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Collins Ruto
Collins Ruto

Posted on • Originally published at collinsruto.vercel.app

Fix: Qualcomm QCNFA765 WiFi Disappears After Suspend on Arch Linux (Hyprland)

#archlinux #linux #networking #hyprland

Intro

If you're running Arch Linux (especially with Hyprland) and your WiFi works after boot but disappears after locking or suspending, this post is for you.

This issue affects systems using:

  • Qualcomm QCNFA765
  • Kernel driver: ath11k_pci
  • NetworkManager + wpa_supplicant
  • GRUB managed by another distro (e.g., Ubuntu in a triple boot setup)

The Problem

WiFi works normally after reboot.

But after:

  • Locking the system
  • Suspending
  • Disconnecting and reconnecting

You get:

  • nmcli device wifi connect <ssid> --ask → timeout
  • nmcli device → no WiFi device listed
  • ip link → no wlan0 or wlp*
  • rfkill list → not blocked

The WiFi interface disappears completely until reboot.

Diagnosis

Check your WiFi chipset:

lspci -k | grep -A4 -Ei 'network|wireless'
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If you see:

Qualcomm Technologies QCNFA765
Kernel driver in use: ath11k_pci
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You're hitting a known power management bug.

Root Cause

The ath11k_pci driver sometimes:

  • Enters a deep idle power state (D3cold)
  • Fails to resume properly after suspend
  • The kernel drops the WiFi interface
  • NetworkManager can no longer see a device

This is a resume power-state issue with ath11k chipsets.

Temporary Fix (No Reboot)

Reloading the driver restores WiFi:

sudo modprobe -r ath11k_pci
sudo modprobe ath11k_pci
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After that:

ip link
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Your WiFi interface should return.

This confirms the issue is driver-related.

Permanent Fix

Disable ath11k Idle Power Saving

Add this kernel parameter:

ath11k_pci.disable_idle_ps=1
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This prevents the driver from entering the unstable idle state.

If you use GRUB

Edit:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub
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Find:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="..."
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Append:

ath11k_pci.disable_idle_ps=1
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Example:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash ath11k_pci.disable_idle_ps=1"
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Regenerate GRUB:

sudo update-grub
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Verify:

cat /proc/cmdline
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You should see:

ath11k_pci.disable_idle_ps=1
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Done.

Alternative: Auto-Reload Driver on Resume (Arch Only)

If you prefer not to modify GRUB, create a resume hook.

Create:

sudo nano /usr/lib/systemd/system-sleep/ath11k-resume
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Add:

#!/bin/sh
case "$1" in
  post)
    /usr/bin/systemctl restart NetworkManager
    /usr/bin/modprobe -r ath11k_pci 2>/dev/null
    /usr/bin/modprobe ath11k_pci
    /usr/bin/systemctl restart NetworkManager
    ;;
esac
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Make executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/lib/systemd/system-sleep/ath11k-resume
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Now WiFi will recover automatically after suspend.

Summary

Issue Cause Fix
WiFi disappears after suspend ath11k idle power-state bug Disable idle power saving
ip link shows no wlan device Driver failed resume Reload ath11k_pci
nmcli timeout No kernel interface Fix power state

Final Thoughts

This issue can be confusing because:

  • NetworkManager looks broken
  • nmcli times out
  • No device appears
  • Reboot "magically" fixes it

But the real culprit is ath11k power management during suspend.

If you're running Hyprland on Arch with Qualcomm WiFi and experiencing this, hopefully this saves you a few hours.

Happy hacking 🐧

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