wifi works on hard boot but not on a soft reboot. So if, for example, I run the update script and it reboots afterward, wifi no longer works until I power-cycle.

Using this wifi dongle: TP-Link TL-WN823N N300 Mini USB Wireless WiFi network Adapter for pc, Ideal for Raspberry Pi,Black

[saucier]

@Thad yes, I think that matches my experience as well. I wonder if it is the same issue as viewtopic.php?f=32&t=620

[bengmo]

I had a ton of problems even with a powered hub, sometimes I had to unplug all my USB devices just to get the Mister to boot. Turns out it was all caused by one of those inline power switches, got rid of that and no more problems!

[ARCADEAGES]

Chiming in to report similar experience. I have "official" USB hub and the 300M USB wifi - all from MisterAddons. Wifi connectivity is sporadic, and the damn little thing gets super hot. I leave it unplugged and only plug it in when I need to use the network.

[shakex]

Hi All,

Just a quick follow up. So I've followed a couple of actions listed in this thread which are removing the inline power switch and using a USB extension cable between my Mister and wi-fi adapter. With the inline power switch removed and the wi-fi adapter connected to the USB extension cable first, the wi-fi adapter has been now connecting consistently. Why this makes it work, I can't begin to understand. I hope someone else tries this and let's us know.

[ericgus09]

Hi All,

Just a quick follow up. So I've followed a couple of actions listed in this thread which are removing the inline power switch and using a USB extension cable between my Mister and wi-fi adapter. With the inline power switch removed and the wi-fi adapter connected to the USB extension cable first, the wi-fi adapter has been now connecting consistently. Why this makes it work, I can't begin to understand. I hope someone else tries this and let's us know.

Give it a few weeks then as suddenly as it started working .. it will stop .. then a week or two later .. it will work again .. even with the changes you did ..

this is why trying to debug this problem is so maddening and frustrating..

[Fallon]

Got rid of my Edimax EW-7822ULC with MiSTer, it never worked reliably having the same problems as OP. Strangely, it works fine with my PC and doesn't overheat.

I think it should really be removed from the recommended wifi devices on the Mister wiki.

I've now switched to a DW171 dongle, and WIFI seems to have been rock solid over the past week.

[ericgus09]

Got rid of my Edimax EW-7822ULC with MiSTer, it never worked reliably having the same problems as OP. Strangely, it works fine with my PC and doesn't overheat.

I think it should really be removed from the recommended wifi devices on the Mister wiki.

I've now switched to a DW171 dongle, and WIFI seems to have been rock solid over the past week.

Specifically which one? ... and let us know how it goes if you do have any weirdness...

[Fallon]

Specifically which one? ... and let us know how it goes if you do have any weirdness...

Oops, just checked and on closer inspection and it's actually a D-Link DWA-121A

[keith.f.kelly]

FYI, the HDMI problems I described over at viewtopic.php?f=33&t=303 can cause not only SDRAM instability, but other symptoms such as intermittent USB dongles for WiFi and Bluetooth. Once I electrically separated my HDMI port using the HDMI booster gadget I mentioned in that thread, all of those problems went away. So if you're using HDMI as your video source, go check out that thread.

I've also noticed recently when I assembled my second MiSTer that if the button cell battery is not installed into the installed RTC board, the three USB ports on that side of the USB hub board v2.0 don't seem to work reliably (any WiFi or Bluetooth dongles plugged into them aren't reliably recognized and/or are recognized but don't seem to actually work). So if you have an RTC board installed, check that it has a battery installed and that the battery is not dead, because apparently that can somehow impact operation of the USB ports.

[Txamin]

A bit off topic but, what kind of speeds do you guys/gals get on wifi?. I'm using this one: https://misterfpga.co.uk/product/mister ... i-adapter/
plugged in this: https://misterfpga.co.uk/product/usb-hu ... ster-fpga/ and when I scp in to upload something, I've never seen speeds over 1.2 megabytes. Other than that, the adapter always connect to the router/internet with no problems.