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alecmev

Member

Registered: 2020-11-02

Posts: 5

nm-applet asks password when roaming between same-SSID access points

Hi!

To start, the relevant logs:

:50 wpa_supplicant: WIFI_ID: SME: Trying to authenticate with NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS (SSID='COWORKING_SSID' freq=5??? MHz)
:50 kernel: WIFI_ID: disconnect from AP OLD_AP_MAC_ADDRESS for new auth to NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS
:50 kernel: WIFI_ID: authenticate with NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS
:50 kernel: WIFI_ID: send auth to NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS (try 1/3)
:50 wpa_supplicant: WIFI_ID: Trying to associate with NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS (SSID='COWORKING_SSID' freq=5??? MHz)
:50 NetworkManager: device (WIFI_ID): supplicant interface state: completed -> authenticating
:50 NetworkManager: device (p2p-dev-WIFI_ID): supplicant management interface state: completed -> authenticating
:50 NetworkManager: device (WIFI_ID): DHCPv4 lease renewal requested
:51 kernel: WIFI_ID: authenticated
:51 kernel: WIFI_ID: associate with NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS (try 1/3)
:51 kernel: WIFI_ID: RX ReassocResp from NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS (capab=0x511 status=0 aid=1)
:51 kernel: WIFI_ID: associated
:51 wpa_supplicant: WIFI_ID: Associated with NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS
:51 wpa_supplicant: WIFI_ID: CTRL-EVENT-SUBNET-STATUS-UPDATE status=0
:51 NetworkManager: dhcp4 (WIFI_ID): canceled DHCP transaction
:51 NetworkManager: dhcp4 (WIFI_ID): state changed bound -> terminated
:51 NetworkManager: dhcp4 (WIFI_ID): activation: beginning transaction (timeout in 45 seconds)
:51 NetworkManager: device (WIFI_ID): supplicant interface state: authenticating -> associating
:51 NetworkManager: device (p2p-dev-WIFI_ID): supplicant management interface state: authenticating -> associating
:51 NetworkManager: device (WIFI_ID): supplicant interface state: associating -> 4way_handshake
:51 NetworkManager: device (p2p-dev-WIFI_ID): supplicant management interface state: associating -> 4way_handshake
:55 kernel: WIFI_ID: deauthenticated from NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS (Reason: 2=PREV_AUTH_NOT_VALID)
:55 wpa_supplicant: WIFI_ID: CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=NEW_AP_MAC_ADDRESS reason=2
:55 wpa_supplicant: WIFI_ID: WPA: 4-Way Handshake failed - pre-shared key may be incorrect
:55 wpa_supplicant: WIFI_ID: CTRL-EVENT-SSID-TEMP-DISABLED id=0 ssid="COWORKING_SSID" auth_failures=1 duration=10 reason=WRONG_KEY
:55 NetworkManager: device (WIFI_ID): supplicant interface state: 4way_handshake -> disconnected
:55 NetworkManager: device (WIFI_ID): Activation: (wifi) disconnected during association, asking for new key
:55 NetworkManager: device (WIFI_ID): state change: activated -> need-auth (reason 'supplicant-disconnect', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
:55 NetworkManager: dhcp4 (WIFI_ID): canceled DHCP transaction
:55 NetworkManager: dhcp4 (WIFI_ID): state changed unknown -> terminated
:55 NetworkManager: manager: NetworkManager state is now CONNECTING
:55 dbus-daemon: [system] Activating via systemd: service name='org.freedesktop.nm_dispatcher' unit='dbus-org.freedesktop.nm-dispatcher.service' requested by ':1.5' (uid=0 pid=? comm="/usr/bin/NetworkManager --no-daemon ")
:55 NetworkManager: device (p2p-dev-WIFI_ID): supplicant management interface state: 4way_handshake -> disconnected
:55 systemd: Starting Network Manager Script Dispatcher Service...
:55 dbus-daemon: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.nm_dispatcher'
:55 systemd: Started Network Manager Script Dispatcher Service.
:55 audit: SERVICE_START pid=1 uid=0 auid=? ses=? msg='unit=NetworkManager-dispatcher comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
:55 kernel: audit: type=1130 audit(?): pid=1 uid=0 auid=? ses=? msg='unit=NetworkManager-dispatcher comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
:55 NetworkManager: device (WIFI_ID): supplicant interface state: disconnected -> inactive
:55 NetworkManager: device (p2p-dev-WIFI_ID): supplicant management interface state: disconnected -> inactive
:55 nm-applet: No keyring secrets found for COWORKING_SSID/802-11-wireless-security; asking user.

Problem 1: Why PREV_AUTH_NOT_VALID / WRONG_KEY in the first place, if if it's the same SSID with the same password?

Problem 2: Why "No keyring secrets found for COWORKING_SSID/802-11-wireless-security" by nm-applet? How can it be, if my laptop is able to connect to this network automatically, when I power it on?

Problem 3: If it doesn't know the password, why is the password prompt prefilled with the correct password, and all I need to do is press "Connect"?

I have a pretty regular setup, Intel 8265 + NetworkManager + nm-applet, that's it. Have been running it for years, without issues. My computer has no problems connecting automatically to known access points.

I'm in a coworking, and it has a multi-AP UniFi setup. Maybe something is wrong with it, but my phone has no issues maintaining the connection, neither do the devices of many many people that work here, so this should definitely be possible to solve on my side.

I have always had this issue with this network (for about a year now), but the problem would pop up for an hour or two in a day, and then not come back for a month. But now they've rearranged the antennas a bit a few days ago, and I think two of them became equidistant from my fixed desk, and my laptop constantly switches between them, every 1-3 minutes, it's driving me crazy.

I'm out of ideas/theories, been googling for hours, please help. Every single search result is about somebody who can't connect at all, which isn't the case for me.

My current way of keeping my sanity is to pin my connection to a single BSSID, but this isn't a fix, since the building is large and I do move around it, and I don't want to mess with Wi-Fi settings every time I do.

Edit: After trying to pin different BSSIDs, I realized that only certain antennas have this issue (because the connection fails after a short bit with those antennas even with a pinned BSSID). Talking to the IT in the coworking about this.

Last edited by alecmev (2021-09-20 13:35:58)