wi-fi won't connect

[Sapheran]

I just installed mint 19 cinnamon on a laptop. I connected it to a wired connection and updated my wireless card drivers and tried to connect to my wi-fi network but it keeps getting stuck on connecting... every once in a while it asks me to input the password for the wifi network. I have made sure I am using the correct password multiple times. can anyone figure out what the problem is? I'm using 64-bit. inxi output as follows:

Code: Select all

 System:    Host: MCP-Linux Kernel: 4.15.0-20-generic x86_64 bits: 64 gcc: 7.3.0
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.8.6 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu1) Distro: Linux Mint 19 Tara
Machine:   Device: portable System: Dell product: Latitude E6500 serial: N/A
           Mobo: Dell model: 0F327M serial: N/A BIOS: Dell v: A12 date: 02/13/2009
CPU:       Dual core Intel Core2 Duo T9800 (-MCP-) arch: Penryn rev.10 cache: 6144 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 11704
           clock speeds: max: 2935 MHz 1: 1596 MHz 2: 1596 MHz
Graphics:  Card: NVIDIA G98M [Quadro NVS 160M] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) drivers: nvidia (unloaded: modesetting,fbdev,vesa,nouveau)
           Resolution: 1280x800@60.02hz
           OpenGL: renderer: Quadro NVS 160M/PCIe/SSE2 version: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 340.106 Direct Render: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-20-generic
Network:   Card-1: Intel 82567LM Gigabit Network Connection driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: efe0 bus-ID: 00:19.0
           IF: enp0s25 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Broadcom Limited BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY driver: wl bus-ID: 0c:00.0
           IF: wlp12s0 state: dormant mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 258.3GB (6.5% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: Hitachi_HTS54502 size: 250.1GB
           ID-2: USB /dev/sdb model: DISK_2.0 size: 8.2GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 229G used: 14G (7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 43.0C mobo: N/A gpu: 0.0:50C
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 180 Uptime: 2:55 Memory: 2044.9/3933.7MB Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 7.3.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.4.191) inxi: 2.3.56 

[kyphi]

If your wired connection was to a modem/router then the password required for wireless operation would be the password for the modem/router - usually found on its base sometimes called "network key".

[GS3]

You can try to disable WIFI encryption and see if the client can connect. If it can connect then the problem is with the encryption. If it cannot connect then the problem is with the connection itself. Knowing that should help you with troubleshooting.

[Sapheran]

I'm very new to this, would you mind explaining how to do that?

[Pjotr]

Try a driver switch:
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... the-driver
(item 1.2, left column)

[smokinmoe]

I'm very new to this, would you mind explaining how to do that?

In wireless networks, encryption is generally WEP or WPA2... and usually enabled by default.

Presuming your wi-fi network is provided via your modem/router and you can connect to it via a wired connection:
Connect the wired connection

Determine the ip address of your modem/router:
Launch a terminal and enter route -n, look for the column labelled Gateway... this should be the address of your modem/router.

Login to the modem/router with your browser (Firefox or Chrome etc.):
Launch the browser, in the URL bar enter the address of your modem/router and press Enter.
You'll probably need to enter a username and password. Try admin as the username and password as the password. If that fails check for the correct username and password on the bottom/back of the modem/router as per kyphi's suggestion.

Look for a menu item named WiFi or something similar.
There should be a section or option named Wi-Fi Encryption. Here you should be able to change it to Disabled (this will make your WiFi network Open). A word of warning, don't leave it disabled after you've finished trouble shooting because it will allow anyone to connect to your network without a password.

After disabling the encryption you may need to restart your router.
Once that's done, disconnect the wired connection and try connecting to the wireless, without a password. If you can connect then likely your issue is with your WiFi password that your trying to use on the linux system when you try to connect to the wireless network. You should be able to check the password you need when you are in the WiFi settings on the modem/router.