How should I investigate why Wi-Fi networks were disabled?

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

I have OpenWrt on a Netgear WNDR38000. It provides two Wi-Fi networks. When I got home from work, neither network was available. I connected to the router using an Ethernet cable, but I wasn't sure what to check. I tried rebooting, but the networks were still disabled. I eventually performed a factory reset and the networks were re-enabled. If the problem happens again, are there things I should check to determine why the Wi-Fi networks are disabled?

2

Did you do any additional configuration after the factory reset? If not, are you sure you are running an official version of openwrt? WiFi is disabled by default in openwrt, so it sounds unusual that a factory reset would enable WiFi.

What is the output of

ubus call system board
3

I built and use a custom image generated by Image Builder. The custom image includes my SSH key, configures and enables the Wi-Fi networks, uses Quad9, and enables DNSSEC.

Here's the output of ubus call system board:

{
	"kernel": "5.10.161",
	"hostname": "OpenWrt",
	"system": "Atheros AR7161 rev 2",
	"model": "Netgear WNDR3800",
	"board_name": "netgear,wndr3800",
	"rootfs_type": "squashfs",
	"release": {
		"distribution": "OpenWrt",
		"version": "22.03.3",
		"revision": "r20028-43d71ad93e",
		"target": "ath79/generic",
		"description": "OpenWrt 22.03.3 r20028-43d71ad93e"
	}
}
4

Ok... that makes a lot more sense now.

If it happens again, I'd check the space available on your device... if, for example, it has completely filled up, that will prevent settings from being saved and applied properly. This would require erasing whatever was consuming the space (which the reset to defaults does achieve).

So, I'd look to make sure you don't have files being written to storage, and obviously don't ever upgrade packages using opkg, as that can easily cause this issue among many others.

1 Like
5

Thank you for the suggestion. I've just checked the available disk space and don't see anything suspicious. I'll check again if the problem recurs.

6

Since you just did a reset, I wouldn't expect there to be anything obvious right now. But yes, be sure to check this if the problem recurs.

Also, if you are writing files to the flash memory, keep in mind that this could be detrimental for additional reasons -- namely wearing out the flash memory since it has limited write cycles before it degrades and fails.