Solved: thanks to u/dbkblk@lemmy.world; remember to add these USE flags to wpa_supplicant

net-wireless/wpa_supplicant wps wep ap fasteap eap-sim tkip uncommon-eap-types

I am facing this peculiar issue that i can connect to every WiFi connection except my router, it’s a recent gentoo install with no display server, i am using a D-link WiFi USB card

What I have tried:

  • using iw dev (device) scan to list the ssid and try connecting with wpa_supplicant
    • dhcpcd waits for connection then times out (does connect succesfully to my phones hotspot)
  • gave up and spent 3 hours compiling NetworkManager
    • every ssid shows up in nmcli dev wifi list except my router
    • forcing a connection passing bssid shows id not found
    • manually setting the connection using nmcli add also does not work
    • iw dev (device) scan lists my routers ssid along with others
    • nothing is blocked in NetworkManager and I spent hours going back and forth with chatgpt trying to force a connection to no avail
  • tried changing router setting(including changing broadcasting channels verifying, black lists etc)

What i have ruled out

  • its not the dlink wifi card or the laptop, I can connect to my router just fine using nmcli in a live fedora instance on the same laptop

I have tried every conceivable thing and I cant find what the issue is, it’s like my router and Gentoo have some bad blood between them

  • dbkblk@lemmy.world
    9·
    11 hours ago

    Have you checked the flags in wpa_supplicant? Some routers have non-default encryption schemes.

    From my notes, use these USE flags as a test: net-wireless/wpa_supplicant wps wep ap fasteap eap-sim tkip uncommon-eap-types

    I’m pretty sure this is your problem :)

    • Artemis_Mystique@lemmy.mlOP
      11·
      11 hours ago

      I added the use flags,

      compiled wpa_supplicant again with --newuse,

      restarted NM and wpa,

      and still the same issue :(

      did a killall wpa_supplicant and now my ssid shows up and i can connect to it :)

  • inutt@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    12 hours ago

    When you say you changed the channel, are you using a channel above 11 (for 2.4ghz)?

    I had a WiFi card once that refused to use channels 12 and 13 due to having a built in regulatory database that was incorrect for my region.

    • Artemis_Mystique@lemmy.mlOP
      3·
      12 hours ago

      it auto brodcasts at channel 11, i manually changed it to 1-6 rescanning each time

      also i dont think the channel or blacklists are the issue because it showed up and connected on live usb broadcasting at channel 11

      i also changed the region from global to my region

  • eldavi@lemmy.mlEnglish
    1·
    11 hours ago

    does your router have logs and are you able to see the authentication requests or connection attempts? (you could also try setting up another ap with the same bssid and settings to see if it also ignores that too).

    without that and in your shoes; i would exactly duplicate the configuration and versions of your networking stack in your gentoo configuration; everything from the exact kernel version, to the module & firmware version; and onto the nmcli version and configuration. i would even compile the module along with the kernel if that’s what the live fedora was using.

    • Artemis_Mystique@lemmy.mlOP
      11·
      11 hours ago

      I have 2 cores with 2 threads, compiling anything again is not an option for me, atleast right now: My router only has system logs unfortunately it doesnt show any logging for connection attempts

      • eldavi@lemmy.mlEnglish
        2·
        11 hours ago

        it’s funny that you’re using gentoo and want to avoid recompiling since the last time i used gentoo was on a single core, first generation imac and it literally took me 3 days to compile the kernel along with the drivers that i needed to get the apple/ppc architecture to work correctly

        it got so hot that i couldn’t even touch it for another day. lol

          • eldavi@lemmy.mlEnglish
            2·
            11 hours ago

            yes, exhaust all of the the other troubleshooting advice that the others gave you in this post before going down this rabbit hole; i only suggested it because it worked for me the last time i used gentoo, in my example.

  • NegativeLookBehind@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    12 hours ago

    Have you tried these troubleshooting techniques with NetworkManager not running? NM will fuck you up sometimes because it will change things with no indication of what it changes.

    • Artemis_Mystique@lemmy.mlOP
      1·
      12 hours ago

      before I gave up and installed NM i tried it the manual way, (including trouble shooting steps), then i spent some time compiling wireless-tools package and tried with them, same issue, then spent hours compiling NM for some hope(I disabled the relevant background services before trying NM) only for the ssid to not even show up

          • NegativeLookBehind@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            11 hours ago

            Have you used dmesg to see what the interface is doing?

            Have you tried reloading the kernel module used by the interface?

            Tried using a different kernel module?

            Is SELinux enabled?

            Run a packet capture to see what connection attempts are being made, if any?

            Just spitballing.

  • just_another_person@lemmy.world
    11·
    11 hours ago
    1. What is the exact model or chipset on the card?
    2. Have you confirmed it works on other liveusb distros?
    3. Is your network using WPA3 by chance?
      • just_another_person@lemmy.world
        11·
        11 hours ago

        Then it sounds like a config or version issue with your networking stack. The driver and hardware is fine, and if that same card works fine on another machine, then your network stack is missing something.

        If you really want to keep trying with this distro, get some debug logs for us to look at.