I have a Pi Zero W with a weird Wifi issue.

The Pi runs an SSH gateway and is powered from a USB port on the router.
It's been running faultlessly for about 2years now with a few tweaks to
the standard setup to mount regularly written to files on a ramdisk to
preserve the SDcard. The system reboots every 24hrs as a simple way of
stopping the ramdisk filling up.

After a new router was installed, this Pi has issues connecting to Wifi.

Power it up and there's a 75% chance it will connect. If it doesn't
removing and reapplying power makes it likely to connect. If you reboot
it from the command line it fails to connect most times.

I have a spare Pi Zero W and swapped the SDcard into the spare. Connects
every time on reboot or on power-cycle. I place another SDcard in the intermittent one and the same Wifi connection problem exists. One card
is Debian 12 with NetworkManager and one is Debian 11 with old style
networking setup.

The fault moves with the Pi and doesn't seem to be software dependent.
Using Debian 12 and checking with a USB Ethernet connection the Wifi
fails with "could not activate connection: Activation failed: secrets
were required but not provided" even though the password is set and has connected. I've checked there's no dust/dirt or other contamination on
the PCB. I've powered it from several different USB ports (desktop,
router, phone charger). The rest of the Pi seems to work fine when the Ethernet connection is in use. Or when it was in an original Pi Model A
with a USB Wifi dongle, it boots and the Wifi connects. The software
image appears OK. It's just this Pi Zero W with iffy Wifi.

Has anyone seen anything like this? Most annoying. Any ideas?

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

On 25/08/2024 11:07, mm0fmf wrote:

I have a Pi Zero W with a weird Wifi issue.

The Pi runs an SSH gateway and is powered from a USB port on the router.
It's been running faultlessly for about 2years now with a few tweaks to
the standard setup to mount regularly written to files on a ramdisk to preserve the SDcard. The system reboots every 24hrs as a simple way of stopping the ramdisk  filling up.

After a new router was installed, this Pi has issues connecting to Wifi.

Power it up and there's a 75% chance it will connect. If it doesn't
removing and reapplying power makes it likely to connect. If you reboot
it from the command line it fails to connect most times.

I have a spare Pi Zero W and swapped the SDcard into the spare. Connects every time on reboot or on power-cycle. I place another SDcard in the intermittent one and the same Wifi connection problem exists. One card
is Debian 12 with NetworkManager and one is Debian 11 with old style networking setup.

The fault moves with the Pi and doesn't seem to be software dependent.
Using Debian 12 and checking with a USB Ethernet connection the Wifi
fails with "could not activate connection: Activation failed: secrets
were required but not provided" even though the password is set and has connected. I've checked there's no dust/dirt or other contamination on
the PCB. I've powered it from several different USB ports (desktop,
router, phone charger).  The rest of the Pi seems to work fine when the Ethernet connection is in use. Or when it was in an original Pi Model A
with a USB Wifi dongle, it boots and the Wifi connects. The software
image appears OK. It's just this Pi Zero W with iffy Wifi.

Has anyone seen anything like this? Most annoying. Any ideas?

My guess, and its no more than that, is that the new router is
negotiating connections in a different way than the old.

All routers have options for what they will accept and it may be that
your new router is set to either deprecate or entirely reject the
particular security protocol your pi uses.
Another possibility is that you have set the router to a channel that is
not legally permitted as far as your Pi is concerned.

I would start by documenting what exact settings the old router was
using and exactly duplicating them in the new.

I have found WPA-PSK to be a reliable security protocol to use. On
channel 13 with European channels enabled

Also test the PI Zero W against other wifi access points. A moblile
phone often is useful in this context.


If the Zero W does prove terminally recalcitrant, life is too short, Buy another one :-)


--
The New Left are the people they warned you about.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

mm0fmf <none@invalid.com> wrote:

The fault moves with the Pi and doesn't seem to be software dependent.
Using Debian 12 and checking with a USB Ethernet connection the Wifi
fails with "could not activate connection: Activation failed: secrets
were required but not provided" even though the password is set and has connected. I've checked there's no dust/dirt or other contamination on
the PCB. I've powered it from several different USB ports (desktop,
router, phone charger). The rest of the Pi seems to work fine when the Ethernet connection is in use. Or when it was in an original Pi Model A
with a USB Wifi dongle, it boots and the Wifi connects. The software
image appears OK. It's just this Pi Zero W with iffy Wifi.

Has anyone seen anything like this? Most annoying. Any ideas?

First things first the Zeros are 2.4GHz only. Maybe you don't notice iffy 2.4GHz signal on devices that support 5GHz?

I suppose it's possible to get a static zap into the RF frontend, which
might degrade reception without entirely killing it. Newer Pis have a
screened RF section which may help prevent static zapping, but there may
still be exposed pads (eg the antenna test points).

As has already been said, if you've narrowed it down to the hardware then there's nothing for it but to replace it (and perhaps relegate the old one
to some use that doesn't need wifi). The current Zero 2 W is much nicer
than the original Zero, btw.

Theo

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

mm0fmf <none@invalid.com> wrote:

I have a Pi Zero W with a weird Wifi issue.

The Pi runs an SSH gateway and is powered from a USB port on the router.
It's been running faultlessly for about 2years now with a few tweaks to
the standard setup to mount regularly written to files on a ramdisk to preserve the SDcard. The system reboots every 24hrs as a simple way of stopping the ramdisk filling up.

After a new router was installed, this Pi has issues connecting to Wifi.

Power it up and there's a 75% chance it will connect. If it doesn't
removing and reapplying power makes it likely to connect. If you reboot
it from the command line it fails to connect most times.

Perhaps not enough enthropy in /dev/random for wpa_supplicant to
work? I had that problem initialising the Pi Zero W's WiFi from
scratch via custom scripts on Linux, fixed by using Haveged to fill
the enthropy pool quicker. NetworkManager in Debian is the other
end of the spectrum so far as ways of setting WiFi up go though. It
probably already has that sorted out.

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

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aw0K

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

On Sun, 25 Aug 2024 11:07:09 +0100, mm0fmf wrote:

It's been running faultlessly for about 2years now with a few tweaks to
the standard setup to mount regularly written to files on a ramdisk to preserve the SDcard.

Is that really worth the trouble? They’re so cheap to replace.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

On 26/08/2024 03:45, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:

On Sun, 25 Aug 2024 11:07:09 +0100, mm0fmf wrote:

It's been running faultlessly for about 2years now with a few tweaks to
the standard setup to mount regularly written to files on a ramdisk to
preserve the SDcard.

Is that really worth the trouble? They’re so cheap to replace.

Yes. It's not the cost of a new SDcard that is the issue it's the
convenience. If I'm working away from home and want to access the home equipment then I can. If the SDcard fails through write failure and I'm
away and in a time zone 8-10hrs different then my lovely wife will not
be pleased if I ring her at 3am her time and ask her to get up and swap
the SDcard! You can guarantee it will fail at the least convenient time.

Anyway, it's a few lines changed in /etc/mtab to mount bits of /var on
the ramdisk.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

On 25/08/2024 23:31, druck wrote:

maybe you should retire it

Yes. I became used to having a low power, always-on SSH server at home
so used it quite a lot. I bought a spare as Zeros are so cheap "just in
case". That spare is now in service and I've ordered another.


I did some experiments last night to confirm it's the Zero W Wifi that
is at fault. Essentially it is random whether the built in Wifi will
connect on power up or reboot.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

On 25/08/2024 11:07, mm0fmf wrote:

I have a Pi Zero W with a weird Wifi issue.

[snip]

Has anyone seen anything like this? Most annoying. Any ideas?

A new RPi Zero W arrived today. I took the SDcard from the unreliable Pi
and put it into the new one. Successful Wifi connection on every reboot.
The other Pi has been labelled as iffy and put in the box of things that
might be useful one day.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

On 30/08/2024 21:00, mm0fmf wrote:

On 25/08/2024 11:07, mm0fmf wrote:

I have a Pi Zero W with a weird Wifi issue.

[snip]

Has anyone seen anything like this? Most annoying. Any ideas?

A new RPi Zero W arrived today. I took the SDcard from the unreliable Pi
and put it into the new one. Successful Wifi connection on every reboot.
The other Pi has been labelled as iffy and put in the box of things that might  be useful one day.

Well, equipped with a suitable dongle (erhernet or wifi) it is probably
just fine...


--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign,
that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

Jonathan Swift.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)