Linux Wi-Fi Drivers for New Dell XPS 15

Model: New Dell XPS 15 7590

OS Version: Ubuntu 19.04

Kernel Version: 5.0.25/5.1.21 (I've tried all below on both versions, neither resolves the issue)

The Problem:

Ubuntu does not detect a Wi-Fi card attached to the computer, seemingly because of driver issues. lspci says that the Network Controller is an Intel Corporation Device 2723 (rev 1a), and lshw -c network confirms that it is an Intel Corporation device that is marked UNCLAIMED, implying a driver issue of some kind. rfkill shows a working Bluetooth device, but doesn't list anything for Wi-Fi.

Interestingly, the Dell website says the card is a Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2x2), and it functions well on the Windows install in this machine (after installing appropriate Killer drivers).

Attempted Fixes:

I've scoured the internet for hours. What I've tried:

Upgrading to Kernel version 5.1 (Problem Persisted)
Upgrading to 5.2 (Persisted, later uninstalled 5.2)
Forcing reinstall of linux-modules-extra-$(uname -r), which errored out on all kernel versions. On 5.0, it fails to install broadcom-sta-dkms, as the module, for some reason, tries to initialize installation for kernel version 5.2.8, despite uninstallation of 5.2. On 5.1 and 5.2, apt can't find the package.
Purging bcmw-kernel-source and installing ubuntu-restricted-extras. Fails for the same broadcom-sta-dkms issues as above.
Everything else I've come across so far. Nothing has worked, and I am officially lost.

Any ideas? Is this Wi-Fi card just incompatible with current Linux?

M. Apinis

Posted 2019-08-14T17:48:56.477

Reputation: 23

1I'd test temporarily with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (yes, going backwards) on a USB drive (no need to install) to see if the issue is the newer OS. The LTS versions are pretty good about including drivers. Another option is a WiFi dongle, but that should not be needed! – DrMoishe Pippik – 2019-08-14T17:54:07.130

1What is the vendor:product ID from lspci -nn (or lspci -tvnn)? – user1686 – 2019-08-14T17:59:00.663

@DrMoishe I initially did install 18.04, I forgot that in my original post, and it didn't work. I went up to 19.04 in hopes that the newer version would have the drivers for a new computer, but no dice. – M. Apinis – 2019-08-14T20:16:29.247

@grawity lspci -nn | grep Network returns 3b:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Device [8086:2723] (rev 1a) – M. Apinis – 2019-08-14T21:33:09.047

Did you buy the developers edition where ubuntu is supported by Dell? – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen – 2019-08-20T13:23:57.147

@ThorbjørnRavnAndersen No, just the normal. But the marked solution does work. – M. Apinis – 2019-08-28T02:00:00.457

Answers

Have tried this one: https://support.killernetworking.com/knowledge-base/killer-ax1650-in-debian-ubuntu-16-04/

Just got my new XPS 15 and still figuring things out. You're further along with OS installed, give it a shot maybe

Art Rosnovsky

Posted 2019-08-14T17:48:56.477

Reputation: 26

1Thank you! Of all the things I read online, looks like I missed this. Quick caution though: the article notes a patch that needs to be made, but the article is outdated and the patch has been pushed to master, no need to try to apply it yourself. – M. Apinis – 2019-08-14T22:00:40.823

Awesome!! Thanks for confirming, I'm done with the installation and off to fix the wifi! :)) – Art Rosnovsky – 2019-08-14T22:06:48.180

This solution works for me except that Ubuntu - at least 18.04 - does not come initially with make. As I had no Ethernet port and obviously no Wi-fi, I had to install build-essential which provides make offline.

So to install it I took it from Ubuntu ISO file, as build-essential is not installed but is available.

sudo mkdir /media/cdrom
sudo mount /home/bernard/Downloads/ubuntu-18.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso /media/cdrom
sudo apt-cdrom -d=/media/cdrom add -m
sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential

Don't forget to remove it after by commenting out the cdrom line in /etc/apt/sources.list.

If the driver is on a USB stick, you may run into permission issues while running make commands if you use filesystems that don't really support permissions.

Bernard

Posted 2019-08-14T17:48:56.477

Reputation: 1

@bertieb thanks, I updated my answer. – Bernard – 2019-08-27T07:31:06.280