Ubuntu

Ubuntu 20.04: HP laptop with rtl8188ee controller has slow wi fi

Asked by Saul Lubkin

The HP laptop has a REALTEC controller rtl8188ee for wi fi. Wi Fi is very slow; an Asus laptop also running Ubuntu 20.04 is much faster.
I recall having a similar problem in the past with the same laptop and an earlier Ubuntu release. As I recall, someone on Launchpad noted that HP computers have two antennas for receiving wi fi -- and that this was the source of the problem.
As I recall, I had to either edit an existing file or create a new file -- I don't recall which -- which specified one of the two antennas to use. (I had to try specifying one terminal, test the speed, then try the other, do the same, then choose one).

Help gratefully requested,

Thanks,

  -- Saul

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Manfred Hampl
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Best Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#1

Probably a command like
echo "options rtl8723de ant_sel=3" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723de.conf
but you have to adapt the driver name and the number after ant_sel to your device.

I suggest that you start with
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WirelessTroubleshootingProcedure
to identify the driver and some additional details.

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Saul Lubkin (saul-lubkin) said : 		#2

Thanks Manfred Hampl, that solved my question.

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Saul Lubkin (saul-lubkin) said : 		#3

Actually, the file /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8188ee.conf already existed (my driver name is rtl8188ee). It specified:
 ant_sel=1
I changed that to ant_sel=2; that was no better.
So I commented out the whole file -- THAT WORKED!

My best understanding: I had created the indicated file years ago when I had the same slow wi fi problem. That solved it -- then.
But evidently Ubuntu 20.04 know how to handle this two antenna problem without using the file, and was confounded when such a specification existed.

Thanks again!

  -- Saul

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Saul Lubkin (saul-lubkin) said : 		#4

Hi again!

Commenting ou the whole file didn't work -- the wi fi speed was good only briefly. So I added the line ant_sel=3, and so far wi fi speed is great.
(I tested internet speed with speedtest-cli 11 times, and nearly identical excellent results each time. Hopefully it will stay good.)

Thanks again,

  -- Saul