Cannot connect to my wireless network.

[Exospaciac]

So I just moved into a new place with wireless internet. Windows sees the network and connects fine, but in Sabayon I am having some troubles. The password is WPA, and I know for certain it's correct, but when I enter it, it just prompts me again, then proceeds to kick me off the network. Could this be a problem related to my wireless card? My card is a TrendNet TEW-423, and it's using the RTL8180 driver.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Does the PC connect OK to the Internet or local network via an Ethernet cable?

If the SSID of the WiFi router is cloaked (hidden), try uncloaking it temporarily to see if the PC can then access the WPA-encrypted network. If that works, see the following post for an explanation of what is probably happening: viewtopic.php?f=86&t=19216&p=110649#p110649. (Regarding the fallacy that hiding the SSID of a wireless network improves security: viewtopic.php?f=53&t=20176&p=114282#p114282.)

[kenta88]

Set the WPA and try to restart! XD

[Exospaciac]

Yes the PC connects fine when connected with an ethernet cable; I just can't get Sabayon to connect to this network.
I don't think the network is cloaked; I can see it under Windows7 and Linux automatically.

If it matters, the router is a Netgear; I don't know the model number.

I tried manually configuring it with iwconfig but I guess it can only accept hex and ascii keys, not passphrases? :/
I also tried two different drivers for the card (net8185 and rtl8180); it didn't change anything.

Also, while it does work in Windows 7, it takes a long time to establish a connection, probably somewhere around 2-3 minutes. Not sure if that means anything or not.

edit: I tried using wpa_supplicant to configure the network. Here's the output when I try to connect:

Code: Select all

localhost mikey # wpa_supplicant -Dwext -iwlan0 -cwpa.conf

Trying to associate with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca (SSID='NETGEAR' freq=2462 MHz)

Associated with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca
CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=00:18:4d:8e:37:ca reason=0
Trying to associate with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca (SSID='NETGEAR' freq=2462 MHz)

Authentication with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca timed out.

Trying to associate with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca (SSID='NETGEAR' freq=2462 MHz)

Authentication with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca timed out.

ioctl[SIOCSIWSCAN]: Device or resource busy

Failed to initiate AP scan.

Trying to associate with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca (SSID='NETGEAR' freq=2462 MHz)

Authentication with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca timed out.

Trying to associate with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca (SSID='NETGEAR' freq=2462 MHz)

Authentication with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca timed out.

Trying to associate with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca (SSID='NETGEAR' freq=2462 MHz)

Authentication with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca timed out.

Trying to associate with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca (SSID='NETGEAR' freq=2462 MHz)

Authentication with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca timed out.

Trying to associate with 00:18:4d:8e:37:ca (SSID='NETGEAR' freq=2462 MHz)



It just keeps repeating those last two messages until I cancel it.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Have you tried configuring the router as an unencrypted or WEP-encrypted network, to see if the PC can access an unencrypted or WEP-encrypted network, and thus isolate the problem to WPA encryption?

[Yturtle]

I will be interested to read if this problem can be reduced to an issue with the WPA encryption because I have a similar issue. I'm a new Sabayon user (installed over Ubuntu Netbook last weekend) and really like it. I'm no expert but I was able to get my wireless working by reading the forums. I have a mixed environment (I have a Windows work computer, my family uses Macs, and I have a Netbook running Linux). We have an Apple Time Capsule that serves at a wireless base-station and back-up/storage device. For some time I've had two networks in the house -- an unencryted one for guest users and to use when I have to use a VPN to access my work servers and a WPA Personal encrypted one. I can get Sabayon to connect to the unencryted one with no problem but it will not connect to the encrypted one at all. (And I would clearly prefer to use the encrypted network.) When I try to connect to the encrypted network it just goes into a loop trying to configure it until it times out and then I ask it to try again.

Not sure this is helpful, but would like to know if others have experienced the same issue and how they resolved it. Sorry to be long-winded on my first post!

[Fitzcarraldo]

My home hub is configured for WPA-PSK (TKIP) and I have no trouble using SL with it. With earlier versions of NetworkManager* I had to uncloak the network in order to gain initial access, but after that it works even if the SSID is re-cloaked (although I don't bother cloaking it any more for the reasons given in the link in my first post).

If your router is configured for WPA-PSK (TKIP) you could try configuring it to use WPA-PSK (AES), or vice versa, to see if that makes a difference.

* I have not tried a cloaked WPA network with the current version of NetworkManager, so don't know if that restriction still exists.

Post also the output of the commands iwlist scan, ifconfig and iwconfig run as root user in a Konsole/Terminal window.

[Yturtle]

Thanks, Fitzcarrado, for your help in configuring my wireless access. I ended up turning off the encryption on the router. At that point I was able to connect properly. Then I turned the encryption back on and edited the connection setting and was able to access the router with WPA/WPA2 Personal turned on. Not sure why, but it worked. Meanwhile I'm learning a bit about how Sabayon works and am really enjoying it. Very nice.

Don't know if I should mark this as solved since I'm not sure Exospaciac (the original poster) every solved his issue.

[Fitzcarraldo]

I ended up turning off the encryption on the router. At that point I was able to connect properly. Then I turned the encryption back on and edited the connection setting and was able to access the router with WPA/WPA2 Personal turned on. Not sure why, but it worked.

The explanation is given by NetworkManager developer Dan Williams: Cannot connect to wpa/wpa2 network with hidden SSID.

The supplicant isn't able to probe-scan to find your AP because it doesn't have the information yet to be able to do so. Once you've successfully connected, NM will cache the AP's BSSID and recognize that AP from the scan list and try to reconnect automatically. But the first time has to be manual, because otherwise there's no way to find the AP since it's trying to hide.

Hiding isn't actually a useful method of increasing security, since the AP's beacon and BSSID are always available in probe responses; so anyone can actually get the SSID irregardless of whether the AP is broadcasting that information in its beacon.

('AP' = Access Point, i.e. your wireless router.)

Windows 7 and Vista allow the user to override the supposed (false) benefit of cloaking a SSID, by providing a tick box "Connect even if the network is not broadcasting. Warning: If you select this option your computer's privacy may be at risk.". However your PC then leaks the supposedly-hidden SSID to other users! If you don't tick that box, then you have to go through the same procedure as with NetworkManager for a new wireless network, namely uncloak it and establish a connection. You could then cloak it again, which is a waste of time.

Cloaking a SSID does not provide any additional security. What does is a good encryption protocol and a good password. Anyway, read this article for a good explanation, complete with screen shots of that other OS:

Debunking Myths: Is Hiding Your Wireless SSID Really More Secure?.

Don't know if I should mark this as solved since I'm not sure Exospaciac (the original poster) every solved his issue.

You can't mark the thread as solved as only the original poster (or a forum moderator or administrator) can edit his first post. Anyway, glad you have got it working (and that you're enjoying SL), and let's hope he has too.

[UKRick]

I think that the problem that the folks are having stems from Kwallet. If you configure the app instead of blowing through or canceling it Sabayon should connect. I was guilty of the same thing. Just choose the advanced setup when prompted and let it have access when needed. Why KDE feels the need to tie that POS app to the wifi setup is way beyond me.