How can I connect to a wireless network using only the command line in Linux? The only thing I know is that iwconfig
must be used, but how?
1 Answer
The exact commands will depend on the network you're connecting to. I generally first use 'iwlist' to find a list of available networks.
iwlist wlan0 scanning
This will return a list of all wireless networks seen on interface wlan0.
The next step is to set the ESSID and what access point to use (usually automatic).
iwconfig wlan0 essid my_network
iwconfig wlan0 ap any
If the network is unsecured you're done configuring the wifi at this point. You can then set a static IP (ifconfig) or a request a dynamic IP (dhclient).
If the network is secured with WEP you'll need to enter the correct key.
iwconfig wlan0 enc s:my_network_key
If the network is secured with WPA(2) you'll need to install and configure wpa_supplicant first.
As always the manpage is the first place you should look for more information.
-
3Not all wireless networks are seen on wlan0. I've got an Acer laptop where the wireless network is on eth1. I'd add a step to first check the correct interface using
iwconfig
– user4358Commented Aug 14, 2009 at 11:45 -