Fixing WiFi connectivity on Nvidia Jetson Nano

Are you struggling with fixing wifi connectivity issue with Nvidia Jetson Nano?

After going through Nano official forums, if you are planning to buy expensive wifi modules, just because of reported issues of connectivity loss, then you need to check this blog.

This blog contains 5 minutes of verified & tested hack to solve buggy driver, so that, jetson nano never loses its connectivity.

What is NVIDIA Jetson Nano?

Nvidia is a multinational computer systems design company based in California, US. It’s no surprise that some of the best software applications and developer kits belong to this multinational company. Jetson Nano^™ is one such developer kit module that can empower countless artificial intelligence-based systems. 

The Jetson Nano™ kit is a cost-effective solution to build AI systems in less time. It helps create a range of embedded IoT (Internet of Things) apps, AI robots, intelligent gateways, and several artificial intelligence software/ solutions. The kit allows developers to build low-power AI systems and entry-level NVRs (Network Video Recorders). From image processing to object recognition, the kit has all you need to build an AI application. 

Another advantage of Jetson Nano^™ is that it has been created for beginners. If you are still learning or want to learn about artificial intelligence and robotics, grab the starter kit and get going. It has ready-to-try projects that help you understand the use and purpose of AI in the real world. 

The following are some applications of Jetson Nano^™: 

• Robotics 
• IoT sensors 
• Automated vehicles (AV)
• Automatic speech recognition 
• Geo-mapping 
• Gaming, etc. 

Fixing WiFi connectivity on Nvidia Jetson Nano

Firstly, check wifi module compatibility from jetson nano official forum.

We are setting up Edimax EW-7811Un for testing purposes for which maximum issues are reported:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install git linux-headers-generic build-essential dkms

git clone the following repository:
https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes?

Checking if your device uses this driver from the list below,
ASUSTek USB-N13 rev. B1 (0b05:17ab)
Belkin N300 (050d:2103)
D-Link DWA-121 802.11n Wireless N 150 Pico Adapter [RTL8188CUS]
Edimax EW-7811Un (7392:7811)
Kootek KT-RPWF (0bda:8176)
OurLink 150M 802.11n (0bda:8176)
Plugable USB 2.0 Wireless N 802.11n (0bda:8176)
TP-Link TL-WN725N (0bda:8176)
TP-Link TL-WN821Nv4 (0bda:8178)
TP-Link TL-WN822N (0bda:8178)
TP-Link TL-WN823N (only models that use the rtl8192cu chip)
TRENDnet TEW-648UBM N150

sudo dkms add ./rtl8192cu-fixes
sudo dkms install 8192cu/1.11
sudo depmod -a
sudo cp ./rtl8192cu-fixes/blacklist-native-rtl8192.conf /etc/modprobe.d/
sudo echo options rtl8xxxu ht40_2g=1 dma_aggregation=1 | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8xxxu.conf
sudo iw dev wlan0 set power_save off
sudo reboot now

DataToBiz’s Hack:

Enable auto-login so that wifi never loses its connectivity on ssh. Here is how to make it happen:

sudo nano /etc/gdm3/custom.conf

In this file, uncomment the following:
I. AutomaticLoginEnable = true
II. AutomaticLogin = user // put your user name here e.g. jetson

After following the above 10 steps, Edimax module will never drop the connection.

Enjoy playing around with Jetson Nano with no connectivity issues!!!! At DataToBiz, we have been experimenting with various edge devices to solve business problems. Contact us in case you are looking for computer vision solutions on Nvidia Jetson Nano.

About Author: Aanchal is a deep learning engineer with DataToBiz having expertise in deep learning technologies and currently working on various IOT devices for computer vision product SensiblyAI & related client projects.

Vaishali