[SOLVED] Wifi card doesn't detect some wifi networks

Dangertech · n00b Joined: 13 Apr 2022 Posts: 8

I have installed gentoo for the first time, using my own configured kernel.
My wifi card is properly detected (Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174) and a `nmcli dev wifi` lists every wifi network around me except the one I have credentials for - what are the odds.

The network in question runs on a very old router manufactured by cbn, which was overtaken by Vodafone, the CBN CH6640E, which has has a page
here: https://www.vodafone.de/hilfe/router/cbn-ch6640e.html?accordion=technische+daten

It's only available in German, so I'll translate the technical properties into English:

`lsmod` lists this:

pietinger · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 4:02 pm Post subject:

Dangertech,

Welcome to Gentoo Forums !

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 4:10 pm Post subject:

Dangertech,

Welcome to Gentoo.

I can think of a number of issues.

1. Your router is set to use a 'hidden SSID'. That does not really hide the SSID, it just makes the WAP non standards compliant and some Wifi adaptors won't work with it.
That's not a bug, its a feature.

2. You are missing the regulatory database in your kernel, so your wifi is restricted to a subset of available channels.
However, you can see all the networks except the one you want, so that's unlikely.

Make friends with wgetpaste and share your dmesg output and your kernel .config file please.
They are far too big to fit into a post.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

Dangertech · n00b Joined: 13 Apr 2022 Posts: 8

Dangertech · n00b Joined: 13 Apr 2022 Posts: 8

Ok, I did as asked, here's my kernel config: https://dpaste.com/492SWWKC7

~And this is my dmesg output: https://dpaste.com/AJCWUF7GB ~ I'm sorry, disregard that, I didn't think when writing this, that's the output from the Manjaro Live CD I used to chroot and get the output. I'm stupid.
That's the REAL dmesg output, from the live machine, running the actual kernel: https://dpaste.com/8KMZDH8TK

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 6:21 pm Post subject:

Dangertech,

I would probably have spotted

Dangertech · n00b Joined: 13 Apr 2022 Posts: 8

The log doesn't show any attempts of connecting to a network because the network isn't even known to it - thus any attempt from
my side to set up an automatic connection through NetworkManager, for example, would be useless. The only thing I could do so far
was running `nmcli dev wifi`and finding every network except my own.

Manjaro shows this entry because I manually clicked the funny buttons in the XFCE panel to set up my internet connection. I don't remember
exactly, but it's very possible that I mistyped the password the first time I tried to authenticate, had to find out I forgot to set my keymap to dvorak,
change that, type in the password again and hit connect. That would explain the big delay between the two attempts.

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 9:24 pm Post subject:

Dangertech,

My German is non existent but I have found a scanned copy of the user guide on line, which I can't read, and a slightly different one for the same model, in English, which I can read.

By looking at both, your gateway appears to support hidden SSIDs. If the SSID is hidden, the network is not supposed to appear in any lists of networks.
The SSID is broadcast in about three different ways. setting hidden on suppresses one of them. Sone tools show hidden networks, some have an option.
wpa-supplicant will connect to hidden networks.

Please check that the SSID you are looking for is not hidden.

On the topic of wpa-supplicant, USE=tkip is off by default as its no longer secure.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

Dangertech · n00b Joined: 13 Apr 2022 Posts: 8

The option 'Netzwerk Ausblenden' (hide Network, I refer to the screenshot on page 36 of the manual) is not ticked in my router settings, it is
described as exactly what you mean: "With a hidden Network, the users have to enter the SSID in their client instead of selecting the SSID from
a list. This makes it harder to gain access." Since all the devices of my entire not-very-tech-savvy family let them choose the network happily
from a list, I don't think that this is the issue.

But I gathered some new, very interesting information: Out of curiosity, I disabled the NetworkManager service and tried connecting through wpa_supplicant
(I used wpa_cli as a frontend). And... wpa_cli showed me the KDG-BEE34 network just fine! A bit staggered, I added a network with the credentials and was
promptly greeted with CTRL-EVENT-CONNECTED. However, after my initial hope, I was disappointed to see that a `ping gnu.org` or `ping 8.8.8.8` didn't
work. `ip a` only shows my wifi card with a IPv6 address:

jburns · Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2022 12:24 am Post subject:

If net-wireless/wpa_supplicant is built with -tkip it will not see wifi connections that offer WPA-PSK as a connection option. Try building net-wireless/wpa_supplicant with the tkip USE flag.

Dangertech · n00b Joined: 13 Apr 2022 Posts: 8

Somehow, after waking up today, it works now. The scan for networks showed mine, I did the good ol' `nmcli dev wifi con KDG-BEE34 --ask` and everything
was just fine, a connection was established. I didn't do a rebuild of any software, I didn't change any USE flags, nothing.

What I did do though was changing the Network security settings from "Mixed WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK" to "WPA2-PSK", which I guess did the trick.
And again, I am definitely not very knowledgeable when it comes to computer networking, but changing this probably changed the network
from the TKI-Protocol which is known as unsafe to the AES protocol which is supported by the default USE flags.
(As a sidenote, I am not in charge for the network I want to connect to, I just happen to have access to it. This security flaw is not my fault.)

But since I want to be able to see and connect to every network my laptop finds, I added 'tkip' to my USE flags and rebuilt affected software.

TLDR: Some old networks use deprecated protocols which are not supported by the default gentoo networking stack by design.
Try to add 'tkip' to your USE flag, or even better, ask the network administrator to change the settings of the router to "WPA2-PSK" if they can.

Thanks to everyone who helped, I would have probably given up if it was not for this forum thread.

steel_penguin · n00b Joined: 01 Mar 2020 Posts: 37

Had totally the same problem: wasn't able to detect/connect some wifi networks in gentoo, however
detected & connected the very same networks in windows/macos.
Added tkip to USE flags, rebuilt all affected packages, worked like a magic!
Thank you!