Wifi issues on fresh Ubuntu install (MATE 24.04.4)

Linux Support
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Hello :slight_smile: I’m new to this forum and I’m hoping to get some help troubleshooting my network connections/wifi.

My computer knowledge level: Not really high enough to run Linux, but I can muddle through.
My files: Backed up :+1:

Background: I just completed a fresh install on an old laptop (previously running Ubuntu Studio 20.something). The wifi did not work when I first got to the desktop page (“no connections available”) but I managed to get it working briefly a couple times by rebooting a lot. I’m currently posting via USB tethering. (It’s also throwing occasional errors from the desktop/home screen - offers to send an error report, but doesn’t give details. May or may not be related?)

Tried a bunch of stuff from quite a few forums and pages and youtube videos. Troubleshooting and information gathering so far:

Distro/kernel:

carter@carter-laptop:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS
Release:	24.04
Codename:	noble
carter@carter-laptop:~$ uname -a
Linux carter-laptop 6.17.0-23-generic #23~24.04.1-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue Apr 14 16:11:48 UTC 2 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
carter@carter-laptop:~$ echo $XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP
MATE
carter@carter-laptop:~$

BIOS health check: Battery’s shot, fan sucks.
System/BIOS information:

carter@carter-laptop:~$ sudo dmidecode -t system
# dmidecode 3.5
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.2 present.

Handle 0x0100, DMI type 1, 27 bytes
System Information
	Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
	Product Name: Inspiron 7391 2n1
	Version: Not Specified
	Serial Number: BGH6GW2
	UUID: 4c4c4544-0047-4810-8036-c2c04f475732
	Wake-up Type: Other
	SKU Number: 0960
	Family: Inspiron

Handle 0x0C00, DMI type 12, 5 bytes
System Configuration Options
	Option 1: J6H1:1-X Boot with Default; J8H1:1-X BIOS RECOVERY

Handle 0x2000, DMI type 32, 11 bytes
System Boot Information
	Status: No errors detected

carter@carter-laptop:~$ sudo dmidecode -t bios
# dmidecode 3.5
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.2 present.

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 26 bytes
BIOS Information
	Vendor: Dell Inc.
	Version: 1.9.1
	Release Date: 11/05/2020
	ROM Size: 32 MB
	Characteristics:
		PCI is supported
		PNP is supported
		BIOS is upgradeable
		BIOS shadowing is allowed
		Boot from CD is supported
		Selectable boot is supported
		EDD is supported
		Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
		8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
		Serial services are supported (int 14h)
		Printer services are supported (int 17h)
		ACPI is supported
		USB legacy is supported
		Smart battery is supported
		BIOS boot specification is supported
		Function key-initiated network boot is supported
		Targeted content distribution is supported
		UEFI is supported
	BIOS Revision: 1.9

Handle 0x0D00, DMI type 13, 22 bytes
BIOS Language Information
	Language Description Format: Abbreviated
	Installable Languages: 1
		enUS
	Currently Installed Language: enUS

carter@carter-laptop:~$

Check for updates:

carter@carter-laptop:~$ sudo apt update
[sudo] password for carter: 
Hit:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble InRelease
Hit:2 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security InRelease
Hit:3 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates InRelease
Hit:4 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports InRelease
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
All packages are up to date.
carter@carter-laptop:~$ sudo apt upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
Get more security updates through Ubuntu Pro with 'esm-apps' enabled:
  libvlc5 libmagickcore-6.q16-7t64 libzvbi-common libvlccore9
  qt5-gtk-platformtheme imagemagick libmagickcore-6.q16-7-extra libcjson1
  libavdevice60 ffmpeg libopenexr-3-1-30 libpostproc57
  qt5-xdgdesktopportal-platformtheme libqt5gui5t64 libmbedcrypto7t64
  libavcodec60 libzvbi0t64 libavutil58 libqt5widgets5t64 imagemagick-6.q16
  libswscale7 libqt5dbus5t64 libqt5network5t64 libswresample4
  imagemagick-6-common 7zip libavformat60 libvlc-bin libqt5core5t64
  libavfilter9 libmagickwand-6.q16-7t64
Learn more about Ubuntu Pro at https://ubuntu.com/pro
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
carter@carter-laptop:~$

Information about the networking:

carter@carter-laptop:~$ lspci -k | grep -i network -A3
00:14.3 Network controller: Intel Corporation Comet Lake PCH-LP CNVi WiFi
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Dual Band Wi-Fi 6(802.11ax) AX201 160MHz 2x2 [Harrison Peak]
	Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
	Kernel modules: iwlwifi
carter@carter-laptop:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

wlp0s20f3  IEEE 802.11  ESSID:off/any  
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=22 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          
enx0ed3f0a833fd  no wireless extensions.

carter@carter-laptop:~$ ifconfig
enx0ed3f0a833fd: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 10.20.4.169  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 10.20.4.255
        inet6 fe80::f88d:48cd:d7c2:3d25  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 0e:d3:f0:a8:33:fd  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 65536
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0
        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>
        loop  txqueuelen 1000  (Local Loopback)
        RX packets 5924  bytes 466664 (466.6 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 5924  bytes 466664 (466.6 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

carter@carter-laptop:~$ sudo lshw -C network
[sudo] password for carter: 
  *-network DISABLED        
       description: Wireless interface
       product: Comet Lake PCH-LP CNVi WiFi
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 14.3
       bus info: pci@0000:00:14.3
       logical name: wlp0s20f3
       version: 00
       serial: 08:71:90:c2:cb:f8
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=iwlwifi driverversion=6.17.0-23-generic firmware=77.b405f9d4.0 QuZ-a0-hr-b0-77.u latency=0 link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
       resources: iomemory:600-5ff irq:16 memory:602311c000-602311ffff
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       physical id: 15
       bus info: usb@1:1
       logical name: enx0ed3f0a833fd
       serial: 0e:d3:f0:a8:33:fd
       capabilities: ethernet physical
       configuration: autonegotiation=off broadcast=yes driver=rndis_host driverversion=6.17.0-23-generic firmware=RNDIS device ip=10.20.4.169 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair
carter@carter-laptop:~$

At this point I just have no idea what’s going on or how to fix it. Happy to try anything. I’ll put any new information below this part of the post.
Thanks for any suggestions!

New info:

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2

Hi, @scientistcarter :smiley:
Welcome to the community!

3 Likes
3

Welcome to the forums @scientistcarter :handshake:

in your lshw output there is: *-network DISABLED.

So driver and firmware may be fine but the radio looks to be blocked.

Can you post the output of:

rfkill list
dmesg | grep -iE 'iwlwifi|rfkill'
nmcli radio

Also worth a try: run sudo rfkill list see if shows wlan blocked in which case run sudo rfkill unblock all and see if it comes back.

Also rhe wifi toggle should be Fn+PrtScr.

Your BIOS version is from 2020, probably newer update available.

5 Likes