networking - Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 5Ghz Issue - Ask Ubuntu

i bought asus hero alpha motherboard comes atheros wireless card, card following:

qualcomm atheros qca6174 802.11ac wireless network adapter [168c:003e] (rev 32) 

the card works on 2.4ghz (tested on ubuntu 16.04 , 16.10), issues start when using 5ghz. speed many times drops fast (does not disconnect) , stays down, talking internet or lan speed typically around 100mbps goes way down 1.5mbps.

the issues have found when doing quick dmesg (here summary of dmesg plus errors):

[ 8281.488634] cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp), (dfs_cac_time) [ 8281.488638] cfg80211:   (2402000 khz - 2472000 khz @ 40000 khz), (n/a, 2000 mbm), (n/a) [ 8281.488641] cfg80211:   (2457000 khz - 2482000 khz @ 40000 khz), (n/a, 2000 mbm), (n/a) [ 8281.488643] cfg80211:   (2474000 khz - 2494000 khz @ 20000 khz), (n/a, 2000 mbm), (n/a) [ 8281.488646] cfg80211:   (5170000 khz - 5250000 khz @ 80000 khz, 160000 khz auto), (n/a, 2000 mbm), (n/a) [ 8281.488649] cfg80211:   (5250000 khz - 5330000 khz @ 80000 khz, 160000 khz auto), (n/a, 2000 mbm), (0 s) [ 8281.488652] cfg80211:   (5490000 khz - 5730000 khz @ 160000 khz), (n/a, 2000 mbm), (0 s) [ 8281.488654] cfg80211:   (5735000 khz - 5835000 khz @ 80000 khz), (n/a, 2000 mbm), (n/a) [ 8281.488656] cfg80211:   (57240000 khz - 63720000 khz @ 2160000 khz), (n/a, 0 mbm), (n/a) [ 8281.508915] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: pci irq msi-x interrupts 8 irq_mode 0 reset_mode 0 [ 8281.746038] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: direct firmware load ath10k/cal-pci-0000:09:00.0.bin failed error -2 [ 8281.746062] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: direct firmware load ath10k/qca6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin failed error -2 [ 8281.746067] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/qca6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin': -2 [ 8283.924750] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: qca6174 hw3.2 (0x05030000, 0x00340aff sub 1043:86e0) fw wlan.rm.2.0-00180-qcarmswpz-1 fwapi 4 bdapi 2 htt-ver 3.26 wmi-op 4 htt-op 3 cal otp max-sta 32 raw 0 hwcrypto 1 features wowlan,ignore-otp,no-4addr-pad [ 8283.924766] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 1 dfs 0 testmode 0 [ 8284.001596] ath: eeprom regdomain: 0x69 [ 8284.001600] ath: eeprom indicates should expect direct regpair map [ 8284.001603] ath: country alpha2 being used: 00 [ 8284.001604] ath: regpair used: 0x69 [ 8284.003776] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0 wlp9s0: renamed wlan0 [ 8284.019349] ipv6: addrconf(netdev_up): wlp9s0: link not ready [ 8286.279134] ipv6: addrconf(netdev_up): wlp9s0: link not ready [ 8286.336477] ipv6: addrconf(netdev_up): wlp9s0: link not ready [ 8290.793388] wlp9s0: authenticate d0:17:c2:3e:19:f0 [ 8290.846724] wlp9s0: send auth d0:17:c2:3e:19:f0 (try 1/3) [ 8290.848417] wlp9s0: authenticated [ 8290.851753] wlp9s0: associate d0:17:c2:3e:19:f0 (try 1/3) [ 8290.854983] wlp9s0: rx assocresp d0:17:c2:3e:19:f0 (capab=0x411 status=0 aid=2) [ 8290.857737] wlp9s0: associated 

as can see, issue is:

[ 8281.746038] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: direct firmware load ath10k/cal-pci-0000:09:00.0.bin failed error -2 [ 8281.746062] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: direct firmware load ath10k/qca6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin failed error -2 [ 8281.746067] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/qca6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin': -2 [ 8283.924750] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: qca6174 hw3.2 (0x05030000, 0x00340aff sub 1043:86e0) fw wlan.rm.2.0-00180-qcarmswpz-1 fwapi 4 bdapi 2 htt-ver 3.26 wmi-op 4 htt-op 3 cal otp max-sta 32 raw 0 hwcrypto 1 features wowlan,ignore-otp,no-4addr-pad [ 8283.924766] ath10k_pci 0000:09:00.0: debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 1 dfs 0 testmode 0 [ 8284.001596] ath: eeprom regdomain: 0x69 [ 8284.001600] ath: eeprom indicates should expect direct regpair map 

i checked , not find actual ath10k/qca6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin file in system. have folder structure in /lib/firmware/ath10k/qca6174 , went https://github.com/kvalo/ath10k-firmware check if there firmware-5.bin file hw3.0 folder, there none. have couple of questions regarding this:

1. is there actual (or there actual) firmware-5.bin file hw3.0 or mistake in code?

2. what causing huge drop of 5ghz card?

update: using 17.04 wireless card worse now. have 100mbit internet connection , lags time. every minute 2 minutes whole wireless card goes slow speed state several seconds. can't change 2.4ghz 5ghz without having disable network altogether , enable again.

i getting on 17.04 now:

tcp: wlp9s0: driver has suspect gro implementation, tcp performance may compromised. [ 4497.297536] uvcvideo: failed query (set_cur) uvc control 11 on unit 2: -110 (exp. 1). 

i testing following procedure answer problem in 16.04 , 17.04 me. if have same atheros model, working me on asus maximus hero alpha viii

1. download latest linux-firmware deb package ubuntu linux firmware folder. me right since it's may 5 2017, able download version 1.165

2. install via dpkg: sudo dpkg -i linux-firmware_1.165_all.deb

3. reboot & test.

my testing doing following failing horribly before:

• changing 2.4ghz 5ghz. have asus ac5300 router offers 2.4ghz , 5ghz @ same time. 2.4ghz ssid called ubuntu2g , 5ghz called ubuntu5g. changing 1 other failed, always. after changing 8 times after rebooting, 2.4ghz 5ghz , vice versa still happening, although connects faster , speed maintained once select 1 connect , stay it.
• streaming chromecast headache. can stream on both, 2.4ghz spectrum , 5ghz one. starts streaming faster. before had wait 20 30 seconds streaming start, it's 2 3 seconds.
• downloading internet super slow before. have 100mbps speed connection (12mb/s) , maintained speed around 1-2mb. getting 10mb/s 12mb/s. have been testing of course 20 minutes seeing effective speeds, connection , better overall performance.
• checking errors on dmesg when disconnecting, reconnecting, connection. when streaming, when downloading, when uploading, when booting, etc.. far, after upgrading, not getting errors related wireless card.

current problems:

• changing 2.4ghz 5ghz not work. wireless card fails connect , if try go fails. now, changing 5ghz 2.4ghz work, mentioned, going 5 2.4 fail sometimes.

i keep posted if keeps following month.