[Solved] Wireless connection problem/confusion

RogerS · 2012-02-17 19:37:54

Sigh...

I really didn't want to have to ask this, really. And I assure you, I did search first, to try to find the answer. I've got just about everything else working on this install, and found the wiki and search to be all the help I've needed, until now.

My problem, in a nutshell, is I'm not 100% sure where my problem lies. I've been bouncing back and forth between

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wireless_Setup

and

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/WPA_Supplicant

and

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ne … er#Openbox, but I've never set anything like this up from the command line, so my troubleshooting skills in this particular are weak. I suspect that it's a WPA Supplicant issue though, and a permissions issue as well.

My driver is supported, I can scan for networks, using the iwlist wlan0 scan command, which gives me the output (I'm only showing my network here):

wlan0     Scan completed :
         Cell 01 - Address: 00:0B:6B:7E:58:44
                   Channel:6
                   Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
                   Quality=55/70  Signal level=-55 dBm
                   Encryption key:on
                   ESSID:"DEA_surveillance"
                   Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
                             9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
                   Bit Rates:24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                   Mode:Master
                   Extra:tsf=000000016c7a0543
                   Extra: Last beacon: 40ms ago
                   IE: Unknown: 00104445415F7375727665696C6C616E6365
                   IE: Unknown: 010882848B960C121824
                   IE: Unknown: 030106
                   IE: Unknown: 0706555320010E13
                   IE: Unknown: 2A0100
                   IE: Unknown: 32043048606C
                   IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                       Group Cipher : CCMP
                       Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                       Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                   IE: WPA Version 1
                       Group Cipher : CCMP
                       Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                       Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                   IE: Unknown:
DD180050F2020101000003A4000027A4000042435E0062322F00

My wpa_supplicant.conf is set up thusly:

network={
       ssid="DEA_surveillance"
       proto=RSN
       key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
       pairwise=CCMP TKIP
       group=CCMP TKIP
       #psk="notmyrealpassword"
       psk=e2825a929d851d93f9a4514add1bb07332d6b9b69ee7c5f5578a89f26c7573c6

I'm using networkmanager, and nm-applet, which shows up in the system tray, and shows me the wireless networks available, but when I click on my network, nothing happens - it doesn't prompt me for a password or anything. However, when I start xinit, when it brings me to my desktop, an authentication dialog box pops up, which says: System policy prevents modification of network settings for all user. An application is attempting to perform an action that requires privileges. Authentication as the super user is required to perform this action.

I type my su passwd in, and nothing happens - nm-applet shows no connection (while the dialog box is up, the applet is swirling around, showing it's trying to connect to something). Now, if I plug an ethernet cable in, it will connect to that right away, but it will still periodically put that dialog box up. Oh, when I hit the Details tab on the dialog, it says Action: org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.settings.modify.system, Vendor: NetworkManager.

One more note - if I drop back out of X, and issue the command:

# wpa_supplicant -Dwext -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

I get the following output, over and over:

Trying to associate with 00:0b:6b:7e:58:44 (SSID='DEA_surveillance' freq=2437 MHz)
Associated with 00:0b:6b:7e:58:44
WPA: No SSID info found (msg 1 of 4)

No further messages are given, just that one, over and over.

Any advice on where to go from here?

Last edited by RogerS (2012-02-18 03:01:07)

Strike0 · 2012-02-17 20:12:42

I'm not familiar with Openbox, but try this with the applet:
1. Plug in an ethernet cable
2. Open the applet, focus on wired, click "edit/configure" the wired, leave that new dialogue open but move it to the side
3. Click "edit/configure" again
This should bring back up the gnome 2.32 style network-connections editor where you can enter details for your wifi in one of the tabs. It should ask for your su pw on the way, yes. That is normal.

There used to be a bug for SSIDs with an underscore also. Perhaps you just change the "_" of the wifi. Not sure if the issue is still relevant though. But seeing your command output reminds that ;-)

RogerS · 2012-02-18 03:00:38

That did the trick, Strike0, thank you.

I'm not 100% satisfied...the wifi is up, now, but I'm not really sure what the problem was. I want to be able to do this from the command line. Maybe I'll reinstall, and try the whole thing again.

Oh, one other thing I changed - my /etc/resolve.conf was way off...I changed it to

domain localdomain
search localdomain
192.168.10.1 <-- my WAP ip

I notice after I plugged in the ethernet cable, it added

192.168.1.1

Thanks again, Strike0.

Strike0 · 2012-02-18 07:28:37

Great you got it to work.
If you want to change resolv.conf, you have to edit /etc/resolv.conf.head because networkmanager overwrites the normal one during a connect. You can also specify DNS servers apart from your router in the connection-editor for that connection.

You should not have to reinstall, if it works really. Looking at your wpa_supplicant above, the last bracket "}" is missing. I guess just a paste error here, but recheck maybe.

RogerS · 2012-02-18 08:14:53

Yes, it was indeed a cut and paste error - the closing bracket is in the wpa_supplicant file.

The only reason I'm considering re-installing, is I've been using linux for 12 years, and while I'm quite comfortable on the command line, I feel like I only know marginally more about what's going on under the hood than the average Windows user. I started out with Mandrake, and transitioned to Ubuntu. Both are (or in Mandrakes case, were) excellent distros...but they are both beginner friendly, and I was able to get along just fine without having to do a lot of the under the hood stuff...it was all done for you. In fact, on Ubuntu, if anything, I almost felt like I was pushed away from the command line a little.

I actually feel like this install, as installs go, has gone remarkably well. It's solid, stable, fast...everything I could ask. But it's the first time I've done it, and using the GUI to get wireless going leaves me feeling like I cheated a little bit.

In other words, I want to do it, I guess, "the arch way" for the sake of doing it, as well as for the learning experience. I really want to feel like I completely own my PC, inside and out.

Thanks again for the help...even though I used the GUI to get things going, I still learned from it, and next time around, it'll be a little less mysterious.

Strike0 · 2012-02-18 11:12:36

No worries.
Looking at your router scan again, you might just have to change some of the wpa_supplicant profile variables. Have a look into the original wpa_supplicant.conf again perhaps. There are different examples depending on what encryption and handshake method is used. One idea: Your router shows "PSK" and you specify "TKIP" up there.

edit: I overread "12 years" experience. Doh!, yes you should go back and re-install the whole lot then, but not over a wired connection this time. That sould soothe it out ;-)
And it is a great learning experience, I switched from buntu last autumn myself (with a cable connection, admittedly).

Last edited by Strike0 (2012-02-18 13:04:27)

Arch Linux

#1 2012-02-17 19:37:54

[Solved] Wireless connection problem/confusion

#2 2012-02-17 20:12:42

Re: [Solved] Wireless connection problem/confusion

#3 2012-02-18 03:00:38

Re: [Solved] Wireless connection problem/confusion

#4 2012-02-18 07:28:37

Re: [Solved] Wireless connection problem/confusion

#5 2012-02-18 08:14:53

Re: [Solved] Wireless connection problem/confusion

#6 2012-02-18 11:12:36

Re: [Solved] Wireless connection problem/confusion

Board footer