Problem connecting to ‘munged’ wireless network

OK, first thing first what I mean by ‘munged’ network is that router broadcast weird ESSID name like  /x16/x00/x04/x03/x00. The problem with this is …well Linux distro (PCLinuxOS) I use can’t connect to it. Some said it is related with wpa_supplicant package update recently.

It’s a weird essid name, isn’t it?

Anyway, through some bloody trial and error solution that works for me so far:
-Delete bottom lines in /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf (as root).
What I mean by bottom lines is entries like this
network={
psk=”<my-password>”
priority=1
scan_ssid=0
ssid=”<SSID-name>”
}
Delete all those lines. Save it.
-Make a new network connection using Net_applet(This is the default network manager in PCLinuxOS). When prompted with ‘Select Your Network‘, choose Unlisted-Edit manually (So you can enter the ESSID ). Enter the ESSID name. You can type iwlist eth1 scanning in terminal to know the ESSID name. Then hit Next Next Next. That should do it.

Alternative solution: downgrade your wpa_supplicant.