Package: broadcom-sta-dkms Version: 6.30.223.271-5 I too have had the same issue. Attempts to fix it include turning power management off with iwconfig (with edits to /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf to make it persistent through reboots as confirmed by iwconfig) and disabling IPv6, booth by ignoring it in the Network Manager GUI and editing /etc/sysctl.conf (IPv6 was confirmed as being off by monitoring with iftop). It is worth noting that the network initially seems to be fine and doesn't have issues until the computer has been in use for more than about 10 minutes. This also, incidentally, correlates to a few more open tabs in my browser and more network traffic. However, in my stress testing I have been fine with three youtube videos downloading at 1080p and one git hub repo cloning and deleting itself for about 10 minutes. After that, the problem occurs every few minutes, initially lasting only for a few seconds and then eventually minutes. Monitoring through iftop confirms that download rate drops from 5 mbps to a variety of lower speeds between 0 and a couple 100 kbps. Additional side effects include the network signal showing 100% in the toolbar when the connection is dropped. Htop shows no abuse of system memory (3.1G/15.G in use) nor the systems four cores (each between 5-20%) when the wireless is on and when it is lost.
My main suspicion is that this is power/heat related. One time, while reinstalling one of the other driver alternatives for the nth time, my computer completely froze and had to be rebooted -- a problem common with high cpu temperatures. The mac mini chassis always gets hot after a few minutes of use (though it is not scathing to touch). Interestingly enough, the wired network still seems to work fine under these conditions. This could be attributed to better power management in that system or even physical real estate of the chips on the motherboard with regards to proximity of the fan and sources of heat. Here are a few snapshots of the head of my sensors output: $ sensors # On solely wifi coretemp-isa-0000 Adapter: ISA adapter Package id 0: +81.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C) Core 0: +81.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C) Core 1: +79.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C) applesmc-isa-0300 Adapter: ISA adapter Exhaust : 2193 RPM (min = 1800 RPM, max = 5500 RPM) $ sensors # On solely network cable -- meaning this could be a heating issue unrelated to the driver, albeit affecting wireless more directly coretemp-isa-0000 Adapter: ISA adapter Package id 0: +92.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C) Core 0: +91.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C) Core 1: +92.0°C (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C) applesmc-isa-0300 Adapter: ISA adapter Exhaust : 2182 RPM (min = 1800 RPM, max = 5500 RPM) Below are more specs on the system: Mac Mini Late 2012 $ sudo dmidecode -s system-product-name Macmini6,1 Ubuntu 17.04 $ lsb_release -a No LSB modules are available. Distributor ID: Ubuntu Description: Ubuntu 17.04 Release: 17.04 Codename: zesty Linux Kernel $ uname -a Linux Ubuntu 4.10.0-21-generic #23-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 28 16:14:22 UTC 2017 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux Broadcom chip 4331 with wl driver (all others have been blacklisted in): $ lspci -vvnn | grep -A9 Network 02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n [14e4:4331] (rev 02) Subsystem: Apple Inc. AirPort Extreme [106b:010e] Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx- Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx- Latency: 0, Cache Line Size: 256 bytes Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 17 Region 0: Memory at a0600000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K] Capabilities: <access denied> Kernel driver in use: wl Kernel modules: bcma, wl Driver release 6.30.223.271-5 $ apt list broadcom-sta-dkms Listing... Done broadcom-sta-dkms/zesty,zesty,now 6.30.223.271-5 all [installed] Unless anyone has any other leads (likely kernel related), I will look more into power management and increasing the fan speeds as a temporary band aid.
