Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

Paanini · 2012-02-25 13:03:53

I want to create a Wi-Fi hotspot using my laptop's wifi card, and share my (ethernet) internet connection with other devices like my Android phone/iPod Touch.

I tried creating a hotspot using the network manager, but everytime I try to change the settings (such as SSID, Security), the authentication window for elevated privelegs appears briefly and disappears. I'm guessing it needs root priveleges, so I tried running it as root.

 gksu nm-connection-editor

Once I click save, my laptop tries connecting to the network it just created, but returns an error saying 'Activation of Network Connection Failed'. (I've unchecked 'Connect automatically')

Morever, the network is not visible on my Android Phone.

Am I doing something wrong, or is this a bug? Is there any other way to create a Wifi hotspot and share my computer's internet connection with my phone?

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by Paanini (2012-02-25 13:04:07)

rlimaeco · 2012-04-05 20:40:37

I have the same problem !! and no one know the solution that's weird

Strike0 · 2012-04-05 21:06:16

I don't have a device at hand to test it currently, but it is working here like it should I think. Just create it with the logged-on user, save and check with iwconfig if it is running.
Maybe you have the problem that other Wifi's are within reach where you have "connect automatically" entries, so the wifi card tries to connect to those instead (hence stopping the hotspot).

In any case, there is a wiki how to do it on the commandline. Have a look at the last section here. Should give you a better idea on which step works and which not.

rlimaeco · 2012-04-05 23:14:32

I tried this:

iwconfig wlan0 mode ad-hoc
iwconfig wlan0 essid proxywlan
ifconfig wlan0 192.168.11.1 up
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward

but nothing happens in the end, a search in my android for a new wifi but nothing, i don't know why, i installed every package , i'm sad with that, i don't wanna waste money buying a router if my wifi is here to do this work...

someone help me please !

Last edited by rlimaeco (2012-04-05 23:15:16)

Strike0 · 2012-04-06 00:30:59

If you check the output of

iwconfig
ip a 
ip r

after you execute those commands. Anything you see that does not look like it should?
Quote the output here , if unsure.

rlimaeco · 2012-04-06 02:21:29

Return of iwconfig:

iwconfig 
lo        no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:"Rafaelwifi"  
          Mode:Ad-Hoc  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Cell: 7A:71:60:97:88:23   
          Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          
eth0      no wireless extensions.

Return of ip a :

ip a
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 16436 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN 
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:21:85:e2:83:e1 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 141.30.221.134/24 brd 141.30.221.255 scope global eth0
    inet6 fe80::221:85ff:fee2:83e1/64 scope link 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
3: wlan0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state DORMANT qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:15:af:cf:80:cd brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet6 fe80::215:afff:fecf:80cd/64 scope link 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

and the return of ip r:

ip r
default via 141.30.221.2 dev eth0  proto static 
141.30.221.0/24 dev eth0  proto kernel  scope link  src 141.30.221.134

Thanks Strike for the attention...

rlimaeco · 2012-04-06 02:24:32

Now it's visible the Rafaelwifi, but appears as with WEP security and i don't set any security configuration yet... so a try to conect but i'm not able to do that , because i don't have the password ! heheh

Almost there ! I have to do that !

Strike0 · 2012-04-06 06:53:39

The only reason I can think of regarding that WEP security is that you have tried to configure the SSID with WEP before and that config is picked up when you bring it up. But iwconfig shows encryption key "off", which is strange. Try another SSID that you have not used before.

rlimaeco · 2012-04-06 13:28:55

I tried with differents ssid but the system insisted to put the wep security...

Last edited by rlimaeco (2012-04-06 13:29:09)

Strike0 · 2012-04-06 17:17:48

Strange. In any case if and how good it works may depend on driver features. A real hotspot would use wifi-master mode, not the ad-hoc networking. I don't actually know what networkmanager tries to use with that "hotspot" button. But since your card seems to do adhoc, I don't have any further idea at current about that WEP. Maybe someone else does.

In any case, you and Paanini might want to check which driver and wifi card you use to find out driver features for wifi-accesspoint-modes (e.g. to use hostapd).

Paanini · 2012-04-06 17:37:37

Hey, thanks for all your replies.

I made some progress, and in the meantime created a new problem as well!

I've heard that many people have been able to set up an infrastructure Wi-fi network using Gnome's built in Network manager, but I was out of luck so I gave up. I tried using hostapd and referred to this wiki article. : https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/So … cess_Point

Using the settings mentioned for /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf, I started hostapd using the command

hostapd -d /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

This created the Wireless hotspot, and I was able to connect my Android phone and iPod Touch to the network and use the internet. HOWEVER, the internet was no longer working on my laptop. I'm guessing it's routing all connections from eth0 to wlan0, and not only can I not access the internet on my laptop, I can't access my LAN network either.

How do I enable internet 'sharing', so that I can simultaneously connect both my computer and my mobile devices to the internet from the hotspot?

rlimaeco · 2012-04-06 19:47:44

Hello Paanini,

I tried that wiki article, i did everything, and restart, when a try this command:

hostapd -d /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

And nothing happens, just a big looping... that never ends

sudo hostapd -d /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf
Configuration file: /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf
ctrl_interface_group=0
nl80211: Register Action command failed: ret=-114 (Operation already in progress)
nl80211: Register Action match - hexdump(len=1): 06
nl80211: Failed to register Action frame processing - ignore for now
nl80211: Interface wlan0 is in bridge br0
nl80211: Add own interface ifindex 5
nl80211: Add own interface ifindex 3
nl80211: New interface mon.wlan0 created: ifindex=14
nl80211: Add own interface ifindex 14
BSS count 1, BSSID mask 00:00:00:00:00:00 (0 bits)
nl80211: Added 802.11b mode based on 802.11g information
RATE[0] rate=10 flags=0x1
RATE[1] rate=20 flags=0x1
RATE[2] rate=55 flags=0x1
RATE[3] rate=110 flags=0x1
RATE[4] rate=60 flags=0x0
RATE[5] rate=90 flags=0x0
RATE[6] rate=120 flags=0x0
RATE[7] rate=180 flags=0x0
RATE[8] rate=240 flags=0x0
RATE[9] rate=360 flags=0x0
RATE[10] rate=480 flags=0x0
RATE[11] rate=540 flags=0x0
Completing interface initialization
Mode: IEEE 802.11g  Channel: 6  Frequency: 2437 MHz
Flushing old station entries
Deauthenticate all stations
wpa_driver_nl80211_set_key: ifindex=3 alg=0 addr=(nil) key_idx=0 set_tx=1 seq_len=0 key_len=0
wpa_driver_nl80211_set_key: ifindex=3 alg=0 addr=(nil) key_idx=1 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
wpa_driver_nl80211_set_key: ifindex=3 alg=0 addr=(nil) key_idx=2 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
wpa_driver_nl80211_set_key: ifindex=3 alg=0 addr=(nil) key_idx=3 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
Using interface wlan0 with hwaddr 00:15:af:cf:80:cd and ssid 'test'
Deriving WPA PSK based on passphrase
SSID - hexdump_ascii(len=4):
     74 65 73 74                                       test            
PSK (ASCII passphrase) - hexdump_ascii(len=8): [REMOVED]
PSK (from passphrase) - hexdump(len=32): [REMOVED]
WPA: group state machine entering state GTK_INIT (VLAN-ID 0)
GMK - hexdump(len=32): [REMOVED]
GTK - hexdump(len=16): [REMOVED]
WPA: group state machine entering state SETKEYSDONE (VLAN-ID 0)
wpa_driver_nl80211_set_key: ifindex=3 alg=3 addr=(nil) key_idx=1 set_tx=1 seq_len=0 key_len=16
nl80211: Set beacon (beacon_set=0)
wlan0: Setup of interface done.
RTM_NEWLINK: operstate=0 ifi_flags=0x1002 ()
RTM_NEWLINK, IFLA_IFNAME: Interface 'wlan0' added
Unknown event 5
RTM_NEWLINK: operstate=0 ifi_flags=0x1002 ()
RTM_NEWLINK, IFLA_IFNAME: Interface 'wlan0' added
Unknown event 5
nl80211: Add ifindex 5 for bridge br0
nl80211: Add own interface ifindex 5
RTM_NEWLINK: operstate=0 ifi_flags=0x1002 ()
RTM_NEWLINK, IFLA_IFNAME: Interface 'mon.wlan0' added
Unknown event 5
RTM_NEWLINK: operstate=0 ifi_flags=0x11043 ([UP][RUNNING][LOWER_UP])
RTM_NEWLINK, IFLA_IFNAME: Interface 'mon.wlan0' added
Unknown event 5
RTM_NEWLINK: operstate=0 ifi_flags=0x11043 ([UP][RUNNING][LOWER_UP])
RTM_NEWLINK, IFLA_IFNAME: Interface 'wlan0' added
Unknown event 5
RTM_NEWLINK: operstate=0 ifi_flags=0x11043 ([UP][RUNNING][LOWER_UP])
RTM_NEWLINK, IFLA_IFNAME: Interface 'wlan0' added
Unknown event 5
nl80211: Add ifindex 5 for bridge br0
nl80211: Add own interface ifindex 5
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
mgmt::proberesp cb
.......forever...


and finaly fail:

Flushing old station entries
Deauthenticate all stations
nl80211: Remove interface ifindex=14
netlink: Operstate: linkmode=0, operstate=6
nl80211: Failed to set interface 3 to mode 2: -16 (Device or resource busy)
nl80211: Failed to set interface 3 to mode 2: -16 (Device or resource busy)
Could not set interface wlan0 flags: Operation not possible due to RF-kill
nl80211: Interface mode change to 2 from 3 failed

Why the button create a hotspot in gnome 3 network manager doesn't simply works why so difficult... 2 days more, if i can't do that, i'll be punished using windows 7...

Last edited by rlimaeco (2012-04-07 01:01:31)

rlimaeco · 2012-04-11 16:39:18

no one ?

alex_anthony · 2012-04-15 09:55:55

Going back to networkmanager way, check you have dnsmasq installed? That was what was stopping me. Just spent an hour on it before I realised that I'd missed the line saying dnsmasq was missing in my log.

If that's not the problem, post some of /var/log/everything.log at the time when you try to connect.

cerilla · 2012-04-17 05:18:49

alex_anthony wrote:

Going back to networkmanager way, check you have dnsmasq installed? That was what was stopping me. Just spent an hour on it before I realised that I'd missed the line saying dnsmasq was missing in my log.
If that's not the problem, post some of /var/log/everything.log at the time when you try to connect.

Yes, and don't forget to install the iptables package as well. I just installed fresh arch on my laptop, and it's pretty much worked out of the box.

Hope that help

engesc · 2013-12-23 15:33:20

Ad host
Real AP
Network Manager not work with Android phone, check https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ne … s_de_Wi-Fi

Ad host
Real AP
El soporte para la modalidad de infraestructura (necesaria por los teléfonos Andoid, que no son compatibles con ad-hoc intencionadamente) no está apoyado actualmente por NetworkManager, pero está en desarrollo activo ...

navirana · 2017-08-26 12:48:35

NetworkManager requires `dnsmasq` as optional dependency. I solved the problem by installing it.

WorMzy · 2017-08-26 14:01:53

A lot has changed in the past five years; please don't necrobump.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Co … bumping.22

Closing.

Arch Linux

#1 2012-02-25 13:03:53

Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#2 2012-04-05 20:40:37

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#3 2012-04-05 21:06:16

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#4 2012-04-05 23:14:32

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#5 2012-04-06 00:30:59

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#6 2012-04-06 02:21:29

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#7 2012-04-06 02:24:32

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#8 2012-04-06 06:53:39

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#9 2012-04-06 13:28:55

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#10 2012-04-06 17:17:48

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#11 2012-04-06 17:37:37

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#12 2012-04-06 19:47:44

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#13 2012-04-11 16:39:18

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#14 2012-04-15 09:55:55

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#15 2012-04-17 05:18:49

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#16 2013-12-23 15:33:20

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#17 2017-08-26 12:48:35

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

#18 2017-08-26 14:01:53

Re: Create a Wifi Hotspot in GNOME 3

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