Distribution: Ubuntu 16.04, System: Acer Aspire E 15, Experience Level: Newbie
A few days ago I installed (dual boot) the 16.04 distribution on a laptop that was currently running Windows 10. I have a roadmap of things I wish to accomplish with this evaluation and have been fairly successful until it came to getting the wireless network configured. I believe the problem is limited to WPA authentication since I can disable WPA on both the network and the laptop and this allows me to connect (and stay connected) with no problems. If I enable WPA on both ends the laptop indicates that it connects but roughly 10 seconds later it disconnects and then immediately tries to reconnect. This repeats continuously.
There is a lot of information available regarding problems like this but one of the things that is confusing me is that there is some documentation that applies to Linux in general and other documentation that is distribution specific and it is not always obvious to me which is which. This is further complicated by the fact that the way something is done evolves over time as distributions mature yet web pages offering helpful tips tend to remain long after their information no longer applies. Thus, I've tried to narrow my searches to information posted within the past year. The primary document I'm using is help.ubuntu.com/16.04/ubuntu-help/net-wireless-connect.html. Unfortunately, the troubleshooting sections don't cover authentication issues. This document mentions nothing about "wpa_supplicant" which I've seen mentioned a lot on the web. I've tried to configure and use this (unsuccessfully) and don't know if I've made things worse in the attempt.
Any ideas on what to check next would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Dave