Wireless connection was working on 11.4 but not 12.1

Hi all. I have a laptop which was running OpenSUSE 11.4 and wireless was working fine (built-in card). I recently upgraded to 12.1, and now can’t get it working. I’ve tried Google and these forums, with no success. I am using the KDE desktop.

NetworkManager appears to be running (the icon shows up in the tray), but the “Enable Networking” checkbox is unchecked at boot, and always reverts to that.

Here is the output of lspci -nnk:

0e:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Atheros Communication Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) [168c:002a] (rev 01)
Subsystem: Askey Computer Corp. WLL6080 802.11bgn Wireless Mini PCIe Card [AR9281] [144f:7141]
Kernel driver in use: ath9k

And iwlist scan:

wlan0: Interface doesn't support scanning : network is down

And ifconfig:

lo    Link encap:Local Loopback
                inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
                inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
                UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
                RX packets:469 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
                TX packets:469 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
                collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
                RX bytes:37741 (36.8 Kb) TX bytes:37741 (36.8 Kb)

Is anyone able to help? If you can think of any other information that would be helpful for me to include, please let me know.

On 01/24/2012 07:26 PM, Jacic wrote:
>
> Hi all. I have a laptop which was running OpenSUSE 11.4 and wireless was
> working fine (built-in card). I recently upgraded to 12.1, and now can’t
> get it working. I’ve tried Google and these forums, with no success. I
> am using the KDE desktop.
>
> NetworkManager appears to be running (the icon shows up in the tray),
> but the “Enable Networking” checkbox is unchecked at boot, and always
> reverts to that.
>
> Here is the output of lspci -nnk:
>
> Code:
> --------------------
> 0e:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Atheros Communication Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) [168c:002a] (rev 01)
> Subsystem: Askey Computer Corp. WLL6080 802.11bgn Wireless Mini PCIe Card [AR9281] [144f:7141]
> Kernel driver in use: ath9k
> --------------------
>
>
> And iwlist scan:
>
> Code:
> --------------------
> wlan0: Interface doesn’t support scanning : network is down
> --------------------

The string “network is down” may mean that the firmware was not available, or it
may mean that the network is blocked by rfkill. Check the dmesg output to see a
message regarding the first potential problem. Using ‘/usr/sbin/rfkill list’
will check the second cause.

The string “network is down” may mean that the firmware was not available, or it
may mean that the network is blocked by rfkill. Check the dmesg output to see a
message regarding the first potential problem. Using ‘/usr/sbin/rfkill list’
will check the second cause.

Thank you for the quick reply. I ran “dmesg | grep firmware”, which had no results, and rfkill doesn’t seem to be installed.

The string “network is down” may mean that the firmware was not available, or it
may mean that the network is blocked by rfkill. Check the dmesg output to see a
message regarding the first potential problem. Using ‘/usr/sbin/rfkill list’
will check the second cause.

Thank you for the quick reply. I ran “dmesg | grep firmware”, which had no results, and rfkill doesn’t seem to be installed.

On 01/24/2012 08:06 PM, Jacic wrote:
>
>> The string “network is down” may mean that the firmware was not
>> available, or it
>> may mean that the network is blocked by rfkill. Check the dmesg output
>> to see a
>> message regarding the first potential problem. Using ‘/usr/sbin/rfkill
>> list’
>> will check the second cause.
>
> Thank you for the quick reply. I ran “dmesg | grep firmware”, which had
> no results, and rfkill doesn’t seem to be installed.

Obviously, you need to install it.

Yes, sorry. I forgot to say that I did try, but with out a network connection on that laptop, I am unable to download it directly. If you could point me to a download site I can download it with another laptop and use a usb drive to transfer.

On 01/24/2012 08:46 PM, Jacic wrote:
>
> Yes, sorry. I forgot to say that I did try, but with out a network
> connection on that laptop, I am unable to download it directly. If you
> could point me to a download site I can download it with another laptop
> and use a usb drive to transfer.

You need to download

http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/12.1/repo/oss/suse/x86_64/rfkill-0.4-10.1.3.x86_64.rpm

for x86_64, or

http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/12.1/repo/oss/suse/i586/rfkill-0.4-10.1.3.i586.rpm

for 32-bit systems. While downloading, also get

http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/12.1/repo/oss/suse/noarch/kernel-firmware-20111025git-1.7.1.noarch.rpm

You install those using the rpm utility.

hi,
I use openSUSE 12.1 x64 and gnome 3.When I enter the key WLAN, the connection always fails. the key is correct but the authentication fails.

Thanks

Hello xitaj,

This does not seem to be an answer to the problem here. When you have a problem of your own, please start a new thread (with a good title). Else we will have a mix of discussions about many problems that nobody will understand anymore.

To others, PLEASE stay on topic of the OP’s problem here. Wait for @xitaj to start his own thread about his problem and help him there!

Thank you for the links. I have installed the x86_64 package, and the firmware package. ‘/usr/sbin/rfkill list’ gives me:

0: phy0: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no

On 01/25/2012 02:26 PM, Jacic wrote:
>
> Thank you for the links. I have installed the x86_64 package, and the
> firmware package. ‘/usr/sbin/rfkill list’ gives me:
>
> Code:
> --------------------
> 0: phy0: Wireless LAN
> Soft blocked: no
> Hard blocked: no
> --------------------

OK, it is not rfkill that is blocking scanning.

What happens when you ‘sudo /usr/sbin/iwlist scan’ now?

I get the same out put as before:

wlan0    Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down

On 01/25/2012 02:56 PM, Jacic wrote:
>
> lwfinger;2434053 Wrote:
>>
>> OK, it is not rfkill that is blocking scanning.
>>
>> What happens when you ‘sudo /usr/sbin/iwlist scan’ now?
>
> I get the same out put as before:
>
> Code:
> --------------------
> wlan0 Interface doesn’t support scanning : Network is down
> --------------------

Is it correct that your 12.1 installation has not been updated since
installation? If so, I think that you are being impacted by one or more of the
bugs that were in the released version, and have since been fixed.

The ideal case would be to use a wire to get online. If that is not possible,
then your other option will be to switch from NM to ifup. Do you have experience
in doing this? The configuration file /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-wlan0 will be
the tricky part; however, the various YaST screens in Network Devices => Network
Settings will get the job done.

You can then bring up the network with the ‘sudo /usr/sbin/ifup wlan0’ command.

If you are unable to get that file created, please post a copy of what you have
back here.

Thank you. I’m unable to connect with a wire and update tonight, but I will do so tomorrow and post success/failure then.

I was able to change to ifup control and get a wire in to update. I applied all the available patches, and restarted. Everything is just like it was when I first posted, except now, I can’t even get ethernet to work with ifup.

Here is the output of ‘iwlist scan’:

wlan0     Scan completed :
          Cell 01 - Address: 00:13:46:16:53:AC
                    Channel:1
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Quality=65/70  Signal level=-45 dBm  
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"White House"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
                              12 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s
                    Bit Rates:9 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=00000005bb3e74d6
                    Extra: Last beacon: 23ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 000B576869746520486F757365
                    IE: Unknown: 010882848B960C183048
                    IE: Unknown: 030101
                    IE: Unknown: 2A0100
                    IE: Unknown: 32041224606C
          Cell 02 - Address: 00:1E:2A:63:10:00
                    Channel:4
                    Frequency:2.427 GHz (Channel 4)
                    Quality=30/70  Signal level=-80 dBm  
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"NETGEA"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
                              12 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s
                    Bit Rates:9 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=000002c21894e130
                    Extra: Last beacon: 719ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 00064E4554474541                       
                    IE: Unknown: 010882848B960C183048                   
                    IE: Unknown: 030104                                 
                    IE: Unknown: 2A0100                                 
                    IE: Unknown: 32041224606C
                    IE: WPA Version 1
                        Group Cipher : TKIP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : TKIP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK

And ‘ifup wlan0’:

wlan0     device: Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
command 'iwconfig wlan0 power period 2' returned
 Error for wireless request "Set Power Management" (8B2C) :
    SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.
    wlan0     warning: wpa_supplicant already running on interface

On 01/26/2012 05:26 PM, Jacic wrote:
>
> I was able to change to ifup control and get a wire in to update. I
> applied all the available patches, and restarted. Everything is just
> like it was when I first posted, except now, I can’t even get ethernet
> to work with ifup.
>
> Here is the output of ‘iwlist scan’:
>
> Code:
> --------------------
> wlan0 Scan completed :
> Cell 01 - Address: 00:13:46:16:53:AC
> Channel:1
> Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
> Quality=65/70 Signal level=-45 dBm
> Encryption key:on
> ESSID:“White House”
> Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
> 12 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s
> Bit Rates:9 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
> Mode:Master
> Extra:tsf=00000005bb3e74d6
> Extra: Last beacon: 23ms ago
> IE: Unknown: 000B576869746520486F757365
> IE: Unknown: 010882848B960C183048
> IE: Unknown: 030101
> IE: Unknown: 2A0100
> IE: Unknown: 32041224606C
> Cell 02 - Address: 00:1E:2A:63:10:00
> Channel:4
> Frequency:2.427 GHz (Channel 4)
> Quality=30/70 Signal level=-80 dBm
> Encryption key:on
> ESSID:“NETGEA”
> Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
> 12 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s
> Bit Rates:9 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
> Mode:Master
> Extra:tsf=000002c21894e130
> Extra: Last beacon: 719ms ago
> IE: Unknown: 00064E4554474541
> IE: Unknown: 010882848B960C183048
> IE: Unknown: 030104
> IE: Unknown: 2A0100
> IE: Unknown: 32041224606C
> IE: WPA Version 1
> Group Cipher : TKIP
> Pairwise Ciphers (1) : TKIP
> Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
> --------------------
>
>
> And ‘ifup wlan0’:
>
> Code:
> --------------------
> wlan0 device: Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
> command ‘iwconfig wlan0 power period 2’ returned
> Error for wireless request “Set Power Management” (8B2C) :
> SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.
> wlan0 warning: wpa_supplicant already running on interface
> --------------------

That error should not interfere with a connection, but you can “fix” it by
changing the WIRELESS_POWER variable to


WIRELESS_POWER='none'

Thank you. I changed that line as you suggested, and the error is gone. However, wireless still fails to work at all.

‘ifup wlan0’:

wlan0     device: Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
    wlan0     warning: wpa_supplicant already running on interface
DHCP4 client is already running on wlan0
DHCP6 client is already running on wlan0

On 01/26/2012 07:46 PM, Jacic wrote:
> Thank you. I changed that line as you suggested, and the error is gone.
> However, wireless still fails to work at all.
>
> ‘ifup wlan0’:
>
> Code:
> --------------------
> wlan0 device: Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
> wlan0 warning: wpa_supplicant already running on interface
> DHCP4 client is already running on wlan0
> DHCP6 client is already running on wlan0
> --------------------

Please post /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-wlan0. You can change characters in the
secret, but keep the same general form.

‘/etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-wlan0’ contains this:

BOOTPROTO='dhcp'
BROADCAST=''
ETHTOOL_OPTIONS=''
IPADDR=''
MTU=''
NAME='AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)'
NETMASK=''
NETWORK=''
REMOTE_IPADDR=''
STARTMODE='auto'
USERCONTROL='yes'
WIRELESS_AP=''
WIRELESS_AUTH_MODE='open'
WIRELESS_BITRATE='auto'
WIRELESS_CA_CERT=''
WIRELESS_CHANNEL=''
WIRELESS_CLIENT_CERT=''
WIRELESS_CLIENT_KEY=''
WIRELESS_CLIENT_KEY_PASSWORD=''
WIRELESS_DEFAULT_KEY='0'
WIRELESS_EAP_AUTH=''
WIRELESS_EAP_MODE=''
WIRELESS_ESSID='White House'
WIRELESS_FREQUENCY=''
WIRELESS_KEY=''
WIRELESS_KEY_0='h:<password>'
WIRELESS_KEY_1=''
WIRELESS_KEY_2=''
WIRELESS_KEY_3=''
WIRELESS_KEY_LENGTH='128'
WIRELESS_MODE='Managed'
WIRELESS_NICK=''
WIRELESS_NWID=''
WIRELESS_PEAP_VERSION=''                                                
WIRELESS_POWER='none'                                                   
WIRELESS_WPA_ANONID=''                                                  
WIRELESS_WPA_IDENTITY=''                                                
WIRELESS_WPA_PASSWORD=''
WIRELESS_WPA_PSK=''
PREFIXLEN='32'
WIRELESS_AP_SCANMODE='1'

On 01/27/2012 11:26 AM, Jacic wrote:
>
> ‘/etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-wlan0’ contains this:
>
> Code:
> --------------------
> BOOTPROTO=‘dhcp’
> BROADCAST=’’
> ETHTOOL_OPTIONS=’’
> IPADDR=’’
> MTU=’’
> NAME=‘AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)’
> NETMASK=’’
> NETWORK=’’
> REMOTE_IPADDR=’’
> STARTMODE=‘auto’
> USERCONTROL=‘yes’
> WIRELESS_AP=’’
> WIRELESS_AUTH_MODE=‘open’
> WIRELESS_BITRATE=‘auto’
> WIRELESS_CA_CERT=’’
> WIRELESS_CHANNEL=’’
> WIRELESS_CLIENT_CERT=’’
> WIRELESS_CLIENT_KEY=’’
> WIRELESS_CLIENT_KEY_PASSWORD=’’
> WIRELESS_DEFAULT_KEY=‘0’
> WIRELESS_EAP_AUTH=’’
> WIRELESS_EAP_MODE=’’
> WIRELESS_ESSID=‘White House’
> WIRELESS_FREQUENCY=’’
> WIRELESS_KEY=’’
> WIRELESS_KEY_0=‘h:<password>’

Using a passphrase for WEP rarely works for Linux as it uses a different method
for conversion between the phrase and the key than does Windows. The key should
be given as


WIRELESS_KEY_0="0123-4567-89"

where the 0123 etc. are replaced by the actual key, which you can get from the
access point management screen. For 64-bit encryption, there will be 10 hex
digits, with 26 digits for 128-bit encryption.

I assume that you are aware that WEP encryption is easily broken, WPA is better,
but only WPA2 with a strong, non-dictionary, phrase is relatively secure.

Everything else looks good.