AP With TL-WN725N V2.1

[SpaceCowboy]

I've read numerous posts here an on other forums about the driver for the TL-WN725N V2 dongle. I'm a bit confused as to the driver that is to be used in the hostapd.conf. Based on wiki's the driver chipset for the TL-WN725N V2 is different than the V1.


Kernel: 3.18.7-v7+ #755

Here is my current hostapd.conf:

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# Basic configuration

interface=wlan0
ssid=%%%%%%
channel=8
#bridge=br0

# WPA and WPA2 configuration

macaddr_acl=0
auth_algs=1
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=%%%%%%
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_pairwise=TKIP
rsn_pairwise=CCMP

# Hardware configuration

#driver=nl80211
driver=rtl871xdrv
ieee80211n=1
hw_mode=g
device_name=RTL8188EU
manufacturer=Realtek

I read on a couple of sites that this is related to the rtl871xdrv that is referred to in the hostapd.conf file not being present which is needed for the Realtek RTL8188CUS chipset. I installed some software called "wi" which checks for the software. It validated that the driver was not present. The site suggested to install a pre-complied version of hostapd for the rtl871xdrv driver from Adafruit. They stated this would resolved the issue.

These are the commands I proceeded with:

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wget http://www.adafruit.com/downloads/adafruit_hostapd.zip 
unzip adafruit_hostapd.zip 
sudo mv /usr/sbin/hostapd /usr/sbin/hostapd.ORIG 
sudo mv hostapd /usr/sbin
sudo chmod 755 /usr/sbin/hostapd

No matter which driver I've used, I still get the following error on reboot:
[FAIL] Starting advanced IEEE 802.11 management: hostapd failed!

I would appreciate some feedback on what the issue is.

Thanks

[MrEngman]

Hi SpaceCowboy,

I am posting this from my windows laptop which is connected via wifi to my Pi set up as an AP using a TL-WN725n V2.

I used the tutorial here. The tutorial talks about using an Edimax EW-7811Un with rtl8188cus chip set, but it is also working with the TL-WN725N V2 with the rtl8188eu chip set that I am using.

The only difference from the tutorial is that I use a version of hostapd from a Realtek source that I compiled myself. The hostapd I am using can be downloaded here.

One final point. The 8188eu driver I use for my WN725n is one I compiled myself. You can download and install it using

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wget https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80256631/8188eu-3.18.7-v7-755.tar.gz
tar xzf 8188eu-3.18.7-v7-755.tar.gz
./install.sh

MrEngman

[SpaceCowboy]

Fantastic! I'll give it a shot tonight.

Thanks for the information!

[SpaceCowboy]

MrEngman...

I used your 8188 compiled driver. Now the question is what driver do I actually reference in the hostapd.conf file... driver=rt1871xdrv or driver=nl80211. I tried both and rebooted, but still got the same [FAIL] Starting advanced IEEE 802.11 management: hostapd failed! error.

When I give the command: iw list... it states the nl80211 not found.

Not sure at this point what I'm doing wrong.

SpaceCowboy

[SpaceCowboy]

I just resolved my issue minutes after my last post.

The hostapd.conf is to reference the driver=rtl871xdrv... however, I had rt1 (the #1) instead of rtl(the letter L) in the driver name.

What a stupid mistake. Anyway... I'm doing the happy dance right now because I can see my AP.

Thanks for the assist once again!

SpaceCowboy

[MrEngman]

I just resolved my issue minutes after my last post.

The hostapd.conf is to reference the driver=rtl871xdrv... however, I had rt1 (the #1) instead of rtl(the letter L) in the driver name.

What a stupid mistake. Anyway... I'm doing the happy dance right now because I can see my AP.

Thanks for the assist once again!

SpaceCowboy

Good to hear you've got it working. That's a problem with linux, trying to distinguish certain characters, and you're certainly not the only one who's had that problem.

Have fun


MrEngman

[peret2000]

Hi SpaceCowboy,

I am posting this from my windows laptop which is connected via wifi to my Pi set up as an AP using a TL-WN725n V2.

I used the tutorial here. The tutorial talks about using an Edimax EW-7811Un with rtl8188cus chip set, but it is also working with the TL-WN725N V2 with the rtl8188eu chip set that I am using.

The only difference from the tutorial is that I use a version of hostapd from a Realtek source that I compiled myself. The hostapd I am using can be downloaded here.

One final point. The 8188eu driver I use for my WN725n is one I compiled myself. You can download and install it using

Hello, Mr Engman,

Thanks to your explanations I have been able to put hostapd to work, with your drive for TL-WN725N dongle. So, thanks a lot.
I have needed to substitute binary 'hostapd' with your own complilation, as I was having errors (the driver was not found by hostapd).
This is just for my own knolwdge and future maintenance: what is the difference in your hostapd compilation? Why the 'original' one does not recognize the driver? Is it a question of the directory where it is deployed, for example?

Thanks and regards

[MrEngman]

Hi SpaceCowboy,

I am posting this from my windows laptop which is connected via wifi to my Pi set up as an AP using a TL-WN725n V2.

I used the tutorial here. The tutorial talks about using an Edimax EW-7811Un with rtl8188cus chip set, but it is also working with the TL-WN725N V2 with the rtl8188eu chip set that I am using.

The only difference from the tutorial is that I use a version of hostapd from a Realtek source that I compiled myself. The hostapd I am using can be downloaded here.

One final point. The 8188eu driver I use for my WN725n is one I compiled myself. You can download and install it using

Hello, Mr Engman,

Thanks to your explanations I have been able to put hostapd to work, with your drive for TL-WN725N dongle. So, thanks a lot.
I have needed to substitute binary 'hostapd' with your own complilation, as I was having errors (the driver was not found by hostapd).
This is just for my own knolwdge and future maintenance: what is the difference in your hostapd compilation? Why the 'original' one does not recognize the driver? Is it a question of the directory where it is deployed, for example?

Thanks and regards

The Realtek wifi drivers, 8188eu and others, are not compatible with the version of hostapd included in the kernel image. The hostapd I compiled is the one provided by Realtek and included with the Realtek driver source code.


MrEngman

[peret2000]

Thanks a lot Mr. Engman,
Now, I know a bit more about all this stuff

[peret2000]

Hello, Mr. Engman,

I am in a mess, I am not able to connect any device to my hotspot recently created. If this post is restricted to the driver, I beg your perdon, because my question is related to the interfaces and hostapd configurations stuff .

Anyway, my question can be be of interest for other people:
hostapd seems to start, wlan0 also seems to be correctly configured, and all NAT (iptables) and forwardings seem to work. I can see the wireless SSID from other devices (RPiAP)
I have not installed any dhcp program, because I prefer not to interfere with the main network router that has dhcp enabled (I am not an expert and I am scared if I use two dhcp servers on the same network).

So, I configure the device that I want to connect to "RPiAP" access point in this way:
- Use static IP (no overriding dhcp range of the main router).
- Also, I am forced to specify a gateway in my device; I have tried with the wlan0 ip (192.168.1.106), with the eth0 ip (192.168.1.105) and also with the main router ip (192.168.1.1)

However, connection aborts, and I cannot see anythnig in hostadp std output (I started it this way: 'hostapd -cc /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf')

I am sure I have missed something that I cannot figure out.

Regarding hostapd and interfaces configurations, I guess I have followed what most blogs say, but for reference, I am copying here their contents:

/etc/network/interfaces

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auto lo

iface lo inet loopback

iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.1.105
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.1.1

iface default inet dhcp

allow-hotplug wlan0
allow-hotplug eth0

iface wlan0 inet static
address 192.168.1.106
netmask 255.255.255.0

up iptables-restore < /etc/iptables.ipv4.nat

/etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

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interface=wlan0
driver=rtl871xdrv

ssid=RPiAP
hw_mode=g
channel=1
wpa=3
wpa_passphrase=<hidden, for the post>

wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_pairwise=TKIP
rsn_pairwise=CCMP

auth_algs=3
macaddr_acl=0

Thanks a lot!