A few wifi problems, both with wpa_supplicant/dhcpcd and NetworkManager
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A few wifi problems, both with wpa_supplicant/dhcpcd and NetworkManager
So, I just recently built a desktop after having only laptops for about 7 years, and I couldn't be happier. I had a few rocky moments but managed to get past of them but the one that is causing me the most trouble/headache is getting wireless to work.
I am on Slackware 14.1, this has happened on 2 different installs (long story) but I have had problems on both. The first time I had used a combination of wpa_supplicant and then using dhcpcd, and this one I selected network manager as my default on this install - but either way I am having a hard time keeping a stable connection, or connecting at all.
To give a little more background, my wifi is set up with WPA2 Personal (AES encryption). A lot of the times on booting up, it will not start. A very slight temporary fix is deleting /var/run/wpa_supplicant right after logging in (a fix I found on another thread), it works great for a while, if it works at all and disconnects, but I can only do that once (and that is right when I boot up). Other times, it just tries to connect constantly without doing anything. If it connects, the connection lasts maybe 10 minutes to a few hours.
My dmesg from the time it happened last (from boot to when it disconnected):
If it doesnt do that, it gives random errors (unfortunately, don't have any of these saved to my log) but it will authenticate and deauthenticates immediately after and gives error codes 2 or 3. Next time that happens, I'll post it right after
I'm at my wits end, I haven't had this much trouble with wifi on linux in years. I'd appreciate any help, and will provide more information if necessary (may have left something out or worded things weird). Thank you!
I too have WPA and had the exact same thing going on with the wifi as you did.
The wireless connection would stay up for maybe 10 min's and than crash to the point where I couldn't see my network and had to reboot.
Organilly when I first opened the /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file in nano I only had these 2 arguments.
I added the 16 lines from the Slackware documentation and since a complete shutdown (waited a few min's) and a fresh reboot I haven't had anymore trouble with the wireless. http://docs.slackware.com/slackbook:wifi
Code:
bash-4.2# cat /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=root
#Added all 16 lines on Aug 5th
# This line enables the use of wpa_cli which is used by rc.wireless
# if possible (to check for successful association)
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
# By default, only root (group 0) may use wpa_cli
ctrl_interface_group=0
eapol_version=1
ap_scan=1
fast_reauth=1
#country=US
# WPA protected network, supply your own ESSID and WPAPSK here:
network={
scan_ssid=1
ssid="Put the name of your network here"
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
psk="Put your passphrase that your ISP gave you here."
}
bash-4.2#
During my installation I told the installer to use Network Manager.
The first time I installed Slackware dhcp didn't work and I didn't configure wicd.
-::-Include the quotes on either side of your ssid= and on your psk=.-::-
Editing that config file worked for me.
Hope it does the same for you.
If not you could disable network manager and configure wicd.
Hello everyone! I do have some updates. I apologize for being silent. Over time, things have gotten more stable - I am getting speeds that are more consistent and it can connect better.
I took both ReaperX7's advice, as well as Ztcoracat's. I modified my wpa_supplicant.conf to everything that was listed there, and used dhclient instead of dhcpcd.
I do sometimes get the errors I had before (such as wlan0 deauthenticating w/ error number 2 or 3) but it hasn't happened in 5 days, and after a reboot.
Thanks for the help guys, if I have issues with this again, I'll post back!
---------- Post added 08-21-15 at 02:16 PM ----------
Hello everyone! I do have some updates. I apologize for being silent. Over time, things have gotten more stable - I am getting speeds that are more consistent and it can connect better.
I took both ReaperX7's advice, as well as Ztcoracat's. I modified my wpa_supplicant.conf to everything that was listed there, and used dhclient instead of dhcpcd.
I do sometimes get the errors I had before (such as wlan0 deauthenticating w/ error number 2 or 3) but it hasn't happened in 5 days, and after a reboot.
Thanks for the help guys, if I have issues with this again, I'll post back!
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