Network connection type symbol fluctuates between wired wireless
HP Pro and NUC. I've had this happen on both machines with the same USB wireless dongle. USB ports type 2 and 3.
OS: Trisquel 8. I can't recall it happening on Trisquel 7. I noticed this after trying Trisquel 8. I'm now on T8.
Dongle make and chip: TP-LINK TL-WN722N Qualcomm Atheros Communications AR9271 802.11n. It works flawlessly on T8. Only the symbol seems to be schizophrenic.
My dongle is first shown as 'wired' when I start my computer and launch Trisquel. If I log out and back in, then it's shown as 'wireless'. If I restart, it's back to 'wired'. When erratic, the network manager doesn't show active or available wireless connections.
If I remove the dongle and reinsert it, it shows up correctly as 'wireless' and available wireless SSIDs are detected again.
| Attachment | Size |
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| network.png | 10.47 KB |
| wireless.png | 10.3 KB |
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I have made some progress.
The issue/symptoms:
USB Wi-Fi adapter TP-LINK TL-WN722N (free driver ath9k_htc) is erratic on boot if the stick is inserted when booting. Interface symbol is initially incorrectly 'wired'; wireless SSIDs not shown or detected.
Workaround:
--Exit X (log out/log in)
--Insert only after boot
--Remove and re-insert if inserted at boot
--Restart Network Manager 'sudo service network-manager restart'
--Disable auto-connect
Contents of /etc/network/interfaces:
# interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
I noticed the adapter works as intended if auto-connect is disabled in NM applet GUI or nmtui.
It also works as intended if this condition is met:
--No saved connections
If a connection is saved and auto-connect is enabled, then at cold boot the network manager starts behaving erratically until network manager is restarted or the adapter is replaced.
I wonder if this has anything to do with Trisquel 8 not making connections at boot time or when Abrowser is launched; connections are not initiated on its own but only when connections are started by the user.
Is it probable or possible that Network Manager has been affected by this incognito/privacy feature?
I daily use the TP-LINK TL-WN722N on Trisquel 8. With GNOME Shell, I have not seen any issue. If you want to try it on your system: https://trisquel.info/en/wiki/installing-gnome-shell
So, I guess your icon issue is not as deep as your investigation. Maybe a bug in the MATE applet.
I tried GNOME and I can report that it does not have this issue.
Moreover, I discovered that with MATE, if autologin is enabled, I have this problem. I resolved the issue by enabling password prompt at login screen.
GNOME -- no issue, works login/auto-connect on/off whatever
MATE -- no issue provided that user types in login password at lightdm login screen; then, auto-connect works as intended
I reinstalled everything from scratch (regular MATE Trisquel 8), and all is fine. No issues anymore.
The solution was to use login password just as the installer defaults to. The network interface apparently needs permissions to do something behind the scene.