Interesting wireless tidbits ( Ubuntu )

On HP laptops, the module hp_wmi is used for processing hotkeys related to the wireless.

I was running into an issue where after shutting down my laptop's wireless with the button, it refused to start back up again, with the same button.

So after a bit of research, I found these things to be useful .

Command 1: rfkill
Very Important tool for wireless. 
     - rfkill list - Lists the states of the various wireless devices.
     - rfkill (un)block <index> - blocks or unblocks the wireless device listed at the index.

Command 2: lsmod | grep <snipit of module name >
Looks through the modules installed in the kernal for the name. Useful in this case to see if hp_wmi is installed.

Command 3: sudo modprobe <module>
Activates module in the kernel.

Command 4: sudo modprobe -r <module>
Removes module in the kernel.

So, as soon as I added hp_wmi using modprobe, it started working again.

Also, to make sure it is run at boot, add hp_wmi to a new line of /etc/modules using your favourite super user powered text editor.