Wifi not working in Ubuntu 26.04 - Lenovo Thinkpad T16 Gen2

rjpathan19 · July 25, 2026, 6:41am

Ubuntu Version: 26.04 LTS

Desktop Environment (if applicable): GNOME

Problem Description:

I have a customized Lenovo Thinkpad T16 Gen2, which came with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS pre-installed. But about a month ago, laptop’s SSD stopped working and I got it replaced.

So, I installed latest Ubuntu 26.04 LTS on it but since install & also during install, system is not able to connect to Wireless connections.

If I turn on WIFI, it can hardly search for the wireless network installed in the same room. Sometimes it connects to it - showing low coverage, but disconnects frequently. Sometimes, it doesn’t even find the same wifi network.

(Same issue with connecting bluetooth networks)

I am forced to use Internet connection using Ethernet cable

Relevant System Information:

$ uname -a

Linux erpuser-ThinkPad-T16-Gen-2 7.0.0-28-generic #28-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sun Jun 21 01:01:36 UTC 2026 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ ip a

1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lovalid_lft forever preferred_lft foreverinet6 ::1/128 scope host noprefixroutevalid_lft forever preferred_lft forever2: enp0s31f6: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000link/ether c4:c6:e6:3a:c2:63 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ffaltname enxc4c6e63ac263inet 192.168.1.103/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global dynamic noprefixroute enp0s31f6valid_lft 81458sec preferred_lft 81458secinet6 2401:4900:54e7:96c2:c202:5321:e7cd:b2c2/64 scope global temporary dynamicvalid_lft 298sec preferred_lft 118secinet6 2401:4900:54e7:96c2:9206:c3e2:9173:a5a7/64 scope global dynamic mngtmpaddr noprefixroutevalid_lft 298sec preferred_lft 118secinet6 fe80::7bb7:b5dd:d306:557a/64 scope link noprefixroutevalid_lft forever preferred_lft forever3: wlp0s20f3: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state DOWN group default qlen 1000link/ether d4:f3:2d:d1:14:ec brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

altname wlxd4f32dd114ec

$ lspci -nnk | grep -A3 -i network

00:14.3 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Raptor Lake PCH CNVi WiFi [8086:51f1] (rev 01)Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device [8086:0090]Kernel driver in use: iwlwifiKernel modules: iwlwifi

What I’ve Tried:

I have contacted Lenovo Technical support but they said they can’t troubleshoot this issue as the support & drivers they provide is for Windows only

Please help me to fix this OR confirm if installing ubuntu 22.04 can fix this ?

thanks in advance

guiverc · July 25, 2026, 6:54am

Also asked at https://askubuntu.com/questions/1568609/wifi-not-working-in-ubuntu-26-04-lenovo-thinkpad-t16-gen2

graymech · July 25, 2026, 9:45am

Who customized this laptop and what Wifi driver did they install? Can you find out? The machine came with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS pre-installed and it seems that Lenovo did not do it for you.

You are using the Intel iwlwifi driver. That may be too new for your hardware. Who knows? But before anyone starts pushing out commands to install different drivers let us get some more information.

This command will produce a list of all WiFi networks in range and show the signal strength. Your router/hub should be at the top of the list as it is in the same room as the laptop.

nmcli device wifi list

What signal strength are you seeing?

Regards

celticwarrior · July 25, 2026, 10:47am

Intel WiFi is generally well supported. There aren’t reported regressions that could explain a worse behavior with the newer kernels.

The situation as described seems to be hardware related, disconnected or wrongly connected antennae (main and aux reversed). This could have happened when you replaced the SSD. Please check before anything else.

rjpathan19 · July 25, 2026, 2:06pm

I ordered this laptop from Lenovo India website which had option to configure this machine & I chose Ubuntu.

here is the result of command “nmcli device wifi list”:

$ nmcli device wifi list
IN-USE BSSID SSID MODE CHAN RATE SIGNAL BARS SECURITY

EDIT:

After a while, wifi got connected and following is the output of nmcli device wifi list:

rjpathan19 · July 25, 2026, 2:16pm

I thought some connection might have gone wrong while replacing SSD. I did contact to lenovo suppport and this is what they advised:

wifi component is part of the motherboard and not a separate hardware component, so that shouldn’t cause the issue. we don’t give support to OS other than Windows so to troubleshoot the issue for you, they advised to reinstall windows OS and see if laptop has the same wifi connectivity issue.

While replying to this message, this is how wifi network is connected in my laptop:

it should have full coverage as I am sitting right next the the router and keepds disconnecting, many of the times keeps on searching for the network.

celticwarrior · July 25, 2026, 2:26pm

Onboard is fine but the motherboard does not includes the antennae (or a single one), at least not the WiFi. Bluetooth can work fine with just bare traces in the PCB. There are many cables going from the motherboard to the upper part where the screen panel is, a flat one for the screen and others. So, although the information they gave is correct it doesn’t address the possibility of something having gone wrong when you opened it to replace the drive. Laptops nowadays are increasingly “hostile” to user services and special precautions should be always in mind when servicing those as many things can and do go wrong even for experienced technicians.

The other advice - try Windows is indeed - very sound. Alternatively, also in order to rule out hardware, you can try a different Linux distro in a live session. That said, installing the supported OS - Windows - a a definitive test.

celticwarrior · July 25, 2026, 2:37pm

Have a look at page 84: https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/t16_gen_2_p16s_gen_2_hmm_en.pdf

Make sure everything in that general area is correctly and firmly attached.

rjpathan19 · July 25, 2026, 2:51pm

yes, I thought of reinstalling windows and check but that will take some time to reinstall > register the complaint to lenovo support > and get it fixed with their process

OR if no issue in windows then reinstall ubuntu again as I do my remote job work in Ubuntu and try to fix the issues with Ubuntu community help

celticwarrior · July 25, 2026, 3:03pm

Indeed, if it works as expected with Windows that definitely points to a software issue in Ubuntu.

Now… I’m fairly certain that won’t be the case because otherwise this would be the weirdest software related WiFi issue ever. Problems typically fall into one of this types:

Not at all detected by the OS → Missing proprietary drivers (software) or the card/chipset and/or the slot (or soldered pads/balls) is 100% defective;
Detected but doesn’t work at all, OS errors, etc. → Typically a problem with firmware not loading (all vendors) and/or the native (kernel level) support is broken and it needs alternative, user installed, “drivers” (e.g. some Realtek chipsets);
Detected and partially works as in only seeing one or two APs in close proximity and even those showing weak or very weak signal → Always the aforementioned problem with the antennae.

graymech · July 25, 2026, 4:57pm

I was thinking that if there were other WiFi networks nearby and they were using the same wireless channel then that might explain a low signal strength and disconnections. But that does not seem to be the case. If it were the case I would suggest setting a different WiFi channel.

Based upon my own experience where the telephone landline into my house was damaged and causing interference both to the telephone line and the connection to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) causing low download rates, I am thinking about the router/hub.

No doubt you have already tried switching off and switching on the router/hub. The router/hub definitely has an antenna. They usually broadcast in every direction. I am trying to eliminate the router/hub as a cause of low signal strength.

Is it possible to take the laptop to another location where there is a WiFi hot spot and test if the signal strength remains low?

I am sharing my thoughts of what I would do to identify where the problem lays. When I was experiencing something like this I considered buying a WiFi dongle that plugs into a USB port. I did indeed buy a new router/hub. And there was not any problem with the original router. I am still using it.

Turning off the WiFi adapter in the UEFI settings utility and plugging in a USB Wifi dongle might fix things. The only setting that the Thinkpad UEFI settings utility has is “Enable” and “Disable.” I looked it up on the Lenovo web site.

Regards

rjpathan19 · July 25, 2026, 5:38pm

It doesn’t seem to be the case as I can comfortably connect to the same WIFI connection on my android phones. I will probably need to reinstall windows and check if it works or not on it.

I am not sure if Wifi Dongle will work if I have this ongoing issue unresolved OR if wifi dongle is not related to this ?

celticwarrior · July 25, 2026, 5:44pm

An USB WiFi dongle is unrelated.

ogra · July 25, 2026, 6:29pm

Since the laptop came originally with a pre-installed Ubuntu, it is very likely it used an OEM kernel (a special kernel Canonical provides for vendor hardware) and if there were any specific drivers or adjustments that could not go into the normal Ubuntu archive, there was likely also an OEM PPA enabled on the original install…

If you now use the generic 26.04 iso and install over the original OS you might be missing these special bits…

celticwarrior · July 25, 2026, 6:55pm

It didn’t. Apparently that was how the OP got it but not from Lenovo directly. Otherwise they would have to support it and they said they only support Windows for that model.

ogra · July 25, 2026, 7:00pm

I think that depends on the country, not every country law requires them to give OS support… not sure if it is a requirement in India (where the laptop was apparently bought)

graymech · July 25, 2026, 7:53pm

My point about a USB WiFi dongle is this:

If a laptop keyboard becomes faulty then plug in USB keyboard. If a laptop’s screen becomes damaged then connect to an external monitor or a TV/monitor.

In this case a USB WiFi dongle might be a way out of the problem even temporarily if the cost was not considered excessive. Disable the internal WiFi adapter in the UEFI settings utility.

Is there a friend that could let you use a USB WiFi dongle. That will determine if the problem is in the internal WiFi adapter.

Regards

rjpathan19 · July 27, 2026, 1:16pm

I think USB Wifi dongle will work but even if it didn’t work, lenovo support tech will not try to fix it.

While installing ubuntu 26, I didn’t keep much of the free space. Can I resize one of the existing partition in my current Ubuntu 26 e.g. /opt or /var and then install windows os on it to see if wifi works on it or not. I saw in some posts that we can resize the partition using e.g. gparted

celticwarrior · July 27, 2026, 1:31pm

Yes, you can dual-boot as long as you can carve enough space for Windows.

Now… Do you really have /opt and /var as separated partitions? That’s quite unusual for desktops/laptops. I can’t imagine a reason for doing so in computers for personal use.

The automated installation creates a single / partition, alongside the obligatory ESP. Shrinking that is what we do to make space for another OS an yes, it can be done with GParted or similar tools from as live session.

rjpathan19 · July 27, 2026, 1:43pm

yes, this is df -h output from my ubuntu - I have manually created these partitions while installing ubuntu 26.04 for my software development requirement

I was thinking of resizing /opt and freeing space of about 50GB to install windows os on it