BeagleBone Black Wireless with UBUNTU 16.04 Xenial Wi-Fi not working

[Chrysomallis Iason]

I have the BeagleBone Black Wireless, and I have flashed Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial to it. I am trying to make the WiFi to work but have so far failed. I have already tried to modify the /etc/network/interfaces file by adding the following commands for wlan0, without any luck:
 

auto wlan0
    iface wlan0 inet static
    address 192.168.1.2
    netmask 255.255.255.0
    gateway 192.168.1.1
    wireless-mode ad-hoc
    wireless-essid BBB

In some forums, people suggest using “connmanctl”, however, there is no such preinstalled package in Ubuntu. Also I can’t download it to the BBBw, because its WiFi is not working. I tried connecting the BBBw to the internet via a usb connection, I edited this connection to “shared to other computers” but again, I had no Internet connection to the BBBw. To sum up, my question is: Is there an easy way to make the WiFi of the BBBw (with Ubuntu) to work, without the need to use the “connmanctl”? If not, any detailed information on how to install and use the “connmanctl” would be very much appreciated. I am including the whole /etc/network/interfaces file, with the part that I added, which appears after the comment “The following lines for the wlan0 were added by me”.


Thanks in advance,
Chrysomallis Iason.


Interfaces file:

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system
# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# The primary network interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
# Example to keep MAC address between reboots
#hwaddress ether DE:AD:BE:EF:CA:FE

# The following lines for the wlan0 were added by Savvas
# Ad-Hoc wifi
auto wlan0
    iface wlan0 inet static
    address 192.168.1.2
    netmask 255.255.25a5.0
    gateway 192.168.1.1
    wireless-mode ad-hoc
    wireless-essid BBB

##connman: ethX static config
#connmanctl services
#Using the appropriate ethernet service, tell connman to setup a static IP address for that service:
#sudo connmanctl config <service> --ipv4 manual <ip_addr> <netmask> <gateway> --nameservers <dnsserver>

##connman: WiFi
#
#connmanctl
#connmanctl> tether wifi off
#connmanctl> enable wifi
#connmanctl> scan wifi
#connmanctl> services
#connmanctl> agent on
#connmanctl> connect wifi*_managed_psk
#connmanctl> quit

# Ethernet/RNDIS gadget (g_ether)
# Used by: /opt/scripts/boot/autoconfigure_usb0.sh
iface usb0 inet static
    address 192.168.7.2
    netmask 255.255.255.252
    network 192.168.7.0
    gateway 192.168.7.1

[Chrysomallis Iason]

UPDATE: After trying several suggestions, I have ended up in the following situation; I've set up an ad-hoc connection (I chose "Shared to other computers" method in the IPv4 setting tab) on my UBUNTU laptop (device A).
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qpb3ggutgos9jfd/scrnshot_19-3_HOSTPC.png?dl=0
Then, I created a connection on my second UBUNTU laptop (device B) with ad-hoc DHCP(auto) and its ESSID was set as the ESSID of the initial connection created on device A.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wjcijyeehq3080m/scrnshot_19-3_CLIENTPC.png?dl=0
The connection between the two devices worked smoothly.
After that I tried to achieve the same kind of connection, but this time between the device A and a BeagleBoneBlack Wireless (flashed with UBUNTU 16.04 Xenial console). Here's the edited /etc/network/interfaces file for the wlan0 connection: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yw5ux8k6x1wtqke/interfaces_19-3.png?dl=0
However, this time a connection was not established.
ifconfig for the BBBW: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3viflkdwufx6yx/scrnshot_19-3_BBBW.png?dl=0
I am also posting the results of the wireless-info script: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ihnkysc3lhs5tv/wireless-info_19-3_BBBW.txt?dl=0
Any advice?

[Chrysomallis Iason]

UPDATE: I ran a diagnostics script for Beagleboards named version.sh. Here are the results: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kimbj5ntao...on_sh.txt?dl=0
In line 10 it shows a warning about a firmware package not having been installed.

[Robert Nelson]

Ubuntu doesn't have that specific package, instead they install the
needed firmware thru the "linux-firmware" package, which is installed.

The main problem with ubuntu 16.04, the default version of connman is
too old to be useful. (1.21)

When i back ported a newer version of connman, most users complained
about it, so i removed it.

So for ubuntu 16.04, it's up to "YOU" to configure wifi, thru
wpa-supplicant and friends. I'm not wasting personal time on 16.04.

For ubuntu 18.04, ubuntu has a much newer version of connman that works well.

Regards,

--
Robert Nelson
https://rcn-ee.com/

[Chrysomallis Iason]

I know this comes later than expected, but after some experimentation, the following steps solved all of my problems:

1) I installed the March ubuntu 16.04 image file instead of the February one, since it solved all problems with cape managers.

2) I tried downloading this file:

sudo wget https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/plain/ti-connectivity/wl18xx-fw-4.bin

as advised by this forum: https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2386780, and replacing the existing file at:

/lib/firmware/ti-connectivity

3) I set up a connection encrypted with WPA/WPA2 password with the following basic directions:

To create a wi-fi interface connection between BBBW and your PC do the following at your PC, using ubuntu's GUI program *Network Connections*:

• Add the new wi-fi connection, using the *hotSpotPC* as SSID. This SSID should be the same as the one at the BBBW *interfaces* file, see below.
• At the *Wi-Fi* tab choose *Hotspot* Mode.
• At the *Wi-Fi Secutiry* tab choose *WPA/WPA2 Personal* and a password.
• At *IPv4 Settings* tab choose the *Shared to other computers* Method.

To create a wi-fi interface connection between BBBW and your PC do the following at BBBW, using the serial console and the *minicom* program:

• Edit the *interfaces* file in BBBW using:
  
  sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
  
  
  
• Comment the lines:

# auto eth0
# iface eth0 inet dhcp

• Add the following lines:

auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid hotSpotPC
wpa-psk useTheDefaultPassword

4) Whenever I start up my hotSpotPC Host, I disconnect my ethernet connection, since for some reason the ethernet connection prevents the BBBW from establishing a wireless connection. However after the connection has been established, I can safely connect the ethernet and have internet access on my BBBW.