New installation on an old PC - Wifi not working

[christinej]

Hello,

 I just installed Linux Lite on an old Windows 7 PC, and I cannot figure out how to make the wifi work.
When I try to add a new Wifi network I have the following message: "the device does not support Access Point Mode"

Thank you for your help!

[stevef]

I have the following message: "the device does not support Access Point Mode"

What are you trying when you see this message ?

The manual has basic instructions (but assumes your adapter is recognized and in range of networks which is not always the case).
https://www.linuxliteos.com/manual/netwo...l#wireless

If you have a problem and can't complete the set up using the manual, let us know what goes wrong.

[christinej]

I don't see any wireless networks in the list, so I was trying to add a new one when I got this message.

Following the manual, it says to go to "Install Drivers" to check if I see any wireless device. In Install Drivers, I see no device at all (see screenshot attached, in French sorry, but we can see there is nothing listed there)

Should I try to manually find a pilot? Is there a possibility the wireless card is not compatible with Linux?

Thank you very much

[stevef]

Did you try the running wifi from the Live media set up before installing ?  Did it work ?

We need to start by finding what wifi hardware the system has and then find what if any drivers are needed and allow us to check for potential incompatibility.

Please open a terminal (Ctrl Alt and T) and run these commands to get a bit of information about your system
Enter your password if asked.

Code:

lspci -nn

Code:

lsusb

Code:

inxi -n

Code:

rfkill list all

Code:

journalctl -b | grep wpa

Code:

sudo lshw -C network

Code:

sudo dmeg | grep Linux

Reply with the results.

[christinej]

My bad, I didn't try from the live media before installing

Below the results:

Thank you!

---

lspci -nn


00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller [8086:0104] (rev 09)
00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200/2nd Generation Core Processor Family PCI Express Root Port [8086:0101] (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0116] (rev 09)
00:16.0 Communication controller [0780]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 [8086:1c3a] (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 [8086:1c2d] (rev 05)
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller [8086:1c20] (rev 05)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 [8086:1c10] (rev b5)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 [8086:1c12] (rev b5)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 [8086:1c16] (rev b5)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 [8086:1c1a] (rev b5)
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 [8086:1c26] (rev 05)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation HM65 Express Chipset LPC Controller [8086:1c49] (rev 05)
00:1f.2 SATA controller [0106]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 port Mobile SATA AHCI Controller [8086:1c03] (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller [8086:1c22] (rev 05)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation GF119M [GeForce 610M] [10de:1058] (rev a1)
03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Centrino Wireless-N 100 [8086:08ae]
04:00.0 USB controller [0c03]: ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1042 SuperSpeed USB Host Controller [1b21:1042]
05:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Qualcomm Atheros AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet [1969:1083] (rev c0)

---

lsusb

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 13d3:5710 IMC Networks UVC VGA Webcam
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 248a:8367 Maxxter Telink Wireless Receiver
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub

---

inxi -n

  Device-1: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 100 driver: iwlwifi
  IF: wlp3s0 state: down mac: 78:92:9c:a1:3a:fe
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet driver: atl1c
  IF: enp5s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 10:bf:48:9c:c4:b6

---

rfkill list all
0: asus-wlan: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
1: phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no

---

journalctl
Jun 23 17:54:29 christinej-K53SD systemd[1]: Starting wpa_supplicant.service - WPA supplicant...
Jun 23 17:54:29 christinej-K53SD systemd[1]: Started wpa_supplicant.service - WPA supplicant.
Jun 23 17:54:29 christinej-K53SD wpa_supplicant[915]: Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
Jun 23 17:54:30 christinej-K53SD wpa_supplicant[915]: dbus: fill_dict_with_properties dbus_interface=fi.w1.wpa_supplicant1.Interface.P2PDevice dbus_property=P2PDeviceConfig getter failed

---

  *-network               
      description: Interface réseau sans fil
      produit: Centrino Wireless-N 100
      fabricant: Intel Corporation
      identifiant matériel: 0
      information bus: pci@0000:03:00.0
      nom logique: wlp3s0
      version: 00
      numéro de série: 78:92:9c:a1:3a:fe
      bits: 64 bits
      horloge: 33MHz
      fonctionnalités: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
      configuration : broadcast=yes driver=iwlwifi driverversion=6.8.0-62-generic firmware=39.31.5.1 build 32895 100-5.uco latency=0 link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
      ressources : irq:37 mémoire:ddc00000-ddc01fff
  *-network
      description: Ethernet interface
      produit: AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet
      fabricant: Qualcomm Atheros
      identifiant matériel: 0
      information bus: pci@0000:05:00.0
      nom logique: enp5s0
      version: c0
      numéro de série: 10:bf:48:9c:c4:b6
      taille: 1Gbit/s
      capacité: 1Gbit/s
      bits: 64 bits
      horloge: 33MHz
      fonctionnalités: pm msi pciexpress vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
      configuration : autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=atl1c driverversion=6.8.0-62-generic duplex=full ip=192.168.1.183 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=1Gbit/s
      ressources : irq:40 mémoire:dc800000-dc83ffff portE/S:9000(taille=128)

---

sudo dmesg | grep Linux


[ 0.000000] Linux version 6.8.0-62-generic (buildd@lcy02-amd64-071) (x86_64-linux-gnu-gcc-13 (Ubuntu 13.3.0-6ubuntu2~24.04) 13.3.0, GNU ld (GNU Binutils for Ubuntu) 2.42) #65-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Mon May 19 17:15:03 UTC 2025 (Ubuntu 6.8.0-62.65-generic 6.8.12)
[ 0.234780] ACPI: [Firmware Bug]: BIOS _OSI(Linux) query ignored
[ 0.474797] pps_core: LinuxPPS API ver. 1 registered
[ 0.610966] Linux agpgart interface v0.103
[ 0.625812] usb usb1: Manufacturer: Linux 6.8.0-62-generic ehci_hcd
[ 0.636779] usb usb2: Manufacturer: Linux 6.8.0-62-generic ehci_hcd
[ 1.288593] usb usb3: Manufacturer: Linux 6.8.0-62-generic xhci-hcd
[ 1.296931] usb usb4: Manufacturer: Linux 6.8.0-62-generic xhci-hcd
[ 5.779729] Intel® Wireless WiFi driver for Linux
[ 6.463166] mc: Linux media interface: v0.10
[ 6.520902] videodev: Linux video capture interface: v2.00

[stevef]

Thank you.  You have an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 100 adaptor connected on the pci bus.
To get all the information we can about this, please post back with the results of

Code:

sudo lspci -s 03:00.0 -v

You may need to enter your password.

The system is trying to load the Intel driver (pilot) called 'iwlwifi' which is incorporated in the Linux kernel.
I suspect this driver may be crashing.  Please run this command to pull events matching the driver name and your interface name from the log.

Code:

journalctl -b | grep -i 'iwlwifi\|wlp\'

If the driver is trying to load and failing, the output may just be a few lines.
If so paste everything back.

It is possible the driver is crashing and restarting, if so the command may generate many lines of output.
If you get lots of output, look for a repeating pattern. Checking for multiple lines containing something like

Microcode SW error detected. Restarting 0x0

may indicate looping.  If you see multiple instances of this line, select and copy enough text to show just one loop and paste it back. I hope this is clear, please ask questions if in doubt.

Can I suggest trying a live boot of Lite 6.6 to see if the Intel Wifi  adaptor works in that version ?