wpa_supplicant causes carrier to be lost

silverhammermba · 2023-03-26 13:24:05

I have a home server which has a very simple wifi setup using systemd networkd:

# /etc/systemd/network/wireless.network 
[Match]
Name=wlp0s20u2

[Network]
Address=192.168.0.3/24
Gateway=192.168.0.1

and using wpa_supplicant for WPA2

# /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-wlp0s20u2.conf 
network={
        ssid="ARRIS-035A-5G"
        psk=blahblahblah
}

this has worked fine for years. But recently wpa_supplicant seems to have broken:

Mar 24 20:38:09 eleven systemd[1]: Started WPA supplicant daemon (interface-specific version).
Mar 24 20:38:09 eleven wpa_supplicant[357]: Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
Mar 24 20:38:09 eleven systemd-networkd[243]: wlp0s20u2: Lost carrier
Mar 24 20:38:09 eleven systemd-networkd[243]: wlp0s20u2: DHCPv6 lease lost

networkctl shows the device as being stuck as "dormant" and "configuring".

I spent the better part of a day futzing around with it and never got it to work. The only weird thing I found was that stopping wpa_supplicant actually makes networkd happy and it will show the device as routable afterwards, but of course the connection doesn't actually work because something needs to do the WPA2.

I ended up just switching to iwd and that seems to work fine.

seth · 2023-03-26 14:24:00

How does systemd-networkd lose the carrier the same moment wpa_supplicant starts and hasn't even yet associated w/ the AP?
Do you have a complete journal for that boot?

silverhammermba · 2023-03-26 16:10:13

Here is the full journal for that boot http://0x0.st/HoLU.txt

That boot includes me screwing around with the wpa_supplicant service but the initial logs show it failing on its own.

seth · 2023-03-26 19:36:14

There isn't really anything logged at all

Mar 24 20:38:05 eleven systemd-networkd[243]: wlp0s20u2: Link UP
Mar 24 20:38:06 eleven systemd-networkd[243]: wlp0s20u2: Gained carrier
Mar 24 20:38:06 eleven kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlp0s20u2: link becomes ready
Mar 24 20:38:07 eleven systemd-networkd[243]: wlp0s20u2: Gained IPv6LL
Mar 24 20:38:08 eleven systemd[1]: Starting turn off power save for interface wlp0s20u2...
Mar 24 20:38:09 eleven systemd-networkd[243]: wlp0s20u2: Lost carrier
Mar 24 20:38:09 eleven systemd-networkd[243]: wlp0s20u2: DHCPv6 lease lost

is just the link local address "carrier".
If you wonder aboout wpa_supplicant, you'll have to start it and try to manually connec to the AP and see whether that causes any errors.
If you want to try netctl/wifi-menu you'll have to first stop systemd-networkd.

Arch Linux

#1 2023-03-26 13:24:05

wpa_supplicant causes carrier to be lost

#2 2023-03-26 14:24:00

Re: wpa_supplicant causes carrier to be lost

#3 2023-03-26 16:10:13

Re: wpa_supplicant causes carrier to be lost

#4 2023-03-26 19:36:14

Re: wpa_supplicant causes carrier to be lost

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