USB Wifi doesn't automatically connect

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EPGeek

USB Wifi doesn't automatically connect

Post by EPGeek »

Hi, I'm having an issue with my USB wifi connecting to the home network automatically. The connection is stable once logged on (eg, doesn't disconnect), but I have to explicitly connect to the network, including entering the wifi password, every time I start up the machine. The network connections window lists the same network over and over, all of them set to auto-connect. I noticed that the MAC addresses are different for every listing, which I suspect is probably the root of the problem. As an aside, I thought MAC was assigned at the hardware level, and not something the OS could influence. . . .

I did some searching onilne, and found how to disable the "random" (or whatever) assignment of MAC address. That was a couple weeks and a vacation ago, so I think it was adding a line to the NetworkManager.conf file. That didn't solve the problem, as the MAC still is different on every startup. It seems that the device itself is getting assigned a random ID, as shown in iwconfig (wlx00e04c89ebcd in this case).

The driver from the manufacturer (which I forget - bought it a year ago on Amazon) is RTL8821AU, even though the chip appears to be 8811au. I have verified the USB works correctly on my Win10 machine, though I didn't check whether the MAC was stable.

Any help is appreciated. This PC is supposed to be for my kids, who do enjoy youtube and the occasional online game, and I'd like to not have to administer it every time they use it.

Some system info:

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 $ lsusb
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 007 Device 002: ID 046d:c52f Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:a811 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 413c:2105 Dell Computer Corp. Model L100 Keyboard
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 011 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 010 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 009 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

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 $ iwconfig
enp5s0    no wireless extensions.

wlx00e04c89ebcd  IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"Mark Wifi low"  Nickname:"<WIFI@REALTEK>"
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 28:56:5A:E2:C0:44   
          Bit Rate:72.2 Mb/s   Sensitivity:0/0  
          Retry:off   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=100/100  Signal level=62/100  Noise level=0/100
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

lo        no wireless extensions.

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 $ inxi -F
System:    Host: mark-MS-7693 Kernel: 4.10.0-42-generic x86_64 (64 bit) Desktop: Cinnamon 3.4.6
           Distro: Linux Mint 18.2 Sonya
Machine:   Mobo: MSI model: 970A-G43 (MS-7693) v: 3.0
           Bios: American Megatrends v: V10.3 date: 03/28/2013
CPU:       Quad core AMD FX-4130 (-MCP-) cache: 8192 KB 
           clock speeds: max: 3800 MHz 1: 1400 MHz 2: 1400 MHz 3: 1400 MHz 4: 3800 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Juniper XT [Radeon HD 5770]
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1280x1024@60.02hz
           GLX Renderer: AMD JUNIPER (DRM 2.49.0 / 4.10.0-42-generic, LLVM 5.0.0)
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 17.2.8
Audio:     Card-1 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Juniper HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 5700 Series]
           driver: snd_hda_intel
           Card-2 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA) driver: snd_hda_intel
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.10.0-42-generic
Network:   Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller driver: r8169
           IF: enp5s0 state: down mac: d4:3d:7e:95:b0:6e
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 960.2GB (4.0% used) ID-1: /dev/sda model: SAMSUNG_HD321KJ size: 320.1GB
           ID-2: /dev/sdb model: ST3640323AS size: 640.1GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 290G used: 32G (12%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 4.26GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 29.4C mobo: N/A gpu: 55.0
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 197 Uptime: 2:08 Memory: 1436.6/3914.6MB Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 2.2.35 
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
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kc1di
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Re: USB Wifi doesn't automatically connect

Post by kc1di »

could you post the output of terminal command

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rfkill list 
with the dongle in the machine.
It could be that the usb port is not powered up or recognized before Network Manager is looking for devices.
if this is the case you can find out by restarting NM after machine has loaded the desktop by issuing this command in a terminal

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systemctl restart NetworkManager
if in then finds the wireless you'll know it a boot problem.
Easy tips : https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com/ Pjotr's Great Linux projects page.
Linux Mint Installation Guide: http://linuxmint-installation-guide.rea ... en/latest/
Registered Linux User #462608
EPGeek

Re: USB Wifi doesn't automatically connect

Post by EPGeek »

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$ rfkill list
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
After restarting the network manager the wireless automatically reconnected, so it appears you are correct. What's my next step?

Thanks!
User avatar
kc1di
Level 18
Level 18
Posts: 8146
Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:44 pm
Location: Maine USA

Re: USB Wifi doesn't automatically connect

Post by kc1di »

please make sure the wireless dongle is working and reissue this command

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inxi -Nn
So I can see which rtl card you have.
Easy tips : https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com/ Pjotr's Great Linux projects page.
Linux Mint Installation Guide: http://linuxmint-installation-guide.rea ... en/latest/
Registered Linux User #462608
EPGeek

Re: USB Wifi doesn't automatically connect

Post by EPGeek »

Code: Select all

 $ inxi -Nn
Network:   Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169
           IF: enp5s0 state: down mac: d4:3d:7e:95:b0:6e
Isn't this the wired ethernet on the motherboard?
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