Mockduck Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 I had frequent connection drops and a general inability to access the VCS Store until the moment I plugged in an Ethernet cable, at which point all that bad went away and never returned. Wondering if I have a bad Wifi unit or if this is being experienced by others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andymanone Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 WIFI on VCS works fine with me, I never faced some issues with it. Have you ever opened the case? Maybe the Picktail connector is slipped from the wifi connector? Cheers, andY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 It worked OK for me, no problems downloading, and it was fast. That said, I've only had my unit less time than you, so I may find this too. With Ubuntu in PC-Mode, there is an issue, that the O/S puts the WIFI to sleep and it has to reconnect. It might be the same thing applies on AtariOS. On Windows, for sure, no issues, so it seems that it's only a software tweak to be made, if so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 I had zero problems with the Wifi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o187em Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 I too am experiencing WiFi issues. Sometime it works fine other time it keeps dropping out. Restarting console will sometime fix it sometimes won’t. I did upgraded the Ram and installed an SSD but was having issues even before I opened the console and made sure WiFi antennas were plugged in properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoyx Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 When I do big transfers in Windows, it will lock up after many GB. Like it over heats. I'm doing ethernet now. Faster anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Darwin Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 (edited) There is an issue with a Linux kernel and this Wifi chip. As already mentioned, it is about energy saving. It is fixed in newer Linux kernels. So I assume the VCSs, which have unstable WiFi, still use the old kernel. Edited January 29, 2021 by Charles Darwin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iot4c Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 With Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS in PC-Mode the Wi-Fi is weak for me. Blocks of packets are lost with ping command. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 So if the issue is ultimately the Linux kernel not interacting well with the wifi chip, is that a thing that could "just" be solved with a firmware update? I don't want to ship my nice wood grain collector's edition back for repair, especially if it isn't going to make a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Darwin Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) I am not sure, if the Wifi issues of the AtariOS are related to this, but when I first installed Linux Mint the Wifi was unusable. I found this article and changed the power save settings in a config file. After that everything worked fine. It's here somewhere https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=324341 ".... etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf which has a setting called with a value of "wifi.powersave = 3". So I changed the value from 3 to "2", saved the file and reboot." ...but it wont help you, because you cannot do anything in the AtariOS. The next update should fix it, if not...it's not a good sign ? Edited January 30, 2021 by Charles Darwin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Login Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 42 minutes ago, Charles Darwin said: I am not sure, if the Wifi issues of the AtariOS are related to this, but when I first installed Linux Mint the Wifi was unusable. I found this article and changed the power save settings in a config file. After that everything worked fine. It's here somewhere https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=324341 ".... etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf which has a setting called with a value of "wifi.powersave = 3". So I changed the value from 3 to "2", saved the file and reboot." ...but it wont help you, because you cannot do anything in the AtariOS. The next update should fix it, if not...it's not a good sign ? You might be able to edit that file if you boot your VCS with a Linux distro and then mount the VCS file system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 9 minutes ago, Bad Login said: You might be able to edit that file if you boot your VCS with a Linux distro and then mount the VCS file system. No, it's not possible. You can edit it, but AtariOS would detect the change, and revert it, or not boot, subsequently. I'm sure it will be fixed in the update, which is due soon. I have no issues at all with WIFI in Windows 10 on VCS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Login Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 13 minutes ago, justclaws said: No, it's not possible. You can edit it, but AtariOS would detect the change, and revert it, or not boot, subsequently. I'm sure it will be fixed in the update, which is due soon. I have no issues at all with WIFI in Windows 10 on VCS. That's a bummer. Even if you change both partitions that have the O/S installed on them? It looks like they have a backup O/S partition. I guess it depends on how they detect a change and know what to change it back to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Darwin Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Anyway...the AtariOS is just an average Linux distro with a dashboard, a shop, an Atari-emu, and Chrome-shortcuts to Netflix and Amazon...at the current stage. Dont try to fix anything. Either install a working Linux distro or just wait until Atari will fix it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Just to confirm, the WIFI behaviour changed with the AtariOS update. (I see this from first-hand testing.) Although I had few problems with the WIFI, for sure there were regular disconnects, so I switched to Ethernet pending a fix, and since the update, I switched back to WIFI to check, and indeed the problem is totally gone. I have downloaded from the store, streamed video, and used Chrome, and not once did I have any problem. I think bigger antennae with longer wires would be a useful improvement in later revisions of the hardware. If you previously had issues with WIFI on AtariOS, I would also encourage you to try it again, if you need to. I now have my VCS on WIFI, instead of Ethernet. The last couple of days, I had no WIFI problems whatsoever. Oh, one half-related point also. Atari wrote there are some updates in VCS store presentations for some games, with new photos, videos. There are a few images or videos which temporarily don't load, and I saw only grey pattern for them. That is because the back-end image/video is missing, not because of a network fault. (Maybe they've gone by now.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 I was really hoping the news today would have solved my problem, but it does look like I just have a bad wifi unit. Here's a speed test, larger numbers are when doing the standard Google speed test in AtariOS' Chrome app while connected through Ethernet vs. the smaller from wifi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 2 minutes ago, Mockduck said: I was really hoping the news today would have solved my problem, but it does look like I just have a bad wifi unit. Here's a speed test, larger numbers are when doing the standard Google speed test in AtariOS' Chrome app while connected through Ethernet vs. the smaller from wifi: Oh, that is a huge difference!t So, the next questions, did you try the speedtest also from Windows 10 on the VCS, with same results, and on AtariOS, did you also get a slow but reliable connection, or a slow connection due to WIFI drops? I get faster Ethernet too, but not that much difference. My WIFI problem is my home location, where I have 11-15 other WIFI routers from neighbours, competing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yrly Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Something like this could be added https://www.amazon.com/Highfine-Wireless-Extension-Bulkhead-Repeater/dp/B01GMBUS8O/ref=sr_1_8?crid=HFJM2J8KN8ML&dchild=1&keywords=wifi+card+antenna&qid=1612580385&sprefix=Wifi+card+an%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-8 This one might have bigger internal elements too https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-IPEX-Internal-Antenna-M-2/dp/B07QDTXGGJ/ref=sr_1_26?crid=HFJM2J8KN8ML&dchild=1&keywords=wifi+card+antenna&qid=1612580385&sprefix=Wifi+card+an%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 4 hours ago, justclaws said: Oh, that is a huge difference!t So, the next questions, did you try the speedtest also from Windows 10 on the VCS, with same results, and on AtariOS, did you also get a slow but reliable connection, or a slow connection due to WIFI drops? I get faster Ethernet too, but not that much difference. My WIFI problem is my home location, where I have 11-15 other WIFI routers from neighbours, competing. I havent actually tried booting up Windows 10 on the VCS as the regular console's been way more fun than expected and I've had a lot to do on it. I do have a Win10 trial on an SSD ready to go whenever though so will check it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeatari1 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 14 hours ago, Mockduck said: the regular console's been way more fun than expected That's because we've been eating tacos for 3 years and got indigestion from it. Now that it's here, it is proving that there is real fun to be had. Lots of options and more on the way all the time. The only thing I did so far was install a SSD to put games on as the eMMC is entirely too small for any serious collection of games. I wish they would install one from the factory (even if it's only 128Gb). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 34 minutes ago, joeatari1 said: That's because we've been eating tacos for 3 years and got indigestion from it. Now that it's here, it is proving that there is real fun to be had. Lots of options and more on the way all the time. The only thing I did so far was install a SSD to put games on as the eMMC is entirely too small for any serious collection of games. I wish they would install one from the factory (even if it's only 128Gb). Yeah, I was expecting a couple of Atari games and not much else at the start, and instead we've had a small but steady release of actually fun games to play at relatively inexpensive prices (most under $15, a few $15-20, currently one $25 game). I figured I'd be playing with the tech and waiting to see if the console had any life, and instead it has been really nice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewwow Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) I'm also dealing with it. I don't know why is the signal so weak. I've got a nice router, but sometimes, the internet freezes or even drops out. It is so annoying to restart the equipment thousands times a day. Usually, in such circumstances, I switch to free internet services. To my surprise, the internet runs faster and the upload/download speed is much better. In fact, I think that VCS isn't worth anymore. Anyhow, have you ever experienced one of the things I've mentioned before? Do you know a solution to it? Edited February 14, 2021 by Stewwow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 18 hours ago, Stewwow said: I'm also dealing with it. I don't know why is the signal so weak. I've got a nice router, but sometimes, the internet freezes or even drops out. It is so annoying to restart the equipment thousands times a day. For this part, have your system got the 2nd update - the January one? That fixes the unreliable WIFI in all cases I read - if you do not, the update will be released again in next few days. As was discussed, it works without any drop-outs in Windows 10, which proved that it's not the hardware. After the new patch (there is a thread about it) the WIFI configuration is reliable and does not drop out. The other fix for now is to use an Ethernet cable. The second part of your message about using free Internet services, and it being better, I do not understand, sorry. If you have a slow connection to the Atari servers, even via a cable, maybe your Internet provide has routing issues. I am in The Netherlands, with a not-very-fast connection (50Mbit/s) and downloads and Internet speed feels good. I would recommend, try a cable for now, let your VCS update in coming days, and try it again, and it's likely fixed. If you want to do some specific comparisons, feel free to drop me a message here. Cheers, Richard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 @Mockduck (This only applies to WIFI under AtariOS.) Windows worked fine already, and Ubuntu still has problems for me. It would be interesting if the people who had problems would try their WIFI again, after the last update. For me, I was getting 60 Mbit/s via Ethernet, and and as low as 12.5 Mbit/s over WIFI, in the recent weeks. However, since the last AtariOS update, I am now getting 60 Mbit/s over both, without any other changes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted June 3, 2021 Author Share Posted June 3, 2021 Yeah, I've heard both Wifi and 4k are improved in the newest OS update. I updated last night but did not see an improvement in 4k, still very sluggish and framey, and can't really play a game well on it. Trying Jetboard Joust for example slowed the game to about half speed. So...??? At least a few folks had VERY positive things to say about 4K improvement yesterday. I will check out the wifi situation tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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