Impossible for non-administrator users to connect to new wireless networks

[Jerker Nordh]

I have configured a laptop for a non tech-savvy member of my familiy, and therefore not given his user any administrative rights.

It is impossible for him to connect to a new wireless networks, since that requires administrative priviledges. This makes the laptop more or less useless for him.

I believe the root cause is that it by default tries to save the network connection and make it avaiable for all users, which requires administrative priviledges. Since it is a non-administrator user that is trying to connec to the network it should not try to add it for all users.

Problem has been reproduced on several machines running Ubuntu 12.10, it can easily be triggered:
1. ( Create a user with a standard account )
2. Log in as a normal users
3. Try to connect to a wireless network - you will now be asked for the password of the administrator account, which the user of course doesn't have.

Note, the bug in step 3 will only trigger if another user hasn't previously connected to that network, because then it would already be stored in the system global network settings

:~$ lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 12.10
Release: 12.10

:~$ apt-cache policy network-manager
network-manager:
  Installed: 0.9.6.0-0ubuntu7
  Candidate: 0.9.6.0-0ubuntu7
  Version table:
 *** 0.9.6.0-0ubuntu7 0
        500 http://se.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ quantal/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

[Jerker Nordh (ajn)]

Related to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager/+bug/964705
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager-applet/+bug/1077982

In 964705 it has been decided that the reported problem shouldn't be fixed since it was by design., which leaves the problem described in this thread as unsolved aswell (which I'm sure is not by design, since it would be silly to have a computer were the default policy is for the users to not be able to connect to networks)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Jerker Nordh (ajn)]

If this bug is a duplicate of #964705 that means that is an "opinion" whether or not a normal user should be able to connect to a wireless network!

I'm removing duplicate here, I can't see how this can be a duplicate as long as the #964705 is marked as opinion, since that bug is discussion a lot of other problems aswell. I do believe they have a common root cause, but for the other use cases there seems to be some disagreement about what should be the policy.

[Justin Luth (jluth)]

Still a problem in Bionic Beaver development. In the past you could work around it by going into network properties, and manually adding a network, being careful to uncheck the "make it available for all users" option. I couldn't work around it in Bionic.

But the point is that you shouldn't have to "work around" anything. A normal user should be able to follow the simple process of selecting the wireless and being prompted to connect and save the password just for himself.

[brjhaverkamp (bert-bertenselena)]

Hi all,

This is still a problem in Eoan Ermine 19.10.

And I really don't understand why this has so low priority. I have been able to trace this problem back to 2012!!!?!

And it is really blocking ordinary users from working with a Ubuntu laptop.
My usecase:
I just installed Ubuntu 19.10 on a new laptop for my wife. I am the administrator, my wife is a normal user. She is a writer, and likes to take the laptop to coffee shops, libraries etc.
But she can not connect to wifi in these places without my adminstrator password!!!?!

And worst of all, I haven't even be able to find a suitable workaround.:-(
On the previous laptop I had to tell her the password over the phone every time she joined a new hotspot. in 2019, I would really like to make a fresh start on this new laptop and give her a proper linux-user experience.

Security issues can not be the reason. I can even connect to any public wifi on my company laptop with Windows 10. Even our company IT security permits that! Surely Ubuntu should be able to allow this on a private laptop.

Is this the reason Linux is only on 1% of the PCs? If only tech-savy people can do the ordinary operations on a laptop with an admin password.

I hope this can get solved quickly.

Kind regards,

Bert Haverkamp
Regards,

Bert

[Michel-Ekimia (michel.ekimia)]

Still happening in 20.04 focal , We need to find some workaround for this , any other mobile or desktop OS can do this !