unable to connect or view network manager Mint 18.3

ADDn00b · 06-13-2019, 09:06 PM

ASUS N56V with Mint 18.3 MATE

I installed a new router in my home today and all went well until I went to connect with my work laptop. There was simply no way to connect to the new network.

I noticed this happening a few months ago when I went to a branch office for work that I normally don't visit, and I couldn't even find a networking interface that would let me see the available networks. My network manager GUI looks like it is missing a few tabs, compared to the one in the included documentation.

(Oddly, my giant, old HP dv series laptop, running Mint 18.3 Cinnamon, does not have this issue. The network interface is visible and easily accessible. Connected easily.)

I did manage to connect to the network on my work laptop using a live USB (Fedora) with both wired ethernet and Wi-Fi working perfectly, so I'm convinced it's not the hardware.

Interestingly, I began my job in November, and had to locate the company Wi-Fi connection then. I don't recall having any problem with it. But when I visited the branch in March, I no longer had access to any interface that would allow me to see or connect to any network, other than those I had already stored. Could this have been a kernel update issue? (I install all recommended updates.)

As it is, I don't know enough about the driver(s) involved to decipher what my problem might be. It *looks* like I have the current driver (ath9k for Atheros AR9485).

In trying to learn all the required material for my new job, I've become less able to keep up with every little tweak that has to occur to make this system fully operational. I was unable to find anyone else in the forums with this exact issue, which makes me feel stupid. I just think it's some stupid little detail I've missed.

I'd be grateful for any help provided.

hydrurga · 06-14-2019, 09:35 AM

I run Mint 19.1 MATE, not 18.3, and am not a hardware expert by any means, so may not be of much help. However, can you please post the output from the following command, within CODE tags, so that we can check that you have all the relevant networking packages installed:

Code:

dpkg -l *network* | grep "^ii"

Also, can you click the network manager icon in the system tray, take a screenshot of the menu that displays (or two screenshots if you have to scroll the menu), and attach it, having obfuscated any wifi router names for your own privacy.

ADDn00b · 06-14-2019, 10:18 AM

Thanks for responding, hydrurga.

I have no network manager icon in the tray, and there is none available to add to the panel.No option to add it, either.
Screenshot attached of Network Manager...I think I attached it anyway.

Code:

ii  gir1.2-networkmanager-1.0:amd64       1.2.6-0ubuntu0.16.04.3 amd64        GObject introspection data for NetworkManager
ii  glib-networking:amd64                 2.48.2-1~ubuntu16.04.1 amd64        network-related giomodules for GLib
ii  glib-networking-common                2.48.2-1~ubuntu16.04.1 all          network-related giomodules for GLib - data files
ii  glib-networking-services              2.48.2-1~ubuntu16.04.1 amd64        network-related giomodules for GLib - D-Bus services
ii  libproxy1-plugin-networkmanager:amd64 0.4.11-5ubuntu1        amd64        automatic proxy configuration management library (Network Manager plugin)
ii  libqt4-network:amd64                  4:4.8.7+dfsg-5ubuntu2  amd64        Qt 4 network module
ii  libqt5network5:amd64                  5.5.1+dfsg-16ubuntu7.6 amd64        Qt 5 network module
ii  network-manager                       1.2.6-0ubuntu0.16.04.3 amd64        network management framework (daemon and userspace tools)
ii  network-manager-gnome                 1.2.6-0ubuntu0.16.04.4 amd64        network management framework (GNOME frontend)
ii  network-manager-openvpn               1.1.93-1ubuntu1.1      amd64        network management framework (OpenVPN plugin core)
ii  network-manager-openvpn-gnome         1.1.93-1ubuntu1.1      amd64        network management framework (OpenVPN plugin GNOME GUI)
ii  network-manager-pptp                  1.1.93-1ubuntu1        amd64        network management framework (PPTP plugin core)
ii  network-manager-pptp-gnome            1.1.93-1ubuntu1        amd64        network management framework (PPTP plugin GNOME GUI)

Thanks again for responding!

hydrurga · 06-14-2019, 10:40 AM

Ok, those packages match what I have installed on Mint 19.1, albeit with older versions.

Just to confirm, have you ever connected by wifi to anything with the machine that you are using, running Mint 18.3?

ADDn00b · 06-14-2019, 11:05 AM

Yes. Connected right now at work. So there had to be a time between November and March where this worked and I was able to see the full version of Network Manager. It just doesn't "see" any networks, and there's no tab on the network manager interface that would indicate available networks. -_-

hydrurga · 06-14-2019, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADDn00b

Yes. Connected right now at work. So there had to be a time between November and March where this worked and I was able to see the full version of Network Manager. It just doesn't "see" any networks, and there's no tab on the network manager interface that would indicate available networks. -_-

Ok. I would advise that, if you haven't done so already, you create a thread in the Linux Mint forums (https://forums.linuxmint.com/) and give as much info as you can on your hardware (inxi -nxxxz would be useful, for example). If you do, let us know how you get on. Sorry I can't be of more use than that.

ADDn00b · 06-14-2019, 11:52 AM

Thanks for your response, hydrurga. I'll put it on the Mint forums and see what happens!