Questions[ap-hotspot](ubuntu)

After upgrade Ubuntu 18.04 to 20.04, I noticed Hotspot feature seemed working, and phones were able to connect by wifi, but then they reported No internet connection

After checking network-manager logs, it looks like when the Hotspot feature is enabled/disabled, it tries to configure iptables. If you check the logs:

sudo journalctl -fu NetworkManager

you can see here, it is trying to use iptables throught /sbin/iptables path, but it's not the real installation path of it:

NetworkManager[1328]: <warn>  [1588096735.3274] Error executing command: Failed to execute child process “/sbin/iptables” (No such file or directory)

As it is not able to configure the redirections, it won't bridge the connetions to/from the internet.

Is there any way to enable a pre-configured Wi-Fi hotspot from a shell script/command line without going to Settings > Wi-Fi > (settings icon) > Turn On Wi-Fi Hotspot... > Turn On?

I'm on Ubuntu 18.04 and I'm able to setup a wifi hotspot in the UI (as described for example here) which works perfectly. I now want to change the SSID and the password of the hotspot. I tried doing this using the UI which you get when running nm-connection-editor. Changing the password works, but somehow the SSID is reverted to the default name (librem) after starting the hotspot again.

I confirmed this by looking at the file /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/Hotspot. I manually changed the ssid in that file to myawesomehotspot. I then rebooted the whole machine to make sure the default name isn't cached anywhere. And then I enabled the hotspot in the wifi settings screen again. Upon checking, the ssid in the file /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/Hotspot was changed/overwritten with the default name librem again (the file datetime also showed that it was rewritten).

Why does opening the hotspot overwrite the ssid? Where does this name come from? And how can I permanently rename the hotspot? All tips are welcome!

[EDIT]

The outputs as asked by @Marmayogi in the comments:

$ nmcli device
DEVICE           TYPE      STATE      CONNECTION      
wlp1s0           wifi      connected  Hotspot         
br-63805314ad4c  bridge    connected  br-63805314ad4c 
docker0          bridge    connected  docker0         
lo               loopback  unmanaged  --              

$ networkctl status
WARNING: systemd-networkd is not running, output will be incomplete.

●        State: n/a
       Address: 10.42.0.1 on wlp1s0
                172.18.0.1 on br-63805314ad4c
                172.17.0.1 on docker0
                fe80::fa30:17ec:448:579a on wlp1s0

$ sudo lshw -short -class network
H/W path                 Device           Class          Description
====================================================================
/0/100/1c/0              wlp1s0           network        AR9462 Wireless Network Adapter
/1                       docker0          network        Ethernet interface
/2                       br-63805314ad4c  network        Ethernet interface

$ ls -l /etc/resolv.conf
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 39 Mar 11  2018 /etc/resolv.conf -> ../run/systemd/resolve/stub-resolv.conf

The hotspot feature works with an old Sitecom Wireless USB Adapter 300N X3. No additional installations necessary. My phone is able to discover and connect to the hotspot.

As I required more speed I bought the T6E pci card having read this device being supported natively on 18.04. I installed the drivers via "Software and updates". The card works with my 5G signal and is faster than the Sitecom.

I have a desktop pc, GA-770TA-UD3 motherboard, AMD.

Unfortunately the T6E does not work with the hotspot feature in Ubuntu. When the hotspot is turned on the GUI shows the SSID and password. The password is WEP encrypted where the Sitecom offers WPA. My phone is unable to discover the network.

Link to wireless info, using the Sitecom usb adapter with hotspot: https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/cjj55RQ7bJ/

Link to wireless info, using the T6E with hotspot: https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/k5pghWqNnG/

lspci | grep -i Network 02:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Limited BCM4360 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 03)

First guess: The bcmwl-kernel-source(proprietary) does not support AP mode for the BCM4360 chipset...

Is it possible to install other firmware that will support the AP mode?

I mean to have my laptop under Ubuntu 16.04LTS as both an Access Point and using it also to connect to internet (e.g., browsing). I found that this is possible. I would need

$ iw list    
Wiphy phy0
...
        Supported interface modes:
                 ...
                 * AP

but in my case

$ iw list
Wiphy phy0
...
        Supported interface modes:
                 * IBSS
                 * managed
                 * monitor

I have a

$ lspci | grep -i Network
03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (rev 35)
$ ethtool -i wlp3s0 | grep driver
driver: iwlwifi

From the many references that I read, I wasn't clear about a few points:

1. Does my card support AP per se? According to this and this, the card is capable of using Intel® My WiFi Dashboard, so it would support AP.

2. Is it mandatory to have AP mode supported by the driver? According to this, iwlwifi, what I have, would be ok, so I would already have hardware and drivers supporting AP mode (but there is something clearly missing).

3. Can I change to Broadcom driver to get the AP mode? (I did not dare trying, lest ruining my current wifi access and getting none).

4. Must I install ap-hotspot or create_ap?