[SOLVED] trouble with setting up wireless connectivity on new install. Correct psk is being denied repeatedly only on my slackware device

burning · 01-15-2020, 03:03 PM

I initially had a similar problem to this post:
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...on-4175467555/
But then realised that my computer's wireless was both hard and soft blocked, so I got rid of those blocks.
For context, I have the exact same wireless card as the OP in the linked post.

originally, iwconfig returned hopeful results, saying that it was able to at least detect my wlan0 interface, but I kept receiving errors whenever I'd try to use wicd or networkmanager. Both said they didn't detect any networks and on boot/startup of the OS, originally I got this error:

Quote:

STIOCSIFFLAGS: Operation not possible due to RF-kill
/etc/rc.d/rc.M: wlan0 information: 'Any ESSID'
Error for wireless request "Set Nickname" (BB1C) ;
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Operation not supported.
Error for wireless request "Set Bit Rate" (BB20) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Network is down.
wlan0 no private ioctis.

wlan0 no private ioctis.

wlan0 no private ioctis.

Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
wlan0: Unsupported driver 'ndiswrapper'
Failed to connect to non-global ctrl_iframe: wlan0 error: no such file or directory

Then I tried doing:

Code:

lsmod | grep iwlwifi

And after that, I tried:

Code:

iwlist wlan0 scan

and it returned a list of detectable access points which was promising.

I've tried using the wicd-curses interface, the wicd-client and
the NetworkManager GUI but all of them tell me that the response I'm getting back is bad password when I know I'm entering it right because I've quadruple checked it and it works on my other computer and my phone. It's a short password so it's not like it's easy to make mistakes.

the exact response I get in the terminal when I use the wicd-client is:

Quote:

ERROR:dbus.connection:Exception in handler for D-Bus signal:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/dbus/connection.py", line230, in maybe_handle_message
self.handler(*args, **kwargs)
File "/usr/share/wicd/gtk.py", line 281, in handle_connection_results
error(self.window, language[results], block=False)
KeyError: dbus.String(u'bad_pass')

Whenever I try in NetworkManager it just asks me to re-enter the password again.

bassmadrigal · 01-16-2020, 10:55 AM

It sounds like you're trying to mix various networking options, but that can cause issues itself. To be able to properly use networkmanager or wicd, you need to reset your rc.inet1.conf file before you can use the other tools. To do this, run netconfig and select "loopback". Then you can rerun it and select nm or wicd.

But if you want to try with just the console wireless tools (which might make it easier to diagnose), you would need to edit /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf (after resetting it using the loopback option in netconfig like I mentioned above) and /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf.

On your /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf file, make sure you have the following uncommented.

Code:

IFNAME[4]="wlan0"
USE_DHCP[4]="yes"
WLAN_WPA[4]="wpa_supplicant"

And then to make sure your /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf is set correctly, you can run:

Code:

wpa_passphrase $YOUR_SSID $YOUR_PSK >> /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

Then try running restarting /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 and see if you get connected.

Code:

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 restart

If that doesn't work, we can try running wpa_supplicant manually and see what the output is:

Code:

wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -iwlan0 -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

Also, this may sound dumb, but make sure you don't have mac address filtering enabled, or if it is, make sure your mac address is whitelisted.

burning · 01-16-2020, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmadrigal

It sounds like you're trying to mix various networking options, but that can cause issues itself. To be able to properly use networkmanager or wicd, you need to reset your rc.inet1.conf file before you can use the other tools. To do this, run netconfig and select "loopback". Then you can rerun it and select nm or wicd.

But if you want to try with just the console wireless tools (which might make it easier to diagnose), you would need to edit /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf (after resetting it using the loopback option in netconfig like I mentioned above) and /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf.

On your /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf file, make sure you have the following uncommented.

Code:

IFNAME[4]="wlan0"
USE_DHCP[4]="yes"
WLAN_WPA[4]="wpa_supplicant"

And then to make sure your /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf is set correctly, you can run:

Code:

wpa_passphrase $YOUR_SSID $YOUR_PSK >> /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

Then try running restarting /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 and see if you get connected.

Code:

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 restart

If that doesn't work, we can try running wpa_supplicant manually and see what the output is:

Code:

wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -iwlan0 -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

Also, this may sound dumb, but make sure you don't have mac address filtering enabled, or if it is, make sure your mac address is whitelisted.

Thanks for your reply, I reset /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf like you explained how to but

Code:

wpa_passphrase $YOUR_SSID $YOUR_PSK >> /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

didn't work. Nothing happened. I think this may be related to the contents of /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf as in the example here https://docs.slackware.com/slackbook:wifi it has much more in the file than in the one on my machine.
On the Slackware 14.2 install I have running, my wpa_supplicant file only has two lines:

Quote:

ctrl_interfaces=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=root

nothing else.

And the second line isn't even in the example I don't think.

bassmadrigal · 01-16-2020, 02:54 PM

For that command, you replace put in your own SSID and PSK in the command and it should redirect the output to the end of /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf. You do need to run that command as root, since your regular user doesn't have access to /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

So, if we ran wpa_passphrase with test-ssid as the ssid and password as the psk, it would output:

Code:

wpa_passphrase test-ssid password
network={
        ssid="test-ssid"
        #psk="password"
        psk=a3ddecc37cff8ed2e9d710e88b742aaf471d10179cc67e1102c20a60bece287e
}

Using the ">>" will take that info and add it to the end of your /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

burning · 01-16-2020, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmadrigal

For that command, you replace put in your own SSID and PSK in the command and it should redirect the output to the end of /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf. You do need to run that command as root, since your regular user doesn't have access to /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

So, if we ran wpa_passphrase with test-ssid as the ssid and password as the psk, it would output:

Code:

wpa_passphrase test-ssid password
network={
        ssid="test-ssid"
        #psk="password"
        psk=a3ddecc37cff8ed2e9d710e88b742aaf471d10179cc67e1102c20a60bece287e
}

Using the ">>" will take that info and add it to the end of your /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

Thank you, I tried doing that but for some reason I had to press the Return key twice until I could enter commands again. Taking another look into the /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file it has the wrong psk, something completely different to what I entered earlier but I think it's likely related to my initial confusion at the lack of an input prompt after entering

Quote:

wpa_passphrase $YOUR_SSID $YOUR_PSK >> /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

I've tried resetting both files with netconfig and loopback again and re entering

Quote:

wpa_passphrase $YOUR_SSID $YOUR_PSK >> /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

but it seems to have no change on the /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file as the wrong SSID and PSK are still there. I've tried manually changing the SSID and the psk now but I don't think it worked.

bassmadrigal · 01-16-2020, 04:49 PM

Are you replacing the $YOUR_SSID and $YOUR_PSK with your actual SSID and PSK?

And typically if you have to press enter twice, you might have a stray quote somewhere in the file. Does your SSID or PSK have any quotes or apostrophes in them?

burning · 01-16-2020, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmadrigal

Are you replacing the $YOUR_SSID and $YOUR_PSK with your actual SSID and PSK?

And typically if you have to press enter twice, you might have a stray quote somewhere in the file. Does your SSID or PSK have any quotes or apostrophes in them?

No they don't have any quotes in them that I know of other than the two quotes surrounding them like:

Quote:

SSID="my_SSID"

and yes, I did enter the name of the SSID and the PSK in their respective places.

/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf now reads

Quote:

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=root
#reading passphrase from stdin
network={
ssid="nameofssid
#psk="passwordforssid"
psk=longstringofnumbersandletters(hexadecimal?)withoutquotemarkssurroundingthem
}
# reading passphrase from stdin
#Passphrase must be 8..63 characters
# reading passphrase from stdin
#Passphrase must be 8..63 characters

And on startup, I get the following error message:

Quote:

/etc/rc.d/rc.M: Wlan0 information: 'Any ESSID'
Error for wireless request "Set Nickname" (8B1C) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Operation not suppported.
Successfully initialised wpa_supplicant
Polling for DHCP server on interface wlan0:
all: IPv6 kernel autoconf disabled
wlan0: adding address (random ipv6 address here)
if_ipaddress6: Operation not supported
wlan0: waiting for carrier
timed out
DHCP exited
Starting system message bus: /usr/bin/dbus-uuidgen --ensure ; /usr/bin/dbus-daemon --system
Starting wicd daemon: /usr/sbin/wicd &
Starting Internet super-server daemon: /usr/sbin/inetd

Is the startup of the wicd daemon interfering at all?

bassmadrigal · 01-16-2020, 06:17 PM

Based on what's in your /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf, I believe you didn't include the PSK properly, so it was prompting you to type it in manually.

Try running the wpa_passphrase command without redirecting the output to the wpa_supplicant.conf file. It should just output everything to the console. Then you can copy/paste that output directly into the wpa_supplicant.conf file. Just leave the two lines at the top of the file and replace everything else with the pasted text.

As far as wicd and network manager are concerned, I would recommend ensuring they're stopped and removing the execute bit on their startup files to make sure they won't interfere.

Code:

sh /etc/rc.d/rc.networkmanager stop
sh /etc/rc.d/rc.wicd stop
chmod -x /etc/rc.d/rc.{networkmanager,wicd}

burning · 01-16-2020, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmadrigal

Based on what's in your /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf, I believe you didn't include the PSK properly, so it was prompting you to type it in manually.

Try running the wpa_passphrase command without redirecting the output to the wpa_supplicant.conf file. It should just output everything to the console. Then you can copy/paste that output directly into the wpa_supplicant.conf file. Just leave the two lines at the top of the file and replace everything else with the pasted text.

As far as wicd and network manager are concerned, I would recommend ensuring they're stopped and removing the execute bit on their startup files to make sure they won't interfere.

Code:

sh /etc/rc.d/rc.networkmanager stop
sh /etc/rc.d/rc.wicd stop
chmod -x /etc/rc.d/rc.{networkmanager,wicd}

It just outputted

Quote:

# reading passphrase from stdin

and then awaited my input.

I'm confused.

Quote:

wpa_passphrase $SSID $password

would supposedly enter the name AND the password included in the statement. But then it does that thing where it awaits further input. I tried entering the password and then it outputted the relevant segment that would go in the /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file but only included the 2nd word in the SSID. (the SSIS of the network is 2 words with a space between them. I tried adding a space between the $ and the first word but then it just gave me a message reminding me that Passphrase must be 8..63 characters)

edit: So what further input is it waiting for if I've already given it the relevant SSID and the PSK?

bassmadrigal · 01-16-2020, 07:04 PM

Ah... If your SSID or PSK has 2 words in it, you'll need to make sure they're enclosed with quotes.

Code:

wpa_passphrase "my ssid" "my psk"

burning · 01-17-2020, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmadrigal

Ah... If your SSID or PSK has 2 words in it, you'll need to make sure they're enclosed with quotes.

Code:

wpa_passphrase "my ssid" "my psk"

ah, I see. My bad.
Thanks.

ok, I've entered the right details into wpa_supplicant.conf.
Running rc.d/rc.inet1 restart gets me:

Quote:

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1: wlan0 informationL 'Any ESSID'
Error for wireless request "Set Nickname" (8B1C) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Operation not supported.
Successfully initialised wpa_supplicant
Polling for DHCP server on interface wlan0:
wlan0: adding address (it then gives an ipv6address)
wlan0: waiting for carrier
timed out
dhcp exited

bassmadrigal · 01-17-2020, 09:37 AM

Ok, try running wpa_supplicant manually and paste the output in here:

Code:

wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -iwlan0 -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

burning · 01-17-2020, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmadrigal

Ok, try running wpa_supplicant manually and paste the output in here:

Code:

wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -iwlan0 -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

thanks, for my future reference, could you please explain what that command is doing? I see that it's doing something to do with the drivers of the wlan0 interface and supposedly storing them in wpa_supplicant.conf but what exactly is it doing?

I ran the command and got this:

Quote:

Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
ctrl_iface exists and seems to be in use - cannot override it
Delete 'var/run/wpa_supplicant/wlan0 manually if it is not used anymore
Failed to initialize control interface '/var/run/wpa_supplicant'.
You may have another wpa_supplicant process already running or the file was left by an unclean termination of the wpa_supplicant in which case you will need to manually remove this file before starting wpa_supplicant again.

nl80211: deinit ifname=wlan0 disabled_11b_rates=0

bassmadrigal · 01-17-2020, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burning

thanks, for my future reference, could you please explain what that command is doing? I see that it's doing something to do with the drivers of the wlan0 interface and supposedly storing them in wpa_supplicant.conf but what exactly is it doing?

-D sets the default driver, nl80211 is the most common nowadays
-i sets the wireless interface
-c sets the configuration file to use

Quote:

Originally Posted by burning

I ran the command and got this:

Code:

Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
ctrl_iface exists and seems to be in use - cannot override it
Delete 'var/run/wpa_supplicant/wlan0 manually if it is not used anymore
Failed to initialize control interface '/var/run/wpa_supplicant'.
You may have another wpa_supplicant process already running or the file was left by an unclean termination of the wpa_supplicant in which case you will need to manually remove this file before starting wpa_supplicant again.

nl80211: deinit ifname=wlan0 disabled_11b_rates=0

Looks like you either already have wpa_supplicant running or it exited uncleanly and left a lock file in place. Try to kill wpa_supplicant and then remove its lockfile and then rerun the wpa_supplicant command above.

Code:

killall wpa_supplicant
rm -rf /var/run/wpa_supplicant/wlan0

burning · 01-17-2020, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmadrigal

-D sets the default driver, nl80211 is the most common nowadays
-i sets the wireless interface
-c sets the configuration file to use

Looks like you either already have wpa_supplicant running or it exited uncleanly and left a lock file in place. Try to kill wpa_supplicant and then remove its lockfile and then rerun the wpa_supplicant command above.

Code:

killall wpa_supplicant
rm -rf /var/run/wpa_supplicant/wlan0

ok, I killed the lockfile and reran the command but now it's just stuck, seemingly awaiting further input with no prompt.
Just a flashing underscore with no bash prompt. I tried entering the SSID and the passphrase but it's still just the flashing cursor with no underscore.