How To Debug Wifi Problem?

[fir]

I'm new to Zs, and a bit frustrated at the moment.  I've googled plenty but haven't manged to find a tutorial on getting wifi working on my new C860.  When I try to connect from settings/network the light blinks on my symbol card a couple times and then I am told "Connection was failed."

Where do I find more information?  Are there log files that will have a slightly more helpful message?  I don't know what to look at next.

(I asked in the newbie forum and got zero replies)

Please help!

[b2bpro]

I've used tkc and cacko at times on my 860.  With TKC I had to correct the entry in /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.conf to match my card (WCF12)

I have just looked for "Symbol" in that file and couldn't find anything (on cacko) .  You should open a terminal and type "cardctl ident" - that should give you the info that you need to correct / insert the information you need in the file.  Unfortunately I don't know how to translate from the output of cardctl to the format you need.  Mind you the output may point you to some other existing entry in the wlan-ng.conf file.

Please post the ROM and version you are using and also the output of "cardctl ident".  That is the basic info needed to start with.

[allyrfriends]

I don't remember having to add anything to get my Symbol card recognised (although I've been using it for almost a year and I may well have forgotten); I think the Symbol/Socket card was one of those originally recommended by Sharp so it should be recognised just fine.

Are you using WEP, fir? The standard network setup app has some problems with converting text keys to hex. It got mine wrong by one digit. Try using the hex version of the key. -- A bad key will give you the 'Connection was failed' message.

It also sometimes helps to eject and reinsert the card. Lord knows why. But in your case, I'm betting it's the WEP.

[maslovsky]

I'm new to Zs, and a bit frustrated at the moment.  I've googled plenty but haven't manged to find a tutorial on getting wifi working on my new C860.  When I try to connect from settings/network the light blinks on my symbol card a couple times and then I am told "Connection was failed."

Where do I find more information?  Are there log files that will have a slightly more helpful message?  I don't know what to look at next.

(I asked in the newbie forum and got zero replies)

Please help!

Turn off Autoconnect options in Network Settings.

[fir]

Thanks everybody for the help.  Here are the answers to the questions above:

I am using the latest stable Cacko ROM, downkloaded a little more than a week ago.  cardctl ident reports:

Socket 0:
  product info: "Symbol", "Sectrum24 LA4100 Series WLAN PC Card", "1.00"
  manfid: 0x026c, 0x0001
  function: 6 (network)

Based on the above, I added the following to wlan-ng.conf:

card "Symbol 802.11b"
  manfid 0x026c, 0x0001
  bind prism_cs

I am using WEP (no choice) and have entered the key in hex, not as a pass phrase.

maslovsky wrote:
>  Turn off Autoconnect options in Network Settings.

Why?  (Not doubting, just seeking to understand.)

How can I tell whether the card is being properly recognized?

Frank.

[fir]

I'm still stuck here.  I know that the wifi card is recognized because the connect button is greyed out when I remove the card.  When the card is in and I click connect it changes to [Diusconnect] for a few seconds, then back o connect.  The bar at the bottom shows a globe with a red line through it.

What commands would I type to replicate what the gui is doing?

Where might an error be logged if the card was not working properly, or the SSID was wrong, or the WEP key wa wrong?

Please help.

[allyrfriends]

Hmm, I'm sleepy so this may not turn out to be a great deal of help, but have you tried the following?

Code: [Select]

> ifup wlan0(assuming that your wifi card is called wlan0)

Might tell you a little.

[maslovsky]

Remove this form your wlan-ng.conf (this card uses a different driver)

card "Symbol 802.11b"
manfid 0x026c, 0x0001
bind prism_cs

Then restart pcmcia (as root):

/etc/rc.d/init.d/pcmcia restart

Reinsert your card and try to connect (make sure autoconnect is off)

[allyrfriends]

Hmm, I'm sleepy so this may not turn out to be a great deal of help, but have you tried the following?

Code: [Select]

> ifup wlan0

Ignore that. That was dumb. I've been using OZ. I don't think Cacko uses ifup/ifdown.

Code: [Select]

> ifconfig wlan0 upShould do the same thing. But try maslovsky's suggestion. It's way better.

[fir]

Remove this form your wlan-ng.conf (this card uses a different driver)

card "Symbol 802.11b"
manfid 0x026c, 0x0001
bind prism_cs

It worked!  I am so very pleased!  Now I'd like to understand HOW it worked.  I added the lines you asked me to remove because I did not see any entries in the file that corresponded to what cardctl ident showed me.  I understand that choosing the wrong driver for the card would cause it to fail, but I'm not understanding how the right driver is now being selected.  BTW, which driver is it?  I grep'd the file for 026c and found only my entry.

Thanks so much for your help.  this is great!   I'll post this and then I'm off to find the "buy maslovsky a C860" fund that I think I read about somewhere here.