Package: broadcom-sta-dkms
Version: 6.30.223.271-5
I too have had the same issue. Attempts to fix it include turning power
management off with iwconfig (with edits to
/etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf to make it
persistent through reboots as confirmed by iwconfig) and disabling IPv6,
booth by ignoring it in the Network Manager GUI and editing
/etc/sysctl.conf (IPv6 was confirmed as being off by monitoring with
iftop). It is worth noting that the network initially seems to be fine and
doesn't have issues until the computer has been in use for more than about
10 minutes. This also, incidentally, correlates to a few more open tabs in
my browser and more network traffic. However, in my stress testing I have
been fine with three youtube videos downloading at 1080p and one git hub
repo cloning and deleting itself for about 10 minutes. After that, the
problem occurs every few minutes, initially lasting only for a few seconds
and then eventually minutes. Monitoring through iftop confirms that
download rate drops from 5 mbps to a variety of lower speeds between 0 and
a couple 100 kbps. Additional side effects include the network signal
showing 100% in the toolbar when the connection is dropped. Htop shows no
abuse of system memory (3.1G/15.G in use) nor the systems four cores (each
between 5-20%) when the wireless is on and when it is lost.
My main suspicion is that this is power/heat related. One time, while
reinstalling one of the other driver alternatives for the nth time, my
computer completely froze and had to be rebooted -- a problem common with
high cpu temperatures. The mac mini chassis always gets hot after a few
minutes of use (though it is not scathing to touch). Interestingly enough,
the wired network still seems to work fine under these conditions. This
could be attributed to better power management in that system or even
physical real estate of the chips on the motherboard with regards to
proximity of the fan and sources of heat. Here are a few snapshots of the
head of my sensors output:
$ sensors # On solely wifi
coretemp-isa-
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0: +81.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 0:+81.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1:+79.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
applesmc-isa-0300
Adapter: ISA adapter
Exhaust : 2193 RPM (min = 1800 RPM, max = 5500 RPM)
$ sensors # On solely network cable -- meaning this could be a heating
issue unrelated to the driver, albeit affecting wireless more directly
coretemp-isa-
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0: +92.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 0:+91.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1:+92.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
applesmc-isa-0300
Adapter: ISA adapter
Exhaust : 2182 RPM (min = 1800 RPM, max = 5500 RPM)
Below are more specs on the system:
Mac Mini Late 2012
$ sudo dmidecode -s system-product-name
Macmini6,1
Ubuntu 17.04
$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 17.04
Release: 17.04
Codename: zesty
Linux Kernel
$ uname -a
Linux Ubuntu 4.10.0-21-generic #23-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 28 16:14:22 UTC 2017
x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
Broadcom chip 4331 with wl driver (all others have been blacklisted in):
$ lspci -vvnn | grep -A9 Network
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n
[14e4:4331] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Apple Inc. AirPort Extreme [106b:010e]
Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr-
Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx-
Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- SERR-
Kernel driver in use: wl
Kernel modules: bcma, wl
Driver release 6.30.223.271-5
$ apt list broadcom-sta-dkms
Listing... Done
broadcom-sta-dkms/zesty,zesty,now 6.30.223.271-5 all [installed]
Unless anyone has any other leads (likely kernel related), I will look more
into power management and increasing the fan speeds as a temporary band aid.
