WiFi interface broken after update to 26.1

[sandy]

I am currently setting up a new firewall with opnsense and encountered a problem (again) after upgrading vom 25.7 to 26.1 today. My small installation at home should be compact and was working with an atheros wifi card in access point mode before the update.
Now after the update to 26.1  I get the dreaded message "Error creating interface with mode Infrastructure (BSS). The ath0 interface may not support creating more clones with the selected mode."

After getting it to work with a lot of effort only to have it break again after not even a day when updating I consider the wlan support so broken that I am ready to give up and look for a more stable solution and use an external access point.

Anyone with a recommendation for a small access point with a stable support for security updates?

[Monviech (Cedrik)]

If you want to stay open source you could install OpenWRT on custom Wifi (or flashable) hardware.

If you just need something that works without VLAN support, a cheap fritzbox is quite good as set and forget kinda device.

Most people here would suggest Unify for some reason when more features are needed.

I personally use Zyxel Access Points, they get regular updates too.

[Seimus]

Anyone with a recommendation for a small access point with a stable support for security updates?

Sure, get an Asus RT-AX53U, cheap and powerful option, which is Supporting Dual Radio and WiFi6

Flash on it OpenWRT, which is very simple.
https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/rt-ax53u

Profit.

Regards,
S.

[Patrick M. Hausen]

I like Mikrotik hAP-ax2 with RouterOS.

[Seimus]

Those are awesome!

But more expensive than the Asus option + OpenWRT suggested. So all depends on the budget.

Regards,
S.

[OPNenthu]

I used a converted old Asus router for a while (albeit with FreshTomato firmware instead of OpenWRT) and it worked well as an AP with a couple VLAN-backed SSIDs.  No issue using it with OPNsense.

I'm one of those that likes the UniFi APs currently, but it's mostly the hardware I like.  I'm less enthused with the company, tbh.

[nero355]

I'm one of those that likes the UniFi APs currently, but it's mostly the hardware I like.  I'm less enthused with the company, tbh.

+1 :)

I simply love my In Wall Accesspoints and my small Outdoor unit, but everything else is kind of getting annoying the last couple of years...

You could get the same from TP-Link Omada which are also a bit cheaper and might even be able to run without a Controller annoying you the whole time because a lot of their stuff has the option to be configured via a nice and simple webGUI on the device itself !!

Another option I might test at some point is this thing from HPE Aruba : https://www.cits.com.eg/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/product-access-points-remote_cits.webp
Basically it's a "In Wall on a Stick" kind of model and might be useful for people who need a WiFi Accesspoint they can use like it was a lamp in their livingroom and needs to be moved outside from time to time ^_^

[sandy]

"Sure, get an Asus RT-AX53U, cheap and powerful option, which is Supporting Dual Radio and WiFi6

Flash on it OpenWRT, which is very simple.
https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/rt-ax53u"

I've ordered one and hope it will work as well as recommended.

How does quoting work in this forum software? I can't get it to work and have simply copied it manually in.

[Seimus]

I've ordered one and hope it will work as well as recommended.

I use it as primary AP in dumb mode, with several SSIDs bound to different VLANs. Basically the AP works as WiFI + VLAN separation.

How does quoting work in this forum software? I can't get it to work and have simply copied it manually in.

On each reply click the "QUOTE" button to quote the whole reply or highlight a word/sentence from a reply and click "QUOTE SELECTED TEXT"

Regards,
S.

[sandy]

On each reply click the "QUOTE" button to quote the whole reply or highlight a word/sentence from a reply and click "QUOTE SELECTED TEXT"

Okay, a browser problem. With Edge it works as expected. Probably Adblock plus plugin in Firefox has blocked the function.

At least I discovered how fragile the Wifi interface support is very quickly. Now I'll wait für the access point to be delivered.

Thanks for the help!

[cercle]

Hello,
After updating to 26.1, the wifi interfaces are still broken and impossible to recreate them (Firefox and EDGE)

[nero355]

Adblock plus plugin in Firefox

/Offtopic =>
Please use uBlock Origin instead because I can remember one of those AdBlock alternatives selling user data in the past !!

You can look it up yourself to double-check if it's the one you are using or not :)

[lss4]

Hello,
After updating to 26.1, the wifi interfaces are still broken and impossible to recreate them (Firefox and EDGE)

Can confirm this issue with my firewall device as well. I'm also using an Atheros Wi-Fi adapter just like OP.

As the AP on my OPNsense device is not being used often, I only noticed this when I found the ISC DHCPv6 Server is not bringing up after upgrading to 26.1, and when checking the logs I noticed the cause for DHCPv6 startup failure was that my Wi-Fi interface has disappeared.

After further inspection, it seems Wi-Fi functionality is in a mess with 26.1 at the moment. I've seen the following inconsistencies on my device:
- In Interfaces -> Overview, instead of "ath0_wlan1" as I previously configured, I get a "wlan0" interface that's in "no carrier" state. However, it correctly shows the info of my Wi-Fi adapter.
- Moving the interface assignment to this "wlan0" will not activate it. Also, if you reboot while configured this way, on next boot the firewall will no longer recognize your current interface configuration and will ask you to reconfigure all interfaces (LAN, WAN, etc.). This means this "wlan0" is created at a much later point during system startup.
- If you were asked to reconfigure your interfaces, trying to assign your WLAN interface to "ath0" (which is how the Wi-Fi adapter appears in the interface list, although its MAC address appears as 00:00:00:00:00:00) will assign it to "ath0_wlan0". However, that interface is not being shown in Interaces -> Wireless -> Devices section, and only appears as a "wireless clone" in Interfaces -> Assignments.
- It's no longer possible to add devices in Interfaces -> Wireless -> Devices section. Trying to add one will fail with this error: "Error creating interface with mode Infrastructure (BSS). The ath0 interface may not support creating more clones with the selected mode." Additionally, I get this message printed in the console, "ath0: only 1 sta vap supported".
- I can only configure the Wi-Fi interface as "Infrastructure (BSS)" mode rather than "Access Point" mode. While the option to set it as "Access Point" mode is available to me initially (Interfaces -> OPTx (the Wireless interface) -> Network-specific wireless configuration -> Mode), after setting up the parameters and applying changes, the mode automatically became "Infrastructure (BSS)" and it is the only option available.

As I cannot get the Wi-Fi adapter configured to work as it used to with 26.1 I've reverted my device back to 25.7 via snapshot. My Atheros Wi-Fi adapter works as expected in that version.

Off-topic FYI: The option 13 in OPNsense console (to restore backup) is not the same as System -> Snapshots.

[franco]

Would somebody check the logs for command errors? I have the feeling most reports around the last weeks omit obvious log entries in their installations.


Cheers,
Franco

[apraile]

Same here on PC Engines APU2C4 and wle200nx card (Atheros AR9280).
The upgrade log is available at the following link, in case it is helpful:
https://paste.debian.net/hidden/22cde1ad

Thanks.