Cant connect to wifi New update, hubpiwi board

skrapps914

Hi, i've done a search and i cant seem to find anyone that has had this issue.

I recently installed the latest retropie img to my rasp pi zero. i have something called a hubpiwi connected to it, which is a usb hub, with included wifi. it worked great with the older img. but no longer works with the new update. i went back and tried the old img and it works again. there seems to be something in the new img that prevents it from working. earlier searches in google said maybe the wifi driver in the new img needs downgrading? the hubpiwi is realtek wifi.

anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks
john

mitu

On a fresh image, you may need to set-up the WiFi country to un-block the antenna - https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/wireless/wireless-cli.md

skrapps914

@mitu said in Cant connect to wifi New update, hubpiwi board:

On a fresh image, you may need to set-up the WiFi country to un-block the antenna - https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/wireless/wireless-cli.md

Hi @mitu i've tried that in localization options, but i get "could not communicate with wpa_supplicant". i click ok, and then i get "there was an error running option L4 WLAN Country"

i've tried everything, manually config, did a wifikey txt, nothing works. it only works on older img..example, i installed 4.2 and everything works normal.

perhaps its another bug, or like i mentioned, downgrading drivers?

mitu

@skrapps914 Could be a driver issue, can you please fill in the info asked in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first ?
Does the vendor have a support page with usage instructions for newer Raspberry Pi OS releases ? Maybe the driver is no longer built-in and needs to be installed manually.

skrapps914

@mitu i purchased the hubpiwi off of a kickstarter campaign a couple years ago, but it worked with prior retropie images. its just this recent update it wont work with. here is a link about the hub, but it doesn't have any documentation. i'm not sure which other info is needed. i can't connect to the internet with it, so i'm not sure how i can get any logs off of it.
link text

skrapps914

@mitu here i just realized something else, sorry (i've been at this all day, and its reaching 3am here now)
when booting, i see 2 errors alt text and

here is lsusb
alt text

here is the ifconfig wlan0
alt text

when i run iwlist wlan0 scan, i get nothing found

however, when i go through emulationstation, click on retropie, go down to wifi, i get scan results, but it still will not let me connect
alt text
and

then, after i exit and head back to terminal, and run the iwlist wlan0 scan again...
it now gives me results, instead of nothing found like before
alt text

mitu

The fact that you get to see the AP around from the wlan0 device means the driver is working, it's just not associated.
Create a configuration file as explained in the Docs. This includes the WiFi country settings, so you don't have to do it from raspi-config.Boot with the configuration files and see if you get a network connection.

skrapps914

@mitu I've tried that through the pi itself, and tried via pc. it still doesn't work
also, as i mentioned it wont scan anything through terminal, until i go through retropie, click on wifi, try to connect that way, and then go back to terminal, run a scan again, then it finds my SSID but still wont connect. it has to be something in the update that's causing this, since it works in prior versions

mitu

I've tried that through the pi itself, and tried via pc. it still doesn't work

I know you mentioned using the wifikeyfile.txt - did you also used the wpa_supplicant.conf file mentioned in the docs ?

RetroPie is just using Raspberry Pi OS (former Raspbian) underneath, there's nothing specific in RetroPie regarding WiFi drivers. What you name 'update' is just a recent Raspberry Pi Lite image + RetroPie installed on it. The driver for the WiFi card seems to be included and working (since scanning works). Can you run iw reg get and post the output ?

skrapps914

@mitu i've tried both the wifikeyfile.txt, and wpa_supplicant.conf neither work. i get error communicating with wpa supplicant messages.

here is my iw reg get after i set my country in localization, timezone.
(because it wont let me go to country i get "there was an error running option L4 WLAN Country")
initally scanning DOESNT work in terminal, it only works once i've tried to set up wifi through retropie and fail, then return to terminal and scan, and then it works. but wont connect

alt text

mitu

Looks like the WiFi country is not set.
You can set it with sudo iw reg set <COUNTRY_CODE> and maybe try again the WiFi configuration to see if it associates ? That may work until the next reboot.

I would delete the existing /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf file and then try again to configure with a wpa_supplicant.confcopied in the /boot folder.

skrapps914

@mitu i'll try setting country code via reg set, but ive tried deleting the supplicant before, and making a new one and the same thing happened

skrapps914

@mitu Reporting back

Tried to set the country with sudo iw reg set <COUNTRY_CODE> and got this
alt text

then went back, and again, deleted the wpa_supplicant.conf and recreated it
alt text

**tried to connect, and didn't work, so i went back again to localisation, and got this
alt text

won't connect. seems like a bug or something?

mitu

The wpa_supplicant.conf seems ok, the command is not, it should be:

sudo iw reg set US

<COUNTRY_CODE> was meant as a placeholder, you need to remove the < >.

skrapps914

@mitu ok, went back and tried that. it let me set it, didn't connect, and it won't save upon reboot.
seems like a bug.

alt text

and after Rebooting
alt text

mitu

Try reproducing the error with the latest Raspberry Pi OS Lite.
If the WiFi works, then you can install RetroPie manually over it - see https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Manual-Installation/. If the WiFi doesn't work, then try reporting it in the Raspi OS forum at https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=66.

skrapps914

@mitu thanks, i'll give it a shot and report back

skrapps914

@mitu Ok, so i installed raspberry pi os lite.
upon booting, it gives me usb device descriptor error, and on the desktop it says no wireless lan interfaces found. but the usb hub seems to all be working, i have peripherals attached to it, keyboard, controller, and mouse and all work. just seems like an issue with wifi

skrapps914

@mitu hey just in case youre interested, ive figured it out. it indeed was a driver issue
=i'm not sure if the driver was removed, or forgotten in the update? but the driver was the issue, i did searches, was able to track the drivers down, figured out how to install them, and everything works perfectly now.

so its definitely the case of either the driver missing in the 4.7.13 update, or a glitch. copied the driver file 8188eu-5.4.72-v8-1356.tar.gz to the boot section, extracted it to its own directory, installed..and BOOM..everything works a charm now

mitu

@skrapps914 said in Cant connect to wifi New update, hubpiwi board:

so its definitely the case of either the driver missing in the 4.7.13 update, or a glitch.

As explained before, it's not a RetroPie issue - but a regression in the Linux kernel as shipped with Raspbery Pi OS. I think this issue is similar to your problem or [this forum topic]*https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=246587).

copied the driver file 8188eu-5.4.72-v8-1356.tar.gz to the boot section, extracted it to its own directory, installed..and BOOM..everything works a charm now

That's good, except that you'll get the same problem if/when you upgrade your system and the kernel version will be upgraded - currently is at 5.10.17. Keep an eye on http://downloads.fars-robotics.net/wifi-drivers/8188eu-drivers/ if you intend to upgrade, it looks like the drivers are updated and kept in-sync with the Linux kernel included in Raspberry Pi OS.