How to use Wicd instead of Network Manager

Prepare the repository

Add the Wicd Repo:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Add the following line to the end (hardy):

deb http://apt.wicd.net hardy extras

If you use gutsy add this line:

deb http://apt.wicd.net gutsy extras

Update:

sudo apt-get update

As of release 1.5 (based on Ubuntu Jaunty) the above step won't be necessary, as wicd is included in the Universe repository.

Remove the Network Manager

NOTE: Doing this will leave you without a wireless connection. Install wicd first.

Remove the Network Manager on GNOME:

sudo apt-get remove --purge network-manager-gnome network-manager

On KDE:

sudo apt-get remove --purge knetworkmanager network-manager

Install the packages:

sudo apt-get install wicd wpasupplicant

Edit the configuration:

sudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

Replace the content with:

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

And restart networking:

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

Add the wireless interface

Open Wicd (Applications -> Internet -> Wicd) and add the "Wireless Interface"

ath0

Autostart configuration (GNOME)

NOTE: This step was done automatically for me when installing in 1.6. Open the session manager (System -> Preferences -> Session) and add this two entries to the "Startup Programs" tab:

Name: Wicd
Command: wicd-client
Comment: Start wicd and set up the tray icon

Name: Wicd Autoconnect
Command: /opt/wicd/autoconnect.py
Comment: Autoconnect the configured interfaces (eth0 dhcp)

If /opt/wicd does not exist, try /usr/share/wicd.

Autostart configuration (KDE)

sudo ln -s /opt/wicd/tray.py ~/.kde/Autostart/tray.py
sudo ln -s /opt/wicd/autoconnect.py ~/.kde/Autostart/autoconnect.py

If you use tmpfs for /var/log like described in How_to:_Reduce_Disk_Writes_to_Prolong_the_Life_of_your_Flash_Drive you should redirect the wicd log to /var/log using the following command:

ln -s /opt/wicd/data/wicd.log /var/log/wicd.log

Read the discussion for more information.