I’d been searching for a fix for this bug in Xubuntu where the Network manager icon/applet (nm-applet) is missing in the System tray in Xubuntu 14.04. On trying to launch it manually, it runs, but icon is still missing. Apparently that’s because normal users are unable to launch nm-applet on Xubuntu 14.04 due to a bug, according to Paul Bauer, as described in his article here.
He also describes a solution which worked for me. This entails launching nm-applet with dbus-launch.
Edit the file as root:
gksu gedit /etc/xdg/autostart/nm-applet.desktop
And change the line:
Exec=nm-applet
to:
Exec=dbus-launch nm-applet
On restarting the Network Manager applet is back.
Joel G Mathew, known in tech circles by the pseudonym Droidzone, is an opensource and programming enthusiast.
He is a full stack developer, whose favorite languages are currently Python and Vue.js. He is also fluent in Javascript, Flutter/Dart, Perl, PHP, SQL, C and bash shell scripting. He loves Linux, and can often be found tinkering with linux kernel code, and source code for GNU applications. He used to be an active developer on XDA forums, and his tinkered ROMS used to be very popular in the early 2000s.
His favorite pastime is grappling with GNU compilers, discovering newer Linux secrets, writing scripts, hacking roms, and programs (nothing illegal), reading, blogging. and testing out the latest gadgets.
When away from the tech world, Dr Joel G. Mathew is a practising ENT Surgeon, busy with surgeries and clinical practise.