My n900 cant find any available WLAN [Archive] - maemo.org

9000

2010-06-25, 02:33

In other thread someone has reported that the problem solved by reflashing the firmware. In the meanwhile if you don't want to reflash yet, you may try the following commands under xterminal to see if they helps:

sudo stop wlancond
sudo iwconfig wlan0 mode managed
sudo start wlancond

anumose

2010-06-25, 02:55

Hello, when i enter each command and enter it asks for password, what am i suppose to enter there plz help me thx

9000

2010-06-25, 03:10

Then you must install rootsh then:

apt-get install rootsh

anumose

2010-06-25, 03:15

Plz when i enter that command It says

E: could not open lock file
E: unable to lock the administration directory

what do i do now plz

wildwaldbiberhirte

2010-06-25, 03:19

Hi!
So I guess you have not worked with Linux systems yet. No problem, but it always helps to at least at the basics understand what you are doing.
Like this you will learn the most and get closer to the full potential of the device.

The system is able to perform different tasks with different rights (like reading and writing certain files, acces to ertain hardware features) for security reasons. These rights can be set per user (not only physical) or groups. The superuser/root has read/write/execute acces to everything on the device. To execute a command as superuser, you can use the "sudo" command. Or you can login as root by typing "root" in a terminal.

The superuser/root account is not active on the device per default. You have to install the package "rootsh" and perform the command "sudo gainroot".

You should consider to take a look at the maemo wiki for beginners.

Btw, I don't know if the commands will solve your wifi problem, as I have no problem with this, and you don't provide useful information to solve that problem.

wildwaldbiberhirte

2010-06-25, 03:23

Installing packages with apt-get requires root rights. Installing the program to provide root rights won't be possible consequently.

Just use the graphical package manager and search for rootsh.

anumose

2010-06-25, 03:26

where will i find the graphical package manager

x61

2010-06-25, 03:27

You may want to go through settings -> Internet settings -> connections. and play with it from there.

9000

2010-06-25, 03:30

Plz when i enter that command It says

E: could not open lock file
E: unable to lock the administration directory

what do i do now plz

Ok...download the following file, copy it to your N900, cd to that directory, and run the following command under xterminal:

sudo dpkg -i rootsh_1.8_all.deb

If it still asks for a password for the above command then we should think of something else, like copying the binary for you directly.

Just feel free to raise any question. I can help you as much as I can as long as I'm around the computer. ^^

anumose

2010-06-25, 03:30

It doesnt display any network when i search

wildwaldbiberhirte

2010-06-25, 03:31

Sorry.
Allright.

Menu (upper left corner), then search for the Progr.-Manager (white sheet of paper with lines, ble square on lower right as icon).

Please consider to take a look at the wiki.

wildwaldbiberhirte

2010-06-25, 03:34

9000, what you want him to do simply is not possible. To install packages in the terminal, you need root rights. For root rights i the terminal, you need rootsh.

See the error?

wildwaldbiberhirte

2010-06-25, 03:35

Oh. Bugger.

Now I get my error..

No wlan, no package download.

Crap.

anumose

2010-06-25, 03:35

Ok...download the following file, copy it to your N900, cd to that directory, and run the following command under xterminal:

sudo dpkg -i rootsh_1.8_all.deb

If it still asks for a password for the above command then we should think of something else, like copying the binary for you directly.

Just feel free to raise any question. I can help you as much as I can as long as I'm around the computer. ^^

Which directory plz, after ur answer plz explain to me how to reflash the firmware as u said earlier

anumose

2010-06-25, 03:37

Oh. Bugger.

Now I get my error..

No wlan, no package download.

Crap.

So now help me for my N900 to see available networks when i search

qosmio

2010-06-25, 03:40

without being rude! don't you think he should stay away from rootsh .

sorry just a thought..

9000

2010-06-25, 03:40

When you attach the USB to your PC, it should ask you whether you'd like to connect as mass storage or pc suite, choose mass storage. Then in your computer you should find a new drive. Copy the file to the new drive.

Detach the USB, and return the drive back to your N900. Type the following command under xterminal:

cd MyDocs
sudo dpkg -i rootsh_1.8_all.deb

The commands are case sensitive.

Please refer to the following wiki if you'd like to reflash instead:

http://wiki.maemo.org/Updating_the_tablet_firmware

nelsonram916

2010-06-25, 03:40

wildwaldbiberhirte

2010-06-25, 03:41

That is what we are trying to do. A please or something would be nice?

http://wiki.maemo.org/Updating_the_firmware
Try reflashing, that is the only thing besides using 2/3g to download the rootsh package.

As I said, look at the wiki. Good thing, that is.

9000

2010-06-25, 03:46

hey u guys im also having this problem. im not finding any networks even though i have them around. i tried what you sed. i installed rootsh, then i typed sudo gainroot and then typed each one of those three commands provided and still cannot find any wireless networks. help please :(

The commands I supplied above are just to bring up the wifi in the command line mode. If you're having problem to discover all wireless network, then there might be some problem with you sim or your mobile service coverage.

nelsonram916

2010-06-25, 03:46

i flashed my emmc earlier today and also the firmware and that also did not seem to work :(

nelsonram916

2010-06-25, 03:50

The commands I supplied above are just to bring up the wifi in the command line mode. If you're having problem to discover all wireless network, then there might be some problem with you sim or your mobile service coverage.

my sim card seems to be working fine, i can make calls and all that and my internet from my service provider is working fine also, its just that my n900 cant find any wifi connections.

9000

2010-06-25, 03:53

my sim card seems to be working fine, i can make calls and all that and my internet from my service provider is working fine also, its just that my n900 cant find any wifi connections.

What does 'iwlist wlan0 scanning' show you then? (run as root)

nelsonram916

2010-06-25, 03:56

What does 'iwlist wlan0 scanning' show you then? (run as root)

it shows 'iwlist: not found'

9000

2010-06-25, 04:34

it shows 'iwlist: not found'

run as root

nelsonram916

2010-06-25, 04:38

run as root

sry im kinda new at this but i think im catching on. just want to make sure im doing it correctly tho so ill tell you exactly what i did, so in xterminal first i typed in 'root'. then i typed 'iwlist wlan0 scanning'
and it gave me '-sh: iwlist: not found

9000

2010-06-25, 05:59

Install wireless-tools. I thought it was installed by default, my apology.

nelsonram916

2010-06-25, 19:16

Install wireless-tools. I thought it was installed by default, my apology.

i installed wireless-tools and then ran the command 'iwlist wlan0 scanning' and it gave me 'interface doesn't support scanning: network is down'

srkkiran

2011-09-10, 08:29

Hi, even I am stuck out here at this point.

Steps till followed till now,
1. I have installed wifi switcher
2. disabled wifi from the status bar
3. uninstalled wifi switcher
4. eMMC flashed the device
5. installed wifi switcher
6. disabled wifi - the status bar doesn't respond
7. opened xterminal and tried to login is as root even that is stuck
8. restarted phone
9. opened xterminal followed you commands at the start of this thread.
10. wireless-tools were not present, got them using my mobile data provider connection. (Only this works, that too when I've selected 'Any connection' in settings and I launch a webpage and it connects successfully.')
11. executed the command 'iwlist wlan0 scanning' and got the following message,
wlan0 Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down

I don't know how to fix this problem. Kindly let me know if I've missed any step.

tuxsavvy

2011-09-10, 08:50

ifconfig wlan0 up

-OR-

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

Edit: I do not know why you would disable wifi, if you disable wifi it would remove wlan modules and you won't be able to get an interface.

srkkiran

2011-09-10, 09:05

Hi tuxsavvy,

I tried it using root login,

the output I got was,

ifconfig: SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such device

tuxsavvy

2011-09-10, 09:11

You probably do not have the modules loaded. Make sure that you do not have wifi disabled with wifi switcher.

Also check inside `lsmod' for wl12xx/wl1251.

srkkiran

2011-09-10, 09:13

the reason I disabled wlan was thinking that it would extend the battery life of n900 using wifi-switcher. but that thing totally screwed my wlan.

now I regret using it. If you want I can start afresh by reflashing eMMC + firmware.

tuxsavvy

2011-09-10, 09:17

It doesn't exactly screw up with your wlan, it just removes the kernel modules (or simply put drivers) for wireless lan. When you enable it again it will load the kernel modules.

Although there's lots of rumours saying that it can save battery life but I'm guessing if you disabled automatically connect (under Settings > Internet Connections), the amount of power saved with that disabled is literally neglegible.

So you can re-enable wlan by pressing on the wifi switcher.

srkkiran

2011-09-10, 09:21

I have removed wifi-switcher. restarted the phone and logged in as root.

tried the command 'lsmod' and I could see wl12xx inside.

now I tried the command

'ifconfig wlan0 up'

I still get the same message.

tuxsavvy

2011-09-10, 09:32

Paste me your dmesg output (or pastebin if you wish).

srkkiran

2011-09-10, 10:05

I have attached the dmesg out as a text file.

tuxsavvy

2011-09-10, 10:23

Found the lines causing the issue:

[ 430.598266] wl1251: WARNING WLAN not ready
[ 430.598449] wl1251: ERROR unsupported chip id: 0x0

That could either be a serious error or something else is causing the wireless LAN to not work. I'd try reinstalling wlan switcher and turning it on and off a few times, trying to see if you can get wireless connectivity in between on and off.

If that fails then I presume reflash would be in order. I have never seen that error message before.

srkkiran

2011-09-10, 10:29

Thanks a lot for your help. I will try that and get back to you. I appreciate your help a lot mate.

tuxsavvy

2011-09-10, 10:46

I am hoping you don't have a screwed up wireless chipset, if you do.. I don't know what you can do to get it to work.. though the error stated there seems to be quite serious.. it could even be a bad firmware file.

Ti wl1251 is a softmac (software based Media Access Control) and has firmware sitting on the oneNAND which normally is uploaded by the CPU (Ti OMAP 3430). The firmware blob files sits in /lib/firmware (in Nokia N900's case). Those firmware files are not written in plaintext format so if they are corrupted they may also cause the kernel module to not work.

srkkiran

2011-09-11, 05:53

now when I try to execute the command
ifconfig wlan0 up

the prompt is totally stuck and cannot be stopped by CTRL + C or moved to background by CTRL + Z. If i try to open a new terminal and hit sudo gainroot it is stuck there as well. Only option left is to restart the phone.

But before doing this I tried to select intenet connection from the status bar and I got no wlan networks displayed and at the same time the already connected data connection of my mobile is displayed but disabled in the list so I can't disconnect.After thid I did hit the dmesg command and I got the sam error indicated before, i.e.

[ 430.598266] wl1251: WARNING WLAN not ready
[ 430.598449] wl1251: ERROR unsupported chip id: 0x0

tuxsavvy

2011-09-11, 06:37

So this was after you have used wlan switcher to turn the interface up or what?

srkkiran

2011-09-11, 07:06

yes. before that it was working fine.

After eMMC reflash i did not install it at all. but still i get the same error.

srkkiran

2011-09-11, 09:01

I found out another thread with a similar issue. Looks like my wlan chip is screwed up. Check the thread...
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1085970#post1085970

101aj

2011-11-21, 08:33

srkkiran

2011-11-21, 09:23

Even I had a similar issue. I took it to the Nokia service center and there was moisture on the mother board. I could recollect from my memory that, I've spilled some juice on my n900 accidentally. That blew up the wireless lan chip over some period if not immediate.

Since my phone was OUT OF WARRANTY I had to pay them INR8000 to get it repaired. That is the minimum cost for any repair related to Nokia N900 in India.

In return they offered me N8 and I rejected it, next they offer me E7 and I rejected that offer as well. These phones were offered at the cost of my repair, i.e. INR8000. I didn't want SYMBIAN, simple.

They eventually repaired it and sent it back and now it works like a charm.

tuxsavvy

2011-11-21, 09:39

i am also having the same problem for quite a while now, i am not able to connect or find any wifi networks, but i can connect to the 3g or 2g networks.

when i search for networks (when they are present ) it does not display them(except my phone comp. 3g network)

in terminal when i run "top" i am not able to see the wlan0 process running (which i could see before this problem)

also the dmesg gives me a different msg, other than the ppl having uptil now, it shows

wl1251: 151 tx blocks at 0x3b788, 35 rx blocks at 0x3a780
wl1251: firmware booted (Rev 4.0.4.3.7)
wl1251: down

does this problem need a reflash or is there a way around

1) Have you checked to see which mode is your wlan0 interface is in? iwconfig wlan0If it is in modes other than Managed then you will not be able to see any networks.

2) wlan0 should not have its own process shown in top. wlan0 is not a program but rather an interface. If anything you may be able to see kernel module on the list if its in use. In which this case it would probably show up as [wl12xx] (note how its in brackets).

3) Your issue is not exactly the same as srkkiran as the output of the dmesg is completely different. Your dmesg output shows that your wireless chipset booted up normally and then it was either manually turned off via ifconfig wlan0 down or you used a program to turn off wireless.

101aj

2011-11-21, 15:28

iwconfig wlan0
this command gives iwconfig not found (even when in root)
and when i did "sudo iwconfig wlan0" it asks for a password... i dont know which password
do i need to reflash??

101aj

2011-11-23, 18:12

can anyone plz help... :P :P

Copernicus

2011-11-23, 19:15

iwconfig wlan0
this command gives iwconfig not found (even when in root)

The iwconfig executable is stored in the "sbin" directory; that's a common place for unix OSs to place their administrative utilities. So, you can use

/sbin/iwconfig wlan0

to check what your wireless is doing.

tuxsavvy

2011-11-24, 05:25

101aj, try what Copernicus said. If that does not help, you're missing wireless-tools (http://maemo.org/packages/view/wireless-tools/). You will need to first enable tools repository (http://wiki.maemo.org/Documentation/devtools/maemo5#Installation) for starters and install the package via apt-get/aptitude.

101aj

2011-11-26, 11:39

tuxsavvy

2011-11-26, 11:48

i have enabled the tools repository, but how do i install the wireless tools

apt-get install wireless-tools

101aj

2011-11-26, 12:08

ok i have installed the wireless tools

now how should i check or know that my wlan problem has solved.... because right now here i dont have a wifi network to check if its working.... are there any commands to check

syake

2012-05-01, 08:50

wl1251: 151 tx blocks at 0x3b788, 35 rx blocks at 0x3a780
wl1251: firmware booted (Rev 4.0.4.3.7)
wl1251: down

I had the same problem tell dmesg like that when i playing in dnsmasq command

Check your /etc/dnsmasq.conf and it should be like this.
domain-needed
bogus-priv
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf.wlan0
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf.ppp0
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf.lo
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf.gprs

Check a dnsmasq process running on N900
ps -A | grep dnsmasq

/usr/sbin/dnsmasq -k -i lo -a 127.0.0.1 -z

the process is loaded in /bootmenu.sh .

jbd

2012-08-21, 01:29

Hi Syake,

I have the same problem. I cant connect to any wifi now, after 2 years of N900 happiness.
It simply says : "network connection error. try again?" I noticed also that the visible network list displayed is not as long as it used to be. Only some of them are listed, randomly.

My dmesg is also:

10570.418945] wl1251: down
[10575.277801] wl1251: 151 tx blocks at 0x3b788, 35 rx blocks at 0x3a780
[10575.278167] wl1251: firmware booted (Rev 4.0.4.3.7)
[10575.305572] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
[10578.444610] wlan0: direct probe to AP 50:67:f0:11:d8:9e try 1
[10578.637145] wlan0: direct probe to AP 50:67:f0:11:d8:9e try 2
[10578.832489] wlan0: direct probe to AP 50:67:f0:11:d8:9e try 3
[10579.027679] wlan0: direct probe to AP 50:67:f0:11:d8:9e timed out

Following your tip, i have this:

etc # cat dnsmasq.conf
domain-needed
bogus-priv
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf.wlan0
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf.ppp0
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf.lo
resolv-file=/var/run/resolv.conf.gprs
/etc # ps -A |grep dnsmasq
1276 nobody 2160 S /usr/sbin/dnsmasq -k -i lo -a 127.0.0.1 -z
4294 root 2092 S grep dnsmasq
/etc #

Would you have a clue of what to do? I tried the forum solutions to wifi problems, iwconfig, wlancond up, mode managed etc, unsuccessfully.

Thanks

syake

2012-11-14, 12:36

Hi jbd.

try

$ md5sum /lib/firmware/wl1251-*
# killall -9 eapd
# iw reg get
# iw reg set JP
# iwconfig wlan0 tx 20
# iwlist wlan0 tx

Did you try your N900 load Bleeding-Edge wl1251 driver?
Note that the best and hopeful way to solve the plobrem is flushing N900 to the latest firmware - PR1.3.

I noticed also that the visible network list displayed is not as long as it used to be. Only some of them are listed, randomly.

hehe funny