Broadcom STA Wireless drivers not working on Acer aspire 5750G, Ubuntu 12.04

[WVPARN]

I'll try it. But a question. If I have rebooted, wouldn't wl already be loaded? Wouldn't it be better to do just

sudo modprobe -r bcma
sudo modprobe -r brcmsmac

Also if I make a mistake, how do I unblacklist something?

[b1gag3]

If you used

sudo modprobe -r bcma

to blacklist something, you can simply reboot ubuntu or do

sudo modprobe bcma

If you blacklisted it by a file, take a look in the directory "/etc/modprobe.d/" and delete the file you're looking for and reboot or use the command above.

[chili555]

Wouldn't it be better to do just
Code:

sudo modprobe -r bcma
sudo modprobe -r brcmsmac

Is that really what you want to do every morning when you turn on your computer? Every day?? Wouldn't you rather turn on your computer and have it start and run perfectly without human intervention?

Blacklisting involves using a text editor such as gedit to add a few words to a text file.

blacklist bcma
blacklist brcmsmac

If it doesn't work, we edit the file again and correct the mistake. We can also add a comment to the file:

#added 5-4-2012: see forum posts. is wl the best driver for my wireless?

Comments are preceded with #; the system ignores anything following # in /etc files.

One of the wonderful things about Linux is that users can easily make changes to suit their needs or even preferences.

[WVPARN]

Okay, thanks for your help again. I did

sudo modprobe -r bcma
sudo modprobe -r brcmsmac

The connection continues to be great. But when I tried

sudo echo "blacklist bcma" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

it said, permission denied.

[WVPARN]

Sorry, I just remembered to use "sudo su" first. Now it's done.

Many thanks!

[gabor111]

Yikes! Those are some scary errors. You might check:

cat /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf

Does it exist? Is there a line managed=false in there? Also check:

cat /etc/network/interfaces

Hopefully, there are only lines in there related to lo or loopback. If there are others, they need to be removed so that the end result is:You might also reinstall Network Manager:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall network-manager

Are all these connection attempts without the ethernet attached? Network Manager will not activate wireless if wired is available.

I had the same problem with Dell Inspirion N7010 with BCM4313.
After a fresh install of 12.04, my wireless worked fine, but after installing the automated updates, splash frized...
After solved the freezing, there was no way to start wireless. In the network settings, wireless still always off.
I tried many propositions from many posts without succes, but the reinstall of Network Manager solved my problem; wireless is working fine now.
Thank you

[WVPARN]

It's back. I rebooted this morning, and the current behavior is:

Without ethernet plugged in, the wireless freezes the computer after a minute of trying.
With ethernet plugged in, the wireless locates the wireless network, while the computer also uses the wire. If I unplug the ethernet, the wireless works briefly before freezing.

I un-blacklisted bcma and brcmsmac from that /etc file. Rebooted, still having the problem.

wl                   2646601  0 
lib80211               14040  2 lib80211_crypt_tkip,wl



0: brcmwl-0: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
1: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no



lo        no wireless extensions.

eth1      IEEE 802.11  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Link Quality:4  Signal level:193  Noise level:160
          Rx invalid nwid:0  invalid crypt:1  invalid misc:0

eth0      no wireless extensions.


May  5 05:17:44 aopup-AO722 postfix/smtp[15694]: BFBD841D7A: to=<creimann@radix.net>, relay=none, delay=21327, delays=21326/0.23/0.01/0, dsn=4.4.3, status=deferred (Host or domain name not found. Name service error for name=radix.net type=MX: Host not found, try again)
May  5 06:07:55 aopup-AO722 kernel: [21638.716226] [drm:drm_mode_getfb] *ERROR* invalid framebuffer id
May  5 12:48:49 aopup-AO722 kernel: [   18.775583] EXT4-fs (sda1): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
May  5 12:48:50 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[648]: <error> [1336236530.24395] [nm-device-wifi.c:2591] real_update_permanent_hw_address(): (eth1): unable to read permanent MAC address (error 0)
May  5 12:48:54 aopup-AO722 postfix/smtp[1330]: BFBD841D7A: to=<creimann@radix.net>, relay=none, delay=48397, delays=48396/0.65/0/0, dsn=4.4.3, status=deferred (Host or domain name not found. Name service error for name=radix.net type=MX: Host not found, try again)
May  5 12:50:53 aopup-AO722 kernel: [   20.881760] EXT4-fs (sda1): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
May  5 12:50:53 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[614]: <error> [1336236653.759071] [nm-device-wifi.c:2591] real_update_permanent_hw_address(): (eth1): unable to read permanent MAC address (error 0)
May  5 12:54:25 aopup-AO722 kernel: [   22.161930] EXT4-fs (sda1): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
May  5 12:54:26 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[629]: <error> [1336236866.83531] [nm-device-wifi.c:2591] real_update_permanent_hw_address(): (eth1): unable to read permanent MAC address (error 0)
May  5 12:56:21 aopup-AO722 kernel: [   20.580730] EXT4-fs (sda1): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
May  5 12:56:26 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[606]: <error> [1336236986.23510] [nm-device-wifi.c:2591] real_update_permanent_hw_address(): (eth1): unable to read permanent MAC address (error 0)
May  5 13:02:45 aopup-AO722 kernel: [   21.514291] EXT4-fs (sda1): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
May  5 13:02:46 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[615]: <error> [1336237366.621172] [nm-device-wifi.c:2591] real_update_permanent_hw_address(): (eth1): unable to read permanent MAC address (error 0)
May  5 13:04:47 aopup-AO722 kernel: [   20.278906] EXT4-fs (sda1): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
May  5 13:04:52 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[615]: <error> [1336237492.264877] [nm-device-wifi.c:2591] real_update_permanent_hw_address(): (eth1): unable to read permanent MAC address (error 0)
May  5 05:17:43 aopup-AO722 dnsmasq[15569]: warning: no upstream servers configured

May  5 06:07:59 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[942]: <warn> Trying to remove a non-existant call id.
May  5 12:48:49 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[648]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 12:48:50 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[648]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 12:48:50 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[648]: <warn> Trying to remove a non-existant call id.
May  5 12:50:53 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[614]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 12:50:53 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[614]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 12:50:54 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[614]: <warn> Trying to remove a non-existant call id.
May  5 12:54:25 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[629]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 12:54:26 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[629]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 12:54:26 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[629]: <warn> Trying to remove a non-existant call id.
May  5 12:56:22 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[606]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 12:56:25 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[606]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 12:56:26 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[606]: <warn> Trying to remove a non-existant call id.
May  5 13:02:46 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[615]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 13:02:46 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[615]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 13:02:46 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[615]: <warn> Trying to remove a non-existant call id.
May  5 13:04:47 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[615]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 13:04:52 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[615]: <warn> failed to allocate link cache: (-10) Operation not supported
May  5 13:04:52 aopup-AO722 NetworkManager[615]: <warn> Trying to remove a non-existant call id.

[chili555]

I un-blacklisted bcma and brcmsmac from that /etc file. Rebooted, still having the problem.

I'm not even sure how to respond. Haven't we established previously that these are incorrect for your device? Why did you un-blacklist them? Is it surprising that Network Manager throws out errors when it's trying to juggle three drivers; two of which are incorrect?

I really can't hit an ever-changing, ever-moving target.

[WVPARN]

I meant, after noticing a return of the main problem, I unblacklisted those two, to see if they might do something useful after all. But I can re-blacklist them.

Which I have now done.

[WVPARN]

Just now I did a reinstall of network-manager, and the behavior remained unchanged. For example, the computer froze when rebooting without the ethernet cable.

So I think we are right where we left off. We've ruled out a problematic upgrade, because I did a full install of 12.04. It's neither bcma nor brcmsmac because they are blacklisted (I put them back only after noticing the problem again, and then I re-blacklisted them, which they are now). I haven't sought out any restricted drivers. I haven't even opened that section of system settings, in case just looking there would make it retrieve something.

One funny thing happened last night. I let the computer play a stream as I went to sleep. I set the power option to suspend after ten minutes. When I got up in the morning, the computer was in a state to reboot, not to wake up from suspend. That was unexpected. So I don't know what it did when I wasn't looking.

The other point I can think of is that Mint 10 / Ubuntu 10 seem to be able to drive the wireless. I used Mint 10 for a day or so but tired of its bad rendering of the monitor, plus the fact that it will be phased out made it seem a bad bet.

Do you want me to run a diagnostic command?