power management not working with realtek wifi card

Question

I'm new on Linux Mint and I have a bug. I have setup Linux Mint, today, and when I use my internet connection, after 5-10 minutes, my connection stopped. I need to disconnect and connect my wifi card.

If I don't do this, I can't use my connection.

It isn't only on Linux Mint, even with Antergos I'm having this error. But on Windows (10) it's okay, the problem disappears.

I have a TP-LINK TL-WN821N up to 300mbps.

If I write iw [Device name] get power_save on my console I get back: "Power_save : Off".

And on this file : /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

I have "wifi.powersave = 2" ...

lsusb output :

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub  
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 1c4f:0032 SiGma Micro 
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 413c:2003 Dell Computer Corp. Keyboard
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0bda:8178 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8192CU 802.11n WLAN Adapter
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

So, how can I fix this ?

Answer 1

Basically the problem here is that most of the realtek wifi based chipsets, and specifically the RTL8192CU have hardware firmware, and driver bugs. Power management is brain damaged on that chipset.

Power management does not work well, and it has to be turned off for the chipset to work in minimal operational acceptable settings.

You can read the (lengthy) post for more details here Wi-Fi problems using ASUS USB-N13 adapter

So in reality you cannot "fix" it, only going for another wifi chipset.

If you are buying a notebook or iOT board that comes with it, I strongly suggest either selecting another model/brand, replacing it with a model compatible with your board, or deactivating the chipset and using an external USB Wifi.