The default wireless driver settings for the HP ProBook 430 G2 on Ubuntu Linux 14.04 makes the internet connection drop frequently and the wireless connection first works again when the machine has been rebooted (or the wireless netcard driver has been removed and added again). The solution is to change the driver settings (disable e.g. power save mode) – here is a guide for your convenience and such that I don’t forget how to do it π
This guide is only made for “HP ProBook 430 G2”. It might work for other computers, but the wireless netcard driver probably has a different name and different settings. Please tell me if you get it to work for other models π
1. Find the wireless netcard model – open a terminal using CTRL+ALT+T and write the following command:
ls /sys/class/net/wlan0/device/driver/module/drivers
Mine says “pci:rtl8723be”, where “rtl8723be” is the driver name. If you have a different driver, then you need to replace “rtl8723be” in the rest of this guide with whatever your terminal outputs after the colon (pci:).
Now we need to check the driver settings – this requires the program sysutils that is not installed by default – try to write the following command in the terminal:
sudo apt-get install sysfsutils
Write the following command in the terminal to get the current driver settings (replace “rtl8723be” if you use a different driver):
systool -v -m rtl8723be
In the “Parameters:” section, there should be a number of settings. Look at the value that is written next to the power save settings “fwlps” and “ips” – if it says “Y” or “1” then that is probably the reason why your internet connection gets disrupted.
You can see what the two settings means by writing the following in the terminal (replace “rtl8723be” if you use a different driver):
modinfo rtl8723be
Disable power save by writing the following in a terminal (replace “rtl8723be” if you use a different driver):
echo 'options rtl8723be ips=0' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf
echo 'options rtl8723be fwlps=0' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf
Remove and add the wireless netcard driver by writing this in a terminal (replace “rtl8723be” if you use a different driver):
sudo rmmod rtl8723be && sudo modprobe rtl8723be
Verify the new settings by once again writing this in a terminal (replace “rtl8723be” if you use a different driver):
systool -v -m rtl8723be
In the “Parameters:” section, “fwlps” and “ips” should now be “N” and your internet connection should stop crashing. Feel free to post a comment π
Hi Anders,
I had the same problem with a newly bought HP Probook 430 G2 running Kubuntu 15.04. I followed your exact instructions (the driver name was also the same) and it turns out the problem is gone.
Thanks a lot!
Thank you for a great post, seems to work so far for me on my ProBook 430. However, these commands
echo βoptions rtl8723be ips=0β² | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf
echo βoptions rtl8723be fwlps=0β² | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf
add unnecessary quotes to the file.
Argh yes many thanks for pointing that out – it is due to wordpress formatting – it should be fixed now.
Your tutorial works brilliantly on Ubuntu 15.04. Thanks a lot! Very well written!
kind regards from Belgium.
Many thanks Antoon! I’m happy to hear that – good thing that this guide also works in newer Ubuntu versions π
for quick testing the arguments that sould also work:
sudo rmmod rtl8723be && sudo modprobe rtl8723be ips=0 fwlps=0
to make it persistent in ubuntu edit /etc/default/grub and set:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=”rtl8723be.ips=0 rtl8723be.fwlps=0
hth, br
Cool – thanks for an alternative solution!
Maybe it seems a bit hacky to modify grub rather than keeping the modification local to the module π
Thank you so much for this post, I was desperate about the WiFi not working after the Ubuntu 14.04 installation. I couldn’t find help in the (German) Ubuntu wiki, but your instruction made it work immediately. You made my day!
I am happy to help – many thanks for the kind comment π
Great post! Thanks!
Thanks for this! Solved my wifi problems in linux mint 17.3!
Hello. Very helpful. Thank you very much. If it wasn’t for this article, I would have to stop using Ubuntu :(. Can I publish this on my to-be-created blog in Ukrainian with a link to this article?
Sorry for the crazy late reply – you are of course most welcome to use my article if you reference it π
Tested on Pclinuxos, worked just fine!
Works fine quickly. Thanks a lot!.
Thanks from indonesia mate!!
if we doesnt find your article, maybe this laptop will be a doormats π
Many thanks Allan, your comment is very motivational π
i have a problem with my wifi on ho EliteBook8440p it always still in on and of on and of and i cant fix it with this up
my spec: rtl8821ae, ubuntu 14.04
its like hell to have wifi connection to drop every seconds/minute
after update my driver from rtlwifi_new (google it) just do this article suggest i got saved
i am a poor man, only got this laptop, you save me – thank you very much, god bless u..
I was facing same problem
But solutions not works for me please help me