Telstra Smart Modem Unseen in Some Pups [FIXED, not Solved]

[davids45]

G'day,

I'm suddenly having wifi connection problems with many Puppies on a Samsung laptop. It has built-in wifi (=wlan0).
Windows7 has had no problem connecting (came with the laptop).

Using wlan0 had been fine for all Pups (32 & 64 bit) for years, but for the last week or so, I'm seeing erratic behaviour.

For many but not all Pups, I cannot "find" the SSID of my router when scanning with any of the Puppy wizards. Neighbours' weaker SSIDs show up but not mine, even if I'm next the modem-router (Telstra Smart with nbn)

I've tried a USB dongle (=wlan1) which sometimes works (finds the router on a scan and connects).

Running "ifconfig -a" lists a strange device 'tunl0' with a stranger Mac address, this is with and without the good USB dongle (wlan1) plugged in (screenshots).
There are errors in wlan0 packets - are these related to tunl0?

Can I remove this tunl0 as it seems, so far, the only thing to explain this sudden inability in my laptop to connect Puppies by wifi to my modem-router? If so, how?

I did not see any 'blacklist' on the router when I logged onto it.

All very strange and too technical for me .

Thanks for any help.

David S.

[s243a]

I'm also curious as to why you have a tunnel device. Try the following command to see what processes might be using it:

Code: Select all

netstat -ap -i tunl0

https://superuser.com/questions/614278/ ... ork-device

[davids45]

G'day s243a,
Thanks for the interest in my laptop's sudden WiFi weirdness.

I've run your netstat script in several Pups, some not working to see or log on to my router, others are good with wifi as before this problem arose.

The presence of the tunl0 does not seem to determine if the computer can see my router amongst the weaker signals from my neighbourhood.

I'm in a wifi-connected DPupStretch-7.5 now with the tunl0 present. After booting, I removed the brcmsmac driver by a modprobe, so the only wlan is now the USB dongle and this has connected without drama and the tunl0 is still there (screenshots).

Maybe I'll try a remove-brcmsmac script in /root/Startup in a few more Pups on this laptop to see if that helps show the problem's cause.

It could still be some intermittent failing in this laptop or even in the Telstra Smart Modem which began use here about the same time as I noticed this erratic wifi with some Puppies.

I haven't noticed any issues with other wifi-using devices around the house (yet?).

David S.

[bigpup]

You could try changing to a different channel for the wifi router.
https://www.metageek.com/training/resou ... -6-11.html

Selecting the proper WiFi channel can significantly improve your WiFi coverage and performance. In the 2.4 GHz band, 1, 6, and 11 are the only non-overlapping channels. Selecting one or more of these channels is an important part of setting up your network correctly.

You could be using one of the overlapping channels, that is getting interference form other wifi signals, in the area.
Yes, it will not happen all the time.
It greatly depends on who is doing what and when.
The routers setup should allow channel changing.
If nothing else, try using a different channel.

[rcrsn51]

brcmsmac

If you think that the problem is related to Broadcom wifi, you could try switching to the wl driver.

[davids45]

G'day,

I am still finding USB wifi dongles failing to see/report our new 'Telstra Smart Modem' (connected to our new National Broadband Network or NBN) when scanning in some Puppies.

A Good Puppy reports on a wifi scan with BK's SNS our modem with strong signals and neighbours' wifi with weak signal strength. (lower screenshot)

A Bad Puppy fails to see the strong signal of our modem, just weak signals of the neighbours. (upper screenshot)

Problem first noticed on my Samsung laptop but now new Pups such as epupef-20.04-rc1 have this failure-to-see. Blacklisting the inbuilt wifi of the laptop and just using a USB wifi adapter was sometimes good, sometimes not, and usually saw more neighbours' wifi if that meant anything.

My desktop with a different dongle and no in-built wifi (too old) is having the same problem with new Pup installs.

Pups on the laptop have been deleted then re-installed but keet failing to now see our SSID. Most of these had previously been fine as they had had a saved profile for the Smart Modem made very soon after we switched Smart Modems.

The common element seems to be the Smart Modem and not the laptop and its wifi.
There has been no problem with Windows-using computers (the laptop still has W7 which is fine on wifi). Android phones and a tablet and the Epson wifi-networked printer are fine as well.

Is a wireless modem able to hide its signal from a particular Puppy's scan, possibly randomly, or by some other means (not MAC filtering as the same dongle works and doesn't work depending on the Pup)?

Any ideas or ways to identify what's going on?

David S.

[ozsouth]

tunl0 seems to be related to the ipip module.
Append your bootup kernel line, to end thus: module_blacklist=ipip
& reboot. Hopefully that helps.

[bigpup]

I see 4 to 6 different Telstra wifi routers listed.

Good chance they are all using the same WIFI channel.

Go into the setup for yours and change the channel, as I talked about in a previous post.

Are you positive you are picking your WIFI router and it is password protected (encrypted) to hook to it?
In the router setup you can give it a specific name.

[bigpup]

SNS scan in eoanpupef has neighbours' weak strength wifi but not our full strength modem

This version of Puppy is in testing for bugs and fixing.
It just got released to try and find bugs.
You may have found a bug.
You need to report this in the eoanpupef topic.

[davids45]

G'day bigpup,
Thanks for your inputs.

But I don't think it's a bug in EoanPupEF as I have this same My-Modem-Wifi-not-seen problem with some other Pups on the same laptop. Some Ubuntu-based but others not.

I think it's the new Modem, being the only common thread apart from the many Puppies I have. Single OS devices (Windows computer, Android phones and tablets) seem unaffected so far.

Newly installed Pups like EoanPupEF seem more affected and I wonder if the new (maybe-not-so-)Smart Modem is ignoring the new attempts at connection.
I can't find if it has a limit to the number of connections it accepts and has reached that limit (with my many Puppies).

I see lots of puppypcxxxx connections listed in the Devices List of the Modem and wondered if it is denying these new ones because of these many similar connections. This list looks too short to be a complete list of connections I have made per Puppy.

I could rename some good and bad Puppies to have the same name, e.g. puppy1234 and see if that worked, or changed anything.

I think it can't be MAC filtering as the USB wifi dongle is a constant for the laptop so all Pups on the laptop should show the same MAC address?

I've posted my problem on the Telstra CrowdSupport website-forum to see if any of their volunteer helpers have any clues.

David S.

[rcrsn51]

Have you considered the possibility that the real culprit here is your Puppy WiFi connection software?

[davids45]

G'day rcrsn51,

Yes, it is a possibility but not one I can immediately do anything about as far as I know or have any expertise in.

Do you suspect one of the three main wizards which seem to have been Ok for years now? When a Puppy won't connect, all three wizards fail to see my Smart Modem but do see the weaker signals from various neighbour wifi.

I have not tried your Peasy version - is it basically different to these other wizards? I can try it on a few Pups anyway.

I have been changing the hostname on Puppies on my laptop to be the same to see if my SmartModem can't handle lots of different hostnames from the same computer.
The modem's "wifi devices list" lists by hostname first not computer or MAC address.

David S.

[bigpup]

All the Puppy connections are using 2.4G
WIFI transmission Channel interference, is common, using that.

Just try changing the WIFI transmission channel that your router is using.
Try channel 6.

Again, you have too many WIFI routers, of the same brand, transmitting in your area.
Unless they changed the channels being used.
I bet they are all using the default one.

[davids45]

G'day bigpup,

Thanks for persisting with possible answers for my strange wifi problem.

Every other device and computer in the house does not have the wifi Smart-Modem not-seen problem - will changing the Telstra Smart Modem channel cause any issues with these other devices and the good Pups and W7 on my lap-top which do see our new modem? Need to avoid a 'lead balloon' situation.

I still have the previous Telstra Smart Modem (different make, and said to be NBN-compatible) which was free of this wifi problem with my laptop. But the idea of switching to this, even for a test, upsets my other half whose devices are free of any problem with the new modem .

Of the neighbours' wifi that do show (a variable list), I could check the channels they are using I suppose and, if allowed to try a channel change, pick the least popular.

Thanks again,

David S.

[cthisbear]

Whirlpool may have answers as well.
862,101 registered members

eg:

https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2768946

Not knocking anyone here.

Whatever starts to work please post back.
They also have a Linux section.

Chris.

[davids45]

G'day Chris,

Thanks for the Whirlpool 'reminder'. Your link is a bit old (2018) but maybe there's something newer I can find.

I'm on the Telstra CrowdSupport forum with this problem as well. A website run by volunteer helpers(!), given Telstra actual support (by paid employees) is of poor reputation.

https://crowdsupport.telstra.com.au

Some know of Linux but Puppy is generally unknown.

A while back with the first Telstra Smart Modem they gave us for Foxtel cable, everything was good.
With NBN now, we were connected with this new Smart Modem, which is about the time the wifi laptop started missing our new SSID with some Puppies. Apparently there is no difference between our new and old Smart Modems, apart from their SSID and log-in, and their makers listed on the underside label.

But the laptop may still be the problem - its wifi I've blacklisted as this was weaker that the $10 USB dongle in just about every test/scan. It has occasional erratic behaviour. Maybe the hard-drive or CPU is slowly failing, for example.

So I'm trying to identify what hardware is at fault, or combination thereof, before committing to spending money.

Making good use otherwise of our viral isolation.

David S.

[bigpup]

But the laptop may still be the problem - its wifi I've blacklisted as this was weaker that the $10 USB dongle in just about every test/scan. It has occasional erratic behaviour. Maybe the hard-drive or CPU is slowly failing, for example.

After reading this you may have hardware going bad.

Changing the WIFI routers transmission channel is not going to do anything to cause it to not provide a WIFI signal.
All devices will still see the signal.
All WIFI devices can see any WIFI transmission channel.
Well, some only see 2.4GHz signal channels.
Some only 5GHz signal channels, or both.

By your posted images. Your router is providing both 2,4GHz and 5GHz signals.
Your laptops WIFI is probably only a 2.4GHz device.

5GHz signal channels are all separate channels and do not overlap each other. That is one big reason they went to 5GHz.
Devices have to be made to support 5GHz.
Newer devices do. Older ones only 2.4GHz.

Best WiFi Channel to Use for 2.4 GHz. Short Answer: Only use channel 1, 6, or 11. Longer Answer: In the United States, while channels 1-13 can be used for 2.4 GHz WiFi, only three channels are considered non-overlapping, channel 1, 6, or 11.
(channels 12 and 13 are allowed under low powered conditions, but for most cases are not used).

Adjacent-Channel interference occurs when devices from overlapping channels are trying to talk over each other. ... This is what causes the interference on your network and and a lag in your WiFi's performance. Certain channels yield better WiFi performance than others because they are non-overlapping.

This will tell you what is being used in your area.

Code: Select all

iwlist wlan0 scan | grep \(Channel | sort -k 1

If you don't know what channel you're using just type this command:

Code: Select all

iwlist wlan0 channel

This gives a list of channels your wifi adapter supports followed with the channel you're currently using.

[davids45]

G'day,

Thanks for all those who've responded to my strange problem with new Telstra Smart Modem (router). It's certainly made me smart - in the painful meaning of that word.

By blundering around in the new "Arcadyan Smart" modem/router's internals (logged into 192.168.0.1 then using the default password):
I re-set the DCHP range (was only DHCP) to return my network printer/scanner to be within the StaticIP range
Refreshed many of the device lists and logs
Possibly did other things?

Logged out from the modem/router little the wiser.

But when I booted up the laptop, its USB dongle could now see the modem SSID and log on as before. This now works in all the Pups (>20) on the laptop.

Nonetheless I've changed the hostnames for each Pup to "puppylaptop" as I think this relates solely to the wifi dongle and its MAC address - which computer it's on and which Puppy is irrelevant??

David S.

[bigpup]

in the new "Arcadyan Smart" modem/router's internals (logged into 192.168.0.1 then using the default password)

You need to go back into the routers setup and change that access password, to something different.
That default password is an easy way to get into the setup, by others. The password is the same one used for all of that brands routers, when new. Easily known.
When you change it, only you know what it is.