Can a wireless interface act in two modes at the same time?

1

Can a wireless interface act in two modes at the same time ? (e.g. monitor mode and ad-hoc mode) ?

I have an interface which is in ad-hoc mode and I need to capture packets received by this interface using tcpdump which need a monitor mode. How can this be done ?

Thanks in advance for the help.

user3353241

Posted 2014-10-13T17:51:47.243

Reputation: 121

Answers

2

Yes, it is possible for a device to operate in two modes at once. However, it will depend on whether the drivers and hardware support this functionality.

Nattgew

Posted 2014-10-13T17:51:47.243

Reputation: 1 059

1Indeed, iw phy will output something like this: valid interface combinations: * #{ managed, WDS } <= 2048, #{ AP, mesh point } <= 8, #{ P2P-client, P2P-GO } <= 1, #{ IBSS } <= 1, total <= 2048, #channels <= 1, STA/AP BI must match – Daniel B – 2014-10-13T19:04:58.023

@DanielB when I tried to access the iw phy on android it gave me this error "phy : not found" also tried this "iw phy phy0 interface add moni0 type monitor" but i faced the same error, any idea ? – user3353241 – 2014-10-13T21:31:37.390

@user3353241 Replace phy0 with the name of your interface, if it is different. – Nattgew – 2014-10-13T22:23:23.493

ya @fooot I know I did replaced it. but I'm still having the error – user3353241 – 2014-10-13T22:57:48.820

@user3353241 Android doesn't have a GNU userland. Don't expect anything to work there. – Daniel B – 2014-10-14T04:34:18.927

but @DanielB how to start a monitor mode then ? for a wireless interface on android ? is this possible ? tried googling but I found nothing. – user3353241 – 2014-10-15T16:07:05.857

@user3353241 It’s probably not possible. In the first place, vanilla Android does not even have the iw command. – Daniel B – 2014-10-15T18:33:52.417

and I can't install it on the android mobile ? the iw command ? – user3353241 – 2014-10-17T16:23:12.540

Asked: 2014-10-13T17:51:47.243

Viewed: 1 465 times

Active: 2014-10-13T19:00:49.597