Wireless devices not automatically connecting to B3 WAP

[OlivierC]

Hi, I'm a new bubba b3 Wireless 1Tb owner.
brand new.
I have just done initial configuration:
Network Profile: Router + Firewall + Server
bubba3-kernel 1:2.6.39.4-11
and connected speedtouch510 v5 modem to WAN port

devices that will use B3
one box with Cisco Aironet 802.11a/b/g Wireless Adapter
second box with Dell Wireless 1520 (802.11 a/b/g/n) PCIe
two differents laptops with built-in 802.11g Wireless Card
boxes and laptops running Windows XP Professional SP3
hp LaserJet 1022nw printer (Network Wireless) 802.11g

With my previous All-In-One AP/Router/FW, every time one device listed above boots up, it will automatically connect to the configured Wireless Access Point.
SSID broadcast: Yes
Connection Type: ESS
ESSID: example
Authentification: WPAPSK
Encryption: TKIP
Key: longandcomplexandhardtorememberhexadecimalkey

I have set same settings to B3 Network Wireless:
WAP: On
Network name (SSID): example
Password: longandcomplexandhardtorememberhexadecimalkey

Advanced wireless settings:
Band: 2.4 GHz
Mode: Legacy mode (802.11g)
Channel width: greyed 20MHz
Encryption WPA1
Channel: Channel 10 (2457 MHz)
Broadcast SSID: On

Now, i have to go to 'View Available Wireless Networks'
Choose a wireless network:
i select SSID of my Security-enabled wireless network (WPA)
click connect

to get connected to B3 WAP on both laptops and boxes.

badly, i can't do the same for hp LaserJet 1022nw printer.
I have tried to reconfigure printer with the hp supplied installation assistant but it fails.
Never had an issue before and i have printer connected by WiFi working for ages.

Remember all devices were running fine with Wireless connection with previous WAP.

How to get client always authenticated with the B3 WAP (i.e. allowed to form an association)
it have to provides auto-connectivity capability allowing a client to connect into a WAP without user intervention.

[OlivierC]

I will post the solution to my problem.
But as a new user, I'm not allowed to post external links.

[OlivierC]

Your post looks too spamy for a new user, please remove off-site URLs.

After trying to figure out all of the possible number combinations:
I solved this problem by switching B3 to 802.11g mode ONLY (essentially turning OFF 802.11n mode altogether)
So, by doing this 802.11n capable devices no longer taking advantage of the 802.11n speed.
But on a mixed network anyways, 802.11n routers automatically go down to 802.11g speed anyways. You can only get 802.11n speeds if EVERY DEVICE is an 802.11n device.

I found valuable info here: wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Documentation/hostapd

If Windows clients are going to be connecting, you should leave ccmp encryption out of the wpa_pairwise option, as some windows drivers have problems with systems that enable it.

I'm new to linux. I followed wiki instructions:
wiki.excito.org/wiki/index.php/MAC_address_filter_for_wireless_network
to edit hostapd.conf file.
Solution that fixed my issue: change wpa_pairwise data value from CCMP to TKIP:

Code: Select all

# Set of accepted cipher suites (encryption algorithms) for pairwise keys
# (unicast packets). This is a space separated list of algorithms:
# CCMP = AES in Counter mode with CBC-MAC [RFC 3610, IEEE 802.11i/D7.0]
# TKIP = Temporal Key Integrity Protocol [IEEE 802.11i/D7.0]
# Group cipher suite (encryption algorithm for broadcast and multicast frames)
# is automatically selected based on this configuration. If only CCMP is
# allowed as the pairwise cipher, group cipher will also be CCMP. Otherwise,
# TKIP will be used as the group cipher.
# (dot11RSNAConfigPairwiseCiphersTable)
# Pairwise cipher for WPA (v1) (default: TKIP)
wpa_pairwise=TKIP

hope it helps others Windows users with [semi-]legacy WPA (v1) wireless devices.

I'm not the 1st having problems with hp LaserJet 1022nw:
last post gives correct settings to use with hp LaserJet 1022nw:
h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Mac-Printing-and-Scanning/new-router-gt-new-WPA-security-gt-now-Laserjet-1022nw-won-t/td-p/84243/page/3

Tag:
HP LaserJet 1022nw: new AP, can no longer see wireless network in its SSID list... and when we manually type in the SSID information & WPA password information, it still cannot connect.
Windows XP Professional w/ SP3 clients: Unable to connect to preferred wireless network
and the name of the network that you want to connect to appears under the Preferred networks list