Bullseye Minimal BBB wpa_supplicant failing to start

I’m trying to use am335x-debian-11.5-minimal-armhf-2022-11-01-2gb.img.xz image on BBB with TL-WN722N dongle plugged into it.
wpa_supplicant fails to start:

● wpa_supplicant@wlan0.service - WPA supplicant daemon (interface-specific version)
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/wpa_supplicant@.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Tue 2022-11-01 07:35:37 UTC; 53s ago
    Process: 981 ExecStart=/sbin/wpa_supplicant -c/etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-wlan0.conf -iwlan0 (code=exited, status=255/EXCEPTION)
   Main PID: 981 (code=exited, status=255/EXCEPTION)
        CPU: 100ms

Nov 01 07:35:37 BeagleBone systemd[1]: Started WPA supplicant daemon (interface-specific version).
Nov 01 07:35:37 BeagleBone wpa_supplicant[981]: Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
Nov 01 07:35:37 BeagleBone wpa_supplicant[981]: nl80211: Driver does not support authentication/association or connect commands
Nov 01 07:35:37 BeagleBone wpa_supplicant[981]: nl80211: deinit ifname=wlan0 disabled_11b_rates=0
Nov 01 07:35:37 BeagleBone wpa_supplicant[981]: wlan0: Failed to initialize driver interface
Nov 01 07:35:37 BeagleBone systemd[1]: wpa_supplicant@wlan0.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=255/EXCEPTION
Nov 01 07:35:37 BeagleBone systemd[1]: wpa_supplicant@wlan0.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.

What am I missing?

So I realized that I was trying the new TL-WN722N v2 that is using Realtek RTL8188EUS chipset.
I also have the old TL-WN722N that has Atheros chipset and it seems to be working fine.
Is Realtek RTL8188EUS chipset not supported on Bullseye?

I tried updating but EU drivers have no update as of now.
I tried rebuilding from the source, yielding the same result.
Seems like 8188EU drivers are busted right now.
Any suggestion for a good wifi dongle with an external antenna?
I love BBs, but getting networking working, is OMFG painful.

Upgrading to the ai64 and use a 9260NGW in the M2 slot. Works goods. I tried a couple USB wifi on the BBB and gave up quickly, much easier to upgrade to a different board.

If you edit the file /lib/systemd/system/wpa_supplicant@.service and add -Dnl80211,wext to the wpa_supplicant command line, most of the older wifi adapters will work.

If you edit the file /lib/systemd/system/wpa_supplicant@.service and add -Dnl80211,wext to the wpa_supplicant command line, most of the older wifi adapters will work.

That didn’t work for me.
Going back to Buster and Atheros chipset. It is disappointing, that BB cannot make the Realtek stuff work. That is what people use today.

Why can’t you use Atheros with Bullseye? anyhow, please post your lsusb on the realtek chip, or full model/serial number so i can order one off Amazon…

Regards,

Why can’t you use Atheros with Bullseye

Because you cannot buy a new dongle that has that chipset. That stuff is like 10 years old.
Anyway, this is the dongle I’m trying to use. It supposes to be supported: TL-WN722N v2 (Amazon.com)

Maybe I’m missing something but I’m literally working on this problem for a week. I have multiple BBB, BBB Industrial, and BBGW and multiple Wi-Fi dongles I’m trying to get a stable Wi-Fi connectivity for my project. I’m using a USB extension cable with USB dongles.
So far my problems are drivers not working, wlan0 does not come up after boot, or wpa_supplicant crooks on startup.
I simply cannot make it work that on each and every power cycle (sometimes after a hard power cut) Wi-Fi reliably reconnects.
At this point, I will appreciate every suggestion except “use ai64” or “why do you need Wi-Fi”.
Thank you!

It’s worked for me. I’ve faced with the same issue ( donlgle TP-LINK TL-WN725N [RTL8188EUS] on 5.10.145-ti-r54 #1bullseye) but found the related info here
[SOLVED] iwd not finding RTL8188EUS wifi adapter / Kernel & Hardware / Arch Linux Forums and then
wpa_supplicant - ArchWiki

I’ve actually modified /lib/systemd/system/wpa_supplicant@.service by adding -Dnl80211,wext to the end of ExecStart line:

ExecStart=/sbin/wpa_supplicant -c/etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-%I.conf -i%I -Dnl80211,wext

and executed

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart wpa_supplicant@wlan0.service

1 Like

Nice find @Gekoz75 , merged and pushing out shortly:

Regards,