Public bug reported:
I found what appears to be a firmware regression affecting the Realtek
RTL8852BE (TP-Link Archer TX20E) on Ubuntu 26.04.
The same hardware, router, and physical location work correctly under
both Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS.
Ubuntu 26.04 becomes unstable with the firmware distributed by the
current linux-firmware package. Replacing only the firmware files with
those from Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS restores stable operation.
Hardware
Adapter: TP-Link Archer TX20E
Chipset: Realtek RTL8852BE
PCI ID: 10ec
Driver: rtw89_8852be
Working configuration
Operating system
Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS
Kernel
6.14.0-29-generic
linux-firmware package
20240318.git3b128b60-0ubuntu2.17
Loaded firmware
Firmware version 0.29.29.5 (da87cccd)
SHA-256:
rtw8852b_fw-1.bin.zst
5ac329e88f5d8cd5bb87cf83d1b331b95683fe2618affb6367939eb552634e94
rtw8852b_fw.bin.zst
3a2f35f44cdbe02c1b372c117d081825a4d23a77ff3529ac862756021ea9e9a7
This configuration is completely stable on my 5 GHz WPA2 network.
Failing configuration
Operating system
Ubuntu 26.04
Kernel
7.0.0-27-generic
Driver
rtw89_8852be
Loaded firmware
Firmware version 0.29.29.15
SHA-256:
rtw8852b_fw-1.bin.zst
4158c7511d604b2884d70ec972d2f54a6dd57afd3828cbb0ce88145e7ce8f34d
rtw8852b_fw.bin.zst
15a409544899ac8a37aaba2475ed03abd13d63e9942abf7a2ee1f7ea6ee916c2
Symptoms
Frequent authentication failures
4WAY_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT
authentication timed out
Very unstable web browsing and network connectivity
The exact same hardware, router, and physical location work correctly
under Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS.
Steps to reproduce
Install Ubuntu 26.04 on a system with an RTL8852BE adapter.
Connect to a 5 GHz WPA2 network.
Observe frequent authentication failures, 4WAY_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT messages and
unstable browsing.
Replace only the following firmware files with the versions from Ubuntu 24.04.2
LTS:
rtw8852b_fw-1.bin.zst
rtw8852b_fw.bin.zst
Regenerate the initramfs and reboot.
Result
After reboot, Ubuntu 26.04 loads:
Firmware version 0.29.29.5 (da87cccd)
The system becomes stable while continuing to use:
Ubuntu 26.04
Kernel 7.0.0-27-generic
Driver rtw89_8852be
No kernel modules, drivers, kernels, or NetworkManager configuration
were changed. Only the firmware files were replaced.
Expected result
Ubuntu 26.04 should provide the same stable wireless connectivity as
Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS using the firmware shipped with the distribution.
Actual result
The firmware shipped with Ubuntu 26.04 causes unstable 5 GHz
connectivity on this hardware, while reverting only the firmware files
to the Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS versions restores stable operation.
Conclusion
This appears to be a regression in the newer RTL8852BE firmware
distributed with Ubuntu 26.04. Since replacing only the firmware files
restores stable operation without changing the kernel, driver, hardware,
router, or physical location, I believe the regression is in the
firmware rather than in the rtw89 driver itself.
I would be happy to provide additional logs or perform further testing
if needed.
** Affects: linux-firmware (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
--
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2161558
Title:
RTL8852BE firmware regression causes unstable 5 GHz Wi-Fi
To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-firmware/+bug/2161558/+subscriptions
--
ubuntu-bugs mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
