Re: [Solved] Command to Toggle wifi adapter enabled/disabl

[johnywhy]

hi

i have two wifi adapters, the motherboard adapter, and a usb dongle.

i don't want to blacklist the internal adapter, but i don't want it to connect automatically either.

currently, both adapters are connecting at the same time, which doesn't make sense.

ps, if both are connected, would both contribute to my download speed?

thx!

[Cosmo.]

In the settings for the connection you can unset the option for automatically connect.

[johnywhy]

you mean for each hotspot?

that will work, but was hoping for a device setting, rather than hotspot setting. No luck?

if i have to go to the trouble of configuring every hotspot, i'd prolly leave autoconnect on, and pick the preferred device MAC address on the wifi tab. Hm, but i must not understand the purpose of that setting, since both devices are autoconnecting. What does that device MAC address setting do?

many thx

[niowluka]

i don't want to blacklist the internal adapter

Why not ?

if both are connected, would both contribute to my download speed?

No, by default Mint will actually be using just one of those (the first one establishing a connection).

[johnywhy]

i don't want to blacklist the internal adapter

Why not ?

maybe because i want to be able to fallback to it, if the dongle breaks, or is lost.

Or maybe i'm just spoiled and i want a quick gui way to enable/disable devices.

another reason i'm hesitant to blacklist the old adapter is because i'm still evaluating the new adapter.

Another reason: at home I can use the internal adapter. Elsewhere I use the dongle.

[JeremyB]

You may be able to accomplish what you want with

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sudo ifconfig wlan0 down

It may or may not be persistant after a reboot but if it does work and you want to reverse it just use

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sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

[niowluka]

another reason i'm hesitant to blacklist the old adapter is because i'm still evaluating the new adapter.

Blacklisting is not permanent. It's just preventing a driver to load at boot. You can then load / unload the driver at will, thus enabling / disabling the device.

[johnywhy]

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sudo ifconfig wlan0 down

to reverse it just use

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sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

Update: not solved. see next post.

extra credit:
i'd like to assign both to a single keyboard key as a 'toggle', but i cannot find a way to check on the up/down state of the interface. Any ideas?

[johnywhy]

Update: Not solved. It worked until a reboot. Now, ifconfig return is weird, unexpected.

On boot, i can see both interfaces in Network Manager, and i get:

$ sudo ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr ac:22:0b:0d:ee:96
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Interrupt:19

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:65536 Metric:1
RX packets:173 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:173 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:12642 (12.6 KB) TX bytes:12642 (12.6 KB)

ra0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:e1:b0:27:84:71
inet addr:10.3.192.177 Bcast:10.3.255.255 Mask:255.255.0.0
inet6 addr: fe80::2e1:b0ff:fe27:8471/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:7721 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:324 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1686498 (1.6 MB) TX bytes:49929 (49.9 KB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 0c:84:dc:09:2b:80
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

after this:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 down

i can STILL see the internal interface in Network Manager, and i get:

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr ac:22:0b:0d:ee:96
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Interrupt:19

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:65536 Metric:1
RX packets:229 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:229 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:18341 (18.3 KB) TX bytes:18341 (18.3 KB)

ra0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:e1:b0:27:84:71
inet addr:10.3.192.177 Bcast:10.3.255.255 Mask:255.255.0.0
inet6 addr: fe80::2e1:b0ff:fe27:8471/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:28698 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:967 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:6454832 (6.4 MB) TX bytes:204377 (204.3 KB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 0c:84:dc:09:2b:80
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

thx for any help!

[JeremyB]

The rfkill state might be remembered so post the output of

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rfkill list all

[johnywhy]

post the output of

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rfkill list all

$ rfkill list all
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
1: asus-wlan: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no

You can then load / unload the driver at will, thus enabling / disabling the device.

--how?

thx

[ralplpcr]

Is this along the lines of what you're looking for?
I'm not sure which flavor of Mint you're using, but at least in Cinnamon you can easily turn on/off whichever Wifi connection you want by using the sliders.

Screenshot from 2015-09-17 09_26_50.png

[johnywhy]

in Cinnamon you can easily turn on/off whichever Wifi connection you want by using the sliders.

I'm in xfce.

A GUI or CLI solution would be fine.

[ralplpcr]

I'm in xfce.

A GUI or CLI solution would be fine.

I don't have an XFCE installation handy with multiple Wifi adapters, but I think you can do that from the GUI as well. What do you see when you click on the network icon in your "systray" (panel - lower right)?

There should be an entry allowing you to "disconnect", and I believe it should show both adapters individually... can you post a screen shot of what you see? (press PrtSc, then attach the resulting screenshot into this thread)

Here's what I see with 1 Ethernet and 1 Wifi adapter:

20150917_151323.jpg

[johnywhy]

. What do you see when you click on the network icon in your "systray" (panel - lower right)? There should be an entry allowing you to "disconnect", ]

"Disconnect" is not the same as "disable." There's no "disable" option.

[ralplpcr]

"Disconnect" is not the same as "disable." There's no "disable" option.

Alright, then how about this?

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gksudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

Add the following line to the bottom of the file:
(use wlan0 or wlan1, depending on which one you want to disable)

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iface wlan0 inet manual

Save the file and exit gedit. Then restart network manager:

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sudo service network-manager restart

It should not not start the adapter now until you tell it to start. Though you may need to log out/reboot before that takes effect.

[johnywhy]

Alright, then how about this?

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gksudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

performed all your steps, and rebooted. Adapter was disabled.

then i did

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

adapter did not enable. Should i use a different command?

I googled "iface wlan0 inet manual" and saw some stuff about hotplugging. Does that mean manually plugging in the adapter? If so, can it work with the internal adapter (which is already plugged in on boot, and never unplugged).

ps, i edited my OP title to more accurately describe what i want.

thx!

[ralplpcr]

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sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

adapter did not enable. Should i use a different command?

I don't have an XFCE box to test at the moment, but I believe from a terminal the steps should be the same. Try entering the following 3 commands to re-enable your adapter and get an IP assigned:

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sudo ip link set wlan0 up
sudo ifconfig wlan0 up
sudo dhclient wlan0

It works on my Cinnamon box, anyhow?

FYI - If you want to DISABLE your wlan0, you can simply enter

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sudo ip link set wlan0 down

to instantly turn it off.

[johnywhy]

Tried a few different scenarios, sorry if confusing. Trying not to get confused myself!

Scenario 1: Disabled in /etc/network/interfaces

Try entering the following 3 commands to re-enable your adapter and get an IP assigned

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sudo ip link set wlan0 up
sudo ifconfig wlan0 up
sudo dhclient wlan0

How can i get an IP assigned without connecting to a specific wifi network? I tried this and, after your first command the adapter appears in network manager, with the label "device not managed", and no wifi networks listed. Your second command has no visible affect. After your third command, the command window hangs, with no change in device manager.

If it helps, my /etc/network/interfaces contains:

# interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
iface wlan0 inet manual

Scenario 2: Disabled in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

i tried to blacklist the internal adapter using the following:

blacklist RT5390
blacklist wlan0
blacklist Ralink corp. RT5390 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe

However, on reboot, it's still listed in Network Manager, and i'm able to connect to a wifi network with it, using Network Manager.


Scenario 3: NOT disabled in /etc/network/interfaces or /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

FYI - If you want to DISABLE your wlan0, you can simply enter

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sudo ip link set wlan0 down

to instantly turn it off.

after doing that, i notice lshw shows wlan0 as "DISABLED". However, it's still listed in Network Manager, available networks are still listed underneath it, and i'm able to connect to a wifi network with it, using Network Manager. Something seems wrong here. Same thing happens with sudo ifconfig wlan0 down

Seems that, when lshw shows wlan0 as "DISABLED", it's not really disabled (or network manager overrides the disable?)

thx!

[JeremyB]

Post

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lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 net