Issue connecting wifi on U4

[Pat]

Hi, I previously used ethernet to connect my U4, but we've just moved and no longer have a wired house. I noticed that the wifi dongle was out of stock on the official site, so I went out and bought a TP-Link dongle that has Linux support.

I plugged it in and went through the wifi setup wizard. It was able to scan and detect my access point SSID, I selected the encryption type, and entered the pass key. But when I finalise it says it failed to connect. If I go through the network test it passes on LAN, Wireless, and DHCP, but IP and nameserver are unconfirmed.

When I go to the wireless network status it shows link in green, but access point is all zeros, there is no SSID or link quality, signal strength is -55 dBm, bitrate is unsupported, encryption is off or wpa2 on.

I tried cycling through all the different encryption types. I also tried setting IP and DNS manually. But doesn't seem to make any difference. I even tried enabling hot spot on my phone with no encryption, but it still wouldn't pick up an IP address.

Any suggestions please?

[IanL-S]

I have a deep-seated dislike for wifi connections for my devices. I prefer to use ethernet over power line - aka HomePlug. Considerably more expense but no installation hassles - you plug it in and it works. For any years I used a TPLink set to connect to my upstairs study and after I had Ethernet put into the study, transferred it to the spare bedroom. You can attach a Ethernet switch to the HomePlug - I did this and attached the TV, a T2 and V2 to the switch.

Ian

[Pat]

Yeah, my fallback was to get a wifi bridging switch, but the dongle was neater, if it can work. Ethernet over power means two more double adaptors.

[peteru]

It's been many, many years since I fiddled with the WiFi connections on a Beyonwiz, but from memory there is a security mode option somewhere in the config. If left in the auto or mixed mode it's unlikely to work with modern WiFi access points. You'll probably want to force this to WPA2 with AES.

If you have the latest and greatest WiFi 6 and have gone with the WPA3 only option, the Beyonwiz won't be able to handle that. The best encryption mode that the wpa_supplicant in the Beyonwiz firmware can support is WPA2 with AES, so make sure that this is enabled in your router / access point.

[Pat]

Yeah, I tried all the different encryption options in the configuration. I even tried removing encryption from the router (open network). Still does the same thing, won't assign an IP. If I set an IP manually, it still doesn't pass the tests.

Weirdly, even when I manually set an IP it still shows as unconfirmed in the network test. But from the network information page the IP is there, but no link, no SSID, access point MAC is all zeros, etc.

[peteru]

Those are signs of failed authentication. In a nutshell, you can see the existence of the network, but can not authenticate. If you can't do the secret handshake, you can't have an IP address.

I have a vague recollection that (at least back in the T3 days), the changes to some WiFi settings didn't take effect until after a reboot. That made configuring WiFi networks a royal pain. Change a setting, reboot (which on the T3 took yonks), see if it worked, if not try again...

It may be more bearable on a U4 - it's a much quicker box. If you want to persist, try that.

Under the hood, the firmware uses wpa_supplicant to handle the authentication. The installed version is 2.6.

[Pat]

Nup. Went through all the combinations again with full reboots, still won't pick up an IP.

I guess I'll have to go with plan B.

[IanL-S]

Yeah, my fallback was to get a wifi bridging switch, but the dongle was neater, if it can work. Ethernet over power means two more double adaptors.

You can get units with pass-through for the power point. My TP-link ones have a pass-through. Make sure that they do not block the second power outlet of dual power outlet.

[raymondjpg]

As an alternative you might consider a wifi mesh system. Probably more expensive, but in my experience likely to have nuch better data transfer performance than powerline adapters.

I am also one of those who prefers ethernet over wifi wherever possible. If you go mesh choose a system that can be run in access point mode and with ethernet ports that can either be connected directly to devices, or via a router or switch.

[IanL-S]

As an alternative you might consider a wifi mesh system. Probably more expensive, but in my experience likely to have nuch better data transfer performance than powerline adapters.

I am also one of those who prefers ethernet over wifi wherever possible. If you go mesh choose a system that can be run in access point mode and with ethernet ports that can either be connected directly to devices, or via a router or switch.

I agree that if possible get a mesh system that uses Ethernet for back-hall (connecting satellite units to the main units) or less desirably uses a separate WIFI channel for the back-hall. My Asus mesh system relies of Ethernet for backhall.

[raymondjpg]

I agree that if possible get a mesh system that uses Ethernet for back-hall (connecting satellite units to the main units) or less desirably uses a separate WIFI channel for the back-hall. My Asus mesh system relies of Ethernet for backhall.

I was thinking more a mesh system that uses wifi backhaul to avoid need for the remote unit to physically connect to the main unit. That's what I use, and with wifi6 I'm getting reasonable data transfer rates of 40-50 megabits over about a 15 metre distance. Not stellar, but it is only a relatively inexpensive home wifi system.

Edit: That should have read transfer rates of 40-50 MB (/sec)

[Pat]

Thanks everyone. I ended up going with the TP-Link Powerline. I don't watch much stuff on the network these days, so not too concerned about bandwidth.