Connecting to a hidden SSID in repeater mode

Installing and Using OpenWrt
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i'm sure the openwrt firmware does this, but what's the strategy?

@paldier and i's discussion never produced any solutions. he told me the name is not sent in the frame so i cannot simply string match.

is there an easy way to connect to a hidden ssid if i know the name and password in advance? or must i manually try every BSSID until one succeeds?

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If you leave BSSID blank, the STA will connect to the first (hopefully strongest) AP that it finds with matching SSID. The BSSID mechanism works the same whether or not the AP is hidden. The SSID controls the initial decision to connect, and it must be known in advance.

Negotiating a hidden SSID connection starts with the STA broadcasting a Probe Request containing the configured SSID (in clear text). If any AP has that SSID, it will confirm with a Probe Response. APs with the SSID set to hidden do not respond to Probe Requests without the correct SSID.

BSSID can be used to force a connection to only one particular AP. This is useful if you have a network of repeaters using the same SSID and you want the repeaters to only connect to the main AP (if they connect to each other then there is no path to the Internet).

I've found with hidden AP SSIDs, if the AP goes off the air or out of range then comes back, the STA may not reconnect without restarting the wireless on the STA.

Hiding SSIDs offers no real security. It is useful to hide private point to point links that you don't want to clutter the list of networks on an endpoint that should never connect to them. Setting a home network up with a hidden SSID is actually a potential loss of privacy. A so-configured endpoint (e.g. your smartphone) will broadcast your home SSID constantly while it is away from home.

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hi,

thanks for sharing this great nugget of information.

i can find and connect to the SSID, but i want to select the optimal channel.

isn't there a way to connect without specifying the channel? in my case the MT_WIFI driver gripes this unless a channel is specified, or won't finish the process if the channel is wrong.

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Auto doesn't work?

5

just found out about ApCliAutoConnect,

Iā€™M IN BUSINESS LADDIES HAHAHA THANK YOU FOR THE TIPSS

Thanks,
Gagan

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