I have an issue getting my PiAware box to connect to our hidden SSID.
I didn’t have that issue with the last update which was 2.1-2 but the new 2.1-5 software doesn’t appear to let me enter a SSID which is hidden at work.
I tried the suggestion in the wlan0 “Setup help” thread from Devonian (dated Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:03 am) below but the file won’t load. Probably a syntax error of some type.
His post states…
"If I remember correctly, this worked for me,
sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
add…
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid my-router-ssid
wpa-psk my-router-password
(substitute my-router-ssid and my-router-password for your own router’s ssid and password)
save and close
check it with
sudo ifup wlan0
reboot and check if it auto connects.
sudo reboot
HTH
Nigel."
The current /etc/network/interfaces file has the following for the wlan0 entry
auto wlan0
allow_hotplug wlan0
iface wlan0 inet manual
wpa-conf /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
Any suggestions on how to add the Nigel text and make it work or get the startx app to allow hidden SSID entry?
You can still add the lines you had before to replace the use of wpa_supplicant.conf in the interfaces file. However, such use is now deprecated and the use of wpa_supplicant is preferred.
If you’re using the method of specifying wpa-psk in /etc/network/interfaces, the field should not be the wifi password itself, but the key provided by the wpa_passphrase command. See wiki.debian.org/WiFi/HowToUse#wpasupplicant.
I don’t think this is anything to do with 2.15. Many folks are using it, including me, with no problems. Perhaps there is an issue with your USB wifi?
Try running:
lsusb
You should see a line in the result that describes your wifi adapter.
You don’t have to use wpa_supplicant. Remove it from your interface file and use the old method. If that doesn’t work either then suspicion again falls on the usb. Also, have you run sudo apt-get update and sudo apt-get upgrade recently to bring your system up to date?
I’ll try that but my Wifi works even with the error on boot. Unless you’re watching the boot on a monitor, there’s no indication that the wpa_supplicant daemon fails to start.
I think that’s why the earlier recommended code to wpa_supplicant doesn’t work.
I have yet to try downloading the Network Manager to add the hidden SSID but will try this weekend.
Your question about getting the updates is my original problem. The unit sits behind a corporate fire wall and if I try to perform the update using the ADS-B page “Send Command” option, the file download(s) to the Pi-Aware unit fails.
The network block in your wpa_supplicant.conf file must contain
scan_ssid=1
to connect to a hidden network. This is in addition to manually entering the SSID and encryption type and key into that file.
When the SSID is hidden, the beacon packets from the router do not have a SSID. scan_ssid makes the card send out a probe packet (Is anyone here 'My Secret Network") to make your router reveal itself as the one having that SSID. Anyone monitoring with a raw packet monitor will see that exchange and your SSID is not secret any more.
Pre-hashing the key with wpa_passphrase is recommended but not required. The hashing process is designed to use a lot of CPU time to make a dictionary attack more difficult. On a Pi it takes about a second to do the hash, this will be required each time you boot up if the key is stored as a passphrase text instead of pre-hashed.
If you have an old router that you can set up for a test, first set it with a non-hidden SSID and confirm that your Pi can at least connect to it. Then change to hidden SSID and see if that still works. The test router does not need to be connected to the Internet, so there is no security risk. Edit: If you do this you may need to do it at home. Some of the more sophisticated work networks detect unauthorized wifi signals and jam them.
