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The problem

I have an issue connecting to the wifi on a fresh install of Lubuntu 20.04 on my lenovo laptop. I have a RTL8723BE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter.

At my friends house I have no trouble connecting to their wifi.

At my house, I can see all the networks (and mine has full signal strength) but when I enter my password to connect, I just get a message from the nm-tray saying "Connection lost, No longer connected to 802-11 wireless..."

What I have tried (without any success)

I plugged the live Lubuntu usb into my other pc (which usually runs Ubuntu 18.04, and has no problems with connecting to the wifi, with Network controller: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries Device 43c3 (rev 04)) and booted from Lubuntu and still couldn't connect to the wifi. This is the same when I plug the usb into the laptop and booted from it - also couldn't connect. So I guess it's not hardware specific...

On the laptop I have tried the following (rebooting in between any changes):

  • Changing the band from 'Automatic' to 2.4GHz

  • Selecting Channels 1,6, or 9

  • Changing IPv4 Method from 'Automatic DHCP' to 'Automatic DHCP (addresses only)'

  • Changing from 'WPA & WPA2 Personal' to 'LEAP'

cat /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf
options rtl8723be ant_sel=1

cat /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf
options rtl8723be ant_sel=2

sudo nmcli networking off
sudo nmcli networking on

sudo modprobe -r rtl8723be
sudo modprobe rtl8723be

Useful info from running some commands

sudo lshw -C network
  *-network
       description: Wireless interface
       product: RTL8723BE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:09:00.0
       logical name: wlp9s0
       version: 00
       serial: b0:10:41:c8:d9:e5
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=rtl8723be driverversion=5.11.0-25-generic firmware=N/A latency=0 link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
       resources: irq:19 ioport:3000(size=256) memory:b2400000-b2403fff

sudo lspci
09:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8723BE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
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6
  • I think the problem is the settings of your wifi router. I suggest that you ask your friend to help you identify any differences between the settings of his wifi and yours, and then try to set your wifi similar to his.
    – sudodus
    Aug 9, 2021 at 14:53
  • @sudodus I think you're right - I just made a live usb with Ubuntu (and also tried with xubuntu) and even that can't connect to the wifi (either when plugged into the laptop or into the pc). It's strange since the the pc and my phone can connect to the wifi at will (like they always have), but it's as if any 'new' device can't - they all just keep prompting for the password over and over...
    – mattb
    Aug 9, 2021 at 15:12
  • What happens if you reset the router and use the original password (that should be written on a sticker somewhere on the router)? And then try to log in with that password (along the suggestion by Sean Anderson).
    – sudodus
    Aug 9, 2021 at 15:20
  • 2
    Are you sure? The reset that I talk about is more brutal, it is resetting from all the settings, that you (or other family members) have done - back to factory settings, which means that for example the passphrase for wifi is back to what should be printed on a sticker on the router (maybe on the bottom). You may need a pin, and use it to press a microswitch in a small hole. See the manual of the router, should be available via the internet, if you have no paper copy.
    – sudodus
    Aug 9, 2021 at 15:51
  • 2
    @sudodus Ah you're right! that did the trick! Thank you so much! If you want to put that as an answer I'll upvote and accept (Or I could just delete the Q since it wasn't really about lubuntu or even linux).
    – mattb
    Aug 9, 2021 at 16:31

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

What happens if you reset the router and use the original password? And then try to log in with that password.

The reset that I talk about is more brutal than reboot. It is resetting from all the settings, that you (or other family members) have done - back to factory settings, which means that for example the passphrase for wifi is back to what should be printed on a sticker on the router (maybe on the bottom). You may need a pin, and use it to press a microswitch in a small hole. See the manual of the router, should be available via the internet, if you have no paper copy.

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1

To eliminate any other issues, try changing your wifi password to something with just alpha-numeric characters - no special characters.

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