Terrible Signal Quality on Wireless Adapter RTL8187B Wireless

infernosoft · #1 6th December 2008, 11:33 PM

Thankfully F10 now supports my network adapter, but for some odd reason, it's signal quality is HORRIBLE compared to what I had with windows (or at least, that's what I think the problem is).

My router is in my basement (which I know is a bad idea, but I can't move it), and when I'm upstairs (2-story house), I'm still connected to the network BUT I can't access any webpages...and can't even ping google.com.

So, every time I need to access the internet (like now), I have to take my laptop in the freezing basement so I can get a stronger signal.

I never had such a problem with Windows VISTA, and even when my signal was low, I was still able to have downloads exceeding 800Kb/s (compared to the 300Kb/s or so I get presently in my basement).

Does anyone have any ideas as to why this is the way it is? and what can i do to solve this problem?

thanks

pedora · #2 6th December 2008, 11:39 PM

I don't know about this but I also have to deal with a router in the basement. I have a computer there for when I want to ensure a good signal. Even then, it's not always great.

I think the problem is so many variables to deal with and keep in mind. I would suggest that experts here might help if you include further info. I am just suggesting so take it with a grain of salt. I would include in further posts, your hardware, chipset brand if applicable (probably is) as some have better linux drivers than others, I think. Also, you might enter some commands so readers know what kind of hardware you're dealing with:

/sbin/lsusb or /sbin/lspci (not sure if more is needed but '/sbin/lsusb' allowed me to take a look at my usb connections and the devices hooked up to it)

There might be further info readers who are willing to help might need but I can't think of what it might be at the moment.

'Hope that helps in some way.

scottro · #3 6th December 2008, 11:49 PM

Which adapter? That is, do you know its model? You can get it from Vista's device manager.

pedora · #4 6th December 2008, 11:56 PM

Vista won't tell him the version # or the chipset, though, right? Those are probably important considering a lot of the manufacturers change chipsets from version to version sometimes.

Were my requests any good? I'm not very good at this but I wanted to contribute to helping if I can.

infernosoft · #5 7th December 2008, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedora

/sbin/lsusb or /sbin/lspci

This command gives me a list of things including this one:
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0bda:8197 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8187B Wireless Adapter

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottro

Which adapter? That is, do you know its model? You can get it from Vista's device manager.

I'm pretty sure it's a Realtek Adapter (as I posted above). Any other commands I should show the output of?

pedora · #6 7th December 2008, 12:29 AM

Is your usb adapter this one?
TRENDnet TEW-424UB - 54Mbps 802.11g Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter
It has the vendor ID you gave:
0x0bda:0x8189

http://www.qbik.ch/usb/devices/showdev.php?id=4098

If so, there's not a lot of updated info on it but it sounds problematic.

You used to need ndiswrapper for that chipset. I don't know if you still do. It sounds like the support for it isn't the greatest.

I believe users with that device would need to install ndiswrapper unless it's already installed (applicable to Fedora?) and thus, you use the Windows drivers on it. Maybe check the device's home page for the latest drivers and burn them on CD for use with ndiswrapper when you install?

I would buy a backup usb wireless adapter that has either a zydas zd1211b chipset (they're called something different now - because Atheros bought zydas out - but it still applies). Or alternatively, usb wireless adapters with Ralink chipsets supposedly work better in Linux now. The Linksys WUSB54GC wireless adapter has a Ralink chipset and uses the RT73usb driver which is supposed to work pretty well in Linux. Mine is a Belkin F5D7050 ver. 4000 usb wireless adapter with the zydas zd1211b chipset that usually works.... at least, when I'm not having router problems.

There should be some writeups about that adapter/driver but maybe the signal is poor because the drivers for it aren't the greatest? Don't quote me on that though as I'm not too familiar with it.

infernosoft · #7 7th December 2008, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedora

Is your usb adapter this one?
TRENDnet TEW-424UB - 54Mbps 802.11g Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter
It has the vendor ID you gave:
0x0bda:0x8189

http://www.qbik.ch/usb/devices/showdev.php?id=4098

If so, there's not a lot of updated info on it but it sounds problematic.

You used to need ndiswrapper for that chipset. I don't know if you still do. It sounds like the support for it isn't the greatest.

I believe users with that device would need to install ndiswrapper unless it's already installed (applicable to Fedora?) and thus, you use the Windows drivers on it. Maybe check the device's home page for the latest drivers and burn them on CD for use with ndiswrapper when you install?

I would buy a backup usb wireless adapter that has either a zydas zd1211b chipset (they're called something different now - because Atheros bought zydas out - but it still applies). Or alternatively, usb wireless adapters with Ralink chipsets supposedly work better in Linux now. The Linksys WUSB54GC wireless adapter has a Ralink chipset and uses the RT73usb driver which is supposed to work pretty well in Linux. Mine is a Belkin F5D7050 ver. 4000 usb wireless adapter with the zydas zd1211b chipset that usually works.... at least, when I'm not having router problems.

There should be some writeups about that adapter/driver but maybe the signal is poor because the drivers for it aren't the greatest? Don't quote me on that though as I'm not too familiar with it.

Thanks for the input. How do I exactly go about figuring out my usb adapter's name? Is there a command I can type or a program I can use? It's internal (in my laptop) so I can't take it out with ease and find out that way =/

pedora · #8 7th December 2008, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernosoft

Thanks for the input. How do I exactly go about figuring out my usb adapter's name? Is there a command I can type or a program I can use? It's internal (in my laptop) so I can't take it out with ease and find out that way =/

Oh, sorry. I thought it was a dongle type. It sounds like it's a built-in one from Realtek.

If you go to the Realtek home page, it looks like the wireless LAN NICs are mostly for Windows.

You might have to use ndiswrapper. This is the page I went to:

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/...Level=4&Conn=3

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/...Downloads=true

If that's what you need, you might need ndiswrapper and thus, you might have to unzip that and put it on a CD. Then you use ndiswrapper and it uses the files on the disc to install better drivers than what you were using?

I could be wrong though as I'm just guessing. Maybe someone who knows more can confirm or comment on those theories?

Edit: I don't want anyone mad at me but this Ubuntu page might give you some idea of what you're in for. I would search the Fedora forum for 'Realtek RTL8187B' or just 'RTL8187B'

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Ha...rkCardsRealTek

scottro · #9 7th December 2008, 01:38 AM

Pedora, of course you're contributing. Firstly, these problems are frustrating, and even seeing that people are trying to help is a good thing. And yes, your requests were good ones, and the statement you made about different chipsets is quite true.

Also, as far as mentioning Ubuntu forums, anyone who gets mad at you would be silly.

I have a fairly well-referenced page on another card, the Atheros AR5007EG, and I got my first clues about it from the Ubuntu forums. They can often have excellent howtos on there.

(They can be wrong too, but often, when googling for this or that, I find myself on there, and often find the threads useful. So don't ever apologize for sending someone to an Ubuntu based thread for help.)

It's good that you're concerned about giving good help, of course, but as a rule, the people who ask, "Am I giving good help?" are usually the ones that don't have to ask.

(Not that I'm an expert either, save on that one card. You'll see that stevea has corrected me many a time.)

scottro · #10 7th December 2008, 01:45 AM

Note that I've changed the subject line. With the large amount of posts that always pour in after a new release, it gives you a better chance of getting help from someone experienced with that card.

infernosoft · #11 7th December 2008, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedora

Oh, sorry. I thought it was a dongle type. It sounds like it's a built-in one from Realtek.

If you go to the Realtek home page, it looks like the wireless LAN NICs are mostly for Windows.

You might have to use ndiswrapper. This is the page I went to:

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/...Level=4&Conn=3

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/...Downloads=true

If that's what you need, you might need ndiswrapper and thus, you might have to unzip that and put it on a CD. Then you use ndiswrapper and it uses the files on the disc to install better drivers than what you were using?

I could be wrong though as I'm just guessing. Maybe someone who knows more can confirm or comment on those theories?

Edit: I don't want anyone mad at me but this Ubuntu page might give you some idea of what you're in for. I would search the Fedora forum for 'Realtek RTL8187B' or just 'RTL8187B'

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Ha...rkCardsRealTek

Yea DEFINATLEY don't be sorry. Your post was actually very helpful. So I think I should install the last one on that page (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Ha...rkCardsRealTek) but I'm afraid I'll mess up the current one.

Is there any way to backup the existing driver (or kernel module....whatever you call it lol)?...and then restore it if the the new one fails?

Thanks

P.S. I have a little more confidence in Linux systems now.... =)

pedora · #12 7th December 2008, 03:33 PM

Do you have any room on your laptop's hard drive for another edition of Fedora 10?

You only need about 15-20 GB.

If you can add another Fedora OS, say Fedora 10, you could try the 'fix' and not disrupt your current configuration. I'm not advanced enough to instruct how to back up current wireless configuration and I wouldn' want to anyway since it sounds like too much of a risk to mess it up.

If you could install another edition of Fedora 10 and then if it works, you could do the 'fix' on your main configuration. If it doesn't work, you don't have to restore the backup since you never did anything on it.

If you don't have the hard drive space, I would wait until someone more knowledgeable can explain how.

I am not sure if Fedora gives you the option to boot a previous version or 'state' of your OS but trying to store a 'backup' might involve saving the current file config to disk perhaps but I wouldn't bet on it. If at all possible, I would install another Fedora 10 OS on your drive and then you can play around with the wireless to your heart's content.

I guess it depends on which laptop you have and how much drive space it has.

If anyone has any other ideas (maybe better ones? lol!), hopefully you'll get some before too long.

infernosoft · #13 8th December 2008, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedora

Do you have any room on your laptop's hard drive for another edition of Fedora 10?

You only need about 15-20 GB.

If you can add another Fedora OS, say Fedora 10, you could try the 'fix' and not disrupt your current configuration. I'm not advanced enough to instruct how to back up current wireless configuration and I wouldn' want to anyway since it sounds like too much of a risk to mess it up.

If you could install another edition of Fedora 10 and then if it works, you could do the 'fix' on your main configuration. If it doesn't work, you don't have to restore the backup since you never did anything on it.

If you don't have the hard drive space, I would wait until someone more knowledgeable can explain how.

I am not sure if Fedora gives you the option to boot a previous version or 'state' of your OS but trying to store a 'backup' might involve saving the current file config to disk perhaps but I wouldn't bet on it. If at all possible, I would install another Fedora 10 OS on your drive and then you can play around with the wireless to your heart's content.

I guess it depends on which laptop you have and how much drive space it has.

If anyone has any other ideas (maybe better ones? lol!), hopefully you'll get some before too long.

Yea, i have a pretty large external USB harddrive. I'll probably give ndiswrapper a shot on that. You think that will work?

i don't know. I'll give it a shot when i have time and let you guys know what happens.

micapps · #14 8th January 2009, 01:45 PM

I seem to have a similiar problem with RTL8187B - very low signal strength compared to what I have with Vista. So I'd appreciate it if you could let me know wether the above suggestions worked, or write/reference to any other information you learned in the process.

infernosoft · #15 8th January 2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micapps

I seem to have a similiar problem with RTL8187B - very low signal strength compared to what I have with Vista. So I'd appreciate it if you could let me know wether the above suggestions worked, or write/reference to any other information you learned in the process.

I gave up and am back with Vista =(....hopefully the next Fedora will have it fixed, but i had no time to mess around with it any more than i already had.

I didn't quite get through using ndiswrapper (I believe I had installation issues). anyways, I gave up and am not happy i had to switch back to windows.

sorry