Topic: Hidden network will not connect

I have a new Lenovo T61p with Ubuntu 8.04.1 installed.  I was having trouble with network manager connecting to LEAP at work, so I installed wicd yesterday.  I'm able to successfully connect to networks at work with an assigned SSID, but most of the AP's have ssid of "" and display as Hidden. 

From the wicd.log:

2008/11/11 14:07:40 :: WPA_CLI RESULT IS SCANNING
2008/11/11 14:07:40 :: WPA_CLI RESULT IS SCANNING
2008/11/11 14:07:40 :: WPA_CLI RESULT IS DISCONNECTED
2008/11/11 14:07:41 :: wpa_supplicant rescan forced...
2008/11/11 14:07:41 :: ifconfig eth0
2008/11/11 14:07:42 :: ifconfig wlan0

This just repeats until it does a time out.  Another thread suggested changing the MAX_TIME from 15 to 40, which I did.  I'm sure the LEAP username/pwrd are correct, but I'm stuck. 

Where can I go from here?

Re: Hidden network will not connect

Update... I tried creating my own template with the following:

network={
ssid=""
scan_ssid=0
eap=LEAP
key_mgmt=WPA-EAP
identity="$_USERNAME"
password="$_PASSWORD"
}

Doesn't seem to work either.  Any suggestions?

Re: Hidden network will not connect

Hi,

I got that problem fixed by changing scan_ssid=0 to scan_ssid=1.

@wicd Team: Maybe this option should be somewhere changeable inside wicd.

@thread-creator and wicd team:
ALSO: I think you should change how hidden SSIDs are handled general BECAUSE adding a hidden SSID through software doesn't work at all. Only way to got it working was by adding the "essid = ..." into the wireless-settings.conf for that AP.

Last edited by ghost_zero (2008-12-21 14:51:01)

  • adam
  • Developer
  • Offline

Re: Hidden network will not connect

ALSO: I think you should change how hidden SSIDs are handled general BECAUSE adding a hidden SSID through software doesn't work at all.

Define "doesn't work". Does the hidden network not appear in the network list after you add it using the Hidden Network button, or does it not connect, or something else?

Re: Hidden network will not connect

adam wrote:

ALSO: I think you should change how hidden SSIDs are handled general BECAUSE adding a hidden SSID through software doesn't work at all.

Define "doesn't work". Does the hidden network not appear in the network list after you add it using the Hidden Network button, or does it not connect, or something else?

Well, for me, it does neither.   I give wicd the ESSID of the hidden network and it takes 30 seconds to come back with an otherwise empty main window saying "No wireless connections found."  If I enable broadcasting at the router, then I can connect pretty easily.   (I can't think of why wicd ignores the previous connection information, using the same ESSID.)   I'm probably reading too much into debugging log messages, but it appears wicd might rely on "iwlist wlan0 scan" to find networks, which may not work, for my configuration anyway.

Ubuntu 8.10 (both out of the box and with all updates through 2009-01-02).   Sony VAIO with 256MB, 600MHz.

Linksys WPC54G Broadcom BCM4306 (Rev 2), ndiswrapper 1.52, wicd 1.5.7.

Router is WRT54G, firmware v3.03.6.  Configured for WPA-PSK (AES).   802.11g-only (802.11b disabled).

While trying to connect, other networks were generally not present or very weak, and the target one was 2 meters away, at -30dBm.

  • adam
  • Developer
  • Offline

Re: Hidden network will not connect

That is correct. Wicd uses iwlist scan to find networks.

Try this:

sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid yournetworkessid
sudo iwlist scan

and see if your network appears in that list.

Re: Hidden network will not connect

adam wrote:

That is correct. Wicd uses iwlist scan to find networks.

Try this:

sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid yournetworkessid
sudo iwlist scan

and see if your network appears in that list.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I just tried the above first when the ESSID was being broadcast and of course the scan showed the network.   Then I disabled the broadcast and repeated those commands and the scan again succeeded.   

Then with the broadcast still disabled, I rebooted the laptop.   And repeated the iwconfig and iwscan several times (about 3 & 6 respectively), but never found the network.

I then reenabled the broadcast, repeated the commands, and the scan worked.

Throughout this test, a separate laptop (completely different HW & SW) showed no change in network connectivity, though I wasn't doing fine measurements, just testing web pages.

Anything else I could try?

Thanks,
Larry

Re: Hidden network will not connect

I have the same problem of scottyja and larrywest42.
The strange thing is that booting the PC with an older version of the kernel by GRUB, everything works fine.
Here are the kernel versions in my system, from GRUB boot loader:


Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-23-generic
Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-23-generic (recovery mode)

Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-22-generic
Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-22-generic (recovery mode)

Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-21-generic
Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-21-generic (recovery mode)

Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic
Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic (recovery mode)

Ubuntu 8.04.1, memtest86 +


Wicd does not work, only with the newer version (2.6.24-23).
On my system is installed wicd 1.5.8

Any suggestions?

  • adam
  • Developer
  • Offline

Re: Hidden network will not connect

luitos, you probably have a bug in your wifi driver which is why a previous kernel version would work. You can file an Ubuntu bug and see if they can help you.

Re: Hidden network will not connect

adam wrote:

luitos, you probably have a bug in your wifi driver which is why a previous kernel version would work. You can file an Ubuntu bug and see if they can help you.

It can appear strange, but I solved in these following way, into Wicd:
1) press "Connect" button related hidden network to link
2) press "Stop" button during started DHCP acquisition
3) input ISSD name in the top menu bar "Network" tab
4) when "no wireless network present" message appears,press "Disconnect" button in the top menu bar
5) Press "Refresh" button in the top menu bar
6) when ISSD hidden network name appears in the available networks list, press related "Connect" button
7) wait DHCP acquisition. Done, linked!

I must say though, that subsequently, in an attempt to improve connecting, I tried to use the  NDISWrapper Ubuntu features, to use the network drivers for Windows, but it did not work.
I have only obtained the blocking of the system.
So, I uninstalled the NDISWrapper features, the system started again, but now I can no longer use Wicd because it does not recognize the adapter wlan0 used so far.
But perhaps this is another topic
However, if someone wants to help me, can do the same.
By!

Last edited by luitos (2009-01-15 19:17:25)

11 Reply by 298

  • 298
  • Member
  • Offline

Re: Hidden network will not connect

The procedure suggested by luitos works for me as well (fixed IP address in my case). Now it would be nice if wicd could somehow remember the manually entered ESSID.

  • adam
  • Developer
  • Offline

Re: Hidden network will not connect

298 wrote:

The procedure suggested by luitos works for me as well (fixed IP address in my case). Now it would be nice if wicd could somehow remember the manually entered ESSID.

Wicd does. It is a limitation of your wireless card drivers that Wicd does not show it. To see the problem for yourself, you can run iwlist scan (as root, before you connect to the hidden network) and see if there is a network called <hidden> or similar with a BSSID that matches your access point. If there is, please tell us and we'll try and fix it.

Re: Hidden network will not connect

Hi all,

Total wicd noob so please forgive me .... for barging in and creating more confusion (hope not)

I own an Acer Aspire One...
My O.S. is linux4One v 1.0 .
kernel: 2.6.28-v15aspire1
Wifi: Atheros Communications Inc. AR 242x 802.11abg (rev 01)

by using the madwifi drivers the creators of this distro solved the WiFi problems.

Because i'm just not very happy with Gnome I've installed Wicd 1.5.8. to be able to use another desktop.

Coming to the point (finally;) ) my question:

I have a hidden network
Wicd sees the hidden network but i can't connect           (okay reasonable ESSID unkown)
Solution:
Menu: Network, Hidden Network, i enter the ESSID, click Add Network= No Go
if i repeat this procedure it works. ( A second network with my network name appears in the Wicd manager)

In practice this means that after every reboot i have to Add my Hidden Network twice to get it recognized before i can click the connect button and make  a connection.
Once a connection is made Wicd works perfectly.

i've tried to force the ESSID on the Wifi before starting Wicd a.o. by means of: (sudo) iwconfig ath0 ESSID "networkname"   doesn't work.
I've been playing around with Pre-connection scripts to try and resolve this but had no success so far.
Could be me making syntax errors or could be i'm totally misunderstanding the concept of Pre-connection scripts

I would be very happy if someone could help me and resolve this or shed any light on this

regards,
woodland

Last edited by woodland (2009-01-24 13:55:22)

14 Reply by 298

  • 298
  • Member
  • Offline

Re: Hidden network will not connect

Hello adam,

Here is part of what iwlist scan prints:

    Cell 02 - Address: 00:0D:0B:55:19:0F
          ESSID:""
          Mode:Master
          Channel:1
          Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
          Quality=69/100  Signal level:-64 dBm  Noise level=-127 dBm
          Encryption key:on

The address belongs to the access point that I want to connect to. When I start wicd, it shows this as <hidden>. I then need to click "connect" on this hidden network (there might be some other hidden networks as well), then cancel, then enter the ESSID using the "Hidden Network" menu. wicd will then show the network correctly and I can click "connect" again. It does remember all the advanced settings including static IP etc. It seems that only the mapping between ESSID and AP address gets lost. This is even lost when I re-open the wicd window after connecting. It then shows me a <hidden> network with a Disconnect button. The tray icon, on the other hand, shows the ESSID properly.

From a usability point of view it might be helpful if the ESSID could be part of the Advanced Properties. Right now it's not obvious at all to which hidden network the little pop up refers to.

Last edited by 298 (2009-02-17 00:55:19)

Re: Hidden network will not connect

I'm not able to connect to any of my hidden networks, no matter what I try.  At least Network-Manager gives me the option to input my SSID.

Is there an option somewhere that will let me rename hidden networks in WICD?  When I try to *add* a hidden network, the window refreshes with NO networks detected.

I'm using DDWRT with a 2nd virtual ESSID.  I cannot connect to either network.

  • adam
  • Developer
  • Offline

Re: Hidden network will not connect

Try running these commands in a terminal

sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid MYESSID
sudo iwlist scan

where wlan0 is the interface name and MYESSID is the essid name. See if your AP shows up in the iwlist scan info.

Re: Hidden network will not connect

When I do that, the network in question shows up with SSID of "".

Is there a way to actually give a *name* to the hidden networks in WICD?

  • adam
  • Developer
  • Offline

Re: Hidden network will not connect

Click on the network button in the top left hand corner of the window, then click Find hidden network.