Actually NM only uses the device name as provided by the kernel. For example, compare

Tried Tails 2.11 live on the same machine with the same wireless adapter on which Mint 18.1 won't see wireless adapter.

The trouble as I said is the shitty name given by Ubuntu and copied by Mint of the adapter named wlxx.... instead of wlan0 as required.

If distro for newbies like Ubuntu and Mint make this shits we can loose hope that new user will come to GNU/Linux.



Give AntiX a try, if you want you can add mate xfce aso even if the full version is usable as is.

You're referring to predictable network interface names, which can be disabled if desired (where invoked), and I fail to see how that impacts on Network Manager anyway.

After more than 20 years of GNU/Linux I think it should work, out of the box.

No one which is new to GNU/Linux as skills and time to waste especially when you find you without net connection the first time you see it.

A newbie in such case go to the nearest mall and buy a copy of Microsoft Windows or directly a Mac.

GNU/Linux has too trouble to be widely adopted.

Lack of quality (see below the enormous bug I found investigating), shared library, fragmentation in to many distro which waste efforts.

Bazaar without a single target conduct to nothing, reality is that "mainstream" distribution sucks and a man alone (Anticapitalista developer of AntiX) does it better.

Only to satisfy my ego I managed some hours with Mint 18.1 to bring wireless adapter alive.

Ubuntu is not a Bible, like assholes Mint packaged without checking.

The first trouble was that wireless adapter was not included in interfaces file (etc/network/interfaces.d/interfaces).

Adding wlx000.... to it solved the first issue.

Now wireless adapter comes up and see the wireless network.

Now there's the second trouble to solve.

Mint 18.1 can't still connect to encrypted network (it ask wpa key in an infinite loop but is unable to connect).

I do it to say I did it famous manteiner and packager sucks.

A newbie say "GNU/Linux sucks" and go to buy a copy of Windows and we can't blame them.

You should start your own thread. None of what you've said here is relevant to the OP's issue.