Wifi Network Speed - Intel Wireless 7265 driver: iwlwifi

LuigiCalamar · 3 January 2024 01:53

I have just recently realized that my WiFi speeds on my Manjaro laptop are very slow, and drops frequently. I don’t believe this is a new issue - just my awareness… (copying files across wifi to my tablet is oh - 20x faster than copying the same files to my laptop)…

I’ve been spending the last couple of hours trying to find how to fix this - but I’m at a loss and could use some help…
Note: I did go to get the latest driver files from this site: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005511/wireless.html and found a .tgz file there that works in kernel 4.2+.

?? I see the instructions are to copy that file into /lib/firmware … however - do I extract the files and just move the individual files to /lib/firmware?

There are 2 files already there:

iwlwifi-7265-17.ucode
iwlwifi-7265D-29.ucode

The files in the .tgz file are:

iwlwifi-7265-14.ucode
iwlwifi-7265D-14.ucode

It seems the files in the .tgz file are quite a bit older than what is currently there.

Here’s my specs: Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Wifi: intel Wireless 7265 driver: iwlwifi

Linux 6.6.8-2-MANJARO

Network:
Device-1: Intel Wireless 7265 driver: iwlwifi
DISTRIB_ID=“ManjaroLinux”
DISTRIB_RELEASE=“23.1.2”
DISTRIB_CODENAME=“Vulcan”
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION=“Manjaro Linux”

cscs · 3 January 2024 01:55

Lets stop right there.

If you really need newer iwlwifi then you would probably want to try a packaged version, such as iwlwifi-next from the AUR.

But. You probably dont want to do that either, at least not as your first solution.

To begin … lets start with system info;

inxi -Fazy

Information about the module may be useful as well

modinfo -p iwlwifi

I suppose I can add a link to common options for iwlwifi. Specifically the antenna aggregation and swcrypto. ex

/etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf

options iwlwifi 11n_disable=8 swcrypto=1

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Network_configuration/Wireless#iwlwifi

And a note. This guide will cover tips on how to post such as formatting code, etc.

LuigiCalamar · 3 January 2024 02:16

Details follow:
Note: there is NO iwlwifi.conf found in /etc/modprobe.d

should I create a file and add the line: options iwlwifi 11n_disable=8 swcrypto=1 ??

System:
  Kernel: 6.6.8-2-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.2.1
    clocksource: tsc available: hpet,acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.6-x86_64
    root=UUID=148e2495-7438-48f3-8529-ca67fcc5f4bf rw quiet splash
    udev.log_priority=3
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.10 tk: Qt v: 5.15.11 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 2
    dm: SDDM Distro: Manjaro Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: HP product: HP Spectre x360 Convertible v: N/A
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: HP model: 804E v: 33.23 serial: <superuser required>
    UEFI: American Megatrends v: F.2D date: 10/23/2015
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 52.2 Wh (97.4%) condition: 53.6/53.6 Wh (100.0%)
    volts: 12.7 min: 11.4 model: Hewlett-Packard Primary type: Li-ion serial: N/A
    status: not charging
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Marathon Mouse/Performance Plus
    M705 serial: <filter> charge: 10% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes
    status: discharging
  Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech MK700 serial: <filter>
    charge: 70% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: discharging
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-6500U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Skylake
    gen: core 6 level: v3 note: check built: 2015 process: Intel 14nm family: 6
    model-id: 0x4E (78) stepping: 3 microcode: 0xF0
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 2 tpc: 2 threads: 4 smt: enabled cache:
    L1: 128 KiB desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB desc: 2x256 KiB
    L3: 4 MiB desc: 1x4 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 500 high: 800 min/max: 400/3100 scaling:
    driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave cores: 1: 400 2: 400 3: 400 4: 800
    bogomips: 20810
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Vulnerable: No microcode
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX unsupported
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
    prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
    sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: IBRS, IBPB: conditional, STIBP: conditional,
    RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-9 process: Intel 14n built: 2015-16 ports:
    active: HDMI-A-1 off: eDP-1 empty: DP-1,HDMI-A-2 bus-ID: 00:02.0
    chip-ID: 8086:1916 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Sunplus Innovation HP Truevision Full HD driver: uvcvideo
    type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-6:4
    chip-ID: 1bcf:2c7d class-ID: 0e02
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.10 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :0
    screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.00x11.22")
    s-diag: 582mm (22.93")
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-1 pos: primary
    model: LG (GoldStar) FULL HD built: 2015 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 102
    gamma: 1.2 size: 480x270mm (18.9x10.63") diag: 551mm (21.7") ratio: 16:9
    modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  Monitor-2: eDP-1 note: disabled model: LG Display built: 2013
    res: 1920x1080 dpi: 222 gamma: 1.2 size: 293x165mm (11.54x6.5")
    diag: 336mm (13.2") ratio: 16:9 modes: 2560x1440
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris
    device: 1 drv: swrast surfaceless: drv: iris x11: drv: iris
    inactive: gbm,wayland
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 23.1.9-manjaro1.1
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2)
    device-ID: 8086:1916 memory: 7.49 GiB unified: yes
  API: Vulkan v: 1.3.274 layers: N/A device: 0 type: integrated-gpu
    name: Intel HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2) driver: mesa intel v: 23.1.9-manjaro1.1
    device-ID: 8086:1916 surfaces: xcb,xlib
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_skl,snd_soc_avs
    bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:9d70 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.6.8-2-MANJARO status: kernel-api with: aoss
    type: oss-emulator tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off tools: N/A
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: off with: wireplumber status: active
    tools: pw-cli,wpctl
  Server-3: PulseAudio v: 16.1 status: active with: pulseaudio-alsa
    type: plugin tools: pacat,pactl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Wireless 7265 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel pcie: gen: 1
    speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:095a class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB
    rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-7:5 chip-ID: 8087:0a2a
    class-ID: e001
  Report: rfkill ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: see --recommends
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 187.84 GiB (78.8%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Samsung model: MZNTE256HMHP-000H1
    size: 238.47 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 2H0Q scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 238.17 GiB size: 233.38 GiB (97.99%)
    used: 187.84 GiB (80.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
    used: 312 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 41.0 C pch: 37.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Processes: 227 Uptime: 1h 3m wakeups: 0 Memory: total: 8 GiB
  available: 7.67 GiB used: 5.39 GiB (70.2%) Init: systemd v: 254
  default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 13.2.1 clang: 16.0.6
  Packages: 1771 pm: pacman pkgs: 1746 libs: 457 tools: pamac pm: appimage
  pkgs: 0 pm: flatpak pkgs: 25 Shell: Zsh v: 5.9 default: Bash v: 5.2.21
  running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.31

modinfo -p iwlwifi                                                                                                                                                                                                    ✔  4s  
debug:debug output mask (uint)
swcrypto:using crypto in software (default 0 [hardware]) (int)
11n_disable:disable 11n functionality, bitmap: 1: full, 2: disable agg TX, 4: disable agg RX, 8 enable agg TX (uint)
amsdu_size:amsdu size 0: 12K for multi Rx queue devices, 2K for AX210 devices, 4K for other devices 1:4K 2:8K 3:12K (16K buffers) 4: 2K (default 0) (int)
fw_restart:restart firmware in case of error (default true) (bool)
nvm_file:NVM file name (charp)
uapsd_disable:disable U-APSD functionality bitmap 1: BSS 2: P2P Client (default: 3) (uint)
enable_ini:0:disable, 1-15:FW_DBG_PRESET Values, 16:enabled without preset value defined,Debug INI TLV FW debug infrastructure (default: 16) (uint)
bt_coex_active:enable wifi/bt co-exist (default: enable) (bool)
led_mode:0=system default, 1=On(RF On)/Off(RF Off), 2=blinking, 3=Off (default: 0) (int)
power_save:enable WiFi power management (default: disable) (bool)
power_level:default power save level (range from 1 - 5, default: 1) (int)
disable_11ac:Disable VHT capabilities (default: false) (bool)
remove_when_gone:Remove dev from PCIe bus if it is deemed inaccessible (default: false) (bool)
disable_11ax:Disable HE capabilities (default: false) (bool)
disable_11be:Disable EHT capabilities (default: false) (bool)

Moderator edit: In the future, please use proper formatting: [HowTo] Post command output and file content as formatted text

cscs · 3 January 2024 02:19

One is not expected.
The proposed file is an override.
Please create it with that content.
(technically the filename can be anything at that location ending in .conf)

After a reboot check your performance.

LuigiCalamar · 3 January 2024 02:28

File created - rebooted - no improvement… (may even be worse?)

Note: this is the exact text in the file I created: options iwlwifi 11n_disable=8 swcrypto=1
… just wanted to make sure the word ‘options’ is to be included!

cscs · 3 January 2024 02:33

You got it right.

I pretty much turn those on on every intel wireless device … but it isnt always ‘the fix’.

Next I would try disabling power management on the related iwlmvm module.

So same thing, different file.

/etc/modprobe.d/iwlmvm.conf

options iwlmvm power_scheme=1

Reboot.

Check performance (with both files).

If not improved then remove the first file

sudo rm /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf

Reboot.

Check performance (with only the powersave one now).

There are a few other common options, but mostly ones I consider undesirable such as disabling 802.11n.

EDIT

Your device is supposed to be too new to be affected by bluetooth interaction but it may be worth trying.

/etc/modprobe.d/iwlbt.conf

options iwlwifi bt_coex_active=0

(or try in conjunction with others as above)

LuigiCalamar · 3 January 2024 03:11

Having the power management disabled seems to have the best impact… much better. I’ve been trying with all 3 files on/off (11n, power, bt_coex)…

I can’t say which combination is best - I’ll need more clean testing… but it seems the power management alone may have the best impact

Still isn’t nearly as fast as my other devices - but its a big improvement so far.