Hi, 

Not sure if this is a correct forum to discuss but I am facing an issue on Ubuntu 16.04.1 64 bit kernel 4.8.0-39-generic using wifi adapter AR2413/AR241 which is running ATH5K version 4.8.0.39-generic. If this is not the correct alias, please excuse and suggest the right alias. 

After a cold reboot, the NM is not detecting the WIFI. Machine is not able to recover from this. I also restarted network manager and reloaded the driver but didn't fix the issue. 

Tried:

sudo rmmod -f ath5k 

(got a msg --  disconnected - you are offline) 

sudo rfkill unblock all

sudo modprobe ath5k (Nothing happened) 

When i check the /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath_pci.conf, I see the following - 

#For some Atheros 5K RF MACs, the madwifi driver loads but fails to 

#correctly initialize the hardware, leaving it in a state from which ath5k

#cannot recover. To prevent this condition, stop madwifi from loading by 

#default. Use Jockey to select one driver or the other. (Ubuntu #315056, #323830)

blacklist ath_pci

There are some bugs reported in the past but I don't come across anything that was reported in the latest kernel which is similar. Not sure if this is a bug still lurking around but I found someone reporting a similar problem here - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager/+bug/1569590. 

Any guidance is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Vasu