Fixing WiFi Issues on AlmaLinux Minimal Install

Table of Contents

Quick Fix

If you’re struggling to connect to a WiFi network after a minimal install of AlmaLinux, you’re not alone. When trying to activate the device (nmcli dev up wlp0s20f3), you might see this error:

failed to add/activate new connection. Device class NMDeviceGeneric had no complete_connection

The solution is simple: install the NetworkManager-wifi package:

dnf install NetworkManager-wifi

Introduction

I recently repurposed my old laptop as a home lab server. While a wired connection is generally more reliable, I wanted the flexibility of a WiFi connection.

I installed AlmaLinux 9.5 with a minimal install as the base environment and enabled the ANSI BP 028 (high) security profile.

Everything worked fine with the Server with GUI base environment, but the Minimal install left me unable to connect to WiFi. Following the official guide didn’t help.

Using nmtui to activate a connection only showed wired networks, and nmcli returned the error mentioned above.

After some digging, I found the solution in this forum. The minimal install doesn’t include the NetworkManager-wifi package or its dependencies (wireless-regdb and iw).

These are the following commands I have used until I discovered this error:

[root@homelab ~]# nmcli radio wifi
enabled

[root@homelab ~]# nmcli device wifi
[root@homelab ~]# nmcli device status
DEVICE        TYPE      STATE                  CONNECTION
lo           loopback  connected (externally)  --
wlp0s20f3    wifi      unavailable             --
eno1         ethernet  unavailable             --

[root@homelab ~]# nmcli device set wlp0s20f3 managed yes
[root@homelab ~]# nmcli device status
DEVICE        TYPE      STATE                  CONNECTION
lo           loopback  connected (externally)  --
wlp0s20f3    wifi      unavailable             --
eno1         ethernet  unavailable             --

[root@homelab ~]# nmcli device connect wlp0s20f3
Error: Failed to add/activate new connection: Device class NMDeviceGeneric had no complete_connection method

The same error is visible here:

[root@homelab ~]# systemctl status NetworkManager
● NetworkManager.service - Network Manager
    Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/NetworkManager.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
    Active: active (running) since Fri 2025-02-07 22:46:51 EST; 5min ago
    Main PID: 3107 (NetworkManager)
    Tasks: 3 (limit: 32768)
    Memory: 11.3M
    CPU: 113ms
    CGroup: /system.slice/NetworkManager.service
        └─3107 /usr/sbin/NetworkManager --no-daemon

Feb 07 22:46:51 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392411.474711] device (lo): activation successful, device activated.
Feb 07 22:46:51 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392411.474717] manager: startup complete
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.311437] device (wlp0s20f3): state change: unmanaged -> unavailable (reason "connection-assumed", sys-iface-state: "assume")
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375127] ifcfg-rh: new connection /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-wlp0s20f3 (interface wlp0s20f3, pid 6323) add 0 result: success
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375134] device (wlp0s20f3): state change: unavailable -> disconnected (reason "none", sys-iface-state: "managed")
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375137] device (wlp0s20f3): Activation: starting connection 'wlp0s20f3' (uuid ...)
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375140] device (wlp0s20f3): Activation: beginning transaction (timeout in 120 seconds)
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375144] device (wlp0s20f3): state change: disconnected -> prepare (reason "none", sys-iface-state: "managed")
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375148] device (wlp0s20f3): state change: prepare -> config (reason "none", sys-iface-state: "managed")
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375151] device (wlp0s20f3): state change: config -> need-auth (reason "none", sys-iface-state: "managed")
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375154] device (wlp0s20f3): state change: need-auth -> failed (reason "no-secrets", sys-iface-state: "managed")
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375157] device (wlp0s20f3): Activation: failed for connection 'wlp0s20f3'
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375160] manager: NetworkManager state is now DISCONNECTED
Feb 07 22:46:54 homelab NetworkManager[3107]: <info>  [1720392414.375164] audit: op="connection-activate" pid=6323 uid=0 result="fail" reason="device class NMDeviceGeneric had no complete_connection method"

Mount USB Drive

You can either connect to a wired network to install NetworkManager-wifi or, as I did, install it offline using the full OS image on a USB stick.

First, mount your USB drive:

mkdir -p /mnt/usb
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

Setup Yum Repository File

Create a new repository file:

vi /etc/yum.repos.d/almalinux9.repo

Add the following content:

[AlmaLinux-USB-BaseOS]
name=BaseOS Packages AlmaLinux 9
baseurl=file:///mnt/usb/BaseOS/
metadata_expire=-1
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1

[AlmaLinux-USB-AppStream]
name=AppStream Packages AlmaLinux 9
baseurl=file:///mnt/usb/AppStream/
metadata_expire=-1
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1

Install NetworkManager-wifi Package from USB Drive

Now, install the package:

dnf install NetworkManager-wifi --disablerepo=* --enablerepo=AlmaLinux-USB-BaseOS --enablerepo=AlmaLinux-USB-AppStream
systemctl restart NetworkManager

Cleanup

Finally, clean up:

# Remove repository file
rm /etc/yum.repos.d/almalinux9.repo

# Unmount USB drive
umount /mnt/usb
rm -r /mnt/usb

And there you have it! Your AlmaLinux minimal install should now support WiFi connections. Enjoy the freedom of wireless networking!