Re: [PATCH] rtlwifi: rtl8723be: disable FW control power save

[Larry Finger <Larry.Finger@lwfinger.net>]

On 08/06/2015 10:11 PM, AceLan Kao wrote:
> There are many rtl8723be wifi unstable issues that wifi lost connection
> after working for a while. The wifi signal and status it's show connected
> also ifconfig have IP but can not connect to internet and filed to ping 8.8.8.8
> The problem should result from the power saving controlled by firmware.
> I'd suggest to disable it by default and re-enable it after firmware fixes
> this issue.
>
> BTW. the firmware I tested from linux-firmware git tree is
> rtlwifi/rtl8723befw.bin
> be225d6 Update firmware for rtl8723be
>
> Signed-off-by: AceLan Kao <acelan.kao@canonical.com>

NACK for this patch. If you were to make this change, you should also change the 
text in the MODULE_PARM_DESC() for this parameter. It shows a hard-coded default.

I am not sure this is a firmware problem as some users report that they need to 
run with the "ips=0" option, not with "fwlps=0" as your patch would force. 
Conversely, the driver works fine as is with other AP/environment combinations.

The Realtek engineer has told me that he is aware of problems with the dynamic 
management for all the drivers, and that they are working on major replacements; 
however, there is no timetable for the new code.

If we make a change in the default power settings, I would prefer changing 
inactiveps and its MODULE_PARM_DESC() text; however, that would have a negative 
impact on power usage on the host.

I have BCc'd the Realtek engineer and I hope to get his comments on this change.

Larry

> ---
>   drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8723be/sw.c | 2 +-
>   1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
>
> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8723be/sw.c b/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8723be/sw.c
> index 1017f02..02fe2cc 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8723be/sw.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8723be/sw.c
> @@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ static struct rtl_mod_params rtl8723be_mod_params = {
>   	.sw_crypto = false,
>   	.inactiveps = true,
>   	.swctrl_lps = false,
> -	.fwctrl_lps = true,
> +	.fwctrl_lps = false,
>   };
>
>   static struct rtl_hal_cfg rtl8723be_hal_cfg = {
>