WLAN0 keeps forgetting the ESSID when trying to connect.

[bitsmack]

Hello All,

When trying to connect to a wireless network using the command prompt, the network interface almost immediately forgets the essid. The problem happens with both the 32 and 64-bit bit versions of Kali 1.0.5, booting from CD or USB. It worked fine using BackTrack 5r3. This network doesn't broadcast its essid.

This is what I believe should work (and works in BackTrack on the same laptop):

ifconfig wlan0 down
iwconfig wlan0 essid NetworkName
ifconfig wlan0 up
dhclient wlan0

Here's what happens in Kali. Start with this:

ifconfig wlan0 down
iwconfig wlan0 essid NetworkName

So far, so good:

root@kali:~# iwconfig
wlan0     IEEE 802.11abgn  ESSID:"NetworkName" 
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=15 dBm  
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off

Then I bring up the interface:

ifconfig wlan0 up

Within a second or two, the ESSID goes away:

root@kali:~# iwconfig
wlan0     IEEE 802.11abgn  ESSID:off/any 
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=15 dBm  
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off

dmesg shows the following:

62.444953 wlan0: authenticate with xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
62.452532 wlan0: send auth to xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx (try 1/3)
62.455299 wlan0: authenticated
62.455366 wlan0: waiting for beacon from xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
62.488293 wlan0: associate with xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx (try 1/3)
62.491647 wlan0: RX AssocResp from xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx (capab=0x401 status=0 aid=1)
62.496073 wlan0: associated
62.496136 IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready
62.496712 wlan0: disassociating from 48:5b:39:42:60:4b by local choice (reason=3)
62.505828 cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
62.520601 cfg80211: World regulatory domain updated:

(I've highlighted what I think is the clue)

Until the interface is brought up, the ESSID remains configured. After the interface is up, the essid only shows up in iwconfig for a second or two, then goes away. Obviously, dhclient doesn't work at this point...

I can connect fine using NetworkManager.

I found a similar issue on some other distributions forum, and tried this fix, but it didn't work:

iw wlan0 set power_save off

Thanks for reading. Any thoughts?