Problem with external wifi adapter D-Link
Hello everybody, I hope you all are good.
I have this problem that I told in the title but let me contextualize it first if you don't mind:
I have bought an lenono thinkpad x220, which I like a lot. I installed Trisquel in it but I found that the wireless wouldn't work. Somebody has told me that if I bought an external wifi adapter I could resolve my wifi problem in the lenovo thinkpad x220 so I bought this one on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/272519323237?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Due to my responsabilities (job, family, music and things) I only find time yesterday to try this item that I bought.But it doesn't automatically connect to wifi, nor first of all can see it instantly in the system.
When I connect the pen I note some charge on the system, and the top command shows this process:
→systemd-udevd
consuming almost 65% of the processor time.
When I do lsusb there is this entrance:
→Bus 002 Device 004: ID xxxxxxx D-Link System DWA-140 ...
I've done some research and find this page (which I don't know if it applies here in Trisquel, because ubuntu is not free!):
https://askubuntu.com/questions/319280/problems-with-d-link-usb-wifi-adapter#319592
have done the command:
→ls /lib/firmware | grep carl
and it shows:
→carl9170-1.fw
when I try to do the next step:
→sudo apt-get install linux-firmware
It doesn't find nothing, maybe because it is not free nor part of the repos.
So I research again, this time on Trisquel forum and find this thread:
https://trisquel.info/en/forum/help-thinkpenguin-wireless-usb-adapter-n
And it is said to get the firmware frome.g. http://jxself.org/ath9k-htc/, but the page is no more.
So this is my position right now: kind of stuck.
I know I have to get the ath9k-htc firmware... where did I find it and how I install it? This will resolve my wireless problem? have you done this steps too? And first of all this firmware is free???
If anyone of you could lend me a hand on this It would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance and have patient on me please. Thanks again!
I am a member!
The external WiFi adapter you bought is not compatible with free systems (the firmware is nonfree), because the chipset is Ralink:
https://wikidevi.com/wiki/D-Link_DWA-140_rev_D1
https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/rt2800usb#device_firmware
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/rt2870.bin
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/LICENCE.ralink-firmware.txt
I recommend Technoethical WiFi adapters and cards:
https://tehnoetic.com/adapters
The WiFi card could solve your problem permanently, provided you can replace the nonfree BIOS on your laptop. AFAIK, there is no free BIOS replacement for the X220.
Thanks for the response, I had seen those products and they are really expensive for my wallet. In fact when I'd tried this item that I bought it was because somebody told me ( maybe wrongly) that I can do it some other way avoiding unnecessary costs. And I still believe I can with some research and time. But thanks anyway.
I am a member!
The Technoethical adapters that I linked you include information about their chipsets (AR9271, AR7010+AR9287) and also the original names of the devices. You can look on wikidevi.com and h-node.org for more affordable ones. But please be careful at the hardware versions of the next adapter you buy. If you don't buy the adapter with the right chipset, it won't work with free systems like Trisquel.
That cheaper adapter, which I own, was recently said to still have the AR9271 chipset that works with the open-ath9k-htc-firmware, which is now installed by default in Trisquel (no need to do anything: just plug the adapter): http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-5520_TL-WN722N.html
It is however possible (although unlikely) that tp-link recently changed the chipset in that model. You cannot know from the wrapping.
Thanks for the response. That is a good price for me. but someone have to do anything in relation to wifi wireless. I mean without them we can't work!
If I buy that one, believe me it will be the third adapter that I bought, with the risk of not working too! I am risking having the house full of wifi adapters that doesn't work on trisquel. Someone with knowledge have to do anything...
And there is another thing that is important to speak:
It will be good if there was a list of laptops, Desktops, wifi-cards,etc. That work 100% good on Trisquel. I mean this is real, from time to time I need to advise a friend or a colleague to chance to Trisquel Gnu/Linux, but most of the time I am not confident to speak because I don't know if her/his laptop suport Trisquel and works fine without a problem. Is there such a list?
Forgive me my tone some times, I hope you understand my impatient, I still believe Trisquel and like it a lot!
Hugs
someone have to do anything in relation to wifi wireless.
Well, that is not simple. If we can use the AR9271 chipset (TL-WN722's chipset), it is thanks to Chris' advocacy. He convinced Qualcomm/Atheros to release the firmware as free software. If you want to thank him, accept to pay a little more and buy a Wifi adapter from his company: http://libre.thinkpenguin.com
Using that link, 25% of the profit on your purchase is donated to the Trisquel project too. Also, with ThinkPenguin (or Technoethical), you have the guarantee that the adapter will work with free software.
With any other vendor, there is a risk that the chipset changed. Constructor sometimes do that: they change the chipset (what matters for the support) during the life time of a model and there is no way to know (the wrapping, in particular, is the same). That said, since recent buyers of the TL-WN722 reported that it still uses the AR9271 chipset, the risk is thin. Looking at h-node is more risky because you do not know when the device was reported to be working. Anyway, h-node is good for any other device and it still usually gives good buying advices for Wifi cards/adapters too.
I am a member!
We are currently in the process of rebranding Tehnoetic to Technoethical, but please note that this has always been the correct capitalization (and not TehnoEtic or TechnoEthical). Thank you for keeping this in mind next time :-)
Also, I'd like to remind everyone that buying from Technoethical helps Trisquel and other free distros, since we are donating regularly: https://trisquel.info/en/donate and it helps us have money to work on adding new devices compatible with fully free systems. We are not manufacturers (yet), so free software users shouldn't expect us to sell at the same price we buy the devices from the market, if we are to make any money with our tiny customer base. Buying more from us lays the ground for us to drop prices even more. We are effectively operating as a nonprofit, reinvesting everything in free software and free system-compatible devices, so this is for a good cause.
You certainly use the mailing list: I actually corrected the capitalization right after posting. Just explaining to those using the Web forum...
I am a member!
Thanks for updating your post! I'm actually using the web forum to post, but I get notifications via e-mail (mailing list) so I saw your post almost instantly and didn't have the chance to see that you have made the correction before I sent my observation. This being said, I support the forum/mailing list dual thing. :-)
I found some site that is very important when we want to know what hardware function on free-libre OS's: https://h-node.org/
Very good!
Forgive me my impatient sometimes I have to apply myself and search for the information, instead of asking for it all the time, sorry.
I am a member!
I recommended you h-node.org (and wikidevi.com) 6 hours prior https://trisquel.info/en/forum/problem-external-wifi-adapter-d-link#comment-113953
Yes you had, sorry didn't saw it!
Unfortunately I end up installing debian 8 non-free on the lenovo. After the wifi-problem there was the bluetooth problem that was unnable to receive files from my smartphone, and who knows what will come next... I am kind of regretted because I know I am taking steps away from freedom of software but I had no choice, I have to work, I have (like almost all of us) very little time, I have to study too and have not unlimited time like I said. It had to be that way! If disposal of free software were more available, and the prices more attractive, if I had more time or technical knowledge, or more information on free software/hardware (ate least more condensed) maybe the choice was another.
Seriously I begin to doubt if the free software project will ever be success or it is doomed to be just another kind of technological fetish, if you know what I mean...
Sorry guys but my new laptop end up with another distro due to all those things mentioned.
The free software movement fails when users embrace proprietary whenever it brings a little practical convenience: why would manufacturer ship free firmware if almost all users accept proprietary firmware (and the malware it probably includes)? The TP-Link TL-WN722 is not hard to find (online or in physical stores) and costs little; two companies sell freedom-respecting devices and ship worldwide.
->The free software movement fails when users embrace proprietary whenever it brings a little practical convenience
Little practice convenience? My new laptop is smaller, lighter, more fast, with more battery life, etc, etc. And I need to work/study now not tomorrow. Which can be of more practical convenience?
we all know that in almost new laptops Trisquel fails to work one way or another. In this one lenovo x220 laptop it was (at first) the wireless thing, but then was also the bluetooth not working and (forgot to mention also) the mouse pointer was very unstable, always shaking,etc. I had wait very time for the two wireless adapters that at last doesn't work; wasting more time waiting for another (with the risk of failling to) and resolving the new problems? I don't think so... There are things with more priority than using free software in my life.
->why would manufacturer ship free firmware if almost all users accept proprietary firmware (and the malware it probably includes)?
I thing that is a lost battle! Even if there are some purists here in the forum, I ask how many of us don't use smartphone, or have a google account, see youtube,etc, etc. In general with the risk of using proprietary firmware some way or another? Yesterday with is threat in the forum:
https://trisquel.info/en/forum/do-youtube-dlhtml5-video-everywhere-run-nonfree-js
we all came to know that even a free project like youtube-dl (that is part of the Trisquel repos) possible uses non-free js! Have we so sure that other projects in the free software repos don't use proprietary software? who is checking if there are no time for it?
At the end is just conceptual, if somebody tell me 'hey use this, is free software', I just accept, in principle! I can't do much: or I'll trust or not trust. But I will never have time to confirm if it is or not, because we all have limited time, limited personnel,limited resources, and limited knowledge.
But this works for big company’s that use non free software too, even if they have more personnel, more knowledge and more time; at the end they too have a limit, and have to make choices. They can't spy us all, because if they do it they would risk the bankruptcy or have to change their trade to maybe espionage, or something; which maybe it is not more profitable than what they do.
->two companies sell freedom-respecting devices and ship worldwide.
with not very ethical prices! A better solution was someone with knowledge, concentrate the information on how to make a laptop, or a desktop, which are the parts, that work entirely well with free-software; which are the laptops that works with free-software; and let us assembly the machines. We have limited money, and have priorities on to use that money.
I understand that that was not too good for those company's, but or we drop the company's in favour of free software, free information, and a free OS or we benefit those company's and lose people. Which is more important!
I need to work/study now not tomorrow.
You can install the proprietary firmware now and change it tomorrow. The whole thing is to see proprietary software as a problem and do something to solve it. A transition is necessary.
In this one lenovo x220 laptop it was (at first) the wireless thing, but then was also the bluetooth not working and (forgot to mention also) the mouse pointer was very unstable, always shaking,etc.
There are bluetooth adapter that work with free software too. I very much doubt the "shaking pointer" has anything to do with Trisquel not shipping the proprietary software in Linux.
I thing that is a lost battle!
If too little people enter the battle, pretending it is lost before it is fought, then we will lose for sure. Do you have any other approach to propose to get hardware that users control down to its firmware?
I ask how many of us don't use smartphone, or have a google account, see youtube,etc, etc.
I do not own a cell phone, I kept my GMail account but do not use it anymore (I have received one single e-mail there since the beginning of the month vs. 551 in the box I actually use), I download some YouTube videos/audios with ViewTube, which does not execute any proprietary software (including JavaScript).
But where I am or where you are does not matter much. Like I wrote above, a (year-long) transition is needed for the switch to free software to be successful. What matters is to always see proprietary software as a problem to solve and actually try to solve it, rather than saying "it is a lot battle" and embrace proprietary software.
Have we so sure that other projects in the free software repos don't use proprietary software? who is checking if there are no time for it?
As the youtube-dl example shows: anybody can and the whole community takes advantage of her work.
At the end is just conceptual (...) I will never have time to confirm if it is or not, because we all have limited time, limited personnel,limited resources, and limited knowledge.
We all do. But that is not "just conceptual". Freedom 3 works in practice: the users collectively control the software. Whenever somebody studies the program, she is free to share her discoveries with the whole community. Whenever anybody modifies that program (to fix a bug, including a freedom issue, add a feature, etc.), anybody in the community can switch to this version. The Trisquel project does that for instance: it corrects freedom issues in Ubuntu's package, but also adds packages, etc. and we, Trisquel users, chose Trisquel over Ubuntu.
They can't spy us all
Governments, that companies cannot insult, can. If almost everbody is a client of the company (Google, Facebook, etc.), the company can spy on almost everybody too.
if they do it they would risk the bankruptcy
Not with today's laws in most of the world (that companies write and that do not protect privacy much).
or have to change their trade to maybe espionage, or something; which maybe it is not more profitable than what they do.
Selling personal profiles to marketing departments (to show personalized adds) and to governmental agencies apparently makes a lot of money. Today, Google is the most valuable company and that is almost all its money-making activity. ISPs now want to abuse the users' privacies in the same way (in the USA and the rest of the world) to get a part of the pie...
with not very ethical prices!
That is only an issue to those who cannot afford to pay the price, i.e., almost nobody given that the person has a laptop.
A better solution was someone with knowledge, concentrate the information on how to make a laptop, or a desktop, which are the parts, that work entirely well with free-software; which are the laptops that works with free-software; and let us assembly the machines.
We have that for refurbished laptops: Libreboot's laptops (and the documentation on how to install Libreboot on them). For new laptops, the problem is harder (because neither Intel nor AMD cooperates) but is tackled (EOMA68 comes to mind). But, again, if almost all users say the battle is lost, refuse to pay more for the additional work to get freedom-respecting hardware, and, as a consequence, buy freedom-denying hardware, then the battle will indeed be lost.
...how many of us don't use smartphone, or have a google account, see youtube...
My new laptop is smaller, lighter, more fast, with more battery life, etc, etc. And I need to work/study now not tomorrow. Which can be of more practical convenience?
What was wrong with your old laptop or hardware that you need a new machine to study?
I thing that is a lost battle!
The war is not lost.
Have we so sure that other projects in the free software repos don't use proprietary software?
It doesn't matter. The moment you see something non-free, you can tell them to remove it. Libre movement is dependent on its users.
They can't spy us all, because if they do it they would risk the bankruptcy...
Surveillance and privacy encroachments, data mining and fingerprinting is done for profit. Assume this: they spy on everybody indiscriminately and wholesale, corporations and governments.
...with not very ethical prices...
If you take a good look around you'll probably always find something that you're comfortable with.
TL-WN722N works nicely with Trisquel.
https://trisquel.info/files/tp-link_tl-wn722n.jpg
I am a translator!
Mr. Magique B. Ultimately it all boils down to one thing - how much important is it for a user the concept of freedom. Some are in it only while it is convenient for them and when it stops being convenient the momentary love of freedom finds its toilet. Most people are like that, they believe they believe. They care as long as it is easy. They really don't. And when they find out they don't they start making up excuses, rationalize, find exceptions, etc.
which is what we all do. You rationalize to keep up with free software, I rationalize or make excuses (that was funny) to get out. You are so pure, keep it to yourself, you will be in the heaven of free software users. Common! Do we need to go to that moralist side of the conversation?
And what is wrong with convenience? If one thing is convenient you use it, if don't you discard it! Simply as that! Or are you some kind of Stoic hermit that doesn't accept half of the world pleasures due to some penance???
No one saw me taking an oath on free software!
Do we need to go to that moralist side of the conversation?
Free software is about ethics, moral if you wish. It is a personal choice (no oath to be made). It is a collective endeavor too (freedoms 2 and 3).
And what is wrong with convenience?
Nothing. We all want convenience. But freedom is more important than convenience. We want free software that is as convenient as possible and the free software movement has been going in that direction since the beginning. Nobody is arguing in favor of less convenient software for penance but because the more convenient software is proprietary, hence unacceptable. It can be used during the transition phase though: dumping all proprietary software at once is a recipe for failure to only use free software in the long term, the goal. However, it must be acknowledged as a transition: the proprietary software used now is a problem we will solve, accepting the use of a technically worse but ethically better free programs, developing technically better free programs or helping their developments in other ways, paying for a more expensive hardware that can run in freedom, etc.
@takumi13
No one saw me taking an oath on free software!
I've seen you take an 'oath' against freedom, though, right now. The price of freedom seems to fluctuate from person to person, so be it.
I won't hold that against you. After all, we are in it for our individual reasons and nobody knows better than you what's good for you.
It's perfectly within your rights to refuse freedom and fail to understand the benefits of freedom.
It's not so hard to do the right thing, though. It's a matter of accepting some inconvenience.
"I have not time to argue, so I will only respond to comments that seems to me that are honest, and that seems to me that are going to somewhere meaningful."
It seems to me that we are entering in some sort of philosophical questions that leads us nowhere.
What is wrong and what is right, freedom is also (for me) a concept so it is better not lose time in this type of questions.
what I have to say is:
I always prefer free software over non-free software hardware, but if I have no choice I will use non-free software even knowing that it is not a good principle. Knowing that non-free software is bad for freedom is something, even if I have to use it. In the end, I always give primacy to what is most convenient for me.
From the day one, I always have refused, and identified in some persons here in the forum, some sort of Sect type behavior, even in relation to RMS says and thinks and writes. I want to stay clear that I don't always agree with what RMS says, but I believe in some vision he has, and respect him and is mission a lot. And I don't follow nor like sects!
Finally I want to thank to all the help and information that this forum has given me. I am grateful to you all.
Hugs
I always prefer free software over non-free software hardware, but if I have no choice I will use non-free software even knowing that it is not a good principle. Knowing that non-free software is bad for freedom is something, even if I have to use it. In the end, I always give primacy to what is most convenient for me.
I do not understand the logic that makes you reach the conclusion in the last sentence given the premises in the previous sentences.
I don't follow nor like sects!
Neither do I. But the FSF is not a sect. Sects do not promote individual freedoms. Quite the contrary. If I (and other users of this forum) often refer to Stallman, it is simply because he expresses my (our) opinions in a clear and well argued way, better than I (we) can. In the same way that you were certainly referring to philosophers when writing philosophy dissertation in high school. On the topic at hand, here is for instance an excellent article that Stallman wrote: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/compromise.html