Connecting to Wi-Fi on Arch Linux using nmcli

INFO

This guide explains how to use nmcli to connect to Wi-Fi on Arch Linux. nmcli is a command-line interface for NetworkManager, which is often used in many Linux distributions.

Connecting to a Wi-Fi Network

1. List available Wi-Fi networks:

   nmcli device wifi list

2. Connect to a Wi-Fi network:

   nmcli device wifi connect "SSID" --ask

   TIP

   Using nmcli device wifi connect <AP name> --ask is better than nmcli device wifi connect "SSID" password "password" because it prevents the "Error: 802-11-wireless-security.key-mgmt: property is missing" issue.

3. Check your connection:

   nmcli connection show

   INFO

   This will list all active connections, including the Wi-Fi network you're connected to.

Useful Commands

• Disconnect from a Wi-Fi network:

  nmcli connection down id "SSID"

• Reconnect to a Wi-Fi network:

  nmcli connection up id "SSID"

• List all saved connections:

  nmcli connection show

• List all available devices:

  nmcli device status

• Show information about your current Wi-Fi connection:

  nmcli device show wlan0

  INFO

  Replace wlan0 with the name of your wireless interface if it's different.

Troubleshooting

1. Check if Wi-Fi is enabled:

   nmcli radio wifi

2. Enable Wi-Fi:

   nmcli radio wifi on