# wireless problems: no association with iwl/madwifi, only ipw

## DawgG

i've got a laptop (tpad t61) with an intel 3945ABG chip.

when i use the in-kernel  (2.6.24-gentoo-r3) iwl3945-drivers, i cannot associate with any ap or other station. also, when i use a pcmcia-card with an atheros-chip and madwifi-drivers (latest portage-version), the same thing happens: i cannot asociate with any ap or other station. in both cases the link quality displayed by iwconfig is always 0.

i can run kismet with both cards at the same time and it works the power-levels displayed for each card range between 60 and 100% (roughly).

with ipw3945 i can associate, but i'd prefer the iwl-driver without the binary daemon. it has to able to associate with a hidden essid with wep (for now).

modules loaded with working ipw:

arc4

ecb

ieee80211_crypt_wep

wlan_scan_sta

ath_rate_sample

wlan

ath_hal

ipw3945

ieee80211

ieee80211_crypt

then i unloaded ipw3945 and stopped the daemon and loaded iwl3945:

iwl3945 

mac80211

arc4

ecb

ieee80211_crypt_wep

wlan_scan_sta

ath_rate_sample

wlan 

ath_hal

ieee80211

ieee80211_crypt 

and with both drivers/nics no association was possible.

since both drivers (madwifi/iwl) cannot associate i suspect i missed sth in the kernel-config or sth like that. can this have anything to do with mac80211/mac80211_generic?

on my previous laptop (slightly older model, t60) which i basically just cloned to this one, the atheros-card ran perfectly with the 2.6.24-kernel.

any ideas what i could have missed or what could be wrong here? thank you!

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## d2_racing

Hi, can you check this thread plz  :Smile: 

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-674108-highlight-.html

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## DawgG

thx for your quick answer, and sorry for my late reply - i was on vacation and it felt really good NOT to touch a computer for two weeks.  :wink: 

yes, i have read the other thread (https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-674108-highlight-.html) before posting and acted accordingly but my wlan-nic does not work (correctly) with the iwl-driver.

i have installed fresh gentoo-2.6.24-r4-sources and only activated the relevant iwl-options.

these are the loaded modules:

```
t-61 ~ # lsmod

Module                  Size  Used by

ieee80211              30088  0 

iwl3945               159720  0 

ieee80211_crypt_ccmp     5824  0 

ieee80211_crypt_wep     4096  0 

ieee80211_crypt         4480  3 ieee80211,ieee80211_crypt_ccmp,ieee80211_crypt_wep

crc16                   1728  0 

wlan                  168944  0 

rfkill_input            3328  0 

rfkill                  5328  1 rfkill_input

pcbc                    3776  0 

md4                     3264  0 

authenc                 4160  0 

aead                    1856  1 authenc

xcbc                    4744  0 

ecb                     2624  2 

mac80211              112268  1 iwl3945
```

iwl is loaded correctly (from /var/log/messages):

```
Apr  1 12:32:15 t-61 iwl3945: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG/BG Network Connection driver for Linux, 1.1.17kds

Apr  1 12:32:15 t-61 iwl3945: Copyright(c) 2003-2007 Intel Corporation

Apr  1 12:32:15 t-61 ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:03:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 22

Apr  1 12:32:15 t-61 PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:03:00.0 to 64

Apr  1 12:32:15 t-61 iwl3945: Detected Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection

Apr  1 12:32:15 t-61 iwl3945: Tunable channels: 13 802.11bg, 23 802.11a channels

Apr  1 12:32:15 t-61 phy6: Selected rate control algorithm 'iwl-3945-rs'

Apr  1 12:35:04 t-61 ieee80211: 802.11 data/management/control stack, git-1.1.13

Apr  1 12:35:04 t-61 ieee80211: Copyright (C) 2004-2005 Intel Corporation <jketreno@linux.intel.com>
```

after the first time the association was not successful i additionally compiled an loaded some of the "old" ieee80211-stuff as  modules because the other thread seemed a little unclear about this.

iwconfig assigns the values correctly, but i cannot associate with the ap (using wep and a cloaked ssid):

```
t-61 ~ # iwconfig 

wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"stb"  

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   

          Tx-Power=15 dBm   

          Retry min limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr=2346 B   

          Encryption key:XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XX [2]

          Link Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0

          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0
```

even if i assign the mac of the ap manually there is no association/connection.

again, kismet works with this configuration, so the wlan-nic is not switched off or anything.

have i forgotten something really obvious?

here's the relevant kernel-stuff:

```
t-61 ~ # grep -iE 'crypto|wireless|ieee80211|iwl' /usr/src/linux/.config | sed '/^#.*/d'

CONFIG_WIRELESS_EXT=y

CONFIG_IEEE80211=m

CONFIG_IEEE80211_CRYPT_WEP=m

CONFIG_IEEE80211_CRYPT_CCMP=m

CONFIG_IEEE80211_CRYPT_TKIP=m

CONFIG_IEEE80211_SOFTMAC=m

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CRYPTOLOOP=y

CONFIG_IWLWIFI=y

CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEBUG=y

CONFIG_IWLWIFI_SENSITIVITY=y

CONFIG_IWLWIFI_SPECTRUM_MEASUREMENT=y

CONFIG_IWLWIFI_QOS=y

CONFIG_IWL3945=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_ALGAPI=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_AEAD=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_BLKCIPHER=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_HASH=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_MANAGER=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_HMAC=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_XCBC=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_NULL=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_MD4=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_MD5=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_SHA1=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_SHA256=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_SHA512=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_WP512=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_TGR192=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_GF128MUL=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_ECB=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_CBC=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_PCBC=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_LRW=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_XTS=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_DES=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_FCRYPT=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_BLOWFISH=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_TWOFISH=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_TWOFISH_COMMON=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_TWOFISH_586=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_SERPENT=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_AES=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_AES_586=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_CAST5=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_CAST6=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_TEA=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_ARC4=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_KHAZAD=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_ANUBIS=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_SEED=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_DEFLATE=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_MICHAEL_MIC=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_CRC32C=y

CONFIG_CRYPTO_CAMELLIA=m

CONFIG_CRYPTO_AUTHENC=m
```

----------

## d2_racing

What do you have when you run this :

```

# ifconfig -a

# iwlist scan

```

----------

## danomac

Some time ago my router stopped working on me. It had a hidden ssid, so I set up mac filtering and WPA and enabled the broadcast ssid.

I don't know why, but I messed with both iwl/ipw for DAYS with no solution.

Only solution for me was to have broadcast ssid on.

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## DawgG

the iwl-driver simply does not work with this configuration:

```
iwlist scan
```

tells me: interface does not support scanning and network is down

ifconfig displays mac-address and some stuff (but is kind of pointless to use before the wireless stuff works correctly)

with the ipw-driver i get a little further:

i can associate but NOT use a wep-key (and thus not get an ip):

```
t-61 ~ # iwconfig wlan0 key [2] MY-TOP-SECRET-WEPKEY essid STB

wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"STB"  

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 00:0B:85:5A:AE:9E   

          Bit Rate:54 Mb/s   Tx-Power:15 dBm   

          Retry limit:15   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off

          Encryption key:off

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality=99/100  Signal level=-66 dBm  Noise level=-67 dBm

          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:12   Missed beacon:0

```

i suspect the problem has sth to do with the hidden ssid; the airespace-appliance transmits two hidden an one public ssids. i need one of the hidden ones; its name is "STB" and uncloaking it is not an option.

```
t-61 ~ # iwlist scan

wlan0     Scan completed :

          Cell 01 - Address: 00:0B:85:5A:AE:9F

                    ESSID:"MobilCity-Hotspot"

                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bg

                    Mode:Master

                    Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)

                    Encryption key:off

                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s

                              9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s

                              48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s

                    Quality=67/100  Signal level=-66 dBm  Noise level=-66 dBm

                    Extra: Last beacon: 45ms ago

          Cell 02 - Address: 00:0B:85:5A:AE:9E

                    ESSID:"<hidden>"

                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bg

                    Mode:Master

                    Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)

                    Encryption key:on

                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s

                              9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s

                              48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s

                    Quality=67/100  Signal level=-66 dBm  Noise level=-66 dBm

                    Extra: Last beacon: 43ms ago
```

what can i do now? do i have to use a diferent card because an only partly-functional driver was published?

i'll give it one more try with madwifi-ng (i happen to have a card around).

----------

## aZZe

Hi there!

I guess many people are having problems with the Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (rev 02). I have the same problem with the iwl3945 driver  as DawgG already described (I have a Lenovo Thinkad T61). With the ipw3945 driver it works but only with open APs. If I wanna use wpa_supplicant it tries to connect my AP (with AES encryption) but cannot get any IP (same wpa_supplicant.conf from my T42 with IPW200).  I guess we have to wait a while for a new driver version.  :Sad: 

I'm pretty wondered about the huge problems people have with these drivers although Intel supports the community with OSS drivers. I can remember when Intel released the first versions for ipw2100 and ipw2200 they worked very good in the beginning even. IPW3945 just sucks....

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