Gumstix Overo wifi drops continously

Question

I am using Gumstix overo and from the past many days I am unable to get my Wifi working correctly.

I followed the instructions from Gumstix Overo Wifi and Overo Wifi to set correct parameters in /etc/network/interfaces and /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf.

/etc/network/interfaces file:

# Wireless interfaces
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
      pre-up wpa_supplicant -Dwext -iwlan0 -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -B
      down killall -q wpa_supplicant

wpa_supplicant.conf:

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
    ctrl_interface_group=0
    update_config=1
    eapol_version=1
    ap_scan=1
    fast_reauth=1

    network={
            ssid="xxxxxx"
            proto=WPA
            key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
            pairwise=CCMP TKIP
            group=CCMP TKIP
            scan_ssid=1
            psk="xxxxx"
            priority=10
    }

After setting up and running ifdown wlan0 && ifup wlan0 i constantly get this message:

[ 1176.528778] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
[ 2155.687255] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
[ 1175.293609] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain

My iwconfig:

lo        no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:off/any  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:on

My lsmod looks like this:

root@overo:~# lsmod

Module                  Size  Used by
libertas_sdio          16484  0 
libertas               99993  1 libertas_sdio
firmware_class          6920  2 libertas_sdio,libertas
ipv6                  252525  22 
cfg80211              172644  1 libertas
rfkill                 17524  3 cfg80211
lib80211                5138  1 libertas
mt9v032                 7169  1 
omap3_isp             132270  0 
v4l2_common             8681  2 omap3_isp,mt9v032
ads7846                10528  0 
videodev               98880  3 omap3_isp,mt9v032,v4l2_common
media                  12853  3 omap3_isp,mt9v032,videodev

I am using yocto project for gumstix cloned from https://github.com/gumstix/Gumstix-YoctoProject-Repo

It would be great help if I could get any inputs where I am doing wrong.

Answer 1

The reason for wifi drop is the Network manager. By disabling it we can run ifconfig, iwconfig without any interference from the NetworkManager.

or Another workaround is this which is quite successful:

After creating SD card with proper Image on, do not unmount the partitions.

Install a Custom systemd Service

To bring up the wireless interface on boot, you will need to create and install a custom systemd service on the microSD card.

• In the rootfs partition, create a new service script:

  $sudoedit /media/rootfs/etc/systemd/system/network-wireless@.service

• Copy and paste the following into the file:

  Description=Wireless network connectivity (%i)
Wants=network.target
Before=network.target
BindsTo=sys-subsystem-net-devices-%i.device
After=sys-subsystem-net-devices-%i.device

  
  [Service]
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes

  
  ExecStart=/sbin/ifconfig %i up
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/wpa_supplicant -B -i %i -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
ExecStart=/sbin/dhclient %i
RestartSec=1min
Restart=on-failure

  
  ExecStop=/sbin/ifconfig %i down

  
  [Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save this file.

• Because we are editing these files on a development machine, the normal systemd method of enabling services (systemctl) will not work. To enable our new service:

  ~ Change into the multi-user.target.wants directory on the root filesystem:

  $cd /media/rootfs/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/

  ~ Create a symbolic link to enable the service:

  Overo Series COMs

  $sudo ln -s ../network-wireless@.service network-wireless@wlan0.service

Finally, edit the wpa_supplicant configuration file:

$sudoedit /media/rootfs/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

Change it to look like the following:

network={
    ssid="Your Network's SSID"
    psk="Your WPA2 Passkey"
}

Save the file.

Unmount the partitions on the microSD card.

SSH Into Your System

1) If you don't know the ip $ssh root@overo.local
2) If you know the IP address $ssh root@192.xx.xx.xx.local