Network-manager doesn't connect to open wireless networks

[Jeremy Nickurak]

Binary package hint: network-manager

Per http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=528813:

I seem to have the exact opposite problem as most people, so I'm having alot of trouble googling for it.

My networkmanager connects fine to wpa networks, but utterly fails on WEP networks, or even completely wide-open *unencrypted* networks. I can connect to the WEP or unencrypted networks fine by hand, or by using wifi-radar, but switching back and forth all the time is proving highly annoying. (not to mention the problems that network-manager-aware applications have when it reports no network available).

I'm on an IPW3945 wireless device, and have had this problem on feisty, and now on gutsy as well.

I definitely can (and out of neccesity, do) connect to unencrypted and WEP networks by hand, or with wifi-radar. No problem there.

Everything other than loopback is commented out in /etc/network/interfaces.

The problem persists on creation of a new user. I'm not sure where else network-manager might be keeping state about networks, if there's anything else to erase.

I'm not particularly familiar with the output of NetworkManager in daemon.log, but here's what I've been able to extract from it. This is on a WEP network, which successfully connects with wifi-radar with the following config: (Actual WEP key is faked here, but consistent in usage):

> [BlackTower]
> prescript =
> use_wpa = no
> postscript =
> mode =
> key = 123456789A
> use_dhcp = yes
> security =
> channel =

When successfully connected with wifi-radar, iwconfig says:

Code:

> eth1 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:"BlackTower"
> Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: 00:17:9A:CB:19:38
> Bit Rate:54 Mb/s Tx-Power:15 dBm
> Retry limit:15 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
> Encryption key:1234-5678-9A Security mode:open
> Power Management:off
> Link Quality=73/100 Signal level=-62 dBm Noise level=-63 dBm
> Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
> Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:702 Missed beacon:0

While network-manager is attempting to connect (after providing nm-applet with the key 123456789A for WEP 64/128-bit Hex, Open System > authentication), iwconfig says:

> eth1 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:"BlackTower"
> Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: 00:17:9A:CB:19:38
> Bit Rate:54 Mb/s Tx-Power:15 dBm
> Retry limit:15 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
> Encryption key:1234-5678-9A Security mode:open
> Power Management:off
> Link Quality=73/100 Signal level=-63 dBm Noise level=-64 dBm
> Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:47 Rx invalid frag:0
> Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:751 Missed beacon:0

From selection of the network in nm-applet to failure to connect, /var/log/daemon.log says:

> Aug 18 18:24:58 kedri NetworkManager: <debug> [1187483098.470092] nm_device_802_11_wireless_get_activation_ap(): Forcing AP 'BlackTower'
> Aug 18 18:24:58 kedri NetworkManager: <info> User Switch: /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/Devices/eth1 / BlackTower
> Aug 18 18:24:58 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Deactivating device eth1.
> Aug 18 18:24:58 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Device eth1 activation scheduled...
> Aug 18 18:24:58 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) started...
> Aug 18 18:24:58 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) scheduled...
> Aug 18 18:24:58 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) started...
> Aug 18 18:24:59 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) scheduled...
> Aug 18 18:24:59 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) complete.
> Aug 18 18:24:59 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) starting...
> Aug 18 18:24:59 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1/wireless): access point 'BlackTower' is encrypted, but NO valid key exists. New key needed.
> Aug 18 18:24:59 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) New wireless user key requested for network 'BlackTower'.
> Aug 18 18:24:59 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) complete.
> Aug 18 18:25:20 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) New wireless user key for network 'BlackTower' received.
> Aug 18 18:25:20 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) scheduled...
> Aug 18 18:25:20 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) started...
> Aug 18 18:25:21 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) scheduled...
> Aug 18 18:25:21 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) complete.
> Aug 18 18:25:21 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) starting...
> Aug 18 18:25:21 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1/wireless): access point 'BlackTower' is encrypted, and a key exists. No new key needed.
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: sending command 'INTERFACE_ADD eth1^I^Iwext^I/var/run/wpa_supplicant^I'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: response was 'OK'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: sending command 'AP_SCAN 1'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: response was 'OK'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: sending command 'ADD_NETWORK'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: response was '0'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: sending command 'SET_NETWORK 0 ssid 426c61636b546f776572'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: response was 'OK'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: sending command 'SET_NETWORK 0 key_mgmt NONE'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: response was 'OK'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: sending command 'SET_NETWORK 0 wep_key0 <key>'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: response was 'OK'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: sending command 'SET_NETWORK 0 wep_tx_keyidx 0'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: response was 'OK'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: sending command 'ENABLE_NETWORK 0'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: response was 'OK'
> Aug 18 18:25:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) complete.
> Aug 18 18:27:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1/wireless): association took too long (>120s), asking for new key.
> Aug 18 18:27:22 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) New wireless user key requested for network 'BlackTower'.
> Aug 18 18:27:25 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) New wireless user key request for network 'BlackTower' was canceled.
> Aug 18 18:27:25 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) failure scheduled...
> Aug 18 18:27:25 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) failed for access point (BlackTower)
> Aug 18 18:27:25 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) failed.
> Aug 18 18:27:25 kedri NetworkManager: <info> Deactivating device eth1.
> Aug 18 18:27:25 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: sending command 'DISABLE_NETWORK 0'
> Aug 18 18:27:25 kedri NetworkManager: <info> SUP: response was 'OK'
> Aug 18 18:27:25 kedri NetworkManager: <info> nm_policy_device_change_check:: !old_dev && !new_dev!!