[SOLVED] wicd not connecting to strongest signal

[Paul Unger]

At work we have a router with an access point. Both have the same essid. Wicd sees both signals, but persists in connecting to the weaker one. I am closer to the AP than the router; the AP shows 4 bars / -36 dBm while the router shows 2 bars / -72 dBm. I've tried 'disconnecting' and then clicking 'connect' under the stronger of the two signals (the AP), but it always connects to the weaker one (despite having "Automatically connect to this network" selected for the AP). Any hints?

[Temetka]

Yeah,

rename the SSID on the AP and see what happens.

Other than that, isn't there some preffered order of connection that you can specify?

Or you can try in the CLI and working with DHPCD and IFCONFIG to see if you specify which MAC you want to connect to.

Just some thoughts.

[Paul Unger]

Yeah, rename the SSID on the AP and see what happens.

Like I said, this is at work and I'm not at liberty to rename things . . . I had hoped wicd would default to the strongest signal rather than to any particular name.

Other than that, isn't there some preferred order of connection that you can specify?

I'm not sure--that's why I'm here. I have "Automatically connect" selected on the stronger signal's profile, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Or you can try in the CLI and working with DHPCD and IFCONFIG to see if you specify which MAC you want to connect to.

I could, if I knew how--again, that's why I'm here. [I even had to google "CLI" to figure out what you meant . . . ]

[gongo2k1]

I could, if I knew how--again, that's why I'm here.

sometimes it's hard to tell if people are just looking for troubleshooting ideas or if they're actually looking for a 'howto'. though it's more productive to err on the side of "assuming you don't know, here's what you should do", people also seem to get their feathers ruffled if they feel that they've been talked "down" to.

back on topic:
what distro are you running (I'm assuming the T61 in your sig running Ubuntu)? what card are you using? is the connection to the weaker signal actually dropping, or were you just hoping to get the stronger signal for the sake of... the stronger signal? what settings are your coworkers using? what did IT helpdesk have to say? (not that any of us expect a phone call to IT to be productive, but it's good for a laugh every once in a while...)

[Paul Unger]

I could, if I knew how--again, that's why I'm here.

sometimes it's hard to tell if people are just looking for troubleshooting ideas or if they're actually looking for a 'howto'. though it's more productive to err on the side of "assuming you don't know, here's what you should do", people also seem to get their feathers ruffled if they feel that they've been talked "down" to.

I guess I should have written "noob" somewhere in my message. That would explain a lot!

back on topic:
what distro are you running (I'm assuming the T61 in your sig running Ubuntu)? what card are you using? is the connection to the weaker signal actually dropping, or were you just hoping to get the stronger signal for the sake of... the stronger signal? what settings are your coworkers using? what did IT helpdesk have to say? (not that any of us expect a phone call to IT to be productive, but it's good for a laugh every once in a while...)

Distro: Ubuntu 7.10 on the T61. Card: IBM (Atheros) a/b/g/n. The connection is stable (so it's not a problem, per se), but I'm very curious as to why it won't connect to the stronger of the two signals. Is there a setting I'm missing (as Temetka hinted)? Is this normal behaviour for wicd? Is this a bug in wicd? Does anyone else have this issue? So it's a mix between wanting a 'how-to' (if there is one) and base curiosity.

[lightweight]

Try editing wicd's configuration file to remove the saved entry for the unwanted access point. On Debian based systems (Ubuntu/Mepis/Mint/etc,etc), this is in /opt/wicd/data/wireless-settings.conf. Assuming you are using such a distribution, an easy editor for newcomers is nano/pico, which gives you a nice menu at the bottom of the page.

1) Open a terminal.
2) Enter

Code: Select all

sudo nano /opt/wicd/data/wireless-settings.conf

3) You'll find the bogus AP's entry separated by MAC address. Delete all fields for the problem entry.

Alternatively, you could clear all saved entries in your wicd by doing

Code: Select all

echo "" |sudo tee /opt/wicd/data/wireless-settings.conf

Restart connect to your preferred AP. wicd will not be aware of any preference for the problem AP unless you decide to connect to it.

[Paul Unger]

Alternatively, you could clear all saved entries in your wicd by doing

Code: Select all

echo "" |sudo tee /opt/wicd/data/wireless-settings.conf

Restart connect to your preferred AP.

Sorry for the late reply--other committments. But that did the trick! Thank you.