[SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

Ness · 2012-03-09 19:12:13

Hello everyone,

I have been attempting to get my wireless adapter to ping Google for about 6 hours now. Here is what I have done.

1. I have managed to connect to my Router (I'm guessing so from the following message).

(root@arch ~)# iwconfig
lo                        no wireless extensions.

eth0                     no wireless extensions.

wlan0                  IEEE xxx.xxbgn (<- I don't know what that number is but I removed it)  ESSID: "Name of my Router"
                           Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=14dBm
                           Retry long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
                           Encryptions key:off
                           Power Management:on

2. Whenever I attempt to ping Google though I get the following error message.

(root@arch ~)# ping -c 3 www.google.com
ping: unknown host www.google.com

3. I've attempted to ping my Default Gateway as well and receive an error "connect: Network is unreachable".
4. Previously I had to reinstall the OS and grab wireless_tools from the package files (from the Guide).

5. Under "nano /etc/rc.conf" I believe I have the correct information added in their.. though I'm kind of confused on what to enter for the following.. This is what I have though.

interface=wlan0
address=
netmask=
broadcast=
gateway=

6. Also, when I try to enter in the password to connect to the Network I get this error..

(root@arch ~)# iwconfig wlan0 essid (name of my Router) key (then my password for my Router)
Error for wireless request "Set Encode" (8B2A) :
     invalid argument for "(The password I entered)".

I'm on my friends Windows computer while trying to set this up (so I can have the guide in front of me). I've tried to enter in many addresses into /etc/rc.conf and nothing really seems to work so I left them blank.

Does anyone have any ideas? I've been going through the Knowledge Base for quite a while and cannot find more troubleshooting steps. I hope this post isn't too messy, just trying to describe everything I have covered already.

Thank you.

Last edited by Ness (2012-03-11 22:19:32)

Gcool · 2012-03-09 19:19:43

Does running "iwlist wlan0 scan" show you the network you're trying to connect to?

Also, are you using the actual hexadecimal key when trying to connect or the passphrase? If using the passphrase; try "iwconfig wlan0 essid youressid key s:thepassphrase".

Last edited by Gcool (2012-03-09 19:26:15)

Ness · 2012-03-09 19:26:08

Gcool wrote:

Does running "iwlist wlan0 scan" show you the network you're trying to connect to?
Also, are you using the actual hexidecimal key when trying to connect or the passphrase? If using the passphrase; try "iwconfig wlan0 essid youressid key s:thepassphrase".

Thanks for the reply. I'm brand new to Arch (as of yesterday). When I type in "wlist wlan0 scan" it actually spams my screen and I have not yet found a way to scroll up in the prompts.

I've been using my pass-phrase when attempting to connect to my Router. I've searched around on Google on how to locate my hexidecimal key but I've only found cryptic answers on doing this..

EDIT:

(root@arch ~)# iwconfig wlan essid (my essid) key s:(my pass-phrase)
 Error for wireless request "Set Encode" (8B2A) :
     SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.

Last edited by Ness (2012-03-09 19:29:48)

Gcool · 2012-03-09 19:29:04

For managing your wireless connection(s) a bit more userfriendly; I can also suggest using netcfg or wicd.

Also, no need for the hexadecimal key. Just adding the "s:" and then using the passphrase should be sufficient.

Last edited by Gcool (2012-03-09 19:30:17)

Ness · 2012-03-09 19:35:31

Is there any way to scroll up in the prompts when I enter "iwlist wlan0 scan"? I'm thinking more that I have the incorrect ESSID.

Gcool · 2012-03-09 19:37:30

Shift-PageUp should make you scroll up.

Ness · 2012-03-09 19:39:40

Gcool wrote:

Shift-PageUp should make you scroll up.

Ahh... I should have found that somewhere. Thank you very much. I'll post an update after more troubleshooting.

Ness · 2012-03-09 19:57:26

Unfortunately the list is very large and it wont let me get to the one I need to see (to double check the ESSID) as the scroll stops after a certain amount of lines. I'm curious if it's ok for me to leave "nano /etc/rc.conf" as it is (from my original post).

interface=wlan0
address=
netmask=
broadcast=
gateway=

Thanks.

hokasch · 2012-03-09 20:12:54

Forward the output into a file, than open that in nano (and search for your essid):

iwlist wlan0 scan > wlanscan

Look for encryption - are you really running wep?

For now, check if your wlan is working from the console, if that works configure for startup. Both is described in the wireless setup wiki.

Ness · 2012-03-09 21:05:50

I gave in and actually connected via Ethernet. I'm going to check out more about netcfg and wicd to make establishing a wireless connection easier. I'll mark this one as solved for now I guess.

Thanks everyone for the help.

Arch Linux

#1 2012-03-09 19:12:13

[SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

#2 2012-03-09 19:19:43

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

#3 2012-03-09 19:26:08

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

#4 2012-03-09 19:29:04

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

#5 2012-03-09 19:35:31

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

#6 2012-03-09 19:37:30

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

#7 2012-03-09 19:39:40

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

#8 2012-03-09 19:57:26

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

#9 2012-03-09 20:12:54

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

#10 2012-03-09 21:05:50

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless connection issue

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