Hostapd failed to start but still show active

[oliveryang]

I downloaded the lastest Armbian image for my Nanopi Neo (Armbian 23.02.2 Jammy with Linxu 5.15.93-sunxi). I then connected my WiFi dongle (D-Link DWA-131) and tried to create AP using armbian-config utility. Unfortunately, the hostapd fail to start even though the status shows "active".

root@armbian:/etc# systemctl status hostapd
● hostapd.service - LSB: Advanced IEEE 802.11 management daemon
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/init.d/hostapd; generated)
     Active: active (exited) since Thu 2023-03-02 12:32:58 CST; 5s ago
       Docs: man:systemd-sysv-generator(8)
    Process: 3656 ExecStart=/etc/init.d/hostapd start (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
        CPU: 61ms

Mar 02 12:32:58 armbian systemd[1]: Starting LSB: Advanced IEEE 802.11 management daemon...
Mar 02 12:32:58 armbian hostapd[3656]:  * Starting advanced IEEE 802.11 management hostapd
Mar 02 12:32:58 armbian hostapd[3659]: ioctl[SIOCSIWMODE]: Invalid argument
Mar 02 12:32:58 armbian hostapd[3656]:    ...fail!
Mar 02 12:32:58 armbian systemd[1]: Started LSB: Advanced IEEE 802.11 management daemon.

 

In the configuration file, I tried to replace the driver part from rtl871xdrv, which is the original setting by hostapd, to nl80211 with no luck.

root@armbian:/etc# cat hostapd.conf
#
# armbian hostapd configuration example
#
# realtek mode
#

ssid=ARMBIAN
interface=wlan0
hw_mode=g
channel=5
#bridge=br0
driver=rtl871xdrv
#driver=nl80211

 

I spent hours just to find out that the driver (8192eu) comes with the Armbian doesn't support ap mode. I'm pretty sure the wifi adapter itself does support ap mode as it's been using in my other boards. I have two different USB wifi adapters both with Realtek chips (8192eu and 8188u). They all have the same problem. Any suggestion on this issue?

root@armbian:/etc# iwconfig wlan0 mode master
Error for wireless request "Set Mode" (8B06) :
    SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.
root@armbian:/etc# nmcli con up Hotspot ifname wlan0
Error: Connection activation failed: Connection 'Hotspot' is not available on device wlan0 because profile is not compatible with device (the device does not support Access Point mode)

 

[going]

Please check the correct operation

usb_modeswitch

[oliveryang]

I'm able to use the adapter to scan the available SSIDs and connect to the Internet. I suppose usb_modeswitch should not be an issue. The same adapter is used on another embedded device in AP mode. I searched that device and found no usb_modeswitch related operation. 😞

[EverettH-The-Best]

Enter ifconfig to the terminal and make sure 'wlan0' is actually an option. I use a USB dongle, so I have to instead use wlx941865cd7f11 instead of 'wlan0'. It will probably be different than mine though, so replace 'wlan0' with the actual option.