Trouble Connecting to Wi-Fi Via GUI

Linux and Unix-Like Ubuntu
1

Note: I originally posted this question on unix.stackexchange.com. But as my question was down-voted within an hour of asking, I came to the conclusion that perhaps I need to quit attempting to get help on StackExchange or that my inquiry is simply moronic. If anyone feels that my question is not reasonable, please give me some feedback so I understand why.

Original question:

I am having a small issue with my Wi-Fi adapter. It seems that the GUI interface is struggling to connect, so it does not automatically connect when I start the system. In order to connect, I have to open a command-line shell & execute the following command:

$ sudo iw dev <device_name> connect <SSID>

So the credentials have been stored correctly. It just seems the GUI network manager is having some issues.

I am running a 2007 MacBook Pro with Ubuntu MATE 19.04 x86_64. This is a fresh install.

$ lspci
...
0b:00.0 Network controller: Qualcomm Atheros AR5418 Wireless Network Adapter [AR5008E 802.11(a)bgn] (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
...

$ lsmod | grep -i ath
ath9k                 151552  0
ath9k_common           36864  1 ath9k
ath9k_hw              475136  2 ath9k_common,ath9k
ath                    36864  3 ath9k_common,ath9k,ath9k_hw
mac80211              806912  1 ath9k
cfg80211              671744  4 ath9k_common,ath9k,ath,mac80211
2

This is precisely why I have not written any code here to support a "voting system" for questions and answers.

In computing, questions and answers are not so simple to be "the best" or "the worst" because computer systems are deployed in different environments with different risk management profiles and the tech support teams and system admins all have different backgrounds and skill sets.

It is better, in my view, build skills in troubleshooting and debugging, versus a model of "ask for an answer and get it" which does not really help people learn to think on their own.

Having said that.

Can you easily get your MBA running Ubuntu to connect to WIFI from the command line (not using any GUI)?

1 Like
3

Yes, executing iw dev wls4 connect <SSID> seems to work every time.

Edit: Not sure if it is an important detail, but I have to run the above iw command as super user.

4

Your GUI process is running as root?

Sounds like it is not running as root; so in that case how do you plan to get a non-root GUI process to execute a command which requires root privs?

5

No. Network Manager GUI does not run as root, & is usually not required to connect to a wifi network. I don't know why the iw command requires root.

Not sure if it matters, but my user is in group "netdev". I'm assuming that is the "network device" group.

Edit: I don't know what command the Network Manager GUI is trying to execute in the background.

6

Maybe you should find out?

Find out what is the username and userid of the GUI process running and then go find out what groups that user id is in.

This would be the logical next step when troubleshooting a process which works from the command line as root but not from a user's GUI.

7

sudo does not forward/auth the X11display.
Perhaps su does it?

su -c "iw dev wls4 connect <SSID>"

Do you get any error message?
Is there any error in the /var/log/messages file or the system journal?

tail -100 /var/log/messages
journalctl | tail -100
1 Like
8

Thank you for the responses. I'm very sorry for two reasons:

  1. I'm sorry that I had not replied sooner.
  2. I'm sorry, but my network manager GUI has started working to manually connect & I do not know why as I had not made any changes that I was aware of. It could have been due to an update, but I doubt it. The only thing I can think of is if I had needed to restart the system after adding myself to the "netdev" group & had not done so, or I had not attempted to manually connect via GUI after adding myself. So again, I'm sorry because the outcome to this thread probably won't be satisfactory to some.

I can now connect to my network via the GUI. However, it still does not connect automatically upon startup/login. I set the auto-connect priority to 100 (I'm assuming a higher value means higher priority), but still does not automatically connect.

I'm not sure if this is relevant anymore, but I tried to get the log info for after login & after successful connection via GUI.

Immediately after startup:

$ journalctl | tail -100
Oct 09 16:39:07 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Successfully activated service 'org.mate.panel.applet.ClockAppletFactory'
Oct 09 16:39:07 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Successfully activated service 'org.mate.panel.applet.BriskMenuFactory'
Oct 09 16:39:07 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Successfully activated service 'org.mate.panel.applet.IndicatorAppletCompleteFactory'
Oct 09 16:39:07 Jordan-MacBookPro polkitd(authority=local)[826]: Registered Authentication Agent for unix-session:c2 (system bus name :1.100 [/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/polkit-mate/polkit-mate-authentication-agent-1], object path /org/mate/PolicyKit1/AuthenticationAgent, locale en_US.UTF-8)
Oct 09 16:39:09 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1049]: Started Sound Service.
Oct 09 16:39:09 Jordan-MacBookPro bluetoothd[696]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.98 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSource
Oct 09 16:39:09 Jordan-MacBookPro bluetoothd[696]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.98 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSink
Oct 09 16:39:09 Jordan-MacBookPro pulseaudio[1441]: E: [pulseaudio] backend-ofono.c: Failed to register as a handsfree audio agent with ofono: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.ofono was not provided by any .service files
Oct 09 16:39:09 Jordan-MacBookPro kernel: Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
Oct 09 16:39:09 Jordan-MacBookPro kernel: Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
Oct 09 16:39:09 Jordan-MacBookPro kernel: Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11
Oct 09 16:39:10 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.Notifications' requested by ':1.30' (uid=1000 pid=1524 comm="nm-applet " label="unconfined")
Oct 09 16:39:10 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.Notifications'
Oct 09 16:39:11 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Successfully activated service 'org.mate.panel.applet.DockAppletFactory'
Oct 09 16:39:12 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Successfully activated service 'org.ayatana.bamf'
Oct 09 16:39:12 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1049]: Started BAMF Application Matcher Framework.
Oct 09 16:39:12 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[674]: [system] Activating service name='org.blueman.Mechanism' requested by ':1.139' (uid=1000 pid=1490 comm="/usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/blueman-applet " label="unconfined") (using servicehelper)
Oct 09 16:39:12 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1702]: [system] Failed to reset fd limit before activating service: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: Failed to restore old fd limit: Operation not permitted
Oct 09 16:39:12 Jordan-MacBookPro notification-ar[1558]: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.GLib.ErrorError: Method invoked for RegisterStatusNotifierHost returned FALSE but did not set error
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[674]: [system] Activating service name='org.mate.SettingsDaemon.DateTimeMechanism' requested by ':1.140' (uid=1000 pid=1559 comm="/usr/lib/mate-panel/clock-applet " label="unconfined") (using servicehelper)
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1704]: [system] Failed to reset fd limit before activating service: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: Failed to restore old fd limit: Operation not permitted
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro clock-applet[1559]: Negative content width -9 (allocation 1, extents 5x5) while allocating gadget (node button, owner GtkToggleButton)
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Activating via systemd: service name='org.bluez.obex' unit='dbus-org.bluez.obex.service' requested by ':1.50' (uid=1000 pid=1490 comm="/usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/blueman-applet " label="unconfined")
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1049]: Starting Bluetooth OBEX service...
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[674]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.mate.SettingsDaemon.DateTimeMechanism'
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro org.blueman.Mechanism[674]: Unable to init server: Could not connect: Connection refused
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro org.blueman.Mechanism[674]: Unable to init server: Could not connect: Connection refused
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro blueman-mechanism[1702]: Starting blueman-mechanism
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[674]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.blueman.Mechanism'
Oct 09 16:39:13 Jordan-MacBookPro blueman-mechanism[1702]: /usr/lib/blueman/blueman-mechanism:94: PyGIDeprecationWarning: GObject.timeout_add is deprecated; use GLib.timeout_add instead
                                                             GObject.timeout_add(1000, self.tick)
Oct 09 16:39:14 Jordan-MacBookPro blueman-mechani[1702]: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
Oct 09 16:39:14 Jordan-MacBookPro blueman-mechanism[1702]: loading Rfcomm
Oct 09 16:39:14 Jordan-MacBookPro blueman-mechanism[1702]: loading Network
Oct 09 16:39:14 Jordan-MacBookPro blueman-mechanism[1702]: loading RfKill
Oct 09 16:39:14 Jordan-MacBookPro blueman-mechanism[1702]: loading Ppp
Oct 09 16:39:14 Jordan-MacBookPro obexd[1709]: OBEX daemon 5.50
Oct 09 16:39:14 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Successfully activated service 'org.bluez.obex'
Oct 09 16:39:14 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1049]: Started Bluetooth OBEX service.
Oct 09 16:39:14 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Activating via systemd: service name='org.gtk.vfs.Metadata' unit='gvfs-metadata.service' requested by ':1.39' (uid=1000 pid=1557 comm="/usr/lib/mate-indicator-applet/mate-indicator-appl" label="unconfined")
Oct 09 16:39:15 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1049]: Starting Virtual filesystem metadata service...
Oct 09 16:39:15 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1220]: [session uid=1000 pid=1220] Successfully activated service 'org.gtk.vfs.Metadata'
Oct 09 16:39:15 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1049]: Started Virtual filesystem metadata service.
Oct 09 16:39:15 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12582957,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:15 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12582957,33,10
Oct 09 16:39:16 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: Starting Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status...
Oct 09 16:39:16 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: Started Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status.
Oct 09 16:39:18 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12583119,0,10
Oct 09 16:39:18 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12583133,0,10
Oct 09 16:39:18 Jordan-MacBookPro trashapplet[1552]: Failed to get pattern 12583140,0,824
Oct 09 16:39:18 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12583140,0,10
Oct 09 16:39:18 Jordan-MacBookPro trashapplet[1552]: Failed to get pattern 12583147,0,824
Oct 09 16:39:18 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12583147,0,10
Oct 09 16:39:18 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12583154,0,10
Oct 09 16:39:18 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12583161,0,10
Oct 09 16:39:18 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12583168,0,10
Oct 09 16:39:21 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: systemd-rfkill.service: Succeeded.
Oct 09 16:39:22 Jordan-MacBookPro trashapplet[1552]: Failed to get pattern 12583386,0,824
Oct 09 16:39:22 Jordan-MacBookPro trashapplet[1552]: Failed to get pattern 12583470,0,824
Oct 09 16:39:22 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12583470,0,10
Oct 09 16:39:22 Jordan-MacBookPro trashapplet[1552]: Failed to get pattern 12583526,0,824
Oct 09 16:39:22 Jordan-MacBookPro python3[1550]: Failed to get pattern 12583526,0,10
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583350,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583358,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583365,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583372,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583379,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583386,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583393,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583400,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583407,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583414,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583421,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583428,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583435,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583442,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583449,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583456,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583463,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583470,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583477,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583484,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583491,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583498,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583505,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583512,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583519,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583526,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583533,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583540,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583547,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583554,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Failed to get pattern 12583561,-1,-1
Oct 09 16:39:23 Jordan-MacBookPro brisk-menu[1545]: Negative content height -1 (allocation 1, extents 1x1) while allocating gadget (node button, owner GtkToggleButton)
Oct 09 16:39:35 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1560]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 16:39:35 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1560]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 16:39:35 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1560]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 16:39:35 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1560]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 16:39:44 Jordan-MacBookPro blueman-mechanism[1702]: Exiting
Oct 09 16:40:33 Jordan-MacBookPro kernel: perf: interrupt took too long (2514 > 2500), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 79500

After successful connection via GUI:

$ journalctl | tail -25
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: Started Network Manager Script Dispatcher Service.
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro nm-dispatcher[1972]: req:1 'up' [wls4]: new request (1 scripts)
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro nm-dispatcher[1972]: req:1 'up' [wls4]: start running ordered scripts...
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro nm-dispatcher[1972]: req:2 'connectivity-change': new request (1 scripts)
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro dhclient[1952]: bound to 192.168.0.196 -- renewal in 33671 seconds.
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd-resolved[621]: Server returned error NXDOMAIN, mitigating potential DNS violation DVE-2018-0001, retrying transaction with reduced feature level UDP.
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd-resolved[621]: Server returned error NXDOMAIN, mitigating potential DNS violation DVE-2018-0001, retrying transaction with reduced feature level UDP.
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro whoopsie[941]: [16:43:14] The default IPv4 route is: /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/ActiveConnection/1
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro whoopsie[941]: [16:43:14] Not a paid data plan: /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/ActiveConnection/1
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro whoopsie[941]: [16:43:14] Found usable connection: /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/ActiveConnection/1
Oct 09 16:43:14 Jordan-MacBookPro whoopsie[941]: [16:43:14] online
Oct 09 16:43:15 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd-resolved[621]: Server returned error NXDOMAIN, mitigating potential DNS violation DVE-2018-0001, retrying transaction with reduced feature level UDP.
Oct 09 16:43:15 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd-resolved[621]: Server returned error NXDOMAIN, mitigating potential DNS violation DVE-2018-0001, retrying transaction with reduced feature level UDP.
Oct 09 16:43:15 Jordan-MacBookPro nm-dispatcher[1972]: req:2 'connectivity-change': start running ordered scripts...
Oct 09 16:43:15 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd-resolved[621]: Server returned error NXDOMAIN, mitigating potential DNS violation DVE-2018-0001, retrying transaction with reduced feature level UDP.
Oct 09 16:43:16 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd-resolved[621]: Server returned error NXDOMAIN, mitigating potential DNS violation DVE-2018-0001, retrying transaction with reduced feature level UDP.
Oct 09 16:43:18 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd-timesyncd[619]: Synchronized to time server 91.189.91.157:123 (ntp.ubuntu.com).
Oct 09 16:43:20 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[674]: [system] Activating via systemd: service name='org.freedesktop.ColorManager' unit='colord.service' requested by ':1.9' (uid=0 pid=673 comm="/usr/sbin/cupsd -l " label="/usr/sbin/cupsd (enforce)")
Oct 09 16:43:20 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: Starting Manage, Install and Generate Color Profiles...
Oct 09 16:43:20 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[674]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.ColorManager'
Oct 09 16:43:20 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: Started Manage, Install and Generate Color Profiles.
Oct 09 16:43:20 Jordan-MacBookPro colord[2071]: failed to get session [pid 673]: No data available
Oct 09 16:43:21 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd-resolved[621]: Server returned error NXDOMAIN, mitigating potential DNS violation DVE-2018-0001, retrying transaction with reduced feature level UDP.
Oct 09 16:43:25 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: NetworkManager-dispatcher.service: Succeeded.
Oct 09 16:43:36 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: systemd-hostnamed.service: Succeeded.

I see the command nm-dispatcher being called in that output, but I don't have that executable in my system path.

I do not have the file /var/log/messages on my system:

$ ls -1 /var/log
alternatives.log
apport.log
apport.log.1
apt
auth.log
boot.log
bootstrap.log
btmp
cups
dist-upgrade
dmesg
dmesg.0
dmesg.1.gz
dmesg.2.gz
dmesg.3.gz
dmesg.4.gz
dpkg.log
faillog
firebird
fontconfig.log
gpu-manager.log
gpu-manager-switch.log
hp
installer
journal
kern.log
lastlog
lightdm
openvpn
prime-offload.log
prime-supported.log
private
samba
speech-dispatcher
syslog
syslog.1
unattended-upgrades
wtmp
Xorg.0.log
Xorg.0.log.old

Again, not sure if this is relevant anymore, but I think the GUI process is "nm-applet":

$ ps -e | grep -i "nm-applet"
 1524 ?        00:00:03 nm-applet

$ stat -c "%u %g" /proc/1524/
1000 1000

$ egrep "^(U|G)id" /proc/1524/status
Uid:	1000	1000	1000	1000
Gid:	1000	1000	1000	1000

1000 is my UID & GID:

$ id
uid=1000(jordan) gid=1000(jordan) groups=1000(jordan),4(adm),24(cdrom),27(sudo),29(audio),30(dip),44(video),46(plugdev),100(users),112(netdev),118(lpadmin),121(scanner),130(sambashare)

So, after all that potentially unhelpful information, it seems the only problem I have now is the network manager not automatically connecting when I log in.

Edit: I'm sorry if you would rather I just created a new post after such a long reply, but I usually get warned for double posting so I will just amend this one.

This issue seems to be more complicated than I thought. Something I failed to mention before is that I have two routers. The first is the main router & is a modem/router combo. The second is acting as an access point (I think is the correct terminology). It turns out that the issue with failing to manually connect via GUI only occurs when trying to connect to the 2nd router (access point), so both use the same SSID & both connect me to the same network. If I am near the first router, I can use the network manager GUI to connect, but cannot do so if I am near the 2nd router. In which case, I must use a terminal command.

I did try connecting with su as was suggested, but the connection failed & there was no error output. Here is the log after running (Note: I replaced the actual network ID with "<SSID>" in the output):

$ su -c "iw dev wls4 connect <SSID>"
Password:

$ journalctl | tail -100

Oct 09 18:02:40 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669360.1600] device (wls4): state change: failed -> disconnected (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Oct 09 18:02:40 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669360.1692] device (wls4): supplicant interface state: scanning -> disconnected
Oct 09 18:02:40 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669360.1724] device (p2p-dev-wls4): supplicant management interface state: scanning -> disconnected
Oct 09 18:02:41 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1540]: [session uid=1000 pid=1538] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.Notifications' requested by ':1.0' (uid=1000 pid=1530 comm="nm-applet " label="unconfined")
Oct 09 18:02:41 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1540]: [session uid=1000 pid=1538] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.Notifications'
Oct 09 18:02:41 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1540]: [session uid=1000 pid=1538] Activating service name='org.mate.ScreenSaver' requested by ':1.17' (uid=1000 pid=1957 comm="/usr/lib/mate-notification-daemon/mate-notificatio" label="unconfined")
Oct 09 18:02:41 Jordan-MacBookPro mate-screensave[1963]: Failed to get session presence proxy: Could not get owner of name 'org.gnome.SessionManager': no such name
Oct 09 18:02:41 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1540]: [session uid=1000 pid=1538] Successfully activated service 'org.mate.ScreenSaver'
Oct 09 18:02:42 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: systemd-hostnamed.service: Succeeded.
Oct 09 18:02:56 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: update_client_list: assertion 'reentrancy_guard == 0' failed
Oct 09 18:02:56 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:02:56 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:02:56 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:02:56 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:02:56 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669376.6983] audit: op="connection-delete" uuid="15b6ea2f-4a2a-4827-b981-5dc6fcd578d1" name="<SSID>" pid=1980 uid=1000 result="success"
Oct 09 18:02:56 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1540]: [session uid=1000 pid=1538] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.secrets' requested by ':1.0' (uid=1000 pid=1530 comm="nm-applet " label="unconfined")
Oct 09 18:02:56 Jordan-MacBookPro gnome-keyring-daemon[1065]: The Secret Service was already initialized
Oct 09 18:02:56 Jordan-MacBookPro org.freedesktop.secrets[1540]: SSH_AUTH_SOCK=/run/user/1000/keyring/ssh
Oct 09 18:02:59 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: update_client_list: assertion 'reentrancy_guard == 0' failed
Oct 09 18:02:59 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: update_client_list: assertion 'reentrancy_guard == 0' failed
Oct 09 18:03:05 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[706]: [system] Activating via systemd: service name='org.freedesktop.hostname1' unit='dbus-org.freedesktop.hostname1.service' requested by ':1.90' (uid=1000 pid=1530 comm="nm-applet " label="unconfined")
Oct 09 18:03:05 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: Starting Hostname Service...
Oct 09 18:03:06 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[706]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.hostname1'
Oct 09 18:03:06 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: Started Hostname Service.
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.6941] keyfile: add connection /run/NetworkManager/system-connections/<SSID>.nmconnection (abc80a49-20da-4df6-8076-1da80ab836c0,"<SSID>")
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7054] device (wls4): Activation: starting connection '<SSID>' (abc80a49-20da-4df6-8076-1da80ab836c0)
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7109] settings-connection[0x55b8ef427d70,abc80a49-20da-4df6-8076-1da80ab836c0]: write: successfully committed (keyfile: update /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/<SSID>.nmconnection (abc80a49-20da-4df6-8076-1da80ab836c0,"<SSID>") and rename from "/run/NetworkManager/system-connections/<SSID>.nmconnection")
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7140] audit: op="connection-add-activate" uuid="abc80a49-20da-4df6-8076-1da80ab836c0" name="<SSID>" pid=1530 uid=1000 result="success"
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7156] device (wls4): state change: disconnected -> prepare (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7257] manager: NetworkManager state is now CONNECTING
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7374] device (wls4): state change: prepare -> config (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7437] device (wls4): Activation: (wifi) access point '<SSID>' has security, but secrets are required.
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7441] device (wls4): state change: config -> need-auth (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7493] device (wls4): state change: need-auth -> prepare (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7564] device (wls4): state change: prepare -> config (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7590] device (wls4): Activation: (wifi) connection '<SSID>' has security, and secrets exist.  No new secrets needed.
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7608] Config: added 'ssid' value '<SSID>'
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7611] Config: added 'scan_ssid' value '1'
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7629] Config: added 'bgscan' value 'simple:30:-80:86400'
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7631] Config: added 'key_mgmt' value 'WPA-PSK'
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7633] Config: added 'psk' value '<hidden>'
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7857] device (wls4): supplicant interface state: disconnected -> scanning
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669399.7862] device (p2p-dev-wls4): supplicant management interface state: disconnected -> scanning
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: update_client_list: assertion 'reentrancy_guard == 0' failed
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:03:19 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:03:36 Jordan-MacBookPro kernel: perf: interrupt took too long (2501 > 2500), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 79750
Oct 09 18:03:36 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: systemd-hostnamed.service: Succeeded.
Oct 09 18:03:45 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <warn>  [1570669425.1578] device (wls4): Activation: (wifi) association took too long, failing activation
Oct 09 18:03:45 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669425.1580] device (wls4): state change: config -> failed (reason 'ssid-not-found', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Oct 09 18:03:45 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669425.1589] manager: NetworkManager state is now DISCONNECTED
Oct 09 18:03:45 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <warn>  [1570669425.1597] device (wls4): Activation: failed for connection '<SSID>'
Oct 09 18:03:45 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669425.2140] device (wls4): supplicant interface state: scanning -> disconnected
Oct 09 18:03:45 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669425.2141] device (p2p-dev-wls4): supplicant management interface state: scanning -> disconnected
Oct 09 18:03:45 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <info>  [1570669425.2145] device (wls4): state change: failed -> disconnected (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Oct 09 18:03:45 Jordan-MacBookPro NetworkManager[712]: <warn>  [1570669425.2177] device (wls4): wifi-scan: active scanning for networks due to profiles with wifi.hidden=yes. This makes you trackable
Oct 09 18:03:46 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1540]: [session uid=1000 pid=1538] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.Notifications' requested by ':1.0' (uid=1000 pid=1530 comm="nm-applet " label="unconfined")
Oct 09 18:03:46 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1540]: [session uid=1000 pid=1538] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.Notifications'
Oct 09 18:04:56 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[1540]: [session uid=1000 pid=1538] Failed to activate service 'org.freedesktop.secrets': timed out (service_start_timeout=120000ms)
Oct 09 18:04:57 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:04:57 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:04:57 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:04:57 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:05:18 Jordan-MacBookPro kernel: perf: interrupt took too long (3134 > 3126), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 63750
Oct 09 18:05:45 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:05:45 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:05:45 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:05:45 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:06:49 Jordan-MacBookPro org.mate.panel.applet.DockAppletFactory[1220]: [2132:2132:1009/180649.044655:ERROR:sandbox_linux.cc(369)] InitializeSandbox() called with multiple threads in process gpu-process.
Oct 09 18:06:50 Jordan-MacBookPro gnome-keyring-daemon[1065]: asked to register item /org/freedesktop/secrets/collection/login/1, but it's already registered
Oct 09 18:06:54 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[706]: [system] Activating via systemd: service name='org.freedesktop.hostname1' unit='dbus-org.freedesktop.hostname1.service' requested by ':1.191' (uid=1000 pid=2079 comm="pluma /home/jordan/Desktop/network_issues/journalc" label="unconfined")
Oct 09 18:06:54 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: Starting Hostname Service...
Oct 09 18:06:55 Jordan-MacBookPro dbus-daemon[706]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.hostname1'
Oct 09 18:06:55 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: Started Hostname Service.
Oct 09 18:06:55 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:06:55 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:06:55 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:06:55 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:06:56 Jordan-MacBookPro gnome-keyring-daemon[1065]: asked to register item /org/freedesktop/secrets/collection/login/1, but it's already registered
Oct 09 18:06:59 Jordan-MacBookPro org.mate.panel.applet.DockAppletFactory[1220]: Fontconfig error: Cannot load default config file
Oct 09 18:07:06 Jordan-MacBookPro org.mate.panel.applet.DockAppletFactory[1220]: [2092:2116:1009/180706.187967:ERROR:connection_factory_impl.cc(418)] Failed to connect to MCS endpoint with error -106
Oct 09 18:07:07 Jordan-MacBookPro org.mate.panel.applet.DockAppletFactory[1220]: [1,2359103680:01:07:07.188002] Native Client module will be loaded at base address 0x0000442d00000000
Oct 09 18:07:10 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: update_client_list: assertion 'reentrancy_guard == 0' failed
Oct 09 18:07:10 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:07:10 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:07:10 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: invalid (NULL) pointer instance
Oct 09 18:07:10 Jordan-MacBookPro window-buttons-[1654]: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed
Oct 09 18:07:25 Jordan-MacBookPro systemd[1]: systemd-hostnamed.service: Succeeded.
Oct 09 18:07:29 Jordan-MacBookPro org.mate.panel.applet.DockAppletFactory[1220]: [2092:2116:1009/180729.333617:ERROR:connection_factory_impl.cc(418)] Failed to connect to MCS endpoint with error -106
Oct 09 18:07:29 Jordan-MacBookPro org.mate.panel.applet.DockAppletFactory[1220]: [2092:2092:1009/180729.594542:ERROR:account_tracker.cc(241)] AccessTokenFetched error: Connection failed (-106).
Oct 09 18:07:47 Jordan-MacBookPro su[2462]: (to root) jordan on pts/0
Oct 09 18:07:47 Jordan-MacBookPro su[2462]: pam_unix(su:session): session opened for user root by (uid=1000)
Oct 09 18:07:47 Jordan-MacBookPro su[2462]: pam_unix(su:session): session closed for user root
Oct 09 18:08:01 Jordan-MacBookPro kernel: perf: interrupt took too long (3918 > 3917), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 51000
Oct 09 18:08:28 Jordan-MacBookPro org.mate.panel.applet.DockAppletFactory[1220]: [2092:2116:1009/180828.655023:ERROR:connection_factory_impl.cc(418)] Failed to connect to MCS endpoint with error -106
Oct 09 18:08:55 Jordan-MacBookPro su[2473]: (to root) jordan on pts/0
Oct 09 18:08:55 Jordan-MacBookPro su[2473]: pam_unix(su:session): session opened for user root by (uid=1000)
Oct 09 18:08:55 Jordan-MacBookPro su[2473]: pam_unix(su:session): session closed for user root