Ubuntu 20.04 - wireless network showing DISABLED

Question

My laptop's WiFi has stopped working after an update. I can turn it ON/OFF from settings but it has subtitle "unavailable" and a loader at visible networks. I have tried almost everything internet could suggest but no luck.

Moreover I had WiFi adapter it works for few days and then after another update it also stops working and it doesn't even shows up in the menu let alone to connect to WiFi.

Am using (I don't have dual boot)

OS: Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS
Kernel: 5.13.0-40-generic
System: HP ProBook 450-G8 11-Gen

Things I have found and tried so far.

I can't see any driver in "Additional Drivers", download from "Main Server"
I have tried disabling secure boot via sudo mokutil --disable-validation,rebooting and then changing "Change Secure Boot State" to disabled.
I tried updating package backport-iwlwifi-dkms via "Synaptic Package Manager" but option "Mark For Upgrade" is disabled.
I get this after running lshw -c network

*-network DISABLED        
       description: Wireless interface
       product: Intel Corporation
       vendor: Intel Corporation

Running nmcli shows

wlp0s20f3: unavailable
        "Intel Wi-Fi"
        wifi (iwlwifi), 64:BC:58:69:xx:xx, sw disabled, hw, mtu 1500

This rfkill list shows

0: phy0: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
1: hci0: Bluetooth
    Soft blocked: yes
    Hard blocked: no

Running lspci -knn | grep Net -A3 shows

00:14.3 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Device [8086:a0f0] (rev 20)
    Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device [8086:0034]
    Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
    Kernel modules: iwlwifi

cat /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf shows

# /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf
# iwlwifi will dyamically load either iwldvm or iwlmvm depending on the
# microcode file installed on the system.  When removing iwlwifi, first
# remove the iwl?vm module and then iwlwifi.
remove iwlwifi \
(/sbin/lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs /sbin/rmmod) \
&& /sbin/modprobe -r mac80211

dmesg | grep iwl shows around 2500+ lines see here

As recommeneded by @Pilot6 running sudo apt remove backport-iwlwifi-dkms shows

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Package 'backport-iwlwifi-dkms' is not installed, so not removed
The following package was automatically installed and is no longer required:
  libfwupdplugin1
Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove it.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

@Pilot6 recommeneded to get latest mainline kernel

I got these files

from (https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.17.4/amd64/)

Got below error (see full response here) after running sudo dpkg -i *.deb

dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of linux-headers-5.17.4-051704-generic:
 linux-headers-5.17.4-051704-generic depends on libc6 (>= 2.34); however:
  Version of libc6:amd64 on system is 2.31-0ubuntu9.7.
 linux-headers-5.17.4-051704-generic depends on libssl3 (>= 3.0.0~~alpha1); however:
  Package libssl3 is not installed.

dpkg: error processing package linux-headers-5.17.4-051704-generic (--install):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
Setting up linux-image-unsigned-5.17.4-051704-generic (5.17.4-051704.202204200842) ...
I: /boot/vmlinuz.old is now a symlink to vmlinuz-5.17.0-051700-generic
I: /boot/initrd.img.old is now a symlink to initrd.img-5.17.0-051700-generic
I: /boot/vmlinuz is now a symlink to vmlinuz-5.17.4-051704-generic
I: /boot/initrd.img is now a symlink to initrd.img-5.17.4-051704-generic
Setting up linux-modules-5.17.4-051704-generic (5.17.4-051704.202204200842) ...
Processing triggers for linux-image-unsigned-5.17.4-051704-generic (5.17.4-051704.202204200842) ...
/etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms:
 * dkms: running auto installation service for kernel 5.17.4-051704-generic
   ...done.

Please [edit] your question and add output of `lspci -knn | grep Net -A3` terminal command. — Pilot6, Apr 25 '22 at 08:32
@Pilot6 See the update. I have suspicion it might be something related to `/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf ` — Daniyal Nasir, Apr 25 '22 at 09:17
You have a kernel crash. `blacklist.conf` is unrelated. It looks like a kernel bug. — Pilot6, Apr 25 '22 at 09:59
@Pilot6 So what are your suggestions to fix this, if it is fixable ? — Daniyal Nasir, Apr 25 '22 at 10:54
Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/135807/discussion-between-daniyal-nasir-and-pilot6). — Daniyal Nasir, Apr 25 '22 at 11:07
@Pilot6 Should I try this solution to try another Kernel ? https://askubuntu.com/a/1401184/1147244 — Daniyal Nasir, Apr 26 '22 at 06:07
I suggest removing all backports. Remove it completely. It may work on this kernel. — Pilot6, Apr 26 '22 at 08:09
Am sorry, am fairly new to ubuntu, when you say "remove all backports" Am understanding you meant removing "iwlwifi driver backport in DKMS format" from synaptic package manager right ? I've already done that and restart, no luck. — Daniyal Nasir, Apr 26 '22 at 08:57
@Pilot6 Can you tell which commands should I run from [this](https://installlion.com/ubuntu/precise/main/l/linux-backports-modules-headers-precise-generic/uninstall/index.html) (if any) to remove backports — Daniyal Nasir, Apr 26 '22 at 09:06
@Pilot6 See the update at the bottom of the question, and yes I think you're right because initially my wifi was working. — Daniyal Nasir, Apr 26 '22 at 09:21
@Pilot6 Am following up this tutorial [here](https://itsfoss.com/upgrade-linux-kernel-ubuntu/#install-manually) — Daniyal Nasir, Apr 26 '22 at 09:49
@Pilot6 I followed the above tutorial, got errors but reboot the system anyway. Please guide. — Daniyal Nasir, Apr 26 '22 at 11:34
my colleague found the same issue on [the intel forums](https://community.intel.com/t5/Wireless/Linux-Intel-AC-9560-iwlwifi-fails-on-kernels-above-5-10/m-p/1377826#M41506) it appears the wrong driver is installed the hp probook has 2 variants a i5 version and a i7 version. The i5 version has a Intel AC 9560 wifi chip while [the i7 version has a Intel Corp. Wi-Fi 6 AX201](https://community.intel.com/t5/Wireless/Linux-Intel-AC-9560-iwlwifi-fails-on-kernels-above-5-10/m-p/1377826#M41506). So presumably we should be able to fix it by installing the driver for intel AC 9560 — Fuseteam, May 13 '22 at 15:39
@DaniyalNasir i just found a solution/workaround i'll post it below, maybe it works for you — Fuseteam, May 16 '22 at 16:54
Well I have re-installed OS (Ubuntu 21) and been using Wifi-adapter for wireless network connectivity. If someone tried your solution and it worked for them. I'll accept your answer. Thanks — Daniyal Nasir, May 18 '22 at 10:30

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited May 16 '22 at 17:29

A workaround for this would be to downgrade your kernel to anything 5.10 and below. Anything above 5.10 does not work with this wifi card's latest firmware.

I have the same configuration on a ProBook 450 G8 running Ubuntu 22.04. Kernel 5.10.115.

Had the same issue on the first day, but been working happily with wifi after that.

To downgrade the kernel I used a tool called Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer.

Install with:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cappelikan/ppa

sudo apt update

sudo apt install mainline

You can then use the tool to look for any 5.10 kernel version you desire, and install it.

Then reboot and make sure to select Advanced Options for Ubuntu in the GRUB menu before loading into the OS, in order to select the older 5.10 kernel.

After doing so, your wifi should already be detected and working.

If you so desire, you can delete / uninstall the newer 5.13 kernel.

I will note that downgrading the wifi card's firmware would also work in this case, without having to downgrade the kernel. But I found downgrading the kernel to be quick and painfree.

Fuseteam · Answer 2 · 2022-09-05T10:57:27.807

i have found the same issue on a HP Probook 450 G8 with an intel wireless-AC 9560 chip, the following steps allowed me to workaround the issue

run journalctl --system|grep "loaded firmware version" this will print a bunch of lines with the actual firmware version that is is loading. if you replace grep "loaded firmware version" with grep iwlwifi you see the relevant logs it should look like this:

Jun 13 07:11:57 <hostname> kernel: iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: loaded firmware version 55.d9698065.0 <firmware-name>.ucode op_mode iwlmvm

where is the actual hostname of your computer and is the name of the firmware being loaded

check in /lib/firmware for the loaded firmware version, it will like start with iwlwifi-<firmware-name> where is the name found in step 1
move the loaded firmware out of /lib/firmware
run modprobe -r iwlwifi && modprobe iwlwifi
check lshw -C network
if step 6 no longer show DISABLED it should now work, if not repeat step 1-5 untill it no longer says DISABLED

according this intel forum post QuZ-a0-jf-b0-59.ucode should work. In my case it didn't work so i also moved it out of the /lib/firmware directory, QuZ-a0-jf-b0-55.ucode appears to work for me on kernel 5.15

Ubuntu 20.04 - wireless network showing DISABLED

Things I have found and tried so far.

2 Answers2