Librem 5 networking fails when leaving WiFi access point range

Hardware Librem 5
1

I’m running PureOS 10 on a Librem 5 with the Redpine WiFi card, and I noticed that WiFi networking fails whenever I walk out of range of a WiFi access point with the WiFi kill switch left on. The failure seems unrecoverable and requires a reboot of the phone. So far, I’ve consistently noticed the following behavior:

The conditions where networking fails:

  1. Connect to a WiFi access point.
  2. Keep the WiFi kill switch in the on position.
  3. Walk out of range of the access point.
  4. After about 30 minutes, networking fails, and cannot be restarted. The WiFi icon on top of screen is frozen and does not respond to the kill switch position. When the “Settings” icon is tapped, there is a pause and then it fails to open. This repeats at least two times. On about the third attempt, settings will finally open and there is no “WiFi” category. When tapping the “Network” category, a page opens that says that there is a problem and Network Manager needs to be running. Opening a terminal and typing sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager.service stalls indefinitely and does nothing. Opening a terminal and typing sudo systemctl restart networking.service also stalls indefinitely and does nothing.
  5. Restart the Librem 5.
  6. On bootup, networking is operational again.

The conditions where networking does not fail:

  1. Connect to a WiFi access point.
  2. Switch the WiFi kill switch to the off position.
  3. Leave the WiFi switch off for an unlimited time.
  4. Turn the WiFi kill switch on again within range of a WiFi access point.
  5. Connect to the access point.
  6. Networking works fine.

or:

  1. Connect to a WiFi access point.
  2. Keep the WiFi kill switch in the on position.
  3. Remain within range of the access point for an unlimited time.
  4. Networking works fine.

Has anyone experienced the same behavior, or have any suggestions for how to prevent this from happening?

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2

Can you clarify whether you have a SIM card in the phone and a working mobile service?

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3

Yes, I have a SIM card. However, I usually leave the cellular modem kill switch off. The problem I described above happens when the cellular modem kill switch is off and the WiFi kill switch is on.

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4

You can try these instructions:

5

Are you implying that the problem infrequently or never happens if the cellular modem is on and the WiFi is on?

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6

Okay, I can try running that command before toggling the WiFi kill switch. However, I have tried toggling the WiFi switch many times in the past when the networking failed and I never saw any response.

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7

No, I just rarely use the cellular modem. I usually just use WiFi, so I haven’t done much testing of networking with the cellular modem. I have used it while on travel, but I haven’t tested it enough to know if there are similar conditions which can cause it to fail.

Also, I usually turn the WiFi switch off when the cellular modem switch is on. Maybe the same problem could occur when both switches are on, but I haven’t tested that configuration.

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