WIFI Not Working with Atheros AR8131 Gigabit Ethernet

[nathan2423]

I am sorry that my first post here is a request for help in getting my Atheros wifi card running.  I have read large numbers of posts on this card and the ALX driver but I cannot figure out what the latest information is about how to get it running.  At one point I issued a modprobe command that appeared to get it running briefly, but a reboot ended that.   Apparently I have to update the kernel and/or blacklist something, but I am not sure at all how to do that or where to get the proper driver

I would appreciate suggestions on how to proceed. DDM reports no hardware to configure.  I will modify this post with an LSPCI output in just a second as I can connect by wire.

Thanks in advance....

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lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor DRAM Controller (rev 02)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset HECI Controller (rev 06)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset USB2 Enhanced Host Controller (rev 05)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset High Definition Audio (rev 05)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev 05)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev 05)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset USB2 Enhanced Host Controller (rev 05)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev a5)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 5 Series Chipset LPC Interface Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset 4 port SATA AHCI Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset SMBus Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.6 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Thermal Subsystem (rev 05)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Qualcomm Atheros AR8131 Gigabit Ethernet (rev c0)
04:00.0 Network controller: Ralink corp. RT3090 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe
ff:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QuickPath Architecture Generic Non-core Registers (rev 02)
ff:00.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QuickPath Architecture System Address Decoder (rev 02)
ff:02.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QPI Link 0 (rev 02)
ff:02.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 1st Generation Core i3/5/7 Processor QPI Physical 0 (rev 02)
ff:02.2 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 1st Generation Core i3/5/7 Processor Reserved (rev 02)
ff:02.3 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 1st Generation Core i3/5/7 Processor Reserved (rev 02)



UPDATE1 - I will update this for others as I try to work this out.  The instructions HERE do not work for me:  http://blog.helu.cz/2013/09/how-to-atheros-ar8162-linux-drivers.html

UPDATE2 - These don't work for me either:  https://forums.kali.org/showthread.php?960-How-to-install-Atheros-AR8162-Ethernet-drivers

UPDATE3 - Nor does this - http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/176605/how-to-install-alx-drivers-for-an-ar8171-network-adaptor-in-omv

UPDATE4 - I suppose I am totally lost.  THIS page https://wiki.debian.org/alx  seems to indicate that the ALX is built into the current kernel so i am at a loss to understand why it isn't working for me, or what i should do. Any hints will be appreciated.

UPDATE5:  Am i looking for the wrong thing? Not Atheros but RALINK?
lspci -v | grep Network
04:00.0 Network controller: Ralink corp. RT3090 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe
root@lenovos205gvl:/home/lmh#

UPDATE 6 - Well this deb file with RALINK support sounds promising, https://packages.debian.org/wheezy/all/firmware-ralink/download  but when I try to install it I am told that it conflicts with firmware-misc-nonfree and I can't remove that without losing linux-firmware which sounds like a very bad idea!

UPDATE 7 - Just for fun I decided to plug in an external USB dongle Wifi adapter which I had. As luck would have it, it is an RALINK too.  After rebooting with it plugged in, the network manager icon now gives me :
Ethernet Network -
disconnected
WIFI Network - (Ralink 802.11 n WLAN) -
device not ready
WIFI Network - (Ralink corp RT3090 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCle)
device not ready

I am simply failing miserably with RALINK.....

[pavroo]

Hi
There is an info about black-listed module and installation:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/105607/how-do-i-get-an-atheros-ar8131-ethernet-card-working
Can you try this one?

You are not looking for wrong thing - the 'Network' is about your Ralink wifi card.

[nathan2423]

Thanks for the suggestion!  I believe I went through those steps (just didn't list them) but I will try again now.  In the meantime, I've booted a Solydx EE (debian testing) live CD and the same card was recognized immediately.  So something's different and I'd like to figure it out because I really like what I see here in what you're doing with this distro.  Will report back....

[nathan2423]

Well I may have messed up so far I will have to start again.  I decided (apparently foolishly) to use synaptic to remove firmware-realtek and then use a deb file to try to install a different version.  That has left me totally without internet connectivity even when wired.  I will see what I can do and if i have to I will reinstall - but the livecd does not recognize the card either....

[nathan2423]

Well good grief.  I rebooted and now the wireless is working.  And I've rebooted and it's still working.  Now I am afraid that I might have a package that will be messed up again the next time I do an upgrade, but I guess I will deal with that if and when it happens!  I'll have to think about where I am and whether I am harboring a problem, but I'm going to have to call it a night soon. 

Thank you very much for responding!  As I said above, I was looking for a debian testing distribution with the latest software, and also the ability to remaster and reinstall the same basic system on other pc's.  This one looks very promising and I hope I can contribute as we go along....