1.
Do you know the device name of the WLAN card? Usually it is wlan0. Check
with the tool ifconfig.
2.
Have you checked your needed rmware? Refer to /usr/share/doc/
packages/wireless-tools/README.firmware for more information.
3. Is the ESSID of your router broadcasted and visible (not hidden)?
32.7.1 Check the Network Status
The command iwconfig can give you important information about your wireless
connection. For example, the following line displays the ESSID, the wireless mode,
frequency, if you signal is encrypted, the link quality, and much more:
iwconfig wlan0
wlan0 IEEE 802.11abg ESSID:"guest"
Mode:Managed Frequency:5.22GHz Access Point: 00:11:22:33:44:55
Bit Rate:54 Mb/s Tx-Power=13 dBm
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality:62/92 Signal level:-48 dBm Noise level:-127 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:10 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
You can also get the previous information with the iwlist command. For example,
the following line displays the current bit rate:
iwlist wlan0 rate
wlan0 unknown bit-rate information.
Current Bit Rate=54 Mb/s
If you want an overview how many access points are available, it can also be done with
the iwlist command. It gives you a list of “cells” which looks like this:
iwlist wlan0 scanning
wlan0 Scan completed:
Cell 01 - Address: 00:11:22:33:44:55
Channel:40
Frequency:5.2 GHz (Channel 40)
Quality=67/70 Signal level=-43 dBm
Encryption key: off
ESSID:"Guest"
Bit Rates: 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s;
24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s
Mode: Master
530 Reference