Why do I keep getting kicked off the unsecure wireless LAN at the library?

aristocratic · 08-21-2012, 07:29 PM

I was wondering if anyone can tell me why I keep getting kicked off the wirelss LAN at the public library I use. When this happens, I get the following message from the /var/log/messages file:

Aug 21 19:14:30 linux kernel: [ 1864.853508] wlan0: deauthenticated from 00:17:0f:db:3b:50 (Reason: 1)

Once I reboot the computer, I can connect to the same wireless LAN, but it will kick me off in about 15 to 20 minutes.

jefro · 08-21-2012, 08:41 PM

I get the feeling that you have to use some logon or web access before they let you connect through.

http://steev.wordpress.com/2010/03/3...-reason-codes/

cseanburns · 08-21-2012, 09:52 PM

A librarian should be able to help with that.

salasi · 08-22-2012, 09:26 AM

Locally, Librarians know nothing about networking (but there is a department, somewhere, that does) so you may or may not have success with that.

In the past, I have seen some success with the following measures:

Ensure that NM (or WicD) are set to reconnect automatically.
Open a terminal and run a ping in the background to ensure that the line never goes quiet for too long

In principle, you probably shouldn't have to do either of the above, in practice they seem to help. I have no idea whether it would help you, as the network to which you connect is probably very unlike the ones local to me.

It also helps to ensure that the computer is not swapping as that seems to occasionally add long delays, and it seems possible that if there is a long delay, something times out.

DavidMcCann · 08-22-2012, 11:09 AM

It might be policy, if it always happens after 15 minutes, although I'd expect them to give you an hour.

cseanburns · 08-22-2012, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salasi

Locally, Librarians know nothing about networking

Sorry to hear that. Generally, it's not the case (e.g.: http://code4lib.org/about). Otherwise, if it's an authentication issue, then the librarians should be able to help. It won't hurt to ask as it may be a common problem that has nothing to do with the OS anyone is running.

aristocratic · 09-08-2012, 03:55 PM

I was unable to determine why I keep getting kicked off. I did come up with the following command line to reconnect:

iwconfig wlan0 essid "Library-Public"

It reconnects me instantly, without having to go through YaST! I also use the ! function so that I don't have to type out the whole thing.

!iwconfig

Take that, Library connection!

From above ~~~> * Ensure that NM (or WicD) are set to reconnect automatically.

I am unfamiliar with this, what does it mean?