[Bug 1647709] Re: Can't connect to WiFi if setting MAC address, RTNETLINK answers: Device or resource busy

[Boris Gjenero]

This seems to be an old bug, which is also mentioned elsewhere:
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/26126/spoofed-mac-address-ignored-by-wpa-supplicant
https://bugs.launchpad.net/neutron/+bug/1193972

Another symptom of this bug is probably inability to connect if you need
the changed MAC address to successfully authenticate.

As a workaround, use:
    pre-up ifconfig wlan0 hw ether xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
Instead of:
    hwaddress ether xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx

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Title:
  Can't connect to WiFi if setting MAC address, RTNETLINK answers:
  Device or resource busy

Status in ifupdown package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  If my /etc/network/interfaces settings for wlan0 include a "hwaddress
  ether" line, then running ifup for that interface fails at the very
  end, after successfully authenticating with the access point. Here is
  what happens:

  systemd[1]: Started ifup for wlan0.
  wpa_supplicant[765]: Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
  sh[737]: RTNETLINK answers: Device or resource busy
  sh[737]: Failed to bring up wlan0.
  systemd[1]: ifup at wlan0.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
  wpa_supplicant[791]: nl80211: deinit ifname=wlan0 disabled_11b_rates=0

  Furthermore, this kind of failure leaves a mess somehow, and
  subsequent attempts to connect lead to "RTNETLINK answers: File
  exists".

  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.10
  Package: ifupdown 0.8.13ubuntu3
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.8.0-28.30-generic 4.8.6
  Uname: Linux 4.8.0-28-generic x86_64
  ApportVersion: 2.20.3-0ubuntu8
  Architecture: amd64
  CurrentDesktop: XFCE
  Date: Tue Dec  6 07:48:55 2016
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-01-19 (1783 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Xubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Release amd64 (20111012)
  SourcePackage: ifupdown
  UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to yakkety on 2016-10-13 (53 days ago)

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