How To Fix Ubuntu Wifi Connection Issues With Wicd

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If you use Wifi in your Ubuntu machine, you might have faced several issues like… Inability to connect to a Wifi network… Asking for the security key every time you login… Slow connections… etc. It’s really irritating. Until now I managed to work with these issues because I also have a cable connection in my desk. But today I wanted to fix the issue once and for all with Wicd…

After searching through the web, I got to know that the source of the problem lies in the wireless network drivers. That’s the cause for most of these problems. Unfortunately, there’s no direct solution for it (I was unable to find one in the web). But there’s a workaround…

I saw that many people solved this problem by replacing the default network manager with Wicd network manager. Originally, Wicd was built for wireless devices (Wireless Interface Connection Daemon). But now, it supports both wireless and wired connections. The point is, Wicd handles Wireless connections better than the default network manager. Actually, not better, in a different manner. Fortunately, it can solve most of our problems.

One of the biggest problems I faced is the security key issue. Every-time I login, the network manager will ask me to enter the Wifi security key. It’ll ask several times before finally connecting. Wicd fixed this issue. It connects to the network as soon as I login to the system. So, I think it might also solve your own problems.

Before you do anything, remember this… The default network manager have more features. Wicd still doesn’t support VPNs, DSL, 3G and CDMA connections. So, be-careful. If you don’t have any real issues, stick with the network manager…

Now, lets see how to install Wicd :

  • First, open the terminal and enter the following two commands (The first one will install Wicd and the second one will remove the network manager) (Warning : Do not remove the network manager first. You’ll lose your connection and won’t be able to install Wicd) :

  •  Now open Wicd and you’ll see your Wifi network. Go to Properties and set the network key and the encryption type (if its protected) and connect to the network.
Wicd

Wicd

  • Finally, tick “Automatically connect to this network”.
Unfortunately, if you are using Unity, the network notification icon on the top right corner will disappear. In Gnome Shell, you’ll find Wicd in the bottom right corner. Hope there’s a fix for this issue.
Now, restart your machine and see whether it connects without asking for network keys. I don’t know about you, but it worked really well for me. Try it and tell us what happened. If you fixed the issue in a different way or if you have questions, please post them in our forum : http://techhamlet.com/forum/

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This awesome post was written by Pubudu Kodikara

Pubudu has written 1036 great articles for us.

Currently, I'm preparing a delicious meal... I take ingredients from the tech world... I have already used 2 tea spoons of software, 3 table spoons of network, a cup of linux, a jug of web and many more tasty ingredients!
  • http://www.facebook.com/ben.johnson.56679 Ben Johnson

    Thank you very much. wcid has also worked for me. I use a white MacBook (the 3,1 series) with builtin WiFi. The WiFi used to work (this was under OS/X) until about a year ago and then it would always drop out and just seem to die or simply refuse to connect. I put it down to a hardware problem or driver glitch because my other WiFi devices in the house were all fine. So my MacBook sat in a drawer gathering dust until I gained an interest in Ubuntu and did a fresh wipe and installed Ubuntu because it might also get my WiFi back.

    So I installed Ubuntu only to discover the same issue… which made me believe it was a hardware issue with the internal WiFi adaptor. My next logical step was I purchased a USB WiFi adaptor. Guess what…? same problem! Then I tried ANOTHER USB WiFi adaptor – same problem again. So I put it down to ~something~ about the network manager… perhaps in both Ubuntu and OS/X.

    I read elsewhere somebody had success with wicd. So I gave it a go… and the built in WiFi now works flawlessly. Immediate fast login with full signal strength as soon as my desktop loads. No dropouts. I have a laptop that is usable again!!

    My only question is (I’m an Ubuntu newbie)… I have not yet uninstalled network manager. Do you see this as a problem? It seems to be all working great and I still get the signal strength meter up next to the clock, and I can still use that icon to connect / disconnect (so, it seems I don’t need to use the wicd interface at all??) – does this sound right?

    I’m also curious if ever I go back to OS/X on this machine, perhaps I need to be looking at a mac equivalent of wicd to solve my issues?

    Ben