Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

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astromaddie
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Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by astromaddie »

Hi, I’m pretty new to MiSTer, and while I’ve been able to have fun playing these fantastic cores, I’ve had a major tech problem that’s giving me a headache.

When I run the downloader.sh or update_all.sh, my wifi dongle stops working almost entirely. (it doesn’t seem to be consistent if one will necessarily do it.) After the wifi stops working, the dongle can still scan and see SSIDs when running wifi.sh, but can no longer connect to anything.

My dongle is the TP-Link Archer T2U Nano, I’ve confirmed it works totally fine on a computer, and it seems to work consistently on the MiSTer… up until it doesn’t, and then it never works again until re-flashing.

I’m wondering if the issue may be in my region (I’m in Japan), causing conflict with the country code for wifi— but adding country=JP3 to wpa_supplicant.conf doesn’t fix the issue. So far, I’ve flashed a new install of MiSTer three times tonight trying to troubleshoot the issue and don’t feel I’m much closer to a resolution! Can someone please help me out here?
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RealLarry
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by RealLarry »

astromaddie wrote: Wed Feb 23, 2022 1:51 pmWhen I run the downloader.sh or update_all.sh, my wifi dongle stops working almost entirely. (it doesn’t seem to be consistent if one will necessarily do it.) After the wifi stops working, the dongle can still scan and see SSIDs when running wifi.sh, but can no longer connect to anything.
Does this happen after a reboot? I had a similar issue with a 3 minute timeout after a reboot, but fixed that by myself.
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by ARCADEAGES »

It's not a script problem, it's a WiFi problem. For some reason nobody here can admit that WiFi does not, and has not been reliable on MiSTer. Solution is to use ethernet or update via your PC
astromaddie
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by astromaddie »

RealLarry wrote: Wed Feb 23, 2022 2:34 pm Does this happen after a reboot? I had a similar issue with a 3 minute timeout after a reboot, but fixed that by myself.
That’s an interesting suggestion, and I’ll try it out, but I’ve also tried doing cold reboots (and full reboots by unplugging the power) without any luck, so it’s not the same situation you had.

Edit: tried it just in case, no dice :(
pac
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by pac »

Bit harsh to say it never has been reliable. While I don't use WiFi for performance reasons anymore, with the right adapter it does the job.

Workaround here btw - got a used 5Ghz-capable Asus router, set to Media Bridge, join your home WiFi, MiSTer LAN to Asus LAN, done.
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by RealLarry »

Never had any issues again since I fixed my issue, using a cheepo chinese combined WiFi+BT dongle. Dongle has 5 GHz support, but my AP's only 2.4 GHz. Fast enough (for me) even for loading PSX games, which are on a cabled NAS. Not comparable with CAT cables, naturally, but hey, PSX is using a double speed CD emulation which is way slower than a 2.4 GHz WiFi connection ;)
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edr
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by edr »

Haven't had issues with dongles that are supported and genuine (some of the no-names have lots or mostly fakes on J. Bezos). They're slow as s (mostly 5-7 MB/s) but pretty reliable once working.

MisterAddons aka porkchop aka Kurt Russell tested a bunch:
https://misteraddons.com/blogs/news/mis ... d-shootout

Currently using the WiFi/BT combo dongle from MisterAddons, and also used Asus, TP Link, and generic 300 and 600 ones, all slow, all worked for updates. Wouldn't use any of them for moving large game sets around.
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by Malor »

Mister should be as reliable with WiFi as the Linux underneath, so it's probably mostly about the driver and hardware quality of whatever dongle you've chosen.

As a general observation, though, wireless networking is inherently unreliable, and can be messed up by factors out of your control, like noisy neighbors. Ethernet is solid as heck. Running wires, if that's possible where you are, will usually give you a better result, and if you do have problems, they're always local and something you can fix. Any problems are yours, not your neighbors'.
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by Sigismond0 »

Can confirm that I have had nothing but good results using WiFi. Used an Edimax dongle for a while, now use the 2-in-1 BT/WiFi that MiSTer Addons recommends. Never had a drop or disconnect that was unique to the MiSter, have copied entire game libraries over via FTP, and even used SMB shares for a while. Maybe I'm just an outlier, but I'm inclined to agree with other people here--if you have good hardware and good WiFi, MiSTer's wifi should be as reliable as any other device on your network.
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by RealLarry »

Sigismond0 wrote: Wed Feb 23, 2022 4:45 pm Can confirm that I have had nothing but good results using WiFi. Used an Edimax dongle for a while, now use the 2-in-1 BT/WiFi that MiSTer Addons recommends. Never had a drop or disconnect that was unique to the MiSter, have copied entire game libraries over via FTP, and even used SMB shares for a while. Maybe I'm just an outlier, but I'm inclined to agree with other people here--if you have good hardware and good WiFi, MiSTer's wifi should be as reliable as any other device on your network.
Copy that. That's the nature of radio communications...may work (reliable), may not - depending on many circumstances (distance, (type of) walls, neighbours, weather, ...)
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by Bunker »

I don’t have issues with my wireless USB adapter but it does get upset if you try and send too many files in one go, like 5000.
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by darksakul »

That's Wifi for you. I usually turn off and turn on the MiSTer after a update anyways
It is my great regret that we live in an age that is proud of machines that think and suspicious of people who try to.
astromaddie
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by astromaddie »

Just wanted to share an update. I did a lot of debugging and starting over with fresh installs to systematically isolate the cause. Disabling Linux update allowed my wifi dongle to keep working even after updating— so it seems like it was a Linux update that was breaking the dongle support. I also picked up a new dongle that used a chipset that had more documented compatibility (the Archer T3U dongle, with the rtl8812bu chip, incidentally) and it works even with my original fully-updated “control” setup.
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by MacDragon »

Just to chime, I've also got a T2U which worked fine till I did an update too.
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Re: Downloader Scripts Breaking WiFi

Unread post by riblad_om »

I got the suggested canakit dongle which worked great until it stopped working.
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