Supercharge Your Wi-Fi Speed: Effective Tips to Boost Wi-Fi Performance in Linux

Introduction

re you experiencing slow Wi-Fi speeds on your Ubuntu system? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! In this article, we will explore simple and effective techniques to boost your Wi-Fi performance on Ubuntu. By implementing these tips, you can enhance your browsing, streaming, and downloading experience.

1. Maximize Wireless Adapter Power

Although this technique may no longer be necessary, some users still find it helpful. In older versions of Ubuntu, the power management system of the Linux Kernel sometimes reduced the power sent to the wireless adapter, resulting in inconsistent performance. To check if your system is affected and potentially resolve the issue, follow these steps:

• Open a terminal and run the command:

sudo iwconfig

• Identify the name of your wireless device (e.g., wlan0)
• Disable power management for the wireless adapter using the command

sudo iwconfig wlan0 power off

Verify the changes by running iwconfig again and ensuring that “Power Management” is set to “off”

$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.
wlan0     IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"TestingWifi"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.4 GHz  Access Point: 22:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX   
          Bit Rate=36 Mb/s   Tx-Power=31 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=58/70  Signal level=-52 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:1  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

2. Disable Wi-Fi Power Saving

Wi-Fi power saving is a feature that can reduce bandwidth from 100Mbps to 20Mbps. To disable Wi-Fi power saving in Ubuntu, follow these steps:

• Open the /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

# Ubuntu
sudo vim /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

# Arch Linux
sudo vim /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-off.conf

• Set the value of wifi.powersave to 2

# File to be place under /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d
# Values are 0 (use default), 1 (ignore/don't touch), 2 (disable) or 3 (enable).

#ubuntu
wifi.powersave = 2


#arch linux
[connection]
wifi.powersave = 2

• Here is the possible value for wifi.powersave:

0: use the default value

1: don’t touch existing setting

2: disable powersave

3: enable powersave

• Save the changes and exit the editor
• Restart the NetworkManager service

sudo service NetworkManager restart

# Or

sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager

3. Disable IPv6 Support

Disabling IPv6 support can sometimes improve Wi-Fi speed, especially if you don’t require IPv6. To temporarily disable IPv6 support, follow these steps

• Open a terminal and run the following commands

sudo sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6=1
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6=1
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.lo.disable_ipv6=1

• If the temporary disablement works, make the changes permanent by running the following commands

sudo su
echo "#disable ipv6" >> /etc/sysctl.conf
echo "net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6 = 1" >> /etc/sysctl.conf
echo "net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6 = 1" >> /etc/sysctl.conf
echo "net.ipv6.conf.lo.disable_ipv6 = 1" >> /etc/sysctl.conf

• Restart your computer for the changes to take effect

4. Switch to the 5GHz Band

If your Wi-Fi is currently using the 2.4GHz band, switching to the 5GHz band can potentially improve performance. Here’s how you can force your Wi-Fi connection to use the 5GHz band:

• Check the frequency band currently in use

sudo iwconfig

wlan0     IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"TestingWifi"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.4 GHz  Access Point: 22:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX   
          Bit Rate=36 Mb/s   Tx-Power=31 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=58/70  Signal level=-52 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:1  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

• Identify your network’s system-connections file

(e.g., /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/TestingWifi.nmconnection)

• Open file in editor mode

sudo vim /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/TestingWifi.nmconnection

• Under the [wifi] section, add/edit the band field as follows

band=a

band=bg

// This will set the network to use the 5GHz band only. If you want to use the 2.4 GHz band only then set the band to bg

• Save the changes and exit the editor
• Restart the NetworkManager service

sudo service NetworkManager restart

# or

sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager

Setting up DNS resolv

change dns server to using google dns

# sudo vim /etc/resolv.conf

nameserver 8.8.8.8
nameserver 8.8.4.4

Run the following command to lock the /etc/resolv.conf configuration file to prevent the /etc/resolv.conf file from being dynamically updated due to network reboots or operating system reboots

# lock file
chattr +i /etc/resolv.conf

# To modify the /etc/resolv.conf
# for unlock the file
chattr -i /etc/resolv.conf 

restart the systemd-resolved service

systemctl restart systemd-resolved

Conclusion

By following these techniques, you can optimize your Wi-Fi performance on Ubuntu and enjoy faster speeds and improved reliability. Experiment with these tips and find the configuration that works best for your system. Happy browsing!