Would like knetworkmanager to connect to AP automatically

[alfred]

I am using 7.10 on a laptop with wireless. I would like to connect to my WPA access point automatically (without having to type a password into KDE Wallet). How do I do this?

[GS2]

Re: Would like knetworkmanager to connect to AP automatically

What encryption are you using ? (eg WPA, WEP)

[One Norse]

Re: Would like knetworkmanager to connect to AP automatically

I'm having a similar problem, when my machine boots up I do not have a connection to the access point.

When I type in:

sudo iwconfig ath0 key mykeygoeshere

the connection is made, dhcp gets an address all all is right with the world. But the next time I boot, I get the same symptom all over again.

It seems that somehow the key is not being saved correctly. I tried kwifimanager and wifi-radar, but neither solved the problem across a boot.

[One Norse]

Re: Would like knetworkmanager to connect to AP automatically

I found an answer to my connection problems. I added

pre-up iwconfig ath0 key mykeygoeshere

in the /etc/network/interfaces file.

I figured out the answer after reading the 'knetworkmanager went from auto to manual config?' thread. There is a nice example at the bottom of how to set up the interfaces file for manual configuration.

[GS2]

Re: Would like knetworkmanager to connect to AP automatically

Yes I find the easiest way to setup any network config is to amend /etc/network/interfaces - which is generally what kdenetworkmanager does anway .

The syntax used in that file, can be dependent upon encyption (if any) and static/DHCP (amoungst other factors)

[One Norse]

Re: Would like knetworkmanager to connect to AP automatically

My encryption code wouldn't remain usable until I put it in the interfaces file myself. I did try several times to put the code into more 'user friendly' places (kdenetworkmanager, kwifimanager, wifi radar), but something kept un-doing my efforts until I edited 'interfaces'. 'Automatic' configuration software can be great when it works, but when it doesn't and you don't quite know enough to find what it changes and how, it can be extremely frustrating. I'm still not really satisfied with how I made my system work, It seems more like a hack patch job than an answer to 'what's going wrong?' Maybe I'll track it down after awhile...

For what it's worth, after booting without connection, I went through the madwifi (http://madwifi.org/wiki/UserDocs/FirstTimeHowTo) first time user howto (from their website) until I got to a point where the connection would go up, then I rebooted, started from the last command that worked, and that got me the one command that did the trick. (madwifi is for atheros wireless chipsets, your mileage may vary)

[jensoko]

Re: Would like knetworkmanager to connect to AP automatically

I'm having a similar problem - kwifimanager has the "load preset config on startup" box checked but the native network settings of kubuntu's system settings seems to hijack the card, not connect, and give me a bogus IP address. I'm a relative n00b, I know just enough to be dangerous and blow things up, but not quite enough to fix 'em without help. Will the command line thingy here help that?

pre-up iwconfig ath0 key mykeygoeshere

in the /etc/network/interfaces file.

Thanks for helping the n00b!

JenSoko

[One Norse]

Re: Would like knetworkmanager to connect to AP automatically

JenSoko:
At this point, it shouldn't hurt to try 'the command line thingy.' If you are using the madwifi drivers, then by all means go through the instructions one at a time and pay attention to which line item works to make the connection. If nothing else, you will have learned a little more.

I found it helpful to have kwifimanager running in the system tray as a visual signal for when the connection is made. (Run kwifimanager, in the Settings menu, check the box for stay in system tray on close.) When the green bars show up, something went right!

I also found it helpful to run
iwconfig --help
to get a short list of options for iwconfig displayed in a shell. (man iwconfig also works) Then open a second shell window next to the first to try them in. If you get tired of typing sudo at the beginning of each line, Konsole has a menu item for opening a root shell to work in, or you could use
sudo -s
to login as root from a command line.

Be sure you have a DHCP server running on your network. That service may be provided by your wireless router, or another computer, but make sure you have it running somewhere, or you wont get a useful IP address anyway.

Once you've identified which item(s) gets changed, then try fixing it in /etc/network/interfaces. Make a backup of interfaces before you start, and remember that you need to open your editor as root in order to edit that file:
Run Command: kdesu kate /etc/network/interfaces
or in a shell: sudo kate /etc/network/interfaces

Remember that if you keep notes of the things you change manually, and backups of the files, you can always go back and undo the damage.

Good luck!

[oznoob]

Re: Would like knetworkmanager to connect to AP automatically

Hello all
After reading this post, I have finally got the better of my knetworkmanger :-), like many I lost the auto-connect after upgrade (Gutsy) of knetworkmanager.After reading 'knetworkmanager went from auto to manual config?' I found my problem. In the file /etc/network/interfaces I had a line missing (auto eth0), after adding it, no more problems with knetworkmanager. Am running a wired connection through router
I hope this will help Good Luck