Solution to Broadcom 43xx Card Problem (12.04 - Precise Pangolin)

**garver21** · July 13th, 2012

i need help getting my wireless workin i have read throught the post an nothing works not sure if its a ubuntu issue or a setting being wrong i have a wna3100 v1 broadcom bcm43231.... my router shows up on networks an i can connect to it but when i try to access the internet it says website not found .. anyone got any
ideas

**Salpiche** · July 15th, 2012

Clean 12.04 install on a Dell Mini 1210, it does not see wireless card at all tried everything here and still no dice, any ideas? thanks

**loaderjr** · July 17th, 2012

I'm a total noob...just built a system running Mythbuntu 12.04 with an old Buffalo WLI2-PCI-G54S wireless card. Its the Broadcomm 4306 rev 3 chipset. I tried to use the b43 firmware and didn't get it working, so then I tried the ndiswrapper method. I learned that ndiswrapper won't work on my 64-bit architecture, because Buffalo's Windows 98/XP/2000 drivers are 32-bit. I was unsuccessful in my attempt to use some Vista 64-bit drivers.

To undo my ndiswrapper attempt, I removed the ndiswrapper packages I'd installed, and removed b43, b43legacy, and ssb from blacklist.conf.

I then installed b43-fwcutter and firmware-b43-installer. My wireless card showed UNCLAIMED using lshw -C network. Using "sudo modprobe b43", my wireless card was recognized, and the GUI network settings allowed me to find and connect to my network with WPA2/AES and a hidden SSID. An additional driver was NOT loaded. I made the fix permanent by adding b43 to /etc/modules.

CONCLUSION: I *think* the following (from a clean install) would have made everything work without the 10 hours of pain I invested:

Code:

sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter firmware-b43-installer
sudo modprobe b43

If it works at this point, then type

Code:

echo "b43" >> /etc/modules

This forum was instrumental in my education...hopefully this helps someone else.

**jimhenry** · July 18th, 2012

I had wireless working fine on a clean install of 11.10. When I upgraded to 12.04, wireless stopped working. This is my wireless card:

Code:

lspci -vvnn | grep 14
0c:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY [14e4:4315] (rev 01)

I've tried several of the solutions proposed on this thread and none of them have worked yet, including installing firmware-b43-installer and b43-fwcutter, commenting out the "blacklist bcm43xx" line in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf, and adding a "b43" line to /etc/modules. Several times when I tried to activate the driver from the "Additional Drivers" panel, I got error messages in jockey.log about the device being blacklisted. The last time I tried it it appeared to work; it said I just needed to reboot to finish activating it. But... even after reboot, I can't get a wireless connection. Clicking on the networking icon shows: "Wireless networks / device not ready (firmware missing)". When I go back to the "Additional Drivers" panel it says of the Broadcom STA driver that "This driver is activated but not currently in use".

Any ideas?

**jimhenry** · July 19th, 2012

Originally Posted by jimhenry

When I go back to the "Additional Drivers" panel it says of the Broadcom STA driver that "This driver is activated but not currently in use".

When I search for "driver is activated but not currently in use", I find a lot of threads relating to a problem with the Nvidia graphics card driver, but nothing relating to a wireless card driver. Most of the advice about testing and fixing the problem with the graphics card driver seems very graphics-specific, but one site recommended doing "lsmod | grep nvidia". I did this instead:

Code:

jim@waylock:~/tmp/q2$ lsmod | grep b43
b43                   342643  0 
mac80211              436455  1 b43
cfg80211              178679  2 b43,mac80211
bcma                   25651  1 b43
ssb                    50691  1 b43

It looks like b43 is running, but not being used by any other processes. b43 is in turn using several other modules.

**jimhenry** · July 20th, 2012

This finally fixed the problem:

Code:

sudo apt-get remove --purge firmware-b43-installer
sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-lpphy-installer

Immediately after the second command above finished, I got my wireless connection back -- I didn't have to tinker with the config files any more or the Additional Drivers panel.

**waltkerr** · July 21st, 2012

After stuggling for years trying to find and install Linux drivers for my Broadcom B43-based WiFi card (branded as Microsoft MN720), I spend less than ten bucks and bought an Edimax WiFi dongle for my laptop. It installed in a snap and works great. My connection speeds are usually 8 to 10 times faster than I ever got with the Broadcom. If you are still battling with the Broadcom, take my advice: buy one of these thumbnail sized WiFi dongles (available in various brands for less than $10 and plugs into USB port), and put the Broadcom where it belongs: in the trash.

**Na3iL** · July 28th, 2012

thx bro

**Doomspark** · July 30th, 2012

I installed Pangolin on my wife's laptop last night after her Windows install bit the dust. Couldn't get the wireless working; it gave a "firmware not installed" message.

I put the laptop on the hardline, and came here looking for help. Installing the STA driver as noted in this thread fixed it.

Just wanted to say thanks for a useful and helpful thread.

**linuxfan247** · July 31st, 2012

Originally Posted by Sef

Problem in Precise Pangolin 12.04 with the Broadband 43xx Wireless Card: Unable to download firmware for wireless. (Also works for 11.10, 11.04, 10.10 and 10.04)

From the 'Additional Drivers' section:

Possible Solutions:

Solution 1: After installing with the alternate cd, I needed a cable and after updating, I was able to download the STA driver through the 'Additional Drivers' section.

Solution 2: Another option is here.

Solution 3: System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager > Search: firmware-b43-lpphy-installer > Click Mark > Click install > Close (This has been removed starting with 11.10 - Oneiric Ocelot. It may be installed with the Ubuntu Software Manager.)

Kontza found the solution (post #3), so thank him for it.

This solution fixed this problem on my Dell Inspiron 1545 with a Broadcom 4312 card. (Card Tech Specs: 0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01))

I have one of those antennas on the back of my emachine pc but don't use it, read about the driver and where to download it. My location gets bad reception so wifi might be issue for me, I might go usb modem or wifi hotspot which is brodcast in the house it will pick it up cuase it is close.