Issues using wireless network interface after attempting to use it as an access point for hotspotting

Question

I was following random tutorials attempting to create a private Wifi network on my laptop that would forward my ethernet internet connection on my laptop to other devices on my private network. Clearly I didn't know what I was doing and after some really poor attempts I attempted to undo all my changes and at the moment I'm still suffering from the issue of trying to get my wireless interface to connect to my wifi again. For now I can only use USB/Ethernet tethering to connect to the internet.

However the network interface is still listed and recognizable.

lshw -C network

    *-network                 
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: Ethernet Connection I218-LM
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 19
       bus info: pci@0000:00:19.0
       logical name: eno1
       version: 04
       serial: f0:1f:af:4e:4a:b8
       size: 1Gbit/s
       capacity: 1Gbit/s
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=e1000e driverversion=3.2.6-k duplex=full firmware=0.7-3 ip=10.17.20.118 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=1Gbit/s
       resources: irq:52 memory:f7e00000-f7e1ffff memory:f7e3c000-f7e3cfff ioport:f080(size=32)
  *-network UNCLAIMED
       description: Network controller
       product: Wireless 7260
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
       version: 73
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress cap_list
       configuration: latency=0
       resources: memory:f7d00000-f7d01fff
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       physical id: 2
       logical name: docker0
       serial: 02:42:07:32:b8:da
       capabilities: ethernet physical
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=bridge driverversion=2.3 firmware=N/A ip=172.17.0.1 link=no multicast=yes

I can attach additional info upon request, can show running services too. Lost links of all tutorials I attempted (sorry) but here's two of them:

https://medium.com/@arnab.k/ubuntu-how-to-setup-a-wi-fi-hotspot-access-point-mode-192cbb2eeb90 https://www.linuxuprising.com/2018/09/how-to-create-wi-fi-hotspot-in-ubuntu.html

Network manager service status

     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/NetworkManager.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Tue 2020-04-07 14:45:39 EDT; 21min ago
       Docs: man:NetworkManager(8)
   Main PID: 1059 (NetworkManager)
      Tasks: 3 (limit: 9368)
     Memory: 14.7M
     CGroup: /system.slice/NetworkManager.service
             └─1059 /usr/sbin/NetworkManager --no-daemon

Apr 07 14:47:33 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285253.5584] device (usb0): state change: activated -> unmanaged (reason 'removed', sys-iface-state: 'removed')
Apr 07 14:47:33 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285253.5800] dhcp4 (usb0): canceled DHCP transaction
Apr 07 14:47:33 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285253.5800] dhcp4 (usb0): state changed bound -> done
Apr 07 14:47:33 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285253.5895] modem["ttyACM0"]: modem state changed, 'disabled' --> 'enabling' (reason: user preference)
Apr 07 14:47:33 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285253.5899] manager: (ttyACM0): new Broadband device (/org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/Devices/6)
Apr 07 14:47:33 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285253.5905] device (ttyACM0): state change: unmanaged -> unavailable (reason 'managed', sys-iface-state: 'external')
Apr 07 14:47:33 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285253.5911] device (ttyACM0): modem state 'enabling'
Apr 07 14:47:33 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285253.5926] device (ttyACM0): state change: unavailable -> disconnected (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Apr 07 14:47:34 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285254.2751] modem["ttyACM0"]: modem state changed, 'enabling' --> 'enabled' (reason: user-requested)
Apr 07 14:47:34 jab NetworkManager[1059]: <info>  [1586285254.3673] modem["ttyACM0"]: modem state changed, 'enabled' --> 'registered' (reason: unknown)

iwconfig

docker0   no wireless extensions.

wlp2s0    IEEE 802.11  ESSID:off/any  
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=0 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on

eno1      no wireless extensions.

lo        no wireless extensions.

Software & Updates

I know this is a software (most likely driver) issue because I dual boot on this computer and on my Windows OS I can still access the internet.

Thanks again!

Answer 1

Forgot how I removed the drivers for the Wireless 7260 but afterwards I attempted to install the backport iwlwifi driver. Removed it after following these two posts advice and without updating I was good to go. Sorry I didn't document this better.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/1203808/network-password-rejected-after-installing-backport-iwlwifi-dkms

https://www.reddit.com/r/elementaryos/comments/es4bst/psa_careful_installing_the_backport_iwlwifi_driver/