Connecting to WiFi on a Fresh Arch Linux Installation

If you have a fresh Arch Linux installation and need to connect to WiFi without internet access using simple Linux tools, follow this guide.

Step 1: Identify Your Wireless Interface

First, find your network interface:

ip link

Look for your wireless interface (commonly named wlan0 or wlpXsY).

Bring it up:

ip link set wlan0 up

Step 2: Scan for Available Networks

Use iw to scan for WiFi networks:

iw dev wlan0 scan | grep SSID

Find your WiFi network’s SSID from the output.

Step 3: Connect Using wpa_supplicant

  1. Create a configuration file with your WiFi credentials:

    wpa_passphrase "Your_SSID" "Your_WiFi_Password" | tee /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

    This generates a WiFi configuration file with your SSID and encrypted password.

  2. Start wpa_supplicant:

    wpa_supplicant -B -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

    -B runs it in the background.

  3. Verify the connection:

    iw dev wlan0 link

    If connected, it will show your SSID.

Step 4: Obtain an IP Address

Now, request an IP address from the router.

  1. Using dhclient:

    dhclient wlan0

  2. If dhclient is not available, use dhcpcd:

    dhcpcd wlan0

Step 5: Test the Connection

Check if you received an IP:

ip addr show wlan0

Try to ping Google’s public DNS server:

ping -c 5 8.8.8.8

If you see replies, you’re successfully connected!

Making the Connection Persistent

To automatically connect on boot, enable wpa_supplicant:

systemctl enable wpa_supplicant

And restart your system:

reboot

Now, your WiFi should automatically connect when you boot Arch Linux!

Troubleshooting

  • If WiFi does not connect, check logs: 
    journalctl -xe | grep wpa_supplicant
  • If no networks appear in iw dev wlan0 scan, ensure your wireless interface is up: 
    ip link set wlan0 up

For further debugging, check out the Arch Linux WiFi Wiki.