<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      xmlns:its="http://www.w3.org/2005/11/its"
      type="topic" style="task"
      id="net-wireless-troubleshooting-hardware-check">

  <info>
    <link type="next" xref="net-wireless-troubleshooting-device-drivers"/>
    <link type="guide" xref="net-wireless-troubleshooting"/>

    <revision pkgversion="3.4.0" date="2012-03-05" status="outdated"/>
    <revision pkgversion="3.10" date="2013-11-10" status="review"/>
    <revision pkgversion="3.18" date="2015-09-28" status="final"/>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>Contributors to the Ubuntu documentation wiki</name>
    </credit>
    <credit type="author">
      <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
      <email>[email protected]</email>
    </credit>

    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>

    <desc>Even though your wireless adapter is connected, it may not have been
    recognized properly by the computer.</desc>
  </info>

  <title>Wireless connection troubleshooter</title>
  <subtitle>Check that the wireless adapter was recognized</subtitle>

  <p>Even though the wireless adapter is connected to the computer, it may not
  have been recognized as a network device by the computer. In this step, you
  will check whether the device was recognized properly.</p>

  <steps>
    <item>
      <p>Open a Terminal window, type <cmd>lshw -C network</cmd> and press
      <key>Enter</key>. If this gives an error message, you may need to install
      the <app>lshw</app> program on your computer.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Look through the information that appeared and find the <em>Wireless
      interface</em> section. If your wireless adapter was detected properly,
      you should see something similar (but not identical) to this:</p>
      <code><![CDATA[*-network
       description: Wireless interface
       product: PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan] Network Connection
       vendor: Intel Corporation]]></code>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>If a wireless device is listed, continue on to the
      <link xref="net-wireless-troubleshooting-device-drivers">Device Drivers
      step</link>.</p>
      <p>If a wireless device is <em>not</em> listed, the next steps you take
      will depend on the type of device that you use. Refer to the section
      below that is relevant to the type of wireless adapter that your computer
      has (<link xref="#pci">internal PCI</link>, <link xref="#usb">USB</link>,
      or <link xref="#pcmcia">PCMCIA</link>).</p>
    </item>
  </steps>

<section id="pci">
  <title>PCI (internal) wireless adapter</title>

  <p>Internal PCI adapters are the most common, and are found in most laptops
  made within the past few years. To check if your PCI wireless adapter was
  recognized:</p>

  <steps>
    <item>
      <p>Open a Terminal, type <cmd>lspci</cmd> and press <key>Enter</key>.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Look through the list of devices that is shown and find any that are
      marked <code>Network controller</code> or <code>Ethernet
      controller</code>. Several devices may be marked in this way; the one
      corresponding to your wireless adapter might include words like
      <code>wireless</code>, <code>WLAN</code>, <code>wifi</code> or
      <code>802.11</code>. Here is an example of what the entry might look
      like:</p>
      <code>Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan] Network Connection</code>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>If you found your wireless adapter in the list, proceed to the
      <link xref="net-wireless-troubleshooting-device-drivers">Device Drivers
      step</link>. If you didn’t find anything related to your wireless
      adapter, see
      <link xref="#not-recognized">the instructions below</link>.</p>
    </item>
  </steps>

</section>

<section id="usb">
  <title>USB wireless adapter</title>

  <p>Wireless adapters that plug into a USB port on your computer are less
  common. They can plug directly into a USB port, or may be connected by a USB
  cable. 3G/mobile broadband adapters look quite similar to wireless (Wi-Fi)
  adapters, so if you think you have a USB wireless adapter, double-check that
  it is not actually a 3G adapter. To check if your USB wireless adapter was
  recognized:</p>

  <steps>
    <item>
      <p>Open a Terminal, type <cmd>lsusb</cmd> and press <key>Enter</key>.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Look through the list of devices that is shown and find any that seem
      to refer to a wireless or network device. The one corresponding to your
      wireless adapter might include words like <code>wireless</code>,
      <code>WLAN</code>, <code>wifi</code> or <code>802.11</code>. Here is an
      example of what the entry might look like:</p>
      <code><![CDATA[Bus 005 Device 009: ID 12d1:140b Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. EC1260 Wireless Data Modem HSD USB Card]]></code>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>If you found your wireless adapter in the list, proceed to the
      <link xref="net-wireless-troubleshooting-device-drivers">Device Drivers
      step</link>. If you didn’t find anything related to your wireless
      adapter, see
      <link xref="#not-recognized">the instructions below</link>.</p>
    </item>
  </steps>

</section>

<section id="pcmcia">
  <title>Checking for a PCMCIA device</title>

  <p>PCMCIA wireless adapters are typically rectangular cards which slot into
  the side of your laptop. They are more commonly found in older computers. To
  check if your PCMCIA adapter was recognized:</p>

  <steps>
    <item>
      <p>Start your computer <em>without</em> the wireless adapter plugged
      in.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Open a Terminal and type the following, then press
      <key>Enter</key>:</p>
      <code>tail -f /var/log/messages</code>
      <p>This will display a list of messages related to your computer’s
      hardware, and will automatically update if anything to do with your
      hardware changes.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Insert your wireless adapter into the PCMCIA slot and see what
      changes in the Terminal window. The changes should include some
      information about your wireless adapter. Look through them and see if you
      can identify it.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>To stop the command from running in the Terminal, press
      <keyseq><key>Ctrl</key><key>C</key></keyseq>. After you have done that,
      you can close the Terminal if you like.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>If you found any information about your wireless adapter, proceed to
      the <link xref="net-wireless-troubleshooting-device-drivers">Device
      Drivers step</link>. If you didn’t find anything related to your wireless
      adapter, see <link xref="#not-recognized">the instructions
      below</link>.</p>
    </item>
  </steps>
</section>

<section id="not-recognized">
  <title>Wireless adapter was not recognized</title>

  <p>If your wireless adapter was not recognized, it might not be working
  properly or the correct drivers may not be installed for it. How you check to
  see if there are any drivers you can install will depend on which Linux
  distribution you are using (like Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora or openSUSE).</p>

  <p>To get specific help, look at the support options on your distribution’s
  website. These might include mailing lists and web chats where you can ask
  about your wireless adapter, for example.</p>

</section>

</page>