I'm testing Fedora 44 on a Microsoft Surface Pro 4. The installer detects my wireless network, but after I enter the password, the connection fails and is reported as "deactivated." I've retried several times and the security settings appear correct. Has anyone found a reliable fix or workaround for this issue?
2 Answers
It may be worth completing the installation first and testing Wi-Fi from the installed system. The hardware might need a newer kernel or firmware update before it works properly. Also double-check that the password is being entered correctly, since an incorrect keyboard layout can make it look like the security settings are failing.
For Surface hardware, check the Linux Surface project’s hardware guidance and issue reports. Wi-Fi connectivity problems can sometimes be related to power-saving settings, so disabling wireless power saving may help if the connection keeps dropping or refusing to activate.

The problem turned out to be the wireless security setting.