How to use iwconfig command

Posted on January 10, 2024 by darshin

What is iwconfig command:

The iwconfig command is a Linux/Unix command-line tool that is used to configure and display information about wireless network interfaces on a system. It is part of the Wireless Tools package and is commonly used to manage and configure wireless network settings.

Iwconfig is similar to ifconfig, but is dedicated to the wireless interfaces. It is used to set the parameters of the network interface that are specific to the wireless operation (the wireless frequency, for example). Iwconfig may also be used to display those parameters, and the wireless statistics (extracted from /proc/net/wireless).

Syntax

iwconfig [interface]

iwconfig interface [essid X] [nwid N] [mode M] [freq F] [channel C][sens S ]
         [ap A ][nick NN ] [rate R] [rts RT] [frag FT] [txpower T] [enc E]
         [key K] [power P] [retry R] [modu M] [commit]

iwconfig --help

iwconfig --version

Parameters

Tip

For an extended description of these parameters and examples of each, see the examples.

Examples

Examples

iwconfig eth0 essid any

iwconfig eth0 essid "My Network"

iwconfig eth0 essid -- "ANY"

essid sets the ESSID (or Network Name – in some products, it may also be called Domain ID). The ESSID is used to identify cells that are part of the same virtual network.

As opposed to the AP Address or NWID which define a single cell, the ESSID defines a group of cells connected via repeaters or infrastructure, where the user may roam transparently.

With some cards, you may disable the ESSID checking (ESSID promiscuous) with off or any (and on to reenable it).

If the ESSID of your network is one of the special keywords (off, on or any), use — to escape it.

Examples

iwconfig eth0 nwid AB34

iwconfig eth0 nwid off

nwid sets the Network ID. As all adjacent wireless networks share the same medium, this parameter is used to differentiate them (create logical collocated networks) and identify nodes belonging to the same cell.

This parameter is only used for pre-802.11 hardware. The 802.11 protocol uses the ESSID and AP Address for this function.

With some cards, you may disable the Network ID checking (NWID promiscuous) with off (and on to reenable it).

Examples

iwconfig eth0 nickname "My Linux Node"

nick sets the nickname, or the station name. Some 802.11 products define it, but this is not used as far as the protocols (MAC, IP, TCP) are concerned, and are completely useless as far as configuration goes. Only some wireless diagnostic tools may use it.

Examples

iwconfig eth0 mode Managed

iwconfig eth0 mode ad hoc

mode sets the operating mode of the device, which depends on the network topology. The mode can be ad hoc (network composed of only one cell and without access point), Managed (node connects to a network composed of many access points, with roaming), Master (the node is the synchronisation master or acts as an access point), Repeater (the node forwards packets between other wireless nodes), Secondary (the node acts as a backup master/repeater), Monitor (the node is not associated with any cell and passively monitor all packets on the frequency) or Auto.

freq/channel examples

iwconfig eth0 freq 2422000000

iwconfig eth0 freq 2.422G

iwconfig eth0 channel 3

iwconfig eth0 channel auto

freq and channel set the operating frequency or channel in the device, respectively. A value below 1000 indicates a channel number, a value greater than 1000 is a frequency in Hz. You may append the suffix k, M, or G to the value (for example, "2.46G" for 2.46 GHz frequency), or add enough ‘0’.

Channels are usually numbered starting at 1, and you may use iwlist to get the total number of channels, list the available frequencies, and display the current frequency as a channel. Depending on regulations, some frequencies/channels may not be available.

When using Managed mode, often the access point dictates the channel and the driver may refuse the setting of the frequency. In ad hoc mode, the frequency setting may only be used at initial cell creation, and may be ignored when joining an existing cell.

You may also use off or auto to let the card pick up the best channel (when supported).

Examples

iwconfig eth0 ap 00:60:1D:01:23:45

iwconfig eth0 ap any

iwconfig eth0 ap off

ap forces the card to register to the access point given by the address, if it’s possible. This address is the cell identity of the access point, as reported by wireless scanning, which may be different from its network MAC address. If the wireless link is point to point, set the address of the other end of the link. If the link is ad hoc, set the cell identity of the ad hoc network. When the quality of the connection goes too low, the driver may revert to automatic mode (the card selects the best access point in range). You may also use off to re-enable automatic mode without changing the current access point, or you may use any or auto to force the card to reassociate with the currently best access point.

rate/bit examples

iwconfig eth0 rate 11M

iwconfig eth0 rate auto

iwconfig eth0 rate 5.5M auto

For cards supporting multiple bit rates, rate sets the bitrate in b/s. The bitrate is the speed that bits are transmitted over the medium. The user speed of the link is lower due to medium sharing and various overhead.

You may append the suffix k, M, or G to the value (decimal multiplier : 10^3, 10^6, and 10^9 b/s), or add enough ‘0’. Values below 1000 are card specific, usually an index in the bitrate list. Use auto to select automatic bitrate mode (fallback to lower rate on noisy channels), which is the default for most cards, and fixed to revert to fixed setting. If you specify a bitrate value and append auto, the driver uses all bitrates lower than and equal to this value.

Examples

iwconfig eth0 txpower 15

iwconfig eth0 txpower 30mW

iwconfig eth0 txpower auto

iwconfig eth0 txpower off

For cards supporting multiple transmit powers, txpower sets the transmit power in dBm. If W is the power in Watt, the power in dBm is P = 30 + 10.log(W). If the value is postfixed by mW, it is automatically converted to dBm.

In addition, on and off enable and disable the radio, and auto and fixed enable and disable power control (if those features are available).

sens examples

iwconfig eth0 sens -80

iwconfig eth0 sens 2

sens sets the sensitivity threshold. This defines how sensitive the card is to poor operating conditions (low signal, interference). Positive values are assumed to be the raw value used by the hardware or a percentage, negative values are assumed to be dBm. Depending on the hardware implementation, this parameter may control various functions.

On modern cards, this parameter usually control handover/roaming threshold, the lowest signal level for which the hardware remains associated with the current access point. When the signal level goes below this threshold, the card starts looking for a new/better access point. Some cards may use the number of missed beacons to trigger this. For high density of access points, a higher threshold make sure the card is always associated with the best AP, for low density of APs, a lower threshold minimise the number of failed handoffs.

On more ancient cards, this parameter usually controls the defer threshold, the lowest signal level for which the hardware considers the channel busy. Signal levels above this threshold make the hardware inhibit its own transmission, whereas signals weaker than this are ignored and the hardware is free to transmit. This is usually strongly linked to the receive threshold, the lowest signal level for which the hardware attempts packet reception. Proper setting of these thresholds prevent the card from wasting time on background noise, while still receiving weak transmissions. Modern designs seems to control those thresholds automatically.

retry examples

iwconfig eth0 retry 16

iwconfig eth0 retry lifetime 300m

iwconfig eth0 retry short 12

iwconfig eth0 retry min limit 8

Most cards have MAC retransmissions, and some allow to set the behaviour of the retry mechanism.

To set the maximum number of retries, enter limit `value’. This is an absolute value (without unit), and the default (when nothing is specified). To set the maximum length of time the MAC should retry, enter lifetime `value’. By defaults, this value is in seconds. Append the suffix m or u to specify values in milliseconds or microseconds.

You can also add the short, long, min and max modifiers. If the card supports automatic mode, they define the bounds of the limit or lifetime. Some other cards define different values depending on packet size; for example, in 802.11, min limit is the short retry limit (non RTS/CTS packets).

rts example

iwconfig eth0 rts 250

iwconfig eth0 rts off

rts adds a handshake before each packet transmission to make sure that the channel is clear. This adds overhead, but increases performance in case of hidden nodes or many active nodes. This parameter sets the size of the smallest packet for which the node sends RTS; a value equal to the maximum packet size disables the mechanism. You may also set this parameter to auto, fixed or off.

frag example

iwconfig eth0 frag 512

iwconfig eth0 frag off

frag allows the device to split an IP packet in a burst of smaller fragments transmitted on the medium. In most cases, this adds overhead, but in a very noisy environment, this reduces the error penalty and allow packets to get through interference bursts. This parameter sets the maximum fragment size that is always lower than the maximum packet size. This parameter may also control Frame Bursting available on some cards, the ability to send multiple IP packets together. This mechanism would be enabled if the fragment size is larger than the maximum packet size. You may also set this parameter to auto, fixed or off.

key/enc examples

iwconfig eth0 key 0123-4567-89

iwconfig eth0 key [3] 0123-4567-89

iwconfig eth0 key s:password [2]

iwconfig eth0 key [2]

iwconfig eth0 key open

iwconfig eth0 key off

iwconfig eth0 key restricted [3] 0123456789

iwconfig eth0 key 01-23 key 45-67 [4] key [4]

key is used to manipulate encryption or scrambling keys and security mode. To set the current encryption key, enter the key in hex digits as XXXX-XXXX- XXXX-XXXX or XXXXXXXX. To set a key other than the current key, prepend or append [index] to the key itself (this won’t change what is the active key). You can also enter the key as an ASCII string using the s: prefix. Passphrase is currently not supported.

To change which key is the currently active key, enter [index] (without entering any key value).

off and on disable and reenable encryption. The security mode may be open or restricted, and its meaning depends on the card used. With most cards, in open mode, no authentication is used and the card may also accept non-encrypted sessions. In restricted mode, only encrypted sessions are accepted and the card uses authentication if available. If you need to set multiple keys, or set a key and change the active key, you need to use multiple key directives. Arguments can be put in any order, and the last one takes precedence.

Examples

iwconfig eth0 power period 2

iwconfig eth0 power 500m unicast

iwconfig eth0 power timeout 300u all

iwconfig eth0 power saving 3

iwconfig eth0 power off

iwconfig eth0 power min period 2 power max period 4

power is used to manipulate power management scheme parameters and mode. To set the period between wake ups, enter period `value’. To set the timeout before going back to sleep, enter timeout `value’. To set the generic level of power saving, enter saving `value’. You can also add the min and max modifiers. By default, those values are in seconds. Append the suffix m or u to specify values in milliseconds or microseconds. Sometimes, those values are without units (number of beacon periods, dwell, percentage or similar).

off and on disable and reenable power management. Finally, you may set the power management mode to all (receive all packets), unicast (receive unicast packets only, discard multicast and broadcast) and multicast (receive multicast and broadcast only, discard unicast packets).

Examples

iwconfig eth0 modu 11g

iwconfig eth0 modu CCK OFDMa

iwconfig eth0 modu auto

modu forces the card to use a specific set of modulations. Modern cards support various modulations, some that are standard, such as 802.11b or 802.11g, and some proprietary. This command forces the card to only use the specific set of modulations listed on the command line, and can fix interoperability issues. The list of available modulations depends on the card/driver and is displayed using iwlist modulation. Note that some cards/drivers may not be able to select each modulation listed independently; some may come as a group. You may also set this parameter to auto to let the card/driver do its best.

Examples

iwconfig commit

Some cards may not apply changes done through wireless extensions immediately (they may wait to aggregate the changes or apply it only when the card is brought up via ifconfig). This command (when available) forces the card to apply all pending changes.

This is normally not needed, because the card eventually applies the changes, but can be useful for debugging.

What is displayed

For each device that supports wireless extensions, iwconfig displays the name of the MAC protocol used (name of device for proprietary protocols), the ESSID (Network Name), the NWID, the frequency (or channel), the sensitivity, the mode of operation, the access point address, the bitrate, the RTS threshold, the fragmentation threshold, the encryption key and the power management settings (depending on availability).

The parameters displayed have the same meaning and values as the parameters you can set. Please refer to the previous part for a detailed explanation of them.

Some parameters are only displayed in short/abbreviated form, such as encryption. You may use iwlist to get all the details. Some parameters have two modes, such as bitrate. If the value is prefixed by `=’, it indicates the parameter is fixed and forced to that value. If it’s prefixed by `:’, the parameter is in automatic mode and the current value is shown (and may change).

Access point/cell

An address equal to 00:00:00:00:00:00 indicates the card failed to associate with an access point (most likely a configuration issue). The access point parameter is shown as cell in ad hoc mode (for obvious reasons), but otherwise works the same.

If /proc/net/wireless exists, iwconfig also displays its content. Note that those values depend on the driver and the hardware specifics, so you need to refer to your driver documentation for proper interpretation of those values.

Link quality

Overall quality of the link. May be based on the level of contention or interference, the bit or frame error rate, how good the received signal is, some timing synchronisation, or other hardware metric. This is an aggregate value, and depends totally on the driver and hardware.

Signal level

Received signal strength (RSSI – how strong the received signal is). May be arbitrary units or dBm. iwconfig uses driver meta information to interpret the raw value given by /proc/net/wireless and display the proper unit or maximum value (using 8 bit arithmetic). In ad hoc mode, this may be undefined; use iwspy.

Noise level

Background noise level (when no packet is transmitted). Similar comments as for Signal level.

Rx invalid nwid

Number of packets received with a different NWID or ESSID. Used to detect configuration problems or adjacent network existence (on the same frequency).

Rx invalid crypt

Number of packets that the hardware was unable to decrypt. This can detect invalid encryption settings.

Rx invalid frag

Number of packets for which the hardware was not able to properly re-assemble the link layer fragments (most likely one was missing).

Tx excessive retries

Number of packets that the hardware failed to deliver. Most MAC protocols retry the packet many times before giving up.

Invalid misc

Other packets lost in relation with specific wireless operations.

Missed beacon

Number of periodic beacons from the cell or the access point we have missed. Beacons are sent at regular intervals to maintain the cell coordination. Failure to receive them usually indicates the card is out of range.