[SOLVED] Cannot connect to Wifi

LinguisticMystic · 2022-07-22 12:00:03

Freshly installed Arch Linux. NetworkManager & iwd services running. Internet by wire works fine. When trying to connect to Wi-fi, though, I get the error "Secrets were required, but not provided". Needless to say, the password has been set and is correct.

The config for NetworkManager (/etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/wifi.conf):

[device]
wifi.scan-rand-mac-address=no
wifi.backend=iwd

The config for iwd (/etc/iwd/main.conf):

[General]
EnableNetworkConfiguration=true

[Network]
NameResolvingService=systemd

The error in journalctl -u iwd:

Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf systemd[1]: Starting Wireless service...
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]: Wireless daemon version 1.28
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]: Loaded configuration from /etc/iwd/main.conf
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf systemd[1]: Started Wireless service.
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]: Wiphy: 0, Name: phy0
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:         Permanent Address: 50:2b:73:d8:20:50
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:         2.4Ghz Band:
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                 Bitrates (non-HT):
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                          1.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                          2.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                          5.5 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         11.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                          6.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                          9.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         12.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         18.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         24.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         36.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         48.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         54.0 Mbps
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                 HT Capabilities:
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         HT20
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         Short GI for 20Mhz
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         Short GI for 40Mhz
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                 HT RX MCS indexes:
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         0-15
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:                         32
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:         Ciphers: CCMP TKIP
Jul 22 14:41:08 asdf iwd[377]:         Supported iftypes: station
Jul 22 14:41:09 asdf iwd[377]: authentication timed out
Jul 22 14:41:34 asdf iwd[377]: authentication timed out

The error in journalctl -u NetworkManager

...
Jul 22 14:41:12 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500872.2304] manager: startup complete
Jul 22 14:41:12 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500872.5020] manager: NetworkManager state is now CONNECTED_GLOBAL
Jul 22 14:41:33 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500893.3593] agent-manager: agent[815704d8aa7c8cf7,:1.12/nmtui/0]: agent registered
Jul 22 14:41:33 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500893.3612] device (wlan0): Activation: starting connection 'Smart_EXT' (9b1613ca-ed80-4418-86f2-d3eadf9e55a2)
Jul 22 14:41:33 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500893.3615] audit: op="connection-activate" uuid="9b1613ca-ed80-4418-86f2-d3eadf9e55a2" name="Smart_EXT" pid=539 uid=0 result="success"
Jul 22 14:41:33 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500893.3617] device (wlan0): state change: disconnected -> prepare (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Jul 22 14:41:33 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500893.3621] device (wlan0): state change: prepare -> config (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Jul 22 14:41:33 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500893.4242] device (wlan0): new IWD device state is connecting
Jul 22 14:41:34 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <error> [1658500894.0727] device (wlan0): Activation: (wifi) Network.Connect failed: GDBus.Error:net.connman.iwd.Failed: Operation failed
Jul 22 14:41:34 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500894.0729] device (wlan0): state change: config -> failed (reason 'no-secrets', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Jul 22 14:41:34 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <warn>  [1658500894.0732] device (wlan0): Activation: failed for connection 'Smart_EXT'
Jul 22 14:41:34 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500894.0733] device (wlan0): new IWD device state is disconnected
Jul 22 14:41:34 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658500894.0736] device (wlan0): state change: failed -> disconnected (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Jul 22 14:52:26 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658501546.9867] agent-manager: agent[086aef7c67ae7d65,:1.38/nmtui/0]: agent registered
Jul 22 14:52:26 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658501546.9885] device (wlan0): Activation: starting connection 'Smart_EXT' (9b1613ca-ed80-4418-86f2-d3eadf9e55a2)
Jul 22 14:52:26 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658501546.9888] audit: op="connection-activate" uuid="9b1613ca-ed80-4418-86f2-d3eadf9e55a2" name="Smart_EXT" pid=1240 uid=0 result="success"
Jul 22 14:52:26 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658501546.9889] device (wlan0): state change: disconnected -> prepare (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Jul 22 14:52:26 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658501546.9892] device (wlan0): state change: prepare -> config (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Jul 22 14:52:27 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658501547.0187] device (wlan0): new IWD device state is connecting
Jul 22 14:52:27 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <error> [1658501547.0508] device (wlan0): Activation: (wifi) Network.Connect failed: GDBus.Error:net.connman.iwd.Failed: Operation failed
Jul 22 14:52:27 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658501547.0509] device (wlan0): state change: config -> failed (reason 'no-secrets', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Jul 22 14:52:27 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <warn>  [1658501547.0511] device (wlan0): Activation: failed for connection 'Smart_EXT'
Jul 22 14:52:27 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658501547.0512] device (wlan0): new IWD device state is disconnected
Jul 22 14:52:27 asdf NetworkManager[459]: <info>  [1658501547.0513] device (wlan0): state change: failed -> disconnected (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')

It seems not to be the driver since iwd can clearly detect all the networks and their SSIDs. Could anyone please point me in the right direction?

Last edited by LinguisticMystic (2022-07-22 20:07:24)

V1del · 2022-07-22 12:15:16

Did you explicitly enable the iwd service? You shouldn't, NetworkManager should handle/start it on demand.

LinguisticMystic · 2022-07-22 12:20:50

V1del wrote:

Did you explicitly enable the iwd service? You shouldn't, NetworkManager should handle/start it on demand.

I specified it in the config for NetworkManager. After that, it gets started automatically.

Here's the output for systemctl --type=service --state=running:

  UNIT                     LOAD   ACTIVE SUB     DESCRIPTION
  dbus.service             loaded active running D-Bus System Message Bus
  getty@tty1.service       loaded active running Getty on tty1
  iwd.service              loaded active running Wireless service
  NetworkManager.service   loaded active running Network Manager
  polkit.service           loaded active running Authorization Manager
  systemd-journald.service loaded active running Journal Service
  systemd-logind.service   loaded active running User Login Management
  systemd-udevd.service    loaded active running Rule-based Manager for Device Events and Files
  udisks2.service          loaded active running Disk Manager
  upower.service           loaded active running Daemon for power management
  user@1000.service        loaded active running User Manager for UID 1000

LOAD   = Reflects whether the unit definition was properly loaded.
ACTIVE = The high-level unit activation state, i.e. generalization of SUB.
SUB    = The low-level unit activation state, values depend on unit type.
11 loaded units listed.

seth · 2022-07-22 16:15:23

the password has been set and is correct

Set where and how?
Stop NM (and re/start iwd) - can you connect w/ iwctl?

LinguisticMystic · 2022-07-22 19:35:58

seth wrote:

the password has been set and is correct
Set where and how?
Stop NM (and re/start iwd) - can you connect w/ iwctl?

I've set it in nmtui.
No, I cannot connect with iwctl, I did everything like you said. Iwctl prints "Operation failed" and the logs in journalctl -u iwd are exactly the same as before.
Previously I've actually tried making the Wi-fi network unsecured for a little while. Deleted and recreated the connection in nmtui, choosing "None" in security type. My Mac OS box connected to this unsecured connection, but Arch had the same error ("Secrets were required but not provided").
Will try with wpa_supplicant instead of iwd now.

LinguisticMystic · 2022-07-22 19:53:14

The device is RTL8192EU WLAN adapter. Apparently its driver has been integrated into the kernel. lsmod shows some "rtl8xxxu". But from searching the Internet, I've found reports that this driver is bad/ancient and might not fully work. This would explain why iwd seems to work and can list all the Wi-fi networks but cannot actually connect, I guess? Can anyone maybe recommend me a wi-fi USB dongle that works well with Arch?

LinguisticMystic · 2022-07-22 20:06:47

Thanks to everyone.
Solved by (!) moving the dongle from the USB port in the back of the computer to the port in the front. Apparently the motherboard could not handle it correctly on the other port (even though in the past, under Windows, it worked from the back port).

seth · 2022-07-22 20:38:47

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The error messages you got don't fit a hardware/kernel issue and the issue might have been only glossed over by the port change and resurface on the new port.
Can you please post a complete system journal for an affected boot?

Also

n the past, under Windows, it worked

If there's still a windows installation on that system, see the 3rd link below…

Arch Linux

#1 2022-07-22 12:00:03

[SOLVED] Cannot connect to Wifi

#2 2022-07-22 12:15:16

Re: [SOLVED] Cannot connect to Wifi

#3 2022-07-22 12:20:50

Re: [SOLVED] Cannot connect to Wifi

#4 2022-07-22 16:15:23

Re: [SOLVED] Cannot connect to Wifi

#5 2022-07-22 19:35:58

Re: [SOLVED] Cannot connect to Wifi

#6 2022-07-22 19:53:14

Re: [SOLVED] Cannot connect to Wifi

#7 2022-07-22 20:06:47

Re: [SOLVED] Cannot connect to Wifi

#8 2022-07-22 20:38:47

Re: [SOLVED] Cannot connect to Wifi

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