Connecting to wifi network through command line

command linenetworkingwifi

I am trying to connect to my WEP network just using the command-line (Linux).

I run:

sudo iwconfig wlan0 mode Managed essid 'my_network' key 'xx:xx:... hex key, 26 digits'

Then I try to obtain an IP with

sudo dhclient -v wlan0

or

sudo dhclient wlan0

without success (tried to ping google.com).

I know that the keyword is right, and I also tried with the ASCII key using 's:key', and again, the same result.

I get the message below when running dhclient:

Listening on LPF/wlan0/44:...
Sending on   LPF/wlan0/44:...
Sending on   Socket/fallback
DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3

I have no problem connecting with WICD or the standard Ubuntu tool.

Best Answer

Option 1

Just edit /etc/network/interfaces and write:

auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp 
                wpa-ssid {ssid}
                wpa-psk  {password}

After that write and close file and use command:

sudo dhclient wlan0

Replace {ssid} and {password} with your respective WiFi SSID and password.

Option 2

Provided you replace your Wireless network card, Wi-Fi Network name, and Wi-FI Password this should also work.

I am using: - Wireless network card is wlan0 - Wireless network is "Wifi2Home" - Wireless network key is ASCII code ABCDE12345

First, get your WiFi card up and running:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

Now scan for a list of WiFi networks in range:

sudo iwlist wlan0 scan

This will show you a list of wireless networks, pick yours from the list:

sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid Wifi2Home key s:ABCDE12345

To obtain the IP address, now request it with the Dynamic Host Client:

sudo dhclient wlan0

You should then be connected to the WiFi network. The first option is better, because it will be able to run as a cron job to start up the wifi whenever you need it going. If you need to turn off your WiFi for whatever reason, just type:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 down

FYI

I have also seen people using alternative commands. I use Debian, Solaris and OSX, so I'm not 100% sure if they are the same on Ubuntu. But here they are:

sudo ifup wlan0 is the same as sudo ifconfig wlan0 up
sudo ifdown wlan0 is the same as sudo ifconfig wlan down

Related Question