NetworkManager doesn't autoconnect on login

[cautionbug]

Kinda fed up with NetworkManager. Since trying the betas of F11 on my laptop, i've had endless bad experience with it.

Installed version: 0.7.1

Aside from the description below, please let me know what detailed system info you want to see (specific commands appreciated).

When i log in, the applet loads. However, it doesn't connect to the last Wifi connection i used. My SSID is hidden, so i click on the applet and choose "Connect to hidden wireless network". i see my stored connection in the drop-list. i select it, and all fields are greyed out, the WPA key is blank, and the Connect button is disabled.

Leaving that dialog, i delete my stored connection and re-create it manually, setting all the information correctly. i have DSL, using my DSL modem in bridging mode, and for some reason NetworkManager doesn't retrieve the DNS entries from the modem, whereas Windows does. So i have to set the connection to "DHCP (Address Only)" and manually add the IPs for my DNS.

However, the connection doesn't initiate, so i click the applet again and attempt again to connect to my hidden SSID, using the newly created profile. Same problem: no WPA key, all boxed disabled, and Connect also disabled.

The ONLY way i can get this thing to connect is by deleting my stored connection, clicking to connect to a hidden SSID, and create the connection from the New dialog. However, then i still have to go into Edit Connections and set the DHCP and DNS correcly before i can reach outside.

This is ridiculous, and i haven't been messing with any other configuration. i had a thread when F11 was still in beta where i had inconsistent results with NetworkManager. After thinking i got it fixed with some help, and discovering it wasn't, i decided to wait for the final release to see if it would work any better.

If someone can help me make it work correctly (automatically connect to the last active connection), consistently (connects when it loads at login every time), i'd greatly appreciate it. Otherwise, if there's a different connection manager, i'm open to that as well. Especially if the alternate connection manager can automatically retrieve DNS settings the way Windows can.

[zooloo]

I have a hidden SSID and WEP. Took me a lot of fiddling with it, and it works, but not as well as I'd like. I noticed if I wait long enough (about 1m or more), NetworkManager will eventually auto-connect. This is horrible.

I'm not using WPA and I'm not experiencing the exact same symptoms as you, but I do find it necessary once in a while to use the "Connect to hidden wireless ..." dialogue and then it works when I select my hidden SSID from the drop down list (because I've used it before).

I had similar issues on Ubuntu and I installed 'wicd'. This was a lot easier to use and more reliable than NetworkManager, although it didn't have 3G EVDO support.

I found this: http://www.johnson.homelinux.net/mywiki/WICD

I've never installed WICD on Fedora, but you may give that a try.

[cautionbug]

Thanks for the tip zooloo.

i logged into Fedora last night to install wicd, and as expected NetworkManager didn't connect.

i went through the install of wicd, but couldn't figure out how to restart dbus (even with Google's help), so i rebooted.

Wouldn't ya know it, NM connected correctly on reboot. Rebooted again, connected again.

i'm a mix of relieved and suspicious. The only thing i can think of that i changed was to install the NetworkManager for KDE Plasma package on a whim.

Anyway, wicd didn't even start up correctly. The daemon wasn't found. i'll probably still try to work that out so i have it as a backup when NM starts acting up again.

Again, thanks!