[SOLVED] After update, fails to connect to WEP AP while WPA works

Inheritor_Vision · 2022-03-01 19:34:59

Hello everyone!

Since few weeks ago, after a system & package update via pacman and a reboot, my wifi stopped working. It is not that uncommon, so I just waited a few days and updated it again via an USB connexion.
Howerver, despite multiple updates and quite some time now, the wifi was still down.

Because my install is Dual Boot with Windows, and the WiFi is stills working with it, I knew that is not an hardware failure. I just realised today that, when I try to connect to another access point that use WPA/WPA2, the wifi works. I don't have any other access point using WEP, so I do not know that if it is specifically related to WEP or my access point. Because I didn't saw anything on a potential support drop of WEP from NetworkManager, it might be related to the connexion to my AP. It has to be noted that every other device connected to the WEP AP works fine, so the AP in itself works.

I reinstalled NetworkManager via a pacman -Rn networkmanager, trying to get rid of any conf file. Same for the wifi network kernel module.

Here are some information about my system that might be relevant:

- lspci -k: Card info. Using broadcom-wl as network kernel module.

05:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries BCM4352 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter [14e4:43b1] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device [1043:85ba]
	Kernel driver in use: wl
	Kernel modules: bcma, wl

- iw dev wlp5s0 scan: WEP SSID info

BSS 68:X:X:X:X:c3(on wlp5s0)
	TSF: 0 usec (0d, 00:00:00)
	freq: 2437
	beacon interval: 120 TUs
	capability: ESS Privacy ShortSlotTime RadioMeasure (0x1411)
	signal: -46.00 dBm
	last seen: 0 ms ago
	Information elements from Probe Response frame:
	SSID: wep_ssid
	Supported rates: 1.0* 2.0* 5.5* 11.0* 6.0 9.0 12.0 18.0
	DS Parameter set: channel 6
	ERP: Barker_Preamble_Mode
	Extended supported rates: 24.0 36.0 48.0 54.0
	BSS Load:
		 * station count: 7
		 * channel utilisation: 0/255
		 * available admission capacity: 0 [*32us]
	RM enabled capabilities:
		Capabilities: 0x72 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
			Neighbor Report
			Beacon Passive Measurement
			Beacon Active Measurement
			Beacon Table Measurement
		Nonoperating Channel Max Measurement Duration: 0
		Measurement Pilot Capability: 0
	Extended capabilities:
		 * BSS Transition
		 * SSID List
		 * Operating Mode Notification
	WMM:	 * Parameter version 1
		 * BE: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 3
		 * BK: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 7
		 * VI: CW 7-15, AIFSN 2, TXOP 3008 usec
		 * VO: CW 3-7, AIFSN 2, TXOP 1504 usec

- rfkill list all: Card not blocked

0: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no

- nmcli device wifi connect wep_ssid password wep_ssid_password: Connection attempt. Seems like this error mught be related to multiple service using the AP, but it did not find one ohter that network manager(see after).

Error: Connection activation failed: (10) 802.1X supplicant failed

- systemctl list-unit-files --state=enabled: systemd units enabled

UNIT FILE                          STATE   VENDOR PRESET
getty@.service                     enabled enabled
NetworkManager-dispatcher.service  enabled disabled
NetworkManager-wait-online.service enabled disabled
NetworkManager.service             enabled disabled
systemd-timesyncd.service          enabled enabled
remote-fs.target                   enabled enabled
wallpaper.timer                    enabled disabled

Thanks in advance for your time! Ask me any information if needed!

Last edited by Inheritor_Vision (2022-03-03 19:07:50)

nl6720 · 2022-03-01 19:59:38

I'm guessing the update included wpa_supplicant.
In wpa_supplicant 2.10 CONFIG_WEP=y is not the default anymore and Arch doesn't explicitly enable it in https://github.com/archlinux/svntogit-p … onfig#L621 (it's commented out).

You can either configure the AP to use WPA/WPA2 or open a bug report against the wpa_supplicant package asking to set CONFIG_WEP=y in the config.

Inheritor_Vision · 2022-03-01 22:09:43

Thanks for the fast answer.

Relying on the Arch Wiki, iw should works with WEP. But, with the following command, nothing happen, not output are produced and I did not manageed to find any relevant logs.

iw dev wlp5s0 connect "ssid" key d:1:"password"

Last edited by Inheritor_Vision (2022-03-01 22:10:09)

seth · 2022-03-01 22:45:23

Did you stop NM before so it's not using the NIC for scanning or trying to get wpa_supplicant to connect on it?
"password" is the second in your list?
Also iw has a "--debug" parameter if things still fail.

Finally:

nl6720 wrote:

configure the AP to use WPA/WPA2

Otherwise, why even bother to use WEP? Just open the AP. It's effectively the same.

Inheritor_Vision · 2022-03-03 19:04:48

Thanks from both of you. The iw debug option is very useful.

I did not know that my AP was too old to support WPA2, but in the end, it could. Just suprising that WEP was the default Wifi settings at the time, when it could support others security modes.

Arch Linux

#1 2022-03-01 19:34:59

[SOLVED] After update, fails to connect to WEP AP while WPA works

#2 2022-03-01 19:59:38

Re: [SOLVED] After update, fails to connect to WEP AP while WPA works

#3 2022-03-01 22:09:43

Re: [SOLVED] After update, fails to connect to WEP AP while WPA works

#4 2022-03-01 22:45:23

Re: [SOLVED] After update, fails to connect to WEP AP while WPA works

#5 2022-03-03 19:04:48

Re: [SOLVED] After update, fails to connect to WEP AP while WPA works

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