Solved Freezing problems with BPi-R1

[badrianiulian 16]

OBSOLETE as of 12 November 2015 update that fixes the authentification loop and increases speed:

Finnaly, I think I have my BPi-R1 with a stable WiFi and no freezing whatsoever

I used the latest distro packages and it still froze on occasion

I managed to pin it down to the wpa encryption used by hostapd

Here is my config:

### Wireless network name ###
interface=wlan0
### Set your bridge name ###
bridge=br0

driver=rtl871xdrv
device_name=RTL8192CU
manufacturer=Realtek

# This advertises the country_code and the set of allowed channels and transmit power
country_code=RO
ieee80211d=1

# Maximum data rate 54Mbps in 802.11g and 300Mbps in 802.11n
# The RTL8192CU provides simple legacy and 20MHz/40MHz co-existence mechanisms to ensure backward and network compatibility. Maximum PHY data rate up to 144.4Mbps using 20MHz bandwidth, 300Mbps using 40MHz bandwidth
# if you donΓÇÖt have a wireless N capable device = 0
# 802.11n related stuff
ieee80211n=1
noscan=1
ht_capab=[SHORT-GI-40][HT40+][HT40-][DSSS_CCK-40]

# 2,4GHz bandwidth
channel=5
hw_mode=g
wmm_enabled=0

# connections and pid
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
beacon_int=100
max_num_sta=8
ctrl_interface=/var/run/hostapd

# Identification and Login
ssid=XXXXXXXXX
auth_algs=1
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=xxxxxxxxxx
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_pairwise=TKIP
#rsn_pairwise=CCMP
wpa_group_rekey=86400
wme_enabled=1
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0

#macaddr_acl=1
#accept_mac_file=/etc/hostapd/accept
#macaddr_acl=0
#deny_mac_file=/etc/hostapd/deny 

I read on this page that the hardware crypto on the rtl8192cu might not work correctly:

http://forum.lemaker.org/thread-15515-1-1.html

Also issues due to encryption happened (on the same rtl8192cu chip) to this guy also:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-networking-3/realtek-8192cu-driver-problem-with-ccmp-encryption-4175506363/

 

The WiFi speed used is 54Mbps but at least it is stable and my router doesn't freeze anymore

[badrianiulian 16]

Back with an update

I have the latest armbian updates and compiled original relatek drivers, hostapd and wpa_supplicant for RTL8192CU

Just tested the connection by downloading about 5.31GB of data in 15 minutes (about 7MB/sec) on wifi

Also I made some tests with speedtest.net:

 

WiFi

 

Ethernet

 

My internet line is a 100Mbit/sec

No freeze or authentification loops happened since I compiled the three realtek sources ( http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=48&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=277&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false&Downloads=true#2772 )

I compiled sources on 09.11.2015

[Euter 1]

Can you be more specific about your configuration? Please share with us your configs and/or make "how to" from fresh armibian image, thanks

[badrianiulian 16]

I'm on last armbian version

 

I first compiled the hostapd, wpa_supplicant and driver with 'make ARCH=arm' as Igor told me

Replace '/usr/sbin/hostapd-rt', '/usr/sbin/hostapd_cli-rt', wherever it is 'wpa_supplicant' and '/lib/modules/3.4.109-banana/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtl8192cu/8192cu.ko' with the ones compiled.

NOTE: with new armbian upgrades these files are going to be replaced

 

This is the new hostapd configuration '/etc/hostapd.conf-rt'

### Wireless network name ###
interface=wlan0
### Set your bridge name ###
bridge=br0

driver=rtl871xdrv
device_name=RTL8192CU
manufacturer=Realtek

# This advertises the country_code and the set of allowed channels and transmit power
country_code=RO
ieee80211d=1

# Maximum data rate 54Mbps in 802.11g and 300Mbps in 802.11n
# The RTL8192CU provides simple legacy and 20MHz/40MHz co-existence mechanisms to ensure backward and network compatibility. Maximum PHY data rate up to 144.4Mbps using 20MHz bandwidth, 300Mbps using 40MHz bandwidth
# if you donΓÇÖt have a wireless N capable device = 0
# 802.11n related stuff
ieee80211n=1
#noscan=1
ht_capab=[SHORT-GI-40][HT40+][HT40-][DSSS_CCK-40]

# 2,4GHz bandwidth
channel=5
hw_mode=g
wmm_enabled=0

# connections and pid
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
beacon_int=100
max_num_sta=8
ctrl_interface=/var/run/hostapd

# Identification and Login
ssid=XXXXXXXX
auth_algs=1
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=XXXXXXXX
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_pairwise=CCMP TKIP
rsn_pairwise=CCMP
wpa_group_rekey=86400
wme_enabled=1
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0

#macaddr_acl=1
#accept_mac_file=/etc/hostapd/accept
#macaddr_acl=0
#deny_mac_file=/etc/hostapd/deny

As you see I had to comment the 'noscan' line

[Euter 1]

Can you update Tido´s basic router setup manual? I can't reproduce your result Maybe I missed something...

[gogiman 0]

Hi,

 

I have recently found this discussion. I am having the same issue. Once in a while banana pi r1 just freezes.

I would like to find if it could be the same issue as described here.

 

I have downloaded and installed Armbian in February 2016. It is legacy one - "Linux lamobo-r1 3.4.110-sun7i #10 SMP PREEMPT Wed Feb 10 20:03:33 CET 2016 armv7l GNU/Linux"

 

I would like to ask if I could have the issue mentioned here or if some patches were already applied to legacy Armbian.

 

I am really happy with the setup. Only problem I need to solve is freezing. If the system would work reliably, it would be perfect router.

 

Thanks

[Igor 2301]

R1 has some design problems, problems are mostly power related so make sure you fixed that. How? - check other R1 related topics. Further - lowering RAM speed init in u-boot and not using crappy on board wifi.

[fermat 0]

Hello,

 

I have the same issue with Bananian. Can you tell me if I still have to compile original relatek drivers, hostapd and wpa_supplicant for RTL8192CU if I download an actual armbian? Or is this integrated there?

 

bests

 

fermat

[Tido 187]

I can only speak for: http://mirror.igorpecovnik.com/Armbian_4.2_Lamobo-r1_Debian_wheezy_3.4.108.zip and it works out of the box.
But the latest version of 3.4 Kernel is .110  or  .111 so give it a try.

[Igor 2301]

... and try also those alternative drivers:

 

https://github.com/dz0ny/rt8192cu

https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes