I have been long wanting a refresh button on the Network Manager. Apparently, I am not the only one who has thought that:
Ubuntu Brainstorm: Idea #17725: “Scan wireless networks” option in NetworkManager
Gnome Bugzilla: Bug 498887 – Refresh wireless network list
Here is the big argument against:
Bryan Clark: Refresh in reactive displays
So, here is the situation — I am working at home connected to my home router. I pick up my laptop and leave it on while I drive to work. When I get to work, it still shows my home wireless network in the list. Then, at lunch, I pick up my laptop and take it to a restaurant that supports WiFi. Again, it is does not recognize the restaurant’s network. From what I read, it could take up to 6 minutes to rescan and see the new networks in those situations.
The solution might be to speed up the scan frequency so I don’t have to wait so long upon arriving at a new location. But, from what I read, that might have power management implications. If you scan too frequently it will never go into power saving mode? I don’t know, but for one thing, why can’t I control the scan frequency?
On the other hand, if I had an option to rescan, I could tell it when to scan without having it scan needlessly too frequently. Why should it scan every 15 seconds when I am at a restaurant that doesn’t have WiFi? When my battery was dying and only lasted 20 minutes, I wanted every ounce of power I could get! I understand making things automatic for the user, but sometimes it is better to let the user decide. The laptop will never know when I change locations like that unless maybe you add a GPS device to it.
Just my thoughts; can I have my refresh button?