Unable to connect to WiFi

six.string

Pi Model or other hardware: Raspberry Pi 3 B
Power Supply used: CanaKit 5V 2.5A Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Power Supply
RetroPie Version Used: 4.4
Built From: Pre made SD Image on RetroPie website - retropie-4.4-rpi2_rpi3
USB Devices connected: Controller, keyboard (Logitech MK700)
Controller used: SNES controller (Buffalo)
Error messages received: Unable to connect to network [NETWORK]
Log found in /dev/shm/runcommand.log:
Guide used: I've tried two separate guides, as well as reading various tips on Reddit and this forum

File:
Emulator: EmulationStation
Attachment of config files:
How to replicate the problem:

Boot Raspberry Pi, go through controller configuration. Go to Raspi-Config > Localisation Options, set everything to US (timezone, Wifi, Locale, and keyboard). I've set the locale to en_us UTF-8, timezone to central, keyboard to US (I've tried Logitech generic and generic 105 key intl)
Go to Network Options, enter SSID, enter password, accept. No confirmation message. Tried selecting the SSID from a list by going to the Wifi option on emulationstation, entered the password, wait while it says connecting, then it gives the message.

I've tried several things - I've confirmed that my password is correct, both by logging into my router and checking, and by forgetting the password on my phone and re-entering it. Additionally, I've gone to the terminal and typed the password to ensure that I am inputting the expected characters.

I've also tried the Wi-Fi option on EmulationStation, and choosing my SSID. It appears on the list, I enter my password. Still no dice.

Lastly, I've dropped down to the command line and done sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces. I've input exactly what the github manual config says (putting my SSID and PSK where necessary, of course), and I've also tried replacing the quotes with @, since I've read something about the keyboard/localization can cause problems with the double quote symbol. My wifi uses WPA2, and I followed the manual config for WPA/WPA2.

My wifi key is alphanumeric, no spaces. My SSID is alphanumeric with a couple of spaces.

I've also re-imaged the SD card twice now, for a total of three attempts.

In the interest of exhausting all options available to me, I dropped to terminal, went to the boot dir, and created wifikeyfile.txt. Tried importing from it, and got "Unable to connect to network" without any mention of my SSID.

This is the second night I've spent trying to configure this and I'm at my wits' end here. I just wanna play some freakin' Super Metroid.

UPDATE:
After going to Raspi-Config > Network Options > Wi-fi, I receive a new error message, "Could not communicate with wpa_supplicant." Pressing OK, I get "There was an error running option N2 Wi-fi." Pressing OK again returns me to the Raspi-Config menu.

mitu

@six-string said in Unable to connect to WiFi:

This is the second night I've spent trying to configure this and I'm at my wits' end here. I just wanna play some freakin' Super Metroid.

Run sudo rfkill unblock all from a command prompt (after exiting Emulationstation) and then re-try connecting via WiFi.

six.string

Well I was able to access the Wi-fi option in Network settings again, but I still can't connect. Same message, "Unable to connect to network [networkname]".

mitu

@six-string Do you have a network cable attached ? What router are you using ? Are you sure the router doesn't have some sort of Mac filtering configured to allow only certain devices to connect ?

six.string

@mitu No network cable, router is in the next room. It's a Netgear C3000-100NAS. I'm 99% sure it has no MAC filtering, but I'm checking right now.

It has Access Control enabled, set to allow new devices. There are no devices on the blocked devices list.

I've got an Xbox One, PS4, two TVs, a personal laptop, two phones, a tablet, and a work laptop on the network, plus a few friends/family who visit. Never had trouble connecting any of them. Not all of these devices are currently on, so are not using connections, but my points are: it seems unlikely there is any sort of MAC filtering I don't know about, and it would be a massive inconvenience to change the Wifi key.

UPDATE:
I went back into /etc/network/interfaces and can't access Wifi from Network Options again. Tried running sudo rfkill unblock all, and nothing. Last time I ran this was after a reboot, so I rebooted again. While rebooting, I noticed a warning in the text crawl - it went by quick, but something like "Failed to start dhcpcd on all interfaces." Hopefully this is a clue!

six.string

Bump.

mitu

@six-string Can you post your /etc/network/interface and the /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf files ? Remove and passwords from them, if present.

Have you tried the manual setup steps from the Wifi docs ? You can enter your SSID/Pass on the PC to make sure they're correct.

six.string

@mitu I've tried every method on that page, short of the Raspbian Stretch (not sure if that's applicable to my setup, I'm not a Linux guy). I tried the wifikeyfile.txt method and it told me the file was not found. I can try that one again, though. UPDATE: I just tried this again, and I get the message "No /boot/wifikeyfile.txt found"

/etc/network/interface:

auto lo

iface lo inet loopback
iface eth0 inet dhcp

allow-hotplug wlan0
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
   wpa-ssid ""
   wpa-psk ""

Note that I had to enter this, as when starting from a fresh image, the interface file is empty.

wpa_supplicant.conf:

ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1

mitu

@six-string said in Unable to connect to WiFi:

I've tried every method on that page, short of the Raspbian Stretch

That may be the problem. On my system

there is no /etc/network/interfaces file
the /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf contains

country=DE
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1

# RETROPIE CONFIG START
network={
    ssid="MySSID"
    psk="<password has here>"
}
# RETROPIE CONFIG END

I didn't do any manual configuration, right after I flashed the image - and before booting the Pi - I added a file on the boot partition with the right settings as described in the docs. On 1st boot, the wifi was automatically configured and didn't have to do any other configuration.

six.string

@mitu Just did a fresh write, and followed the Raspbian Stretch method. Upon entering Raspi-config, I got a message that my Wifi country was not set in wpa_supplicant (which is false, I had it in the very top just like you/the docs show). I set the country, and it still showed I was not on the network. I just tried entering the wifi credentials and nothing.

I just checked my wpa_supplicant.conf and it is looks like this:

ctrl_interface=DIR=var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
country=US
# RETROPIE CONFIG START
network={
             ssid="<SSID>"
             psk="<psk>"
             scan_ssid=1
}
# RETROPIE CONFIG END

Note that this is not how I had the file when I set it up from my PC.

mitu

@six-string If you configured the WiFi as the docs mentioned (keyboardless Raspbian Stretch), then you don't need to use raspi-config anymore. The country is mandatory only for the the 3B+ model, but regardless the Wifi should work with the your config file.

If this still doesn't work, then the problem is somewhere else. I'd ask for a dmesg output, but without a network connection it would be hard to get that out and put it on pastebin.com.

six.string

@mitu I ran dmesg, and I noticed a couple lines which repeated and seems like it might be relevant:

brcmfmac: power management disabled

and

IPv6: ADDRCONF (NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready

Other than that, it's mostly X initialized, New USB device found, Y registered, etc

There is also a Logitech device it's unable to retrieve the name for, which I assume is my keyboard, but I couldn't imagine that being relevant.

mitu

@six-string I have no idea why it's not working. Since you're still at the beginning, you could try flashing the full Raspbian image (www.raspbian.org) to have an easier set of tools to configure Wifi and give it a shot this way. If it works (the WiFi), then you can install RetroPie on top of Rasbian with the manual installation method and get your system fully working.

six.string

@mitu Well... just installed Raspbian. Still can't connect to network.

Guess I'll look into troubleshooting that. Thanks.

terror

@six-string said in Unable to connect to WiFi:

@mitu Well... just installed Raspbian. Still can't connect to network.

Guess I'll look into troubleshooting that. Thanks.

This is stupid but I found solution. You need to connect an RJ45 (ethernet) cable to rpi port. Now you can run raspi-config without wpa-supplicant error and There was an error running option N2 Wi-fi.. Then can you now set ssid and password (now reboot or not) and wifi will works correctly.

When this wifi works correctly bluetooth too works good. When I had problem (like you) with wifi my bluetooth was non stop disconnecting.