Home / ubuntu / Questions / 10595
Accepted
SpashHit
Asked: 2010-11-01 09:34:13 +0800 CST

Can't use tethered WiFi

  • 772

I have a Dell Mini 9 Netbook with Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Remix. I can get on my home Wifi fine, but when I try to connect to a tethered connection (on my Palm Pre phone), it won't connect, even though it sees the connection. Even if I turn off encryption, it still won't connect. I can connect to the tethered connection fine from my Win7 laptop (even with encryption).

10.04 networking wireless ubuntu-netbook

4 Answers

  1. Using a tethered network is when you connect your computer via usb or bluetooth to a device such as a phone and use a modem to connect to the network directly.

    What I think you are doing is not tethering but instead making an ad-hoc hot-spot with your phone which allows your computer to use the phone's network as if it were a real wifi connection.

    You should check to see if the wifi hot-spot you're creating is on a certain band, using a certain kind of wifi such as 802.11g/n/a which (unlikely though it might be) may ot be supported or buggy in your wifi driver. I've known wifi hot-spots to not work because the network was 802.11a (old) and the newer driver hasn't been tested with those old networks.

    • 2

  2. Does the win7 box connect without encryption? - separate thought there, but my approach would be to connect the win7 box with encryption and user aircrack to recover the key, not the word that generates the key. I have previously had a problem connecting to cheaper access points with encryption because something goofed in the conversion from text to key...this approach solved it for me.

    • 1
  3. Best Answer

    I finally got it working! I just had to go into Additional Drivers and activate the Broadcom STA wireless driver. I am actually posting this response through the tether! :)

    Edit: Forgot to mention... I'm also on Ubuntu 10.10 now

    • 1

  4. Is Ubuntu connecting to the Pre as a storage device, modem, or combination; or simply as a Wireless Access Point? What version of the driver are you running and what driver revisions have been installed on your machine previously? If you have it set up to connect as a mass storage device you will not have modem functionality.

    A more confusing scenario will be if Ubuntu is recognizing and accepting the Pre as it is, but the driver is not actually establishing the modem connection. For a discussion, driver links, a guide, and multiple solutions (such as removing the backports), see this link. It should assist in diagnosing the mobile hotspot software as well as any driver issues you may be having.

    • 0