[RESPONDED] Wifi won't connect on Framework 16 with Ubuntu 22.04

Framework Laptop 16 Linux
1

I just got my Framework 16. I downloaded the Ubuntu 22.04.4 ISO , loaded it onto a thumb drive, and installed it on my laptop.

I am not able to connect to my home wifi network. It tries to connect for a while, then eventually fails with "

My router is a mesh Wi-Fi 5 Orbi router. It has both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz on the same SSID. Eventually it fails with “activation of network connection failed”.

I enabled a Wi-Fi hotspot on my phone and I was able to connect to the hotspot. So, the Wi-Fi hardware and drivers are generally working.

2

Did you follow the instructions to install Ubuntu on an FW16 device?

The default kernel does not have all required drivers. You need to install the HWE kernel at least. Simplest is to add it with:

sudo apt install linux-generic-hwe-22.04

and that should do it. Reboot with that kernel and try again.

3

Welcome to the community!’

You will want to follow all the steps from here. And this is going to bring you to this page. This means you should be on the OEM D kernel.

Now, I use mine on a Eeero Mesh network. Therefore we want to make sure we have the latest firmware.

sudo dmesg | grep mt7921e

You should be seeing 2023 or 2024 under build time. If not, please follow this guide for 22.04.

4

Thank you for the responses.

I did follow the Ubuntu 22.04 on Framework 16 installation guide. After I figured out that I could connect to my Wi-Fi hotspot, I did run the commands in ubuntu-22.04-fw-16.md, but it did not fix my issue.

After trying different things and not getting any where, I downloaded Ubuntu 23.10 and ran it from the USB drive. I was able to connect to my network when booting from the 23.10 live USB. So, I installed Ubuntu 23.10 and it is working for me.

It looks like there is no OEM kernel available for Ubuntu 23.10 (apt can’t find any package named linux-generic-hwe-22.04 or linux-generic-hwe-23.10). I haven’t hit any issues yet. I don’t know if there is anything that isn’t supported by generic 23.10 kernel (kernel version 6.5.0-27-generic).

5

It is possible ubuntu 23.10 has a newer kernel already recognizing the WiFi card.
But 6.5.0 should have the right drivers in. Using myself 6.5.0-27-generic through the hwe bundle in ubuntu 22.04. And I have no issues.
The AP’s I use are all from Mikrotik - and all works as expected.

Any chance the following command work? nmcli d wifi list
It should show all existing WiFi networks in range.

6

Looks like OP found another solution. For those checking in in the future and not wanting an Ubuntu version not explicitly recommended by the team - I followed the advice from Matt and was successful in fixing the issue.