I'd updated to zorin 17 some months back without hassles, My wifi had been working great until today. I used it for a while during a class and then I put the laptop to sleep and much toy surprise some hours later I put the laptop on and couldn't Access WiFi, the icon wasn't showing in status bar, I checked the settings to see if WiFi is showing, nothing at all. I've updated the system already just to see if that's the issue. I know of the hardware switch on some computers that allows you to disable WiFi, it's enabled so it's not that.
What can I do to solve this?
Can you please post the output of
sudo lshw -C network
Wifi drivers can depend on the Linux kernel and if the kernel changes, they may cause the Wifi Drivers to no longer work. This can be noticed once a system is reinitialized after a change.
If the drivers utilize DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support), then a user can safely change the kernel without having to reinstall the drivers.
If a user dual boots with Windows and Windows "Fast boot" or "Fast startup" is enabled, Windows can retain control over the hardware from, the last run session.
A dual booter can load Windows OS, disable Fast Boot from the control panel > Power options, then ensure Windows OS fully shuts down to release control of the hardware.
Here's the output of
sudo lshw -C network
*
description: Ethernet interface
product: Ethernet Connection I218-LM
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 19
bus info: pci@0000:00:19.0
logical name: eno1
version: 04
serial: ec:f4:bb:3f:4f:30
capacity: 1Gbit/s
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=e1000e driverversion=6.5.0-28-generic firmware=0.6-3 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=twisted pair
resources: irq:49 memory:f7f00000-f7f1ffff memory:f7f3c000-f7f3cfff ioport:f080(size=32)
As per the dual booting thing, I haven't logged into Windows for a while, I've been on zorin since. Fast boot is also disabled, I went through a checklist of things to disable before dual Booting windows and Linux.
The output shows your ethernet, but nothing about wifi. Do you recall offhand what Wifi card you have?
No I don't remember what wifi card I have, what could cause this?
I literally was using the WiFi and all of a sudden it's gone
Could be that the Wifi card has failed. Have you run any tests on it?
Is it getting power?
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If this was working for some time before on Z17, I am wondering if software update delivered a new linux kernel.
Have you tried booting an older kernel from grub menu item "Advanced Options for Zorin"?
Also do you just have Zorin 17 or are you dual-booting with Windows?
If the latter, is your wifi visible in Windows?
I'll try the advanced option thing, yes I'm dual booting. I've booted windows, the WiFi isn't showing up as well.
How do I go about running tests on the WiFi card?
Ah. That is not good if also no-show on Windows as well as Zorin.
No need to play with alternative kernels if that is the case.
What PC is it. laptop or desktop. If desktop you could see if the card is physically seated properly. For a laptop you could do the same, but is less easy to do.
In Windows you could go
Start>Device Manager>Network Adapters
doulbe click the card and see if it comes up OK.
Some computers e.g. Lenovo may have Diagnostics software included that can be run from Windows.
I had a wifi card that sometime disappeared. What I did was completely cut the power of the computer in 30-45 min.
Then it reappear after that. Just make sure there's no power at all (including battery).
It sounds like you're encountering an issue with your Wi-Fi connectivity on your Zorin 17 system. There could be several reasons why your Wi-Fi suddenly stopped working after your laptop went to sleep. Let's go through some troubleshooting steps to try and resolve the issue.
- Restart your laptop: Sometimes a simple restart can fix many software-related issues. It's worth trying this first to see if it resolves the problem.
- Check airplane mode: Make sure that airplane mode is turned off. When airplane mode is enabled, it disables all wireless communication including Wi-Fi.
- Check Wi-Fi settings: Go to your system settings and navigate to the network settings. Ensure that Wi-Fi is enabled and that your network is visible. Sometimes, the Wi-Fi adapter may appear disabled or not recognized, so make sure it's turned on.
- Check hardware switch: As you mentioned, some laptops have physical switches or function keys that can toggle Wi-Fi on and off. Ensure that this switch is in the correct position to enable Wi-Fi.
- Re-seat the Wi-Fi adapter (if possible): If your laptop allows for it, you may want to try re-seating the Wi-Fi adapter. This involves opening up your laptop (if you're comfortable doing so), locating the Wi-Fi adapter, and making sure it's securely connected to its slot on the motherboard.