Does anyone know how to get the wifi in the dell 3040 working?
It worked before installing ASL so I know the hardware is functional
Mike (N3IDS)
1 Like
From AllScan - How To - Build a High-Quality Full-Duplex AllStar Node for Under $150 ā
ā¦ This Article has detailed instructions on how to set up wifi on Debian. This process does require knowing the nodeās IP address (which can usually be found on your router management page) and initially connecting to the node through ethernet with an SSH app. This may not be easy to do on networks that you do not manage but there are ways to make that easier, for example you can set up a command in ASL to say the nodeās IP address in response to a DTMF command. ā¦
Before configuring WiFi as described in the above article you may need to run the following steps: āsudo suā, āapt install wireless-tools wpasupplicantā, then run āiwconfigā and confirm a wireless interface is listed. On a Dell 3040 with internal wifi module this shows a wireless interface named āmlan0ā. You may then need to run āifconfig mlan0 upā to start the interface. āiw mlan0 scanā should then list the available networks, or run āiw mlan0 scan | grep SSIDā to see just the names.
Another way to set up wifi on Debian is with iwd, which may be slightly simpler vs. the article above. See this Article for details.
I think you have to buy a Wifi driver from Dell. 
I did get something about a ānonfreeā file needing installed when I installed ASL
I presently do not get any indication of a wifi device when running the instructions suggested by NR9V
So, what are my next steps?
Mike
I donāt know how or if NR9V gets around the cost for the Wifi driver. My experience with the Dell Wyse 3040 is that a non-free driver is required for Wifi. The wired connection worked without cost.
I plugged in a wifi dongle
I have a slot showing the address of my dell but I cant connect to it without being wired.
This is somewhat of a free solution but I would like to use the internal wifi board. but that is redundant until I figgure out how to get this dongle to connect
Load the non-free sources list
/etc/apt/sources.list
Read the info from debian about non-free and where and how to place it and adjust to your OS
(i.e. buster?)
Iāve built over a dozen nodes with 3040s with the OEM wifi module, and Debian and ASL works great, with no need to install any drivers.
BTW the term ānon-freeā in the context of FOSS (Free & Open Source Software), means itās not open-source ā not that there is a monetary cost associated with it. āNon-freeā drivers from Debian are in fact free but sometimes have to be downloaded separately due to āIPā restrictions. I also build netbook nodes and for one of those (Acer R11) I installed Deb11 and it did need a non-free driver which I downloaded separately, which is easy to do right from the Debian website.
ok, so how do I obtain this driver?
will this work for the 3040?
I cannot access the internal wifi card at all.
For the netbook I just went on the Debian site downloads section. But for 3040s Iāve never needed to download any drivers. I use the latest ASL 2.0 image and apparently that image already has whatever drivers the 3040 needs. Did you update the OS & packages (ie. sudo apt update, apt upgrade)? What happens when you run iwconfig?
ok, upgraded.
iwconfig with the wifi dongle
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# iwconfig
mlan0 IEEE 802.11 ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry short limit:9 RTS thr=2347 B Fragment thr=2346 B
Encryption key:off
Power Management:on
wlx0013ef6100e0 IEEE 802.11 ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry short limit:7 RTS thr=2347 B Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off
lo no wireless extensions.
enp1s0 no wireless extensions.
iwconfig without the wifi dongle
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# iwconfig
mlan0 IEEE 802.11 ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry short limit:9 RTS thr=2347 B Fragment thr=2346 B
Encryption key:off
Power Management:on
lo no wireless extensions.
enp1s0 no wireless extensions.
ASL Version: ā
ā Asterisk GIT 6a9b0c6 built by @ Rick on a x86_64 running Linux on ā
ā 2021-03-24 17:58:36 UTC ā
ā
W: An error occurred during the signature verification. The repository is not up dated and the previous index files will be used. GPG error: http://apt.allstarli nk.org - This website is for sale! - nk Resources and Information. buster InRelease: The following signatures couldnāt be v erified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 6A72C389B517460F
W: Failed to fetch http://apt.allstarlink.org/repos/asl_builds/dists/buster/InRe lease The following signatures couldnāt be verified because the public key is n ot available: NO_PUBKEY 6A72C389B517460F
W: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
Reading package listsā¦ Done
So according to the above output, āmlan0ā is listed when āwithoutā your wifi dongle, which sounds to me like the 3040 already has the internal wifi module, which if true would imply you do not need an external [USB] dongle. Did you check the 3040 and confirm it has the wifi module and antennas inside? Most ebay sellers donāt mention that the module is present even though many 3040ās do in fact have it. Also try running āifconfig mlan0 upā to start the interface and then āiw mlan0 scanā.
W: An error occurred during the signature verification. The repository is not up dated and the previous index files will be used. GPG error: http://apt.allstarli nk.org - This website is for sale! - nk Resources and Information. buster InRelease: The following signatures couldnāt be v erified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 6A72C389B517460F
W: Failed to fetch http://apt.allstarlink.org/repos/asl_builds/dists/buster/InRe lease The following signatures couldnāt be verified because the public key is n ot available: NO_PUBKEY 6A72C389B517460F
W: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
Reading package listsā¦ Done
yes it definitely has the wifi board
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# iw mlan0 scan
BSS 8e:49:62:42:e5:02(on mlan0)
TSF: 77500621479 usec (0d, 21:31:40)
freq: 2412
beacon interval: 100 TUs
capability: ESS Privacy ShortSlotTime (0x0411)
signal: -50.00 dBm
last seen: 2828 ms ago
SSID:
Supported rates: 6.0* 9.0 12.0* 18.0 24.0* 36.0 48.0 54.0
DS Parameter set: channel 1
TIM: DTIM Count 0 DTIM Period 1 Bitmap Control 0x0 Bitmap[0] 0x0
Country: US Environment: Indoor/Outdoor
Channels [1 - 13] @ -128 dBm
ERP: Barker_Preamble_Mode
RSN: * Version: 1
* Group cipher: CCMP
* Pairwise ciphers: CCMP
* Authentication suites: PSK
* Capabilities: 16-PTKSA-RC 1-GTKSA-RC (0x000c)
HT capabilities:
Capabilities: 0x92c
HT20
SM Power Save disabled
RX HT20 SGI
RX STBC 1-stream
Max AMSDU length: 7935 bytes
No DSSS/CCK HT40
Maximum RX AMPDU length 65535 bytes (exponent: 0x003)
Minimum RX AMPDU time spacing: 16 usec (0x07)
HT Max RX data rate: 150 Mbps
HT TX/RX MCS rate indexes supported: 0-7
HT operation:
* primary channel: 1
* secondary channel offset: no secondary
* STA channel width: 20 MHz
* RIFS: 0
* HT protection: no
* non-GF present: 0
* OBSS non-GF present: 0
* dual beacon: 0
* dual CTS protection: 0
* STBC beacon: 0
* L-SIG TXOP Prot: 0
* PCO active: 0
* PCO phase: 0
WMM: * Parameter version 1
* u-APSD
* BE: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 3
* BK: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 7
* VI: CW 7-15, AIFSN 2, TXOP 2976 usec
* VO: CW 1-1, AIFSN 1, TXOP 1472 usec
WPS: * Version: 1.0
* Wi-Fi Protected Setup State: 2 (Configured)
* Unknown TLV (0x1049, 6 bytes): 00 37 2a 00 01 20
* Device name: Kitchen
* Primary Device Type: 7-0050f204-1
P2P: * Group capa: 0x21, Device capa: 0x0b
* Unknown TLV (0x03, 6 bytes): 49 62 42 e5 02 dd
BSS 08:02:8e:07:18:c3(on mlan0)
TSF: 77500520874 usec (0d, 21:31:40)
freq: 2412
beacon interval: 100 TUs
capability: ESS Privacy ShortSlotTime RadioMeasure (0x1411)
signal: -52.00 dBm
last seen: 2644 ms ago
SSID: NETGEAR49
Supported rates: 1.0* 2.0* 5.5* 11.0* 18.0 24.0 36.0 54.0
DS Parameter set: channel 1
TIM: DTIM Count 1 DTIM Period 2 Bitmap Control 0x0 Bitmap[0] 0x0
ERP: Barker_Preamble_Mode
ERP D4.0: Barker_Preamble_Mode
RSN: * Version: 1
* Group cipher: CCMP
* Pairwise ciphers: CCMP
* Authentication suites: PSK
* Capabilities: 16-PTKSA-RC 1-GTKSA-RC (0x000c)
Extended supported rates: 6.0 9.0 12.0 48.0
BSS Load:
* station count: 9
* channel utilisation: 56/255
* available admission capacity: 0 [32us]
HT capabilities:
Capabilities: 0x19fe
HT20/HT40
SM Power Save disabled
RX Greenfield
RX HT20 SGI
RX HT40 SGI
TX STBC
RX STBC 1-stream
Max AMSDU length: 7935 bytes
DSSS/CCK HT40
Maximum RX AMPDU length 65535 bytes (exponent: 0x003)
Minimum RX AMPDU time spacing: 8 usec (0x06)
HT RX MCS rate indexes supported: 0-15, 32
HT TX MCS rate indexes are undefined
HT operation:
* primary channel: 1
* secondary channel offset: above
* STA channel width: any
* RIFS: 1
* HT protection: 20 MHz
* non-GF present: 1
* OBSS non-GF present: 1
* dual beacon: 0
* dual CTS protection: 0
* STBC beacon: 0
* L-SIG TXOP Prot: 0
* PCO active: 0
* PCO phase: 0
Overlapping BSS scan params:
* passive dwell: 20 TUs
* active dwell: 10 TUs
* channel width trigger scan interval: 300 s
* scan passive total per channel: 200 TUs
* scan active total per channel: 20 TUs
* BSS width channel transition delay factor: 5
* OBSS Scan Activity Threshold: 0.25 %
Extended capabilities:
* HT Information Exchange Supported
* Extended Channel Switching
* BSS Transition
* Operating Mode Notification
WPS: * Version: 1.0
* Wi-Fi Protected Setup State: 2 (Configured)
* Unknown TLV (0x1049, 6 bytes): 00 37 2a 00 01 20
WMM: * Parameter version 1
* u-APSD
* BE: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 3
* BK: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 7
* VI: CW 7-15, AIFSN 2, TXOP 3008 usec
* VO: CW 3-7, AIFSN 2, TXOP 1504 usec
BSS de:71:96:bc:45:fd(on mlan0)
TSF: 31598490706 usec (0d, 08:46:38)
freq: 2412
beacon interval: 100 TUs
capability: ESS Privacy ShortPreamble SpectrumMgmt QoS ShortSlotTime ImmediateBACK (0x8731)
signal: -43.00 dBm
last seen: 2828 ms ago
SSID: DIRECT-1IN3IDSmsXF
Supported rates: 6.0 9.0 12.0* 18.0 24.0* 36.0 48.0 54.0
DS Parameter set: channel 1
TIM: DTIM Count 0 DTIM Period 3 Bitmap Control 0x0 Bitmap[0] 0x0
ERP:
HT capabilities:
Capabilities: 0x9a5
RX LDPC
HT20
Dynamic SM Power Save
RX HT20 SGI
TX STBC
RX STBC 1-stream
Max AMSDU length: 7935 bytes
No DSSS/CCK HT40
Maximum RX AMPDU length 65535 bytes (exponent: 0x003)
Minimum RX AMPDU time spacing: 4 usec (0x05)
HT RX MCS rate indexes supported: 0-23
HT TX MCS rate indexes are undefined
RSN: * Version: 1
* Group cipher: CCMP
* Pairwise ciphers: CCMP
* Authentication suites: PSK
* Capabilities: 16-PTKSA-RC 1-GTKSA-RC (0x000c)
HT operation:
* primary channel: 1
* secondary channel offset: no secondary
* STA channel width: 20 MHz
* RIFS: 1
* HT protection: non-HT mixed
* non-GF present: 0
* OBSS non-GF present: 0
* dual beacon: 0
* dual CTS protection: 0
* STBC beacon: 0
* L-SIG TXOP Prot: 0
* PCO active: 0
* PCO phase: 0
Extended capabilities:
* Extended Channel Switching
* Timing Measurement
WMM: * Parameter version 1
* BE: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 3
* BK: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 7
* VI: CW 7-15, AIFSN 2, TXOP 3008 usec
* VO: CW 3-7, AIFSN 2, TXOP 1504 usec
WPS: * Version: 1.0
* Wi-Fi Protected Setup State: 2 (Configured)
* Unknown TLV (0x1049, 6 bytes): 00 37 2a 00 01 20
* Primary Device Type: 7-0050f200-0
* Device name: N3IDS-ASUS
* Unknown TLV (0x1049, 38 bytes): 00 01 37 20 01 00 01 07 20 02 00 0a 4e 33 49 44 53 2d 41 53 55 53 20 05 00 0c 31 39 32 2e 31 36 38 2e 30 2e 31 31
P2P: * Group capa: 0x25, Device capa: 0x8b
* Unknown TLV (0x03, 6 bytes): 71 96 bc 45 fe 00
BSS 12:59:32:04:1c:d7(on mlan0)
TSF: 77500519166 usec (0d, 21:31:40)
freq: 2412
beacon interval: 100 TUs
capability: ESS Privacy ShortSlotTime (0x0411)
signal: -42.00 dBm
last seen: 2828 ms ago
SSID:
Supported rates: 6.0* 9.0 12.0* 18.0 24.0* 36.0 48.0 54.0
DS Parameter set: channel 1
TIM: DTIM Count 0 DTIM Period 1 Bitmap Control 0x0 Bitmap[0] 0x0
Country: US Environment: Indoor/Outdoor
Channels [1 - 13] @ -128 dBm
Channels [36 - 36] @ -128 dBm
Channels [40 - 40] @ -128 dBm
Channels [44 - 44] @ -128 dBm
Channels [48 - 48] @ -128 dBm
Channels [52 - 52] @ -128 dBm
Channels [56 - 56] @ -128 dBm
Channels [60 - 60] @ -128 dBm
Channels [64 - 64] @ -128 dBm
Channels [100 - 100] @ -128 dBm
Channels [104 - 104] @ -128 dBm
Channels [108 - 108] @ -128 dBm
Channels [112 - 112] @ -128 dBm
Channels [116 - 116] @ -128 dBm
Channels [120 - 120] @ -128 dBm
Channels [124 - 124] @ -128 dBm
Channels [128 - 128] @ -128 dBm
Channels [132 - 132] @ -128 dBm
Channels [136 - 136] @ -128 dBm
Channels [140 - 140] @ -128 dBm
Channels [144 - 144] @ -128 dBm
Channels [149 - 149] @ -128 dBm
Channels [153 - 153] @ -128 dBm
Channels [157 - 157] @ -128 dBm
Channels [161 - 161] @ -128 dBm
Channels [165 - 165] @ -128 dBm
ERP: Barker_Preamble_Mode
RSN: * Version: 1
* Group cipher: CCMP
* Pairwise ciphers: CCMP
* Authentication suites: PSK
* Capabilities: 16-PTKSA-RC 1-GTKSA-RC (0x000c)
HT capabilities:
Capabilities: 0x92c
HT20
SM Power Save disabled
RX HT20 SGI
RX STBC 1-stream
Max AMSDU length: 7935 bytes
No DSSS/CCK HT40
Maximum RX AMPDU length 65535 bytes (exponent: 0x003)
Minimum RX AMPDU time spacing: 2 usec (0x04)
HT Max RX data rate: 300 Mbps
HT TX/RX MCS rate indexes supported: 0-15
HT operation:
* primary channel: 1
* secondary channel offset: no secondary
* STA channel width: 20 MHz
* RIFS: 0
* HT protection: no
* non-GF present: 0
* OBSS non-GF present: 0
* dual beacon: 0
* dual CTS protection: 0
* STBC beacon: 0
* L-SIG TXOP Prot: 0
* PCO active: 0
* PCO phase: 0
WMM: * Parameter version 1
* u-APSD
* BE: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 3
* BK: CW 15-1023, AIFSN 7
* VI: CW 7-15, AIFSN 2, TXOP 2976 usec
* VO: CW 1-1, AIFSN 1, TXOP 1472 usec
WPS: * Version: 1.0
* Wi-Fi Protected Setup State: 2 (Configured)
* Unknown TLV (0x1049, 6 bytes): 00 37 2a 00 01 20
* Device name: Roku Streaming Stick+
* Primary Device Type: 7-0050f204-1
P2P: * Group capa: 0x21, Device capa: 0x0b
* Unknown TLV (0x03, 6 bytes): 59 32 04 1c d7 dd
OK the OEM wifi card is working fine. Now just follow the directions (first Article link) in my first post above to set up your wifi credentials (SSID & pass) for wpa_supplicant.
ok, here goes nothing
iwconfig
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
mlan0 IEEE 802.11 ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry short limit:9 RTS thr=2347 B Fragment thr=2346 B
Encryption key:off
Power Management:on
enp1s0 no wireless extensions.
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# sudo ip link set dev mlan0 up
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# sudo iwlist mlan0 scan | grep ESSID
ESSID:āDIRECT-1IN3IDSmsXFā
ESSID:āNETGEAR49ā
wpa_passphrase your-ESSID your-wifi-passphrase | sudo tee -a /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
ssid=āNETGEAR49ā
#psk=āmy passwordā
psk=643cd1b066513f9a5e27f419875b6f94decc1f261e68a163d8f0ee2a4731a6d7
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# sudo wpa_supplicant -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf -i mlan0
Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
mlan0: Trying to associate with 08:02:8e:07:18:c3 (SSID=āNETGEAR49ā freq=2412 MHz)
mlan0: Associated with 08:02:8e:07:18:c3
mlan0: CTRL-EVENT-SUBNET-STATUS-UPDATE status=0
mlan0: WPA: Key negotiation completed with 08:02:8e:07:18:c3 [PTK=CCMP GTK=CCMP]
mlan0: CTRL-EVENT-CONNECTED - Connection to 08:02:8e:07:18:c3 completed [id=0 id_str=]
mlan0: CTRL-EVENT-SIGNAL-CHANGE above=1 signal=-52 noise=-85 txrate=54000
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# sudo systemctl stop NetworkManager
Failed to stop NetworkManager.service: Unit NetworkManager.service not loaded.
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager-wait-online NetworkManager-dispatcher NetworkManager
Failed to disable unit: Unit file NetworkManager-wait-online.service does not exist.
root@n3idsdell:/home/repeater# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
mlan0 IEEE 802.11 ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry short limit:9 RTS thr=2347 B Fragment thr=2346 B
Encryption key:off
Power Management:on
enp1s0 no wireless extensions.
So from the above it seems the wifi card is working, it sees your wifi network, wpa_supplicant seems to be installed properly, but I canāt tell what happened after that. In my experience I just followed the steps in that first article I mentioned, maybe did a reboot, and everything then worked great. So not sure I can be any further help; at this point itās not an ASL issue or HW or driver issue. Could be something in your wpa_supplicant.conf settings. If still no luck getting it working I would post in the Debian.org forums.
Thanks David.
just weird that after all that, I am right back where I started
Iāll give the debian forum a shot.
Linux is like starting to learn dos all over again
For my 3040 install, I ultimately had to put the non-free drivers on a separate thumb drive, which I would plug in when Debian asks for them. I went through all the same headaches youāre going through; just go find the drivers and put them on another thumb drive.
ps. Though I didnāt write it down, towards the end of my struggle, I found a site that had Debian images with all the non-free drivers included. Google is (not seriously) your friendā¦
Did you note the name of the driver for the wifi card?