You are not logged in.
hi everyone
contrary to most of arch users (or so from what i see in threads), i do not use wicd nor network-manager to manage my wifi. i have tried both of them, and somehow, someway, they didn't work. i'd probably get to that someday...
so i resort to using the manual method (i like typing lol), which is as described in the wiki.
all is well, when i associate with the first AP. problem arises when i want to change AP. to associate to an AP, i basically type the following commands
iwlist wlan0 scan
iwconfig wlan0 essid <essid> key s:<pass>
dhcpcd wlan0
let's say, for some reason, i want to change to another AP. i'm not sure how i should do this, but i tried multiple methods. all failed.
1. just iwconfig wlan0 essid <new essid> and so on
2. kill off dhcpcd before/after iwconfig wlan0 essid <new essid>
and a check with the iwconfig shows that wlan0 is not associated. essid reads off/any (if i recall correctly). dhcpcd failed. ping failed.
sometimes, i just wait it out, and iwconfig suddenly pops with the new AP. wow.
or in desperate cases, a reboot. then iwconfig is able to associate again.
what's the problem here? anyone know? and, i'm (forced to) using ndiswrapper on my rtl8187se.
thanks in advance to any helpers.
Last edited by altbdoor (2012-05-15 15:29:08)
Offline
the r8187se driver is provided in the stock kernel package - it is in staging, but it is reported to work satisfactorily.
Have you considered using netcfg? Changing networks is simply a matter of changing profiles.
If you insist on doing it manually, I have found that unloading and reloading the driver is sufficient to "reset" it - rebooting is not necessary.
Offline
the r8187se driver is provided in the stock kernel package - it is in staging, but it is reported to work satisfactorily.
r8187se? rtl8187se is different from r8187se... or so i thought... and yes, i do know that many realtek drivers are in staging.
but i did try with the staging driver. it did list APs, but it can never connect. not even APs with no security.
Realtek
Since kernel 2.6.29 there's a working driver included in the staging line. The module is rtl8187se and should get loaded without intervention. This network adapter is known to be buggy, so it's unlikely that this driver will show significant progress over its current state. Using ndiswrapper in place of the in-kernel module is recommended because of this situation.
excerpt from the arch's wiki on msi wind u100, its not the same laptop as mine, but same driver, rtl8187se.
-----
Have you considered using netcfg? Changing networks is simply a matter of changing profiles.
netcfg, probably. you see, the laptop is a home laptop-ish... so my main priority was making it work as it is. since wicd and network-manager failed me, i've been really doubtful on trying new wireless configs (only on this laptop! because i know the laptop is problematic...)
hence, lately i've been working on a bash script to get this work. bunch of if elses... read... for loops... you get the idea...
-----
If you insist on doing it manually, I have found that unloading and reloading the driver is sufficient to "reset" it - rebooting is not necessary.
sorry to ask, but how do you unload/reload driver? does it involve ifconfig?
Offline
No, modprobe.
Offline
Still should not have to unload a module with modprobe. To change to another AP manual method wiki theory stipulates that you bring down the interface
ip link set down
and start again at wiki step 0 then.
Reading about your scripts, you might want to look /etc/network.d/examples as tomk suggested perhaps.
Offline
No, modprobe.
isn't modprobe a little harsh...? although i do admit, its one of the solutions... anything simpler though?
-----
Still should not have to unload a module with modprobe. To change to another AP manual method wiki theory stipulates that you bring down the interface
ip link set down
and start again at wiki step 0 then.
Reading about your scripts, you might want to look /etc/network.d/examples as tomk suggested perhaps.
i have tried ip link set wlan0 down. a check with ip link did show that its DOWN. then i moved on to set it up again, and again, confirmed its UP. follow the usual steps to associate, and still, didn't work. iwconfig returns essid: off/any
thanks for the tip on example network scripts. i'll check them out
EDIT: funny. there is no /etc/network.d/ directory in my arch
Last edited by altbdoor (2012-05-13 05:44:05)
Offline
... because you haven't installed netcfg.
Offline
After the ip link set down / up, does a scan for wifis work?
Offline
... because you haven't installed netcfg.
aha. thanks for the tip
-----
After the ip link set down / up, does a scan for wifis work?
just tried that out... this is funny... iwlist wlan0 scan still returns results!
EDIT: i mean, even after i typed out ip link set wlan0 down, wifi scan still produce results
Last edited by altbdoor (2012-05-13 14:30:20)
Offline
EDIT: i mean, even after i typed out ip link set wlan0 down, wifi scan still produce results
Oh that's good, because that is just what the people programming it wanted to achieve: Give you a list of of wifi's that you could connect to, e.g. by activating a new ip link set up & iwconfig wlan0 essid "..." ;-)
You got mixed up: ip link set does not de-/activate an interface, but a connection.
edit: inserted -too quick myself
Last edited by Strike0 (2012-05-13 21:15:39)
Offline
Oh that's good, because that is just what the people programming it wanted to achieve: Give you a list of of wifi's that you could connect to, e.g. by activating a new ip link set up & iwconfig wlan0 essid "..." ;-)
You got mixed up: ip link set does not de-/activate an interface, but a connection.
edit: inserted -too quick myself
OH i see! i thought it totally kills the interface. was surprised
so, every time i want to change a connection, i need to set the link down, then bring it up again, then continue to iwconfig wlan0 essid "..."?
Offline
so, every time i want to change a connection, i need to set the link down, then bring it up again, then continue to iwconfig wlan0 essid "..."?
ip link set up/down is not a necessary step for all drivers (see the wireless wiki also). Question is if using it solves your initial problem?
Offline
ip link set up/down is not a necessary step for all drivers (see the wireless wiki also). Question is if using it solves your initial problem?
i haven't had the time to test it yet, but i believe it should work with ip link and all. worst case scenario, i'll resort to modprobe, but for the moment, i'll mark this thread as solved. i'll update this thread when i do test the system.
thanks for all the help
Offline
hi guys and to anyone who's monitoring this thread.
for the moment, the wireless is working well. seems like it doesn't happen as often as it did. maybe because of recent updates, i'm not sure. however, when it happens, not even modprobe and ip link up/down can fix this. reboot seems to be the only solution for me.
since it doesn't occur all the time now, i consider this problem solved. as for solution, please try Strike0's solution of ip link up/down. if that fails, try tomk's suggestion with modprobe, although i admit, its a bit harsh. hope this helps.
thank you.
Offline