Management AP not working

[the0bone]

Hi,

I just play around with my Nano and try to setup it for wireless use.

And very often, the Management AP SSID is refusing the password and don't let me connect.
Reboot / Restart did not help. And the System Log did not monitor anything.
Also the Open AP (I unhide that one for testing) was refusing connection.

It is the same result, having PineAP running or not.

I disabled the Management AP and enabled it after updating. Now it is working again.

Anybody an idea?

[DigitalData]

I'm having a similar issue with my Nano AND Tetra. I perform the initial setup / upgrade the firmware to the latest version and then configure it all. Once it's configured I usually download all of the modules I want and play around with it for a couple hours. After that I shut it down using the shut down option in the gui and wait a minute or two until i can unplug them. The next time I try to use it, it powers up fine and i see the management AP show up in available networks. I try to connect with my computer or my cell phone but both the Nano and the tetra won't allow me to connect. It just tries and tells me it cant connect. The windows connection test tells me to try to reboot the device but that does nothing. The only way i've been able to get back in to the nano is to perform a factory reset and set it all back up again which is a major PITA every time I eant to use it. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm on the latest firmware. With the Tetra i'm able to get back in via the RJ45 jack or USB ports. I just can't connect over wifi to the management network OR the open network if I have that configured. 

[DigitalData]

I had a little time to play around with it more. The only way I was able to connect to the wireless management port again was by logging in over a wired connection and clicking the button to "Update Access Point" under networking. Does anyone know exactly what that does under the hood? I know it says "The Wireless AP Configuration has been saved. The radios will now restart. If connected over Wireless, you may need to reconnect." I'm looking for a little more detail than that though so I can try to troubleshoot why they stop working to begin with. This is happening on my Nano AND Tetra. With the Tetra it's annoying but not a big deal because I can still get in over the wire but with the Nano I don't have that ability and I have to factory reset it all the time.

I thought it either had something to do with a conflict between modules because I downloaded ALL of them (along with dependencies) to both devices prior to using them or maybe it was a problem with the way I configured PineAP. I have it set to Enabled and the options for "Allow Associations", "Log Probes", "Log Associations", "Capture SSIDs to Pool" & "Beacon Responses" all checked. I saved that configuration as default so I don't have to do it every time I power on the pineapple.

Does anyone have any thoughts on logs that might be useful in providing info on why the radios need to be reset in order to connect again?

 

[DigitalData]

Some steps I took...

With all modules removed and PineAP not running:

• I updated the access point from the Networking tab and I was able to connect to the Management AP again.
• I used the "Reboot" option from the menu.
• Once it was rebooted I tried to connect via the management AP and it wouldn't let me.
• I logged in via the cable and Updated the access point again and I was able to connect to the Management AP again.
• This time I used the "Shut Down" option and unplugged the Tetra after a minute or so.
• I plugged the tetra back in and tried connecting to the Management AP once it was fully booted. I couldn't connect to the Management AP.

I'm also unable to connect to the Open AP SSID when I have that enabled.

[Sebkinne]

This is a bug that has been reported once in a while, but has been extremely hard to track down, as it is not reproducible for everyone, and usually happens with a specific amount of WiFi load.

1 hour ago, DigitalData said:

The only way I was able to connect to the wireless management port again was by logging in over a wired connection and clicking the button to "Update Access Point" under networking. Does anyone know exactly what that does under the hood? I know it says "The Wireless AP Configuration has been saved. The radios will now restart. If connected over Wireless, you may need to reconnect." I'm looking for a little more detail than that though so I can try to troubleshoot why they stop working to begin with.

The WiFi radios are brought down (configurations updated) and brought back up, and hostapd is restarted. I have managed to narrow down where in hostapd this bug occurs, and I will hopefully have a fix out soon.

Quote

This is happening on my Nano AND Tetra. With the Tetra it's annoying but not a big deal because I can still get in over the wire but with the Nano I don't have that ability and I have to factory reset it all the time.

Why would you need to factory reset? A simple reboot will suffice.

 

[DigitalData]

11 minutes ago, Sebkinne said:

Why would you need to factory reset? A simple reboot will suffice.

 

Unfortunately for me a reboot doesn't work on either the Tetra OR the Nano. I'm still unable to connect to either AP after a reboot or power down. I don't ever lose the connection when I have it and the unit is powered up. My problem occurs when I'm done for the day and shut down or reboot. That's when I can't connect again after.

I have to do a factory reset on the nano because when I use it, I'm almost never near a computer. I'm unable to plug it in to a computer to Update the Access Point. I'm usually accessing it via a Nexus Pwn Phone. So I have to factory reset in order to get back in.

Since I can consistently reproduce the problem on both of my devices, is there anything I can do that will help you track it down?

[Sebkinne]

9 minutes ago, DigitalData said:

Unfortunately for me a reboot doesn't work on either the Tetra OR the Nano. I'm still unable to connect to either AP after a reboot or power down. I don't ever lose the connection when I have it and the unit is powered up. My problem occurs when I'm done for the day and shut down or reboot. That's when I can't connect again after.

I have to do a factory reset on the nano because when I use it, I'm almost never near a computer. I'm unable to plug it in to a computer to Update the Access Point. I'm usually accessing it via a Nexus Pwn Phone. So I have to factory reset in order to get back in.

Since I can consistently reproduce the problem on both of my devices, is there anything I can do that will help you track it down?

So you are saying that once you reboot the WiFi Pineapple the access point becomes unresponsive?

[DigitalData]

Just now, Sebkinne said:

So you are saying that once you reboot the WiFi Pineapple the access point becomes unresponsive?

Yes.,Reboot, Power Down or Just unplug... After that I am no longer able to connect via the Management AP OR the Open AP if that's enabled. The SSIDs will still be broadcast and I can see them on my computer and mobile devices but I'm unable to connect to them.

[Sebkinne]

51 minutes ago, DigitalData said:

Yes.,Reboot, Power Down or Just unplug... After that I am no longer able to connect via the Management AP OR the Open AP if that's enabled. The SSIDs will still be broadcast and I can see them on my computer and mobile devices but I'm unable to connect to them.

That a new one. You say it happens on both the NANO and TETRA, which leads me to believe it's a bug somewhere related to a specific setting you might be setting.

• After a factory reset, if you reboot the device, does this issue happen? Does it only happen after a few reboots?
• Are you setting the same SSID and password for the management APs on the NANO and TETRA? If so, can you try SSIDs such as "test" and passwords such as "12345678"?
• Does this only happen when PineAP is enabled?
• On the TETRA, can you reproduce this issue and follow these steps:
  1. Connect via ethernet - do not restart wireless
  2. Navigate to the Help tab on the webinterface
  3. Download the debug file
  4. Upload the debug file to pastebin or similar (make sure to strip out any personal information)

 

[the0bone]

On 23.12.2016 at 2:01 AM, Sebkinne said:

That a new one. You say it happens on both the NANO and TETRA, which leads me to believe it's a bug somewhere related to a specific setting you might be setting.

• After a factory reset, if you reboot the device, does this issue happen? Does it only happen after a few reboots?
• Are you setting the same SSID and password for the management APs on the NANO and TETRA? If so, can you try SSIDs such as "test" and passwords such as "12345678"?
• Does this only happen when PineAP is enabled?
• On the TETRA, can you reproduce this issue and follow these steps:
  1. Connect via ethernet - do not restart wireless
  2. Navigate to the Help tab on the webinterface
  3. Download the debug file
  4. Upload the debug file to pastebin or similar (make sure to strip out any personal information)

 

In general, I can confirm the above behavior of my Nano more less.

It happen to me after boot. And PineAP was off. I try to build a Honeypot with the Captive Portal, to show my colleagues how a potential risk could look like.

Therefore I just pluged it into a Powerbank and normally it should start and provide a Free Hotspot. It did but nobody could login. So I pluged it into my PC to see what happened. But even this new boot was not making the AccessPoint accessible.

 And just the reset button fixed it. But that should not be the way. If I use it stealthy in my backpack, it should always run as soon as the boot process is finished.

[DigitalData]

On 12/22/2016 at 8:01 PM, Sebkinne said:

That a new one. You say it happens on both the NANO and TETRA, which leads me to believe it's a bug somewhere related to a specific setting you might be setting.

 

Seb,

Thanks for your help but I played around with it this weekend and figured out the problem. It's been bugging me on and off for about a year now.

I had Client Filtering set to "Allow Mode" so I could choose the MAC addresses to limit which devices could connect to the pineapple. My computer's mac address wasn't added to the list so I wasn't able to reconnect when I disconnected or rebooted the device. Is this by design?

I can see why you wouldn't want a random device to connect to the Open AP or any of the broadcast APs but I would expect the Management AP would allow any device that had the Management AP Key to connect to it.

In my situation I set the Pineapple up using my desktop computer. If I was going to place it at a client location I wouldn't be using the same computer to access it again later. I might be using one of my mobile devices. I would have to know all of the MAC addresses from my devices and add them to the pineapple prior to placing it which isn't always possible for me.

[the0bone]

For me that isn't the case. I checked both modes already. Allow and Disallow.

I also added my MAC Addresses and failed. :(

[denningsrogue]

I am experiencing the exactly the same issue as DigitalData.  After a power down, I am unable to "see"  the management AP.  It occurs wether or not Pine AP is active.

[b0N3z]

Mine did the same today. I took it to my parents house and had a mini wifi dongle plugged in and it went to shit when I tried to connect the wlan2 to the home network.  Rebooted the device and lost signal to both Open AP and Management AP.  Pineapple was still on and blue light blinking.  I had the pineapple plugged into a 5v2.1a battery pack in a bag, in the other room roughly 8 foot away.  So I reset the pineapple manually by unplugging and plugging it back in and go it to show up again and in the same exact scenario, it happened again.  I don't ever really have to many problems with this but I did notice it today.  Hope this helps.

[parmaster]

Can confirm that this is happening to me also, if I do a factory reset, the management access point works without issue.

When i connect a wifi dongle it stops working within 10 minutes. Removing the dongle does not fix the issue even after a reboot, the access point will die within 10 minute.

The only way to fix the issue is by doing a factory reset and not connecting a wifi dongle and putting it into client mode.

Are Hak5 looking into this issue?

I've posted this in the bug forum so hopefully a fix is found.

[dangerbyca]

I was having all of the same issues attaching to the Management AP after reboot or startup. I decided to test step by step.... On the newest firmware i can confirm that if ssid filtering and client filtering are set to allow mode you will not be able to access the management AP. I expect this is a bug and this filtering should only apply to pineAP.

[gled]

I can confirm the issue and provide an ugly workaround.

Pineapple Nano with PineAP enabled on boot ( all options ticked and enabled on boot, normal broadcast and beacon responses ).
Reports enabled by email every 3 hours,All PineAP options ticked.
AutoSSH enabled on boot.
Client mode on wlan2 to my Wifi AP.
My Wifi AP is in the filter list.
All filters are on Deny mode.
Client filter is empty.

First reboot all good ( or maybe some luck ? ).
Second reboot and next ones, I am unable to connect to the Management AP. Nobody can connect actually, not even to the PineAP spoofed SSIDs.

Thankfully, I have autossh, and the client mode is working properly. 
I am able to ssh in after each reboot, and just typing "wifi" after logging in allows to connect back to the management wifi.

After connecting back to the PineApple though, the PineAP settings "Allow associations, Log associations and log beacons" are cleared out.

As I can reproduce it very easily and live maybe 15 miles from the Hak5 office, if you want me to drop it off for a quick debug, no big deal.

I also can run some debug if needed on the device itself, being able to access it while it shows the bug.

[gled]

I'll dig deeper when I have a bit more time, as I experienced a few hangs of the device too.

[CharlieRomeo]

Can confirm this as well on my Nano.  On reboot, management and public AP's refuse all connections. I've tried both with and without usb wifi adapter.

Reliably, I login through a wired connection and select "update access point" give it a few seconds and all AP's work as they should.

This happens from a full factory reset with all default settings except the AP names and passwords.  

[gled]

seems like the default filters are applied on boot, ignoring the config, as a SSID in my ignore filter was added to PineAP at last reboot.

I need to reboot and dump the active config when I get home.

We probably can bypass the issue with a script in /etc/rc.local that sets the correct settings on boot.

[gled]

On 12/22/2016 at 5:01 PM, Sebkinne said:

That a new one. You say it happens on both the NANO and TETRA, which leads me to believe it's a bug somewhere related to a specific setting you might be setting.

• After a factory reset, if you reboot the device, does this issue happen? Does it only happen after a few reboots?
• Are you setting the same SSID and password for the management APs on the NANO and TETRA? If so, can you try SSIDs such as "test" and passwords such as "12345678"?
• Does this only happen when PineAP is enabled?
• On the TETRA, can you reproduce this issue and follow these steps:
  1. Connect via ethernet - do not restart wireless
  2. Navigate to the Help tab on the webinterface
  3. Download the debug file
  4. Upload the debug file to pastebin or similar (make sure to strip out any personal information)

 

After some further testing on my NANO, a firmware restoration, a clean upgrade, no sdcard and latter with sdcard, I'm still stuck at trying to figure out a working set of options.

Last, I had around an hour of a clean setup working, after a firmware restoration and an upgrade, running with changing only the mgmt AP name and password to a simple ABC/test1234, activated all PineAP options and the management AP went down again by itself, same symptoms. It's a very easily reproduced issue that I can demonstrate at will.

Maybe it's the fact that I'm in east bay after the hills and the device is running too hot ? ;)

Anyway, on top of not allowing anyone to connect, it also add each time the name of the AP I'm using in client mode in PineAP SSID list, even though that SSID is in the 'deny' filters.

After a reboot, I did powered it on my laptop and without allowing associations, After almost 3hours and still OK to access the management SSID. I then allowed associations, to see if it works, and 10mn later, no more management SSID.

Here is the debug file from that session:
https://pastebin.com/ZtxFxYLp

If you want me to debug more, just tell me what you'd like to get, it's a 100% reproducible bug.

[armasmike]

yep all this is happening to my nano also. A full reset gets the management ap working and the open ap update again

[GregTheGr88]

New Nano Elite, just arrived. Loaded with upgrade-1.1.3.bin. It worked for a day no problems.  No modules loaded, just AP deamon with all checkboxes. Then management AP can't connect. I connected with cable, set new management AP name and password, could connect over wifi (usb cable still connected). Changed to battery (wife had to reboot) and AP management rejects WEP2 key, can't connect. It's like it's loosing its settings when rebooting. Looking at posts this been happening for half a year - would be good to have this fixed.

[RazerBlade]

Happend to me too. A factory reset was needed. Its sad that you need to factory reset it all the time to make it function at least somewhat.

[user9234]

I've had the exact same issue as described in this thread since I purchased my Nano 8+ months ago. The thing is borderline useless unless there is a fix, as it does not function for its advertised purpose for more than a few minutes at a time. 

If Hak5 is really unable to reproduce this issue, I'll send you my Nano, which exhibits the problem literally 100% of the time. I can factory default it, it will work for a few minutes, but then all of a sudden all wifi connections begin to fail until it is factory defaulted again. Rinse and repeat.

 

Contact me at my registered email address if you would like me to test something specific, or to offer a refund/replacement. I'm perfectly willing to give Hak5  (even more) time to fix it, however its been almost a year since the last firmware update, and this has been reported by a large number of users, and we are all still waiting with not so much as an officially accepted bug report. If there is no fix, then I will request a refund shortly, or else this may end up in small claims court. You guys are selling $50 worth of radio hardware, with some non-functional software, for $150+. 

 

Sincerely, 

Not a Hak5 fan.