[SOLVED] wicd connected where networkmanager could not

slac-in-the-box · 07-24-2016, 09:39 AM

Running slackware64-14.2, trying to connect to a WPA2 wifi network, with correct key, network manager (in the notification area of xfce) would display a connection of 4 bars for a brief instance, and then go back to it's disconnected icon.

I don't know if its a networkmanager thing, or something wonky with wifi at the inlaws house. Here's what the wpa_supplicant log said:

Code:

wlan0: SME: Trying to authenticate with 48:e2:44:ee:59:5c (SSID='WIFIEE5958' fr$
wlan0: Trying to associate with 48:e2:44:ee:59:5c (SSID='WIFIEE5958' freq=2462 $
wlan0: Associated with 48:e2:44:ee:59:5c
wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=48:e2:44:ee:59:5c reason=15
wlan0: WPA: 4-Way Handshake failed - pre-shared key may be incorrect
wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-SSID-TEMP-DISABLED id=0 ssid="WIFIEE5958" auth_failures=1 dur$
wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-REGDOM-CHANGE init=CORE type=WORLD
wlan0: SME: Trying to authenticate with 48:e2:44:ee:59:5c (SSID='WIFIEE5958' fr$
wlan0: Trying to associate with 48:e2:44:ee:59:5c (SSID='WIFIEE5958' freq=2462 $
wlan0: Associated with 48:e2:44:ee:59:5c
wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=48:e2:44:ee:59:5c reason=15
wlan0: WPA: 4-Way Handshake failed - pre-shared key may be incorrect
wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-SSID-TEMP-DISABLED id=0 ssid="WIFIEE5958" auth_failures=1 dur$
wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-REGDOM-CHANGE init=CORE type=WORLD
wlan0: SME: Trying to authenticate with 48:e2:44:ee:59:5c (SSID='WIFIEE5958' fr$
wlan0: Trying to associate with 48:e2:44:ee:59:5c (SSID='WIFIEE5958' freq=2462 $
wlan0: Associated with 48:e2:44:ee:59:5c
wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=48:e2:44:ee:59:5c reason=15
wlan0: WPA: 4-Way Handshake failed - pre-shared key may be incorrect
wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-SSID-TEMP-DISABLED id=0 ssid="WIFIEE5958" auth_failures=1 dur$
wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-REGDOM-CHANGE init=CORE type=WORLD

I switched back to wicd, and connected with no issues at all.

Thought I would post about it, in case other folks have issues with networkmanager too.

chirag87 · 07-24-2016, 09:52 AM

Check your driver and Pre Shared Key. I tried using wicd but it was painful. The icon looked out of place and the networkmanager could perform the same functionality. From your post it seems like PSK is being input wrong repeatedly.

bassmadrigal · 07-24-2016, 11:05 AM

Try switching the dhcp client from dhcpcd to dhclient in /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/00-dhcp-client.conf.

slac-in-the-box · 07-24-2016, 01:38 PM

Bassmadrigal's solution worked. With dhclient, networkmanager did not disconnect. So I should change the topic of this thread to "dhclient connected to a wpa2 network when dhcpcd could not." Networkmanager is fine. It's dhcpcd that's funny.

Wicd is not painful; all you do is find it in the /extra folder of the slackware tree, install it with installpkg, and then make it executable (chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.wicd). Reboot, and wicd icon is in notification area. So it has a green vertical bar instead of sideways blue bars... but the icon isn't bad. One feature of wicd that I like, is that, if I forgot an encryption key to a network I've visted, and can't find where it's written down, I can just right click on that network in wicd, choose settings, and the check the box to show the password. Useful for finding passwords... bad, if you leave your workstation accessible in an insecure environment. Overall, though, both should work.

Now why was dhcpcd dropping the connection when dhclient does not? I'm curious. But, since I'm connecting just fine, I've got better things to puzzle out first, like building webrtc server.

Thanks for the solution, Bassmadrigal. I'll mark it as solved.

bassmadrigal · 07-24-2016, 03:06 PM

Unfortunately, people run into issues with both dhclient and dhcpcd. I guess Pat has found that dhcpcd is less problematic than dhclient, which is why dhcpcd is default. If you want more info on it, see his post here.