Intel 7265 is unreliable

[dchambers]

I replaced the Broadcom adaptor with an Intel 7265 module based on reports of problems about the Broadcom modules, but the Intel module has never been reliable for me:

• It doesn't always switch from one Wifi signal to another, and I sometimes need to restart the Wifi.
• It doesn't always re-connect to the Wifi after hibernating, and I sometimes need to restart the Wifi.
• Restarting the Wifi isn't always enough, and I sometimes need to restart the entire machine.

I don't see anybody else talking about this issue, so maybe it's just me, but would love to know if anybody else has seen this, or even fixed it!

[cboettig]

I also installed an Intel 7265 in place of the broadcom. I do recall sometimes occasionally needing to do a wifi restart after suspending and then resuming in an area with different wifi signal (e.g. going from home to work) at some point, but haven't experienced that in months, so must have been before updating to Ubuntu 15.10. What distro & kernel are you running?

[cerealcable]

I believe I also had similar experiences as @cboettig before I upgraded to 15.10. It's pretty solid as is right now though so no complaints.

[dchambers]

Thanks guys, I'm still on 15.04. 15.10 it is 😄

[jbtrystram]

I recall having some kind of thoses issues also.. Restarting the wifi from time to time. Always do the trick though.
Did you see any improvement with 15.10 ?

[dchambers]

Did you see any improvement with 15.10 ?

I've been running 15.10 for just less than a week now, and I've not seen the problem once since I upgraded (unheard of for me). Admittedly, I've not been as mobile this last week as I normally am, so haven't put as much stress on the machine as I normally would, but it seems very promising so far...

[Jkillelea]

Might be a little late here, but native support for the Broadcom chip wasn't introduced into the mainline kernel until 4.4, and it might be the same for the Intel once. Therefore, it could be worth your time to install a new kernel. FWIW, the Broadcom chip is working well for me. I even got the closed source bluetooth to (mostly) work by following this guide in the Arch Wiki.