What does update_config parameter mean in wpa_supplicant.conf?

Question

I have tried to boot with WiFi once and then deleted wpa_supplicant.conf file. Now my boot process is hanging. I wonder, could

update_config=1

change something in permanent memory?

Answer 1

Setting update_config=1 allows the wpa_cli tool to make changes to wpa_supplicant.conf. This has nothing to do with your problem.

change something in permanent memory?

The only "permanent memory" is the SD card and whatever other storage you have attached (the model 4 also has accessible some EEPROM, but wpa_supplicant has nothing to do with that).

Perhaps the reason it's hanging is because the system or some part thereof is waiting for a network connection to get set up that is never going to happen -- although it could be just about anything, there is not enough detail here (eg. what appears on the screen or happens with the ACT led before the hang) to say anything.

If the wpa_supplicant.conf you are referring to was one you put in the boot partition alongside config.txt etc. to configure networking at first boot, I believe it should have been automatically removed then. Removing it yourself may or may not have caused the hang problem, this would be a glitch in that system.

If the wpa_supplicant.conf you are referring to was in /etc/wpa_supplicant, and you thought that was an appropriate way to disable networking, you are wrong. If you want to do that, use raspi-config.

Answer 2

From what I know, update_config=1 sort of ignore the network={... contents in the /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf file and retrieve the information from the /etc/network/interfaces file in terms of Wi-Fi module.

To answer your question, update_config=1 won't cause any hang. But, deleting the 'wpa_supplicant.conf' file might. It is an essential file for the construction of the Wi-Fi module.