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#1 2019-03-12 17:35:49

Yann
Member
Registered: 2017-11-23
Posts: 235

[SOLVED] wpa change/switch/connect defined network

Hi everyone,
I have been using wpa_supplicant for a long time on arch. I can connect to 2 different networks at home, both are configured in my wpa_supplicant-wlp.conf file.
I can not find a command to change/switch from one network to another.

For example, when I am connected to my SSID_2.4Ghz network I would like a command to disconnect and then connect to my SSID_5Ghz (or the opposite).

Does someone know a way to do that through wpa_(supplicant/cli)?

Thanks for your time.

Last edited by Yann (2019-03-16 12:04:46)


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#2 2019-03-13 11:36:23

kevr
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From: CA, USA
Registered: 2010-05-01
Posts: 24
Website

Re: [SOLVED] wpa change/switch/connect defined network

Yann, within the `wpa_cli` tool, you can use `disable <id>` to stop association between you and network <id>. Conversely, you can use `enable <id>` to enable a network that may be disabled or temp-disabled in the past (or one with no state).

Association to enabled networks will be automatically attempted by wpa_supplicant.

In short:

disable <id_of_current_network>
enable <id_of_new_network>

Will do what you want. You could write shell scripts that automate this sort of thing for you.


Kevin Morris <kevr@0cost.org>

Hangs out in #archlinux-aurweb. Loves the AUR.

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#3 2019-03-13 15:15:35

Yann
Member
Registered: 2017-11-23
Posts: 235

Re: [SOLVED] wpa change/switch/connect defined network

Hi kevr. Thanks.
Indeed, it works and I figured out a script to do it. However, I am suprised of not finding a simple connect <id_wanted_network> command.
If there is not, thanks for your time.


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#4 2019-03-13 23:12:19

kevr
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From: CA, USA
Registered: 2010-05-01
Posts: 24
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Re: [SOLVED] wpa change/switch/connect defined network

Don't believe there is; however, I could be totally wrong.

I've never seen a reference to such a script in the wiki or anything like that for wpa_supplicant.

However... perhaps it would be neat if we contributed such scripts to an AUR package, which could add some convenient utilities for users like yourself in the future.

I would also have expected something along those lines to exist.

I think that, since a large portion of the community use things like NetworkManager, that the need for this is obscured below the high-level programs that exist.

For nerds like us though, who don't use NetworkManager, it'd be neat.


Kevin Morris <kevr@0cost.org>

Hangs out in #archlinux-aurweb. Loves the AUR.

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#5 2019-03-14 11:30:12

Yann
Member
Registered: 2017-11-23
Posts: 235

Re: [SOLVED] wpa change/switch/connect defined network

Could be a good idea. I would be glad to create a AUR package for that (I am going to do several in the next months anyway on other projects).

However, I don't know how to do a connect method in this case.
What I am doing is:

wpa_cli -i wlp59s0 disconnect
wpa_cli -i wlp59s0 disable_network <id_A>
wpa_cli -i wlp59s0 enable_network <id_B>
wpa_cli -i wlp59s0 reconnect

But this is not a connect <id> method ...


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#6 2019-03-14 14:06:35

Trilby
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Registered: 2011-11-29
Posts: 29,452
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Re: [SOLVED] wpa change/switch/connect defined network

Just use different wpa_supplicant.conf excerpts, or rearrange the order of the network blocks in the conf file, then just do `wpa_cli reconfigure`.


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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