NetBSD Problem Report #60132

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Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 01:19:45 +0000 (UTC)
From: opensauce04@gmail.com
Reply-To: opensauce04@gmail.com
To: gnats-bugs@NetBSD.org
Subject: Wii's onboard wifi adapter always fails to authenticate with access point via wpa_supplicant
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X-From4GNATS: "opensauce04@gmail.com via gnats" <gnats-admin@NetBSD.org>

>Number:         60132
>Category:       port-evbppc
>Synopsis:       Wii's onboard wifi adapter always fails to authenticate with access point via wpa_supplicant
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       critical
>Priority:       high
>Responsible:    port-evbppc-maintainer
>State:          open
>Class:          sw-bug
>Submitter-Id:   net
>Arrival-Date:   Thu Mar 26 01:20:00 +0000 2026
>Last-Modified:  Wed Nov 04 18:50:01 +0000 2026
>Originator:     Daniel
>Release:        11.0-RC2
>Organization:
>Environment:
NetBSD wii 11.0_RC2 NetBSD 11.0_RC2 (WII) #0: Wed Mar  4 21:02:00 UTC 2026  mkrepro@mkrepro.NetBSD.org:/usr/src/sys/arch/evbppc/compile/WII evbppc
>Description:
I tried installing the latest NetBSD 11.0 release candidate to try out the new on-board wifi support, flashing a fresh install to an SD card and copying the required driver as per 'https://man.netbsd.org/NetBSD-11.x-BRANCH/bwi.4'.

I then attempted to connect to my wifi using wpa_supplicant, being able to see it listed after running `scan`, but no matter what I tried, I would always get into a loop of error messages stating that my "Authentication with <address> timed out.". I kept attempting to re-enter my SSID and passkey from scratch in case I had mistyped something, but every time the result was the same.

I know that my Wii is capable of connecting to my router, as I have used it extensively to connect to the internet in the native Wii operating system to browse homebrew and such.

Here is a transcript of the messages I received from within wpa_ctl, timestamps excluded:

```
CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-RESULTS
Trying to associate with <address> (SSID="<SSID>" freq=2467 MHz)
CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-RESULTS
Authentication with <address> timed out
Added BSSID <address> into ignore list. Ignoring for 10 seconds
CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=<address> reason=3 locally_generated=1
BSSID <address> ignore list count incremented to 2, Ignoring for 10 seconds
CTRL-EVENT-DSCP-POLICY clear_all
wii wpa_supplicant[540]: ioctl[SIOCS00211, op=23, val=0, arg_len=0]: Invalid argument
CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-FAILED ret=-1 retry=1
CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-FAILED ret=-1 retry=1
Removed BSSID <address> from ignore list (clear)
<messages repeat
```

Additionally, I received these messages at boot. Unsure if they are of any importance or use:

bwi0: firmware rev 0x0127, patch level 0x00e
bwi0: base tssi measure failed

I am pretty inexperienced when it comes to configuring wifi using wpa_supplicant, and even less so at dealing with wifi driver issues, so I have no idea what I should do to investigate this further. I can provide any additional information if required on request.
>How-To-Repeat:
Attempt to connect to wifi on a Wii using NetBSD 11.0-RC2 and the Wii's built-in wifi adapter
>Fix:

>Audit-Trail:
From: p6ix9@pm.me
To: "gnats-bugs@NetBSD.org" <gnats-bugs@NetBSD.org>
Cc: 
Subject: Re: port-evbppc/60132: same timeouts on 11.0 only with distant AP
Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2026 18:48:58 +0000

 I see the same authentication timeouts on NetBSD 11.0, but only with
 the more distant of the two access points on my network: node A is in
 the opposite corner of the house, on another floor, while node B is in
 the same room as the Wii. Both attempts on node A timed out, while
 every association to node B in my logs (at least six) succeeded on the
 first try. So in my case the timeouts may simply mean the AP was out
 of the Wii's range.

 System:

 =C2=A0 NetBSD wii 11.0 NetBSD 11.0 (WII) #0: Thu Jul 30 15:23:12 UTC 2026 e=
 vbppc

 =C2=A0 bwi0, from dmesg.boot: BBP 0x4318 rev 2, MAC rev 9, PHY type 2 (11G)
 =C2=A0 rev 7, RF 0x2050 rev 8, firmware rev 0x0127 patch 0x000e.

 That is the same firmware as in this PR. Unlike the original report,
 dmesg.boot has no "base tssi measure failed".

 Network: one SSID served by two TP-Link Deco BE65 mesh nodes in access
 point mode, WPA2-PSK; node A on 2437 MHz, node B on 2422 MHz. The
 wpa_supplicant.conf network block has:

 =C2=A0 key_mgmt=3DWPA-PSK
 =C2=A0 pairwise=3DCCMP TKIP
 =C2=A0 group=3DCCMP TKIP
 =C2=A0 ieee80211w=3D0

 wpa_supplicant messages for the first attempt (1 Nov, UTC, syslog
 prefix trimmed, addresses and SSID replaced):

 =C2=A0 16:27:55 Trying to associate with <node A> (SSID=3D'<SSID>' freq=3D2=
 437 MHz)
 =C2=A0 16:28:05 Authentication with <node A> timed out.
 =C2=A0 16:28:05 Added BSSID <node A> into ignore list, ignoring for 10 seco=
 nds
 =C2=A0 16:28:05 CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=3D<node A> reason=3D3 locally=
 _generated=3D1
 =C2=A0 16:28:05 BSSID <node A> ignore list count incremented to 2, ignoring=
  for 10 seconds
 =C2=A0 16:28:05 CTRL-EVENT-DSCP-POLICY clear_all
 =C2=A0 16:28:05 ioctl[SIOCS80211, op=3D23, val=3D0, arg_len=3D0]: Invalid a=
 rgument
 =C2=A0 16:28:05 CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-FAILED ret=3D-1 retry=3D1
 =C2=A0 16:28:06 ioctl[SIOCS80211, op=3D23, val=3D0, arg_len=3D0]: Invalid a=
 rgument
 =C2=A0 16:28:06 CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-FAILED ret=3D-1 retry=3D1

 Up to this point it matches the log in your report. The difference is:
 at 16:28:10 wpa_supplicant tried node B and connected on the
 first attempt, instead of retrying the same AP forever. The second
 attempt, at about 18:10, went the same way, connecting to node B at
 18:10:31.

 The op=3D23 (IEEE80211_IOC_SCAN_REQ) EINVAL lines also appear every time
 wpa_supplicant starts here, including starts that then connect
 normally. So they look like a side effect rather than the cause. From
 a reading of ieee80211_setupscan(), SCAN_REQ returns EINVAL while the
 interface isn't both IFF_UP and IFF_RUNNING.

 Workaround: setting bssid=3D<node B> in the network block keeps
 wpa_supplicant away from node A. That only avoids the timeouts: the
 link to node B still stalls regularly (traffic stops while the
 interface shows DS1), which is a separate problem.

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