Pinebook Pro Initial Impressions
@richfm, Thanks for the pictures. The antenna connector appears to be seated correctly. If you had gently pushed down on it, and it did not move, then it should be well seated.

Next, try either the default debian update, 1.5 or another OS to see if WiFi changes. Some of them disable WiFI power saving, having WiFI run at full power all the time.

It's early days, so some of us don't have all the answers. Like checking WiFi power savings. When I looked at WiFi power saving 2 weeks ago, I could not figure out where the WiFi parameters were changed. It will be figured out and documented.
--
Arwen Evenstar
Princess of Rivendale
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(11-30-2019, 10:09 AM)Arwen Wrote: @richfm, Thanks for the pictures. The antenna connector appears to be seated correctly. If you had gently pushed down on it, and it did not move, then it should be well seated.

Next, try either the default debian update, 1.5 or another OS to see if WiFi changes. Some of them disable WiFI power saving, having WiFI run at full power all the time.

It's early days, so some of us don't have all the answers. Like checking WiFi power savings. When I looked at WiFi power saving 2 weeks ago, I could not figure out where the WiFi parameters were changed. It will be figured out and documented.
Thanks Arwen. I booted the new Debian Desktop from microsd, ran Mr Fixit's update script, and rebooted from the microsd. I'm getting the same decrease in wifi signal when I change rooms. I'm pretty sure the wifi antenna or the connections are at fault so I  guess I got a defective PBP.  I  know the PBP is in development, but I didn't expect to be sent a malfunctioning laptop. The Pine Info team has been extremely slow to offer 2 suggestions that didn't work and haven't replied to my request for a working replacement for this device. At this point I doubt there is anything more I can do to get this working and depend on the integrity of Pine64 to make good on their new product with me. Thanks again.
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richfm,  
*  I am Sorry you are having difficulty with your wifi.

If this were not a single board computer,  you could just unplug that wifi card and plug in a new one.  (?)

* Though I do wonder if one of the wifi modules for sale on the pine web store could solve your problem  ? *

I Do Doubt they could test every component before soldering it to the motherboard,    (even a tinkerer could find that tiresome.?)

Have you attempted using a usb/wifi adapter just to compare the performance.?

Even a larger company does have an occasional non-standard unit slip through.

TRY   ...  to not take it personally,  I am pretty sure they do attempt to deliver quality merchandise.

I am certain I would have been sad (very upset)  if I had the same problems...

*  I Do think some of us had our fingers crossed when we ordered our PBP's hoping we would receive a "working laptop", 
 and,  Most of us did get just that.

*  I sincerely hope they offer you an acceptable solution, 
****  be it another laptop,  or maybe a motherboard,  something to correct the problem.
      LINUX = CHOICES
         **BCnAZ**
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(11-30-2019, 04:14 PM)bcnaz Wrote: richfm,  
*  I am Sorry you are having difficulty with your wifi.

If this were not a single board computer,  you could just unplug that wifi card and plug in a new one.  (?)

* Though I do wonder if one of the wifi modules for sale on the pine web store could solve your problem  ? *

I Do Doubt they could test every component before soldering it to the motherboard,    (even a tinkerer could find that tiresome.?)

Have you attempted using a usb/wifi adapter just to compare the performance.?

Even a larger company does have an occasional non-standard unit slip through.

TRY   ...  to not take it personally,  I am pretty sure they do attempt to deliver quality merchandise.

I am certain I would have been sad (very upset)  if I had the same problems...

*  I Do think some of us had our fingers crossed when we ordered our PBP's hoping we would receive a "working laptop", 
 and,  Most of us did get just that.

*  I sincerely hope they offer you an acceptable solution, 
****  be it another laptop,  or maybe a motherboard,  something to correct the problem.end to buy a
Thanks for your reply, bcnaz.

I don't intend to buy a usb/wifi adapter at this point. Why spend more money chasing a problem that I didn't create? What would that prove? I don't take anything personally, just recognize that I lucked out with the malfunctioning PBP that Pine64 sent me and which, up to now, haven't replaced. Shit happens. I DO expect ANY company which sells me damaged or malfunctioning equipment to promptly replace the unit at their cost.

Don't get me wrong. I generally like the PBP enough to want a working replacement and don't mind playing around with it to fix it's several problems, like firefox crashing and chromium settings crashing. I researched and fixed these problems. It's the problems that I cannot fix like malfunctioning hardware that is another matter.
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Just a side Note :
I do not use the usb/wifi button as a permanent solution, but it is a handy item to keep in the tool box.
** I have found Linux compatible devices as cheap as 1. dollar (USD) with free shipping.
*** Often these days many devices do not have a hardwired internet connection, and you need to access the internet to get your drivers.
      LINUX = CHOICES
         **BCnAZ**
               Idea
   Donate to $upport
your favorite OS Team
  Reply
From their shop : https://store.pine64.org/?product=14%e2%...tober-2019

"When fulfilling the purchase, please bear in mind that we are offering the Pinebook Pro at this price as a community service to PINE64, Linux and BSD communities. We make no profit from selling these units. If you think that a minor dissatisfaction, such as a dead pixel, will prompt you to file a PayPal dispute then please do not purchase the Pinebook Pro. Thank you."

Also from the "Meet your New 14" Pinebook Pro!" mail I received when I purchased mine :

"If you encounter any problems during your purchase, you are always welcome to contact us at pinebook@pine64.org

The Pinebook warranty period is 30 days. All sales are final, with a no-return policy.

Please let us know if you need further assistance.

We are always more than happy to help.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

PINEBOOK Team"

So how have you managed your issue with them ? Pissing them off ?
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(12-04-2019, 03:38 AM)Kochise Wrote: From their shop : https://store.pine64.org/?product=14%e2%...tober-2019

"When fulfilling the purchase, please bear in mind that we are offering the Pinebook Pro at this price as a community service to PINE64, Linux and BSD communities. We make no profit from selling these units. If you think that a minor dissatisfaction, such as a dead pixel, will prompt you to file a PayPal dispute then please do not purchase the Pinebook Pro. Thank you."

Also from the "Meet your New 14" Pinebook Pro!" mail I received when I purchased mine :

"If you encounter any problems during your purchase, you are always welcome to contact us at pinebook@pine64.org

The Pinebook warranty period is 30 days. All sales are final, with a no-return policy.

Please let us know if you need further assistance.

We are always more than happy to help.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

PINEBOOK Team"

So how have you managed your issue with them ? Pissing them off ?
Kochise, I assume your comment is referring to me.

A malfunctioning wifi antennae is NOT a "minor dissatisfaction". I realized the PBP was a work in progress when I ordered it but did not expect to get a device with a malfunctioning wifi antenna. It took me more than a month to identify the problem and get some help from the Info team. In more than a month,  the Info team has suggested only 2 things: reboot the rooter and reinstall the original Debian release, neither of which fixed the problem. Still waiting for more help from them.

If Pine64 want to sell the PBP to more Linux enthusiasts, they will need to deal better with quality control issues like this and customer satisfaction. I'm NOT asking for a refund or return, just a working PBP. I'm happy that most buyers have had a good experience. However, potential buyers should be aware that if they receive a malfunctioning PBP, they may be stuck with it.

At this point I'm willing to sell my PBP for $100 plus postage to anyone here who wants to fiddle with it or for spare  parts. Any takers? Send me a private message.
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You know what, when I started in the Linux world, all the help I got was 'rtfm' aka 'man'.

They never advertised this computer for noobs, but clearly for quite advanced users.

Those users experienced the same WiFi issue (bad connectivity) and exchanged tips on the forum.

Would you have followed this discussions, maybe you've found out sooner without getting angry.

Cool down, help to solve the issue in a community driven manner like all Pine64 projects are.

It's just a matter of days, but if you wanted a reliable daily driver, they clearly said to switch to a more mature offering.
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Smile 
I rarley post anywhere, apologies if I make some mistakes. I felt compelled to post today to say thanks to the people that made the pbp happen.
The teams that work on hardware/software (thats where the magic happens!), the admins that coordinate efforts and manage logistics (thats where the magic happens!) and to all the people who regularly (and some random) post the solutions and ideas that keep me coming back here(this is where the magic continues to happen!).

So THANKS! and GOOD JOB!

This is not really an initial impression, more of a "I've had some time and know what it's capable of" impression.

I love the Pine Book Pro! It's exactly what i wanted and more than I expected. It reminds me of my acer aspire one when it still worked.
I had forgotten how much i liked that machine, and though i wasnt looking for it, I found a replacement.

I wanted a machince i can dedicate to learning linux on and not get lazy and boot windows on, also learn more about arm and learn to bend sbc's to my will without having to hook keyboards and monitors to it. As it turns out its also a great laptop!

I have had some of the problems i see posted here, most have been resolved by updates or helpful post. This may be a dumb suggestion but to the people having wifi problems, I can't swear this fixed my issue because it's been a while since i made any changes but setting ipv6 to ignore in the edit connection gui seemed to help my issue. I have to do this at work from time to time (windows). I have to turn it back on for captive portal in hotels and such. I have a vague notion about why this may help in my case, its more about the network or router than pbp. Ofcourse this wont help if your antenna is bad and you've measured signal strength with something more legible than the tray icon, and pulled the antenna connection and didn't see a change in signal strength.

I have the no sound in firefox issue and saw the fix for that. Will get to that shortly.

One thing is my bluetooth mouse wont reconnect. The device monitor shows it's connected  after reboot, gives link quality info that update and changes but doesnt resopnd to mouse input. Any suggestions on where to look? Pretend I only know enough linux to be dangerous if you have a suggestion, I'm actually pretty good at it. This is only my third unplanned reinstall after all. That reminds me, How can I make a backup, I like what i have now. Do i just RTFM?  Smile
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(12-06-2019, 03:06 PM)gristle Wrote: I rarley post anywhere, apologies if I make some mistakes. I felt compelled to post today to say thanks to the people that made the pbp happen.
The teams that work on hardware/software (thats where the magic happens!), the admins that coordinate efforts and manage logistics (thats where the magic happens!) and to all the people who regularly (and some random) post the solutions and ideas that keep me coming back here(this is where the magic continues to happen!).

So THANKS! and GOOD JOB!

This is not really an initial impression, more of a "I've had some time and know what it's capable of" impression.

I love the Pine Book Pro! It's exactly what i wanted and more than I expected. It reminds me of my acer aspire one when it still worked.
I had forgotten how much i liked that machine, and though i wasnt looking for it, I found a replacement.

I wanted a machince i can dedicate to learning linux on and not get lazy and boot windows on, also learn more about arm and learn to bend sbc's to my will without having to hook keyboards and monitors to it. As it turns out its also a great laptop!

I have had some of the problems i see posted here, most have been resolved by updates or helpful post. This may be a dumb suggestion but to the people having wifi problems, I can't swear this fixed my issue because it's been a while since i made any changes but setting ipv6 to ignore in the edit connection gui seemed to help my issue. I have to do this at work from time to time (windows). I have to turn it back on for captive portal in hotels and such. I have a vague notion about why this may help in my case, its more about the network or router than pbp. Ofcourse this wont help if your antenna is bad and you've measured signal strength with something more legible than the tray icon, and pulled the antenna connection and didn't see a change in signal strength.

I have the no sound in firefox issue and saw the fix for that. Will get to that shortly.

One thing is my bluetooth mouse wont reconnect. The device monitor shows it's connected  after reboot, gives link quality info that update and changes but doesnt resopnd to mouse input. Any suggestions on where to look? Pretend I only know enough linux to be dangerous if you have a suggestion, I'm actually pretty good at it. This is only my third unplanned reinstall after all. That reminds me, How can I make a backup, I like what i have now. Do i just RTFM?  Smile

I had the same problem with my Bluetooth mouse - it was paired correctly, worked, rebooted, then still listed but wouldn't work.
Turned out to be a simple configuration issue - check the device entry for the mouse - is there a yellow star symbol in the status bar of the device window?
Clicking on that star symbol flags the mouse as a "trusted" device - and the star "goes grey" - mouse works every time now Smile
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