Hi folks!
I was hoping to get some help troubleshooting my wireless configuration as I am not able to connect to my home network. I'm confident my wireless hardware and the driver are working properly as I'm able to connect to a mobile hotspot but this is slow and pricey, so I can't rely on it for day-to-day needs. I'm almost certain the issue is either with my /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf config or a mis-configuration on my wireless access point. I also don't think the issue is signal strength; I'm testing from about 50 feet away from the access point with only one wall between us. Other wireless devices have excellent signal strength in this same spot.
Hardware details:
I'm running
Here are the relevant sections of my /etc/rc.conf:
I don't have links handy, but I recall seeing a couple forum posts recommending adding a couple settings to /boot/loader.conf:
Finally, here's my /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf:
While the mobile hotspot is turned off, running
By contrast, when I enable my mobile hotspot I see the following after
Thanks in advance for any pointers/tips/tricks/suggestions folks have for diagnosing & resolving the issue!
I was hoping to get some help troubleshooting my wireless configuration as I am not able to connect to my home network. I'm confident my wireless hardware and the driver are working properly as I'm able to connect to a mobile hotspot but this is slow and pricey, so I can't rely on it for day-to-day needs. I'm almost certain the issue is either with my /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf config or a mis-configuration on my wireless access point. I also don't think the issue is signal strength; I'm testing from about 50 feet away from the access point with only one wall between us. Other wireless devices have excellent signal strength in this same spot.
Hardware details:
I'm running
FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE
on a Dell XPS 13 7390 (not the 2-in-1 model); it has a Killer(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX1650w 160MHz Wireless Network Adapter (200D2W)
which is supported by iwlwifi(4). My home network has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The 2.4GHz radio supports 802.11ax/b/g/n
and the 5GHz radio supports 802.11ac/ax/n
. The network is secured with mixed WPA2/WPA3 PSK, SAE (CCMP)
encryption. As far as I can tell, iwlwifi(4) should be able to connect, but for some reason cannot. The mobile hotspot I can connect to doesn't give me as much information, but I know it is also a mixed WPA2/WPA3 network.Here are the relevant sections of my /etc/rc.conf:
Code:
wlans_iwlwifi0="wlan0"
ifconfig_wlan0="WPA DHCP" # I've also tried SYNCDHCP with no effect; I also don't understand the distinction
# I saw another forum post that suggested these settings resolved their issue, but for me there was no effect
# defaultrouter="192.168.1.1"
# defaultroute_delay="0"
# In the same vein, I saw someone suggest these settings, but I don't think my issue is with dhclient
# and these options had no effect
# background_dhclient="YES"
# synchronous_dhclient="YES"
I don't have links handy, but I recall seeing a couple forum posts recommending adding a couple settings to /boot/loader.conf:
Rich (BB code):
# If I understand wlan_ccmp(4) and wlan_tkip(4) correctly, these options shouldn't be required
# Regardless, there's no change in behavior if these options are present or absent
wlan_ccmp_load="YES"
wlan_tkip_load="YES"
Finally, here's my /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf:
Code:
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
eapol_version=2 # I tried setting to 1, but no change in behavior
ap_scan=1
fast_reauth=1
country=US
# Home network (5GHz band)
network={
ssid="My SSID"
bssid=DE:AD:BE:EF:01
scan_ssid=1
psk="my psk" # I also tried the psk generated with wpa_passphrase, no change in behavior
priority=10
proto=RSN
# I've also tried setting these, but no change in behavior
# key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
# group=CCMP
# pairwise=CCMP
}
# Home network (2.4GHz band)
network={
ssid="My SSID" # The SSID for the two bands is the same; this isn't an issue for my other wireless clients
bssid=DE:AD:BE:EF:02 # The radios have separate BSSIDs; no change in behavior with/without this option
scan_ssid=1
psk="my psk" # Like the SSID, the two bands use the same PSK
priority=8 # My thought being the 5GHz band would be preferred and this could be a fallback; not sure if that's how this actually works
proto=RSN
# I've also tried setting these, but no change in behavior
# key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
# group=CCMP
# pairwise=CCMP
}
# Mobile hotspot -- this one works
network={
ssid="My Mobile SSID"
scan_ssid=1
psk="my mobile psk"
priority=2 # My thought being this network will only be selected if neither of the previous two are available
proto=RSN
}
While the mobile hotspot is turned off, running
# service netif restart
shows:
Code:
# -- snip -- #
wlan0: flags=8802<BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 1500
options=0
ether de:ad:be:ef:03
groups: wlan
ssid "" channel 1 (2412 MHz 11g)
regdomain FCC country US authmode OPEN privacy OFF txpower 30 bmiss 7
scanvalid 60 protmode CTS wme
parent interface: iwlwifi0
media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (autoselect)
status: no carrier
nd6 options=29<PERFORMNUD,IFDISABLED,AUTO_LINKLOCAL>
By contrast, when I enable my mobile hotspot I see the following after
# service netif restart
:
Code:
# -- snip -- #
wlan0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 1500
options=0
ether de:ad:be:ef:03
groups: wlan
ssid "My Mobile SSID" channel 11 (2462 MHz 11g) bssid de:ad:be:ef:04
regdomain FCC country US authmode WPA2/802.11i privacy ON
deftxkey UNDEF AES-CCM 2:128-bit txpower 30 bmiss 7 scanvalid 60
protmode CTS wme roaming MANUAL
media: IEEE Wireless Ethernet OFDM/36Mbps mode 11g
status: associated
nd6 options=29<PERFORMNUD,IFDISABLED,AUTO_LINKLOCAL>
Thanks in advance for any pointers/tips/tricks/suggestions folks have for diagnosing & resolving the issue!