Cannot Connect to Hidden Wi-Fi Network

Question

Since upgrading to 16.04 LTS, I cannot manually connect to a saved network.

I can connect if the network is not hidden after a rescan - just selecting the network from the menu or waiting for it to connect automatically. I can also connect if I type in the details manually. However if I select a saved network the Connect button on the dialog is greyed out.

I have tried saving a new version of the network but have the same problem. I've also tried storing the password for just the current user and for all users but both have the same problem.

Solution 1

Its a known bug, already reported https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager/+bug/1542733

Solution 2

As a workaround, if the network is not actually hidden, you can force a scan by running

sudo iwlist wlan0 scan

where wlan0 is the name of your wireless interface.

Comments

[mjaggard]

Yes, I ended up putting this in my root crontab :-(