Connection does not exist with nmcli even if scanned with iwlist

Question

I use to run the command to connect to the wifi network m<essid

nmcli -p con up id myessid

Sometimes and for unknown reason,

`nmcli` gives me `Error: Connection 'myessid'

does not exist even if myessid appeared in

iwlist wlp3s0 scan | grep ESSID

I tried to launch service networking restart and other commands without success.

What can I do in order for nmcli to update its ESSID list?

Solution

There are three different things:

• an WiFi access point in the scan list. As shown by iwlist wlp3s0 scan or nmcli device wifi list

• the networking interfaces in your system, like wlp3s0. As shown by ip link show or nmcli device.

• the connection profiles configured in NetworkManager, as you see them in nm-connection-editor or nmcli connection show.

nmcli con up $CONN expects a connection. You need to create a connection in NetworkManager in order to activate it. Use nm-connection-editor or nmcli connection add and nmcli connection modify. See man nm-settings for what to configure.

You can also try nmcli device wifi connect $ACCESSPOINT which creates a new connection and activates it in one step.

Comments

[user123456]

I'll check the differences between nmcli d wifi list and iwlist wlan0 scanning next time