Old WiFi adapter not working after upgrade [Solved]

[Gip-Gip]

I upgraded my Debian installation to Stretch and so far I'm annoyed by a few things; most annoying being my WiFi adapter not working. It appears when I run

Code: Select all

ip link show

but when I try to use something like wicd-curses no networks show up. Even when I try to set it up through the command line it fails to connect.

It previously worked so what happened?

SOLUTION:
The interface worked after installing the firmware-ralink package. This may/may not have been due to user error as well, because my driver is normally built into the kernel. Worth a shot if you're having trouble.

[Lysander]

I'm sure we had a similar topic to this just very recently. Seems to be an ongoing issue, not just with Debian, but many Linux distros.

Anyway, I use wired internet so have no experience of this directly, but if you enter the query into a search engine, you will see quite a few results, some of which, I'm sure, would assist you.

https://lmsptfy.com/?q=wifi%20not%20wor ... %20stretch
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=wifi+not+working+debian+stretch

[Gip-Gip]

I'm sure we had a similar topic to this just very recently. Seems to be an ongoing issue, not just with Debian, but many Linux distros.

Anyway, I use wired internet so have no experience of this directly, but if you enter the query into a search engine, you will see quite a few results, some of which, I'm sure, would assist you.

https://lmsptfy.com/?q=wifi%20not%20wor ... %20stretch
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=wifi+not+working+debian+stretch

The one time I googled it I only got results for people with proprietary drivers. Not everyone has StartPage

I'll try that fix when I get the chance

[stevepusser]

A lot depends on what hardware you have, and whether the driver is in the kernel or if you had to build your own driver for it.

Also, the name of the interface may have been changed, and you would have to let wicd know about the change.

[Gip-Gip]

A lot depends on what hardware you have, and whether the driver is in the kernel or if you had to build your own driver for it.

Also, the name of the interface may have been changed, and you would have to let wicd know about the change.

I already changed it in wicd, so no luck

I use the rt2500usb driver, which as far as I know is ancient and has been supported since the v2 Linux kernel. Why it would stop working after many years of essentially plug-n-play I have no idea

[stevepusser]

Did you enable the non-free section and install firmware-ralink?

[Gip-Gip]

Did you enable the non-free section and install firmware-ralink?

I've honestly never heard of the package. I'll install it and see what happens

[Gip-Gip]

Did you enable the non-free section and install firmware-ralink?

After installing it I went to the wicd-curses control panel and noticed an extra Wireless Interface field. Either I completely missed the text box it or installing the drivers actually worked

[Bulkley]

Thanks for posting your fix. It may help someone else.