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After googling this problem, it appears (as of 7 YEARS ago) that the only way to allow users to connect to new WiFi networks is to modify PolKit (solution 1, solution 2).

Is this still the case with Ubuntu 20.04, without having to install further packages? Hard to believe that Ubuntu hasn't made this more user-friendly yet over the last 7 years.

Edit: What I'm wanting to do is allow standard users to simply connect to any WiFi network (new or known) without having to enter the root password. That's it. Currently, my Ubuntu desktop requires standard users to type in the root password in order to connect to a new WiFi network. That seems a little silly since Windows and Mac allows standard users to connect to whatever WiFi network they want with admin privileges.

beechfuzz
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    Any user can modify network connections using Network manager. It is unclear what you are asking. – Pilot6 Oct 19 '20 at 20:54
  • @PIlot6 default attempts to add it for All Users, which requires superuser power / sudo. They want to know if they can change the NM defaults to not try and create for all – Thomas Ward Oct 19 '20 at 21:03
  • @Pilot6, I just want standard users to be able to connect to any wifi network (new or known) without me having to type in my root/admin password. – beechfuzz Oct 19 '20 at 21:09
  • is https://askubuntu.com/questions/244567/remove-sudo-password-when-connecting-to-new-wifi-network what you need? – Thomas Ward Oct 19 '20 at 21:18
  • @ThomasWard That link is exactly what I'm asking about. The answer revolves around editing PolKit -- which I'm wondering is still necessary or if things have changed and there's a more intuitive method. – beechfuzz Oct 19 '20 at 21:23
  • I'm trying to figure this out too. If I launch NetworkManager from a command line it requires sudo. But, if I go to Settings -> Advanced Network Configuration no sudo is needed. I can modify existing connections, add a new connection and remove connections from there. – Terrance Oct 19 '20 at 21:39
  • @beechfuzz Polkit is still what handles what does or doesn't need superuser for Network Manager. So yes you're still looking at the right location there. – Thomas Ward Oct 20 '20 at 13:18
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    Does this answer your question? Remove sudo password when connecting to *new* WiFi network – Tejas Lotlikar Nov 01 '20 at 12:23
  • @beechfuzz I am able to configure the network without sudo on my system. Seems you might be using a discontinued version of Ubuntu and considering switching to 18.04 LTS? Why not download a Live ISO to test for yourself? – xiota Nov 04 '20 at 10:41
  • @TejasLotlikar, that link was already asked about by Thomas Ward (which I've already answered). – beechfuzz Nov 06 '20 at 21:16
  • @xiota, my system is Ubuntu 20.04, hence why I reference 20.04 in the question. – beechfuzz Nov 06 '20 at 21:17
  • You mention something from 7 years ago then ask if that's the case with 20.04. If you're already running 20.04, why don't you just check the configs to find out? – xiota Nov 06 '20 at 22:31

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