T4 WIFI

[steve_666]

sorry to revive an old post
Since the update my wifi speed has dropped heaps
transferring a file any size over a 2.4g i can only get max 1mbs.
I have tried different channels etc same result, the adapter cant even pick up 5g.
use to get a max of 2.5mbs
anyway my t4 box has been a pain to get networked so when it does anything good i dont touch it lol

[Paul_oz53]

I got much, much better than that when I last tested. It seems odd that you have any problems. I wonder if something is running in the background that's soaking up the cpu.

But the best option is a 5G dongle. I have the older white EDUP 600AC without an aerial that gave around 25 MBps transfers when I last tried it on the U4.

[IanSav]

Hi Paul,

But the best option is a 5G dongle.

Sorry to disagree but I believe that a 5GHz wireless access point or wireless bridge would be a *much* better solution.

Regards,
Ian.

[prl]

I think that folks have being playing a bit loose with terminology, giving data rates in millibits/sec, dropping the Hz from frequencies and using "gram" when they mean "giga".

The dongle that Paul_oz53 mentioned an unspecified member of a range of 801.11ac WiFi dongles that can use the 5GHz band, not a 5G wireless dongle.

[Paul_oz53]

Yep, I should have said 5GHz given that 5G mobile is on the way.

But a wireless bridge is another good option if a bit more expense is not a problem.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

...transferring a file any size over a 2.4g i can only get max 1mbs.
I have tried different channels etc same result, the adapter cant even pick up 5g.
use to get a max of 2.5mbs

So you used to get 2.5Mbit/s transfer rate and you now get 1Mbit/s. How are you measuring that rate; are you timing the transfer?
You've gone from an extremely piss-poor rate to one that wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

What dongle are you using? Is it a dual-band dongle, since you're bemoaning its lack of detecting your 5GHz band.

What rate do you get if you whack a mobile device at the same location and connect to the same access point and band?

[peteru]

a 5GHz wireless access point or wireless bridge would be a *much* better solution.

Definitely the solution to go for if you have more than one piece of equipment that can benefit from wired networking in the vicinity of the Beyonwiz.

I run a Netgear Orbi network and have a RBS40 near one of the locations where I have a Beyonwiz and some other equipment. Works a treat and gets decent throughput - around 630Mbps sustained.

[dr_hoon]

Since upgrading the firmware to 17.5 from 16.1, the wifi only connects at 72.5mbps instead of 300mbps. The wifi dongle was purchased from Beyonwiz with the T4 unit.

I'm experiencing this exact same issue.

If you ignore the reported values, does your wireless networking work well enough to get the job done?

No, it's not getting the job done. It's no longer fast enough to stream a movie file without dropping frames by the bundle.

The suggested workarounds all seem to involve purchasing additional hardware. I'm more inclined to just go back to the previous firmware, as I don't see the benefits in purchasing more stuff just to run 17.5 when 16.1 does the job (just because I can't see the benefits, it obviously doesn't mean there aren't any).

However, before I do downgrade to 16.1, I'd like to ask for some hardware recommendations that will give me faster connection speeds than just reverting to the older firmware. I'm particularly interested in devices that can be powered via my T4's rear USB 2.0 port, as I don't really want any more devices plugged into the mains.

And finally, where can I download the 16.1 T4 firmware?

[prl]

And finally, where can I download the 16.1 T4 firmware?

From the same topic where it was originally available: New Firmware for all T-Series Models (T2/T3/T4) 19/04/2016

[MrQuade]

I have done a very quick skim read of some WiFi slowdown issues as a result of Linux driver upgrades. A couple of items stick out.

Disabling Bluetooth coexistence support
Potential issues with AVAHI daemon
Disabling hardware power management
Enabling software encryption instead of hardware encryption

i don't have the Beyonwiz WiFi dongle to test with though, so don't have any suggestions on how to proceed there.

The fact that the reported wireless sync speeds have dropped suggests that the Bluetooth coexistance setting or the power setting might be likely candidates though.

[dr_hoon]

Disabling Bluetooth coexistence support
Potential issues with AVAHI daemon
Disabling hardware power management
Enabling software encryption instead of hardware encryption

You've mostly lost me here, due to my lack of knowledge in this area. Bluetooth coexistence is already disabled on my router, so I assume that's not affecting my connection speed. After looking it up, I see I can supposedly run a script to disable AVAHI daemon. But I can't find any reference to power management or encryption router settings.

[MrQuade]

You've mostly lost me here, due to my lack of knowledge in this area. Bluetooth coexistence is already disabled on my router, so I assume that's not affecting my connection speed.

It would need to be turned off at the T4 side to be effective in this case I believe. Would require fiddling with the config files at the T4's command line.

After looking it up, I see I can supposedly run a script to disable AVAHI daemon. But I can't find any reference to power management or encryption router settings.

You wouldn't disable AVAHI, it still serves a function, but change some of its parameters to make it play nice over WiFi.

Power management and encryption would require fiddling with the WiFi adaptor config files too.

One or more of those settings may be effective, and then they could be made standard in the firmware so that all users can benefit without having to hack things.

On the other hand, it could actually be something to do with updated driver code, and I have no idea if rolling that back is in any way possible.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

I think the below shows there has been a driver degradation between 16.1-series 20170310 and 17.5-series 20180417 firmwares.

Under each firmware version I connected an RTL8192CU chipped Wi-Fi dongle to our T2 and set it up.
I then used the command line and timed the copy of a recording to a Windows share. The recording file size was 1,864,111,180 bytes.

20180417 firmware:
The transfer took 8m:12s / 492 secs
3,788,843 bytes/sec

20170310 firmware:
I then took our T2 back to 16.1-series 20170310 f/w. I did a minimal setup, including the Wi-Fi dongle and the Windows share.
The transfer took 4m:53s / 293 secs
6,362,154 bytes/sec


20180417 firmware:

Code: Select all

opkg list-installed *8192cu*
enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192cu - 1.0-r5.2
firmware-rtl8192cu - 1.0-r0.1
firmware-rtl8192cufw - 1.0-r0.2
kernel-module-8192cu - 4.0.2-r4.1
rtl8192cu - 4.0.2-r4.1

20170310 firmware:

Code: Select all

root@beyonwizt2:~# opkg list-installed *8192*
enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192ce - 1.0-r0.7
enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192cu - 1.0-r4.7
enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192cu-rev2 - 1.0-r5.7
enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192eu - 1.0-r0.7
firmware-rtl8192cu - 1.0-r0.2
firmware-rtl8192cufw - 1.0-r0.2
firmware-rtl8192eu - 1.0-r0.2
kernel-module-8192cu-3.14.2 - 4.0.2-r4.7
kernel-module-8192eu-3.14.2 - 1.0-r2.7
kernel-module-rtl8192c-common-3.14.2 - 3.14.2-.1.21
kernel-module-rtl8192cu-3.14.2 - 3.14.2-.1.21
rtl8192cu - 4.0.2-r4.7
rtl8192eu - 1.0-r2.7
root@beyonwizt2:~#

[steve_666]

fdg1.jpg (21.5 KiB) Viewed 1894 times

get this every file i transfer, now i just copy to usb stick....
Tried different channels, different bandwidth and wireless modes etc etc
All the same results and i am maybe 2m away from both router and t4
And its the dongle that came with the t4 when it first came out

[Paul_oz53]

I deliberately uninstalled the rtl8192cu rev 2 - 1.0 - r5.7 driver which has crippled the wireless adapter. Hopefully this means it is the right driver.

Now, if I can work out how to install the rtl8192cu - 1.0-r5.2 driver, I can give it a try and see if the earlier driver gives better performance.

If so, maybe just a case of swapping the driver to an earlier version to get best performance. Of course, I am doing this as an experiment; I use ethernet normally. A much better result. 44MBs.

[steve_666]

let us know how you go.
this update has killed my transfer rates and the youtube tv app

[Paul_oz53]

I deliberately uninstalled the rtl8192cu rev 2 - 1.0 - r5.7 driver which has crippled the wireless adapter. Hopefully this means it is the right driver.

Now, if I can work out how to install the rtl8192cu - 1.0-r5.2 driver, I can give it a try and see if the earlier driver gives better performance.

If so, maybe just a case of swapping the driver to an earlier version to get best performance. Of course, I am doing this as an experiment; I use ethernet normally. A much better result. 44MBs.

Just an update to say I haven't got any progress on this to date. I haven't worked out how to download alternative drivers for use on the U4. Since the U4 is my test rig, it's not a big issue to reflash if I screw up.

My intention was to download the earlier driver from the repository and then add it as an alternative to the driver that 17.5 is using but my first challenge is to identify its full name. I think it must be feasible for the T4 or T3 as they both had 16.1 series firmware which includes the earlier drivers. However, I may have to reorganise the production setups to swap the U4 into another room so I can try this on the earlier firmware.

The critical factor is I need to be sure that any changes I make to the remotes, etc don't upset SWMBO!

[prl]

Now, if I can work out how to install the rtl8192cu - 1.0-r5.2 driver, I can give it a try and see if the earlier driver gives better performance.

... but my first challenge is to identify its full name.

The current beta T4 firmware, 20180910 (17.5), doesn't seem to have the rtl8192cu - 1.0-r5.2 driver available. It has 5.7 and 4.7 available:

Code: Select all

root@beyonwizt4:~# opkg list 'enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192cu*' | egrep -ve '-(dev|dbg)|^ '
enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192cu - 1.0-r4.7 - new universal rt18xxx kernel driver
enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192cu-rev2 - 1.0-r5.7 - rt8192cu Proprietary alternative kernel driver
root@beyonwizt4:~# 

[Paul_oz53]

Now, if I can work out how to install the rtl8192cu - 1.0-r5.2 driver, I can give it a try and see if the earlier driver gives better performance.

... but my first challenge is to identify its full name.

The current beta T4 firmware, 20180910 (17.5), doesn't seem to have the rtl8192cu - 1.0-r5.2 driver available. It has 5.7 and 4.7 available:

Code: Select all

root@beyonwizt4:~# opkg list 'enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192cu*' | egrep -ve '-(dev|dbg)|^ '
enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192cu - 1.0-r4.7 - new universal rt18xxx kernel driver
enigma2-plugin-drivers-network-usb-rtl8192cu-rev2 - 1.0-r5.7 - rt8192cu Proprietary alternative kernel driver
root@beyonwizt4:~# 

Thanks peter.

I am hoping that if I install 16.1 on the T4 and then download the 5.2 driver that I can reinstall 17.5 and replace the 4.7 and 5.7 drivers with 5.2 to test if that is what is upsetting the WiFi performance. There seems to be a bit about on the net that says there are issues with driver versions but not clearly related to steve_666's problems.

Unfortunately, work and life are getting in the way of my hobby right now.

[MrQuade]

I am hoping that if I install 16.1 on the T4 and then download the 5.2 driver that I can reinstall 17.5 and replace the 4.7 and 5.7 drivers with 5.2 to test if that is what is upsetting the WiFi performance. There seems to be a bit about on the net that says there are issues with driver versions but not clearly related to steve_666's problems.

You don't want to go mixing and matching driver packages from different repositories as a general rule.
That being said, I have no idea what would happen in this case if you were to do so.

[Paul_oz53]

I am hoping that if I install 16.1 on the T4 and then download the 5.2 driver that I can reinstall 17.5 and replace the 4.7 and 5.7 drivers with 5.2 to test if that is what is upsetting the WiFi performance. There seems to be a bit about on the net that says there are issues with driver versions but not clearly related to steve_666's problems.

You don't want to go mixing and matching driver packages from different repositories as a general rule.
That being said, I have no idea what would happen in this case if you were to do so.

Agree entirely. This is a real kludge.

Strictly a proof of concept test to determine if the driver is the real cause of the poor functioning of the low-speed WiFi dongle. If changing the driver solves the issue for some users then well and good. If it crashes then, so be it. At least we would know...

I have the resources to be able to adopt better solutions to my networking issues and have a pretty strong wired network. If I used wireless it would be AC protocol rather than b/g/n, even if n is supposedly rated for 450 mbps. If a wired connection is not possible then maybe the powerline ethernet option is easier.

[juergen]

And finally, where can I download the 16.1 T4 firmware?

From the same topic where it was originally available: New Firmware for all T-Series Models (T2/T3/T4) 19/04/2016

Having experienced the same problem as the OP (near zero WiFi after firmware update on T4), I have rolled back to the above firmware and my WiFi transfers to/from the T4 are now rocketing along.

That was relatively quick and didn't involve and hardware changes, so confirming this works may help someone.