[all variants] HowTo: Broadcom Wireless on Hardy

[Ayuthia]

As you now know or will find out, the developers of the native Linux Broadcom module have developed a new module for the 2.6.24 kernel. With this change, the bcm43xx modiule has been depreciated. The b43, b43legacy, b44, and ssb modules have been introduced.

Like the bcm43xx module, people have mixed feelings about whether the new b43/b43legacy modules work well or not. Some feel that the connection speed is not quite there and others experience connection loss periodically. Those who do not like it are using NDISwrapper. This post will cover how to install the firmware to get the b43/b43legacy module. This post is not going to cover the NDISwrapper process mainly because there are many different Broadcom drivers and a post will not do it justice. I will recommend the following site:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wi...eisty_No-Fluff

If you are looking for a troubleshooting guide, please check out:
NDISwrapper - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=780590
b43/b43legacy - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=780692

Current non-working chipsets--Ones that do not work with b43/b43legacy so NDISwrapper is the only option (check by doing lspci -nn and look for something like [14e4:43XX]):
(From http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43)
The 802.11a part of the 4309 and 4312 is not supported
Any wireless-N features
BCM 4328/4329

(From the b43 mailing list)
(Kernel versions < 2.6.24-17) Broadcom Corporation BCM4310 USB Controller [14e4:4315] (rev 01) if kernel version >= 2.6.24-18, install linux-restricted-modules

(Found in Ubuntu)
14e4:4311 (rev 02) (Fixed in 2.6.24-18)
14e4:4312 (rev 02) (Possibly fixed in 2.6.24-17--Can anyone confirm this?)

Option 1
For those with a working internet connection
In the Terminal/Konsole/xterm window do the following:

sudo aptitude install b43-fwcutter

Once it downloads the package, it will ask you if you want it to download the firmware for you. Select yes and it will install it for you. Then do the following:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

You should be wireless!

For those of you who are configuring your /etc/network/interfaces, you might need to do:

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

That will restarting your network and will read through the /etc/networking/interfaces to connect.

Option 2
For those without a working internet connection

If you have a Hardy install CD,
Insert your CD and do the following:

sudo apt-cdrom add
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install b43-fwcutter

Make sure that you say no or cancel when the installer asks you to find/download the firmware for you. It will get stuck because it is thinking that there is an internet connection.
Now skip down to the Downloading Firmware section.

If you don't have a Hardy install CD
You will have to find a place with a working internet connection. Go to this link:
http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/utils/b43-fwcutter
Download the version that you need--amd64 for 64-bit and i386 for 32-bit. Copy the file to your home directory and do the following:
64-bit:

cd
sudo dpkg -i b43-fwcutter_011-1_amd64.deb

It is possible that the _011-1_ portion is another number.
Make sure that you say no or cancel when the installer asks you to find/download the firmware for you. It will get stuck because it is thinking that there is an internet connection.

32-bit:

cd
sudo dpkg -i b43-fwcutter_011-1_i386.deb

It is possible that the _011-1_ portion is another number.
Make sure that you say no or cancel when the installer asks you to find/download the firmware for you. It will get stuck because it is thinking that there is an internet connection.

Downloading Firmware
Both 32-bit and 64-bit:
You will still need to find someplace with a working internet connection and download the following files:

http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o
http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2

Copy those files to your home directory. In the Terminal/Konsole/xterm window do the following:

cd
sudo b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o
tar xfvj broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2
sudo b43-fwcutter --unsupported -w /lib/firmware broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0/kmod/wl_apsta_mimo.o
sudo chmod o+rx /lib/firmware/b43 /lib/firmware/b43legacy
sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

For those of you who are configuring your /etc/network/interfaces, you might need to do:

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

That will restarting your network and will read through the /etc/networking/interfaces to connect.

That should be it!

Another option (if you have a working internet connection) in Kubuntu is to go into System->Hardware Driver Manger. Once you have entered your password (if you have not done anything as root recently) the Hardware Driver screen will appear. It should have Broadcom B43 wireless drvier as an option. Click on the Enabled checkbox and it should do the b43-fwcutter install for you. It will ask you if you want it to find the firmware for you. Select yes and you should be set.

Ubuntu users should have something similar menu item (System->Adminstration->Hardware Driver ?) or a pci card symbol on the panel that you can click.

Note for users of encryption: If for some reason you cannot connect, you might need to enter the password through Network Manager (wireless icon in the panel) and it should ask you for a keyring password. From there you should be able to connect. See post #30 for more information. Thanks esteckis!

Good luck! Hope this helps.

Configuration Tool
Here is a new tool I am trying to add that will help configure your Broadcom wireless card. It will help set up the blacklisting and add the modules needed so that it will work on reboot. Just download the attachment and extract the file. If you want to do it from the Terminal:

tar -cvvzf toolbox_*.tar.gz

. The application is in the early stages but it does make backup copies for you. Since it is in the early stages, use at your own risk.

In order to run the program, you will need to click on toolbox.py or from the terminal:

./toolbox.py
or
python toolbox.py

[xomp]

This does not work. The card shows up as enabled in Hardware Driver and shows all the networks around me but I cannot connect to anything. It will not obtain a lease on any address.

[Ayuthia]

Can you post your lspci -nn and did you try the b43 process or did you try the ndiswrapper howto?

EDIT:
Another thing to add, when you use iwlist scan, does it show a lot of other wireless connections using the same channel as you? I have seen a few people using the b43 driver that has received interference from other wireless routers using the same channel. Once they changed the channel, things were fine.

One other thing. I just read your other post and it mentions that it comes with an attached wireless adapter (prism). Unfortunately, this post only works with the Broadcom versions.

[xomp]

Here is my lscpi -nn

xomp@medic:~$ lspci -nn 00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82845 845 [Brookdale] Chipset Host Bridge [8086:1a30] (rev 04) 00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82845 845 [Brookdale] Chipset AGP Bridge [8086:1a31] (rev 04) 00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge [8086:2448] (rev 42) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801CAM ISA Bridge (LPC) [8086:248c] (rev 02) 00:1f.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801CAM IDE U100 Controller [8086:248a] (rev 02) 00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Audio Controller [8086:2485] (rev 02) 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon Mobility M7 LW [Radeon Mobility 7500] [1002:4c57] 02:04.0 Communication controller [0780]: Agere Systems LT WinModem [11c1:0450] (rev 02) 02:06.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: Texas Instruments PCI1420 PC card Cardbus Controller [104c:ac51] 02:06.1 CardBus bridge [0607]: Texas Instruments PCI1420 PC card Cardbus Controller [104c:ac51] 02:08.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Intel Corporation 82801CAM (ICH3) PRO/100 VM (KM) Ethernet Controller [8086:1038] (rev 42) 02:0e.0 USB Controller [0c03]: NEC Corporation USB [1033:0035] (rev 41) 02:0e.1 USB Controller [0c03]: NEC Corporation USB [1033:0035] (rev 41) 02:0e.2 USB Controller [0c03]: NEC Corporation USB 2.0 [1033:00e0] (rev 02) 03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4318] (rev 02)

Here is my iwlist scan

lo Interface doesn't support scanning. eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning. wmaster0 Interface doesn't support scanning. wlan1 No scan results

I have disabled the other wifi adapter (the prism2) since linux is incapable of utilitzing it, hence the reason I purchased this Belking Wireless G.. I am 'trying' to use the propietary driver and not ndiswrapper at all for this.

[Ayuthia]

Originally Posted by xomp I am 'trying' to use the propietary driver and not ndiswrapper at all for this.

Thanks for the clarification and the information.

Can you provide the results for:

lsmod |grep -i -e b43 -e ssb -e bcm43xx -e ndiswrapper
lshw -C network

This will tell us what modules are loaded and what your wireless card is trying to use.

[mikeymo1741]

The problem I seem to be having is that the connection gets dropped, but only when I am connected to a WEP-enabled access point. To an unsecured network I can connect all day long without an issue.

Once I connect to my WEP-enabled home network, the connection will randomly drop, and I will get a Connection Manager window asking for the WEP key, although that is saved in the connection settings. It might reconnect, it might not, but if it doesn't, that SSID will not even show up in the scan unless I reboot. When I reboot, it connects fine on it's own until the connection drops.

As I said, to an open network, there are no issues.

Any thouughts?

lspci -v | grep Broadcom 00:0b.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)

I am using the b43 driver, BCM43XX is blacklisted.

[xomp]

Originally Posted by Ayuthia Thanks for the clarification and the information. Can you provide the results for: lsmod |grep -i -e b43 -e ssb -e bcm43xx -e ndiswrapper lshw -C network This will tell us what modules are loaded and what your wireless card is trying to use.

This is the output for grep:

xomp@medic:~$ lsmod | grep -i -e b43 -e ssb -e bcm43xx -e ndiswrapper b43 115104 0 rfkill 8592 3 rfkill_input,b43 mac80211 165652 1 b43 led_class 6020 1 b43 input_polldev 5896 1 b43 ssb 32260 1 b43 ndiswrapper 192920 0 usbcore 146028 4 ndiswrapper,ehci_hcd,ohci_hcd

This is the output for lshw:

xomp@medic:~$ lshw -C network WARNING: you should run this program as super-user. *-network description: Ethernet interface product: 82801CAM (ICH3) PRO/100 VM (KM) Ethernet Controller vendor: Intel Corporation physical id: 8 bus info: pci@0000:02:08.0 logical name: eth0 version: 42 serial: 00:08:02:94:48:d6 width: 32 bits clock: 33MHz capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical configuration: broadcast=yes driver=e100 driverversion=3.5.23-k4-NAPI firmware=N/A ip=192.168.1.102 latency=66 maxlatency=56 mingnt=8 module=e100 multicast=yes *-network description: Network controller product: BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller vendor: Broadcom Corporation physical id: 0 bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0 version: 02 width: 32 bits clock: 33MHz capabilities: bus_master configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=64 module=ssb *-network description: Wireless interface physical id: 1 logical name: wlan1 serial: 00:11:50:9f:cd:65 capabilities: ethernet physical wireless configuration: broadcast=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11g xomp@medic:~$

[KarthVader]

Originally Posted by xomp Here is my lscpi -nn Here is my iwlist scan I have disabled the other wifi adapter (the prism2) since linux is incapable of utilitzing it, hence the reason I purchased this Belking Wireless G.. I am 'trying' to use the propietary driver and not ndiswrapper at all for this.

I am having the same problem that xomp is having. I'm on an eMachine M6810.
lspci -nn

00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8385 [K8T800 AGP] Host Bridge [1106:3188] (rev 01)
00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 PCI bridge [K8T800/K8T890 South] [1106:b188]
00:0a.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: ENE Technology Inc CB1410 Cardbus Controller [1524:1410] (rev 01)
00:0c.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4320] (rev 03)
00:10.0 USB Controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 80)
00:10.1 USB Controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 80)
00:10.2 USB Controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 80)
00:10.3 USB Controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 [1106:3104] (rev 82)
00:11.0 ISA bridge [0601]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8235 ISA Bridge [1106:3177]
00:11.1 IDE interface [0101]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE [1106:0571] (rev 06)
00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller [1106:3059] (rev 50)
00:11.6 Communication controller [0780]: VIA Technologies, Inc. AC'97 Modem Controller [1106:3068] (rev 80)
00:12.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102 [Rhine-II] [1106:3065] (rev 74)
00:13.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: VIA Technologies, Inc. IEEE 1394 Host Controller [1106:3044] (rev 80)
00:18.0 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration [1022:1100]
00:18.1 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map [1022:1101]
00:18.2 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller [1022:1102]
00:18.3 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control [1022:1103]
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: ATI Technologies Inc RV350 [Mobility Radeon 9600 M10] [1002:4e50]

iwlist scan

lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

wmaster0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

wlan0 No scan results

Can anyone help? I'd appreciate it.

[TheAmigo]

There are lots of great tips here, but my problem is slightly different.

I have a

10:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11a/b/g [14e4:4312] (rev 02)

that worked when I installed 08.04 Beta a couple days ago (old CD sitting around). After I ran an update and selected a ton of software to install, I seem to have messed up the wireless.

After booting, the b43 module is not loaded (NDISwrapper isn't even installed) but the ssb module is loaded. lshw shows:

           *-network
                description: Network controller
                product: BCM4312 802.11a/b/g
                vendor: Broadcom Corporation
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:10:00.0
                version: 02
                width: 64 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
                configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=0 module=ssb

When I run modprobe b43, it loads b43, rfkill, mac80211, cfg80211, led_class and input_polldev.

But the problem is that ifconfig -a still doesn't show wlan0 (only eth0 and lo). Nor does dmesg or /var/log/messages have anything logged regarding loading the b43 module.

I'm at a loss for what to check next. Any pointers appreciated!

[Ayuthia]

Originally Posted by KarthVader I am having the same problem that xomp is having. I'm on an eMachine M6810. lspci -nn 00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8385 [K8T800 AGP] Host Bridge [1106:3188] (rev 01) 00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 PCI bridge [K8T800/K8T890 South] [1106:b188] 00:0a.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: ENE Technology Inc CB1410 Cardbus Controller [1524:1410] (rev 01) 00:0c.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4320] (rev 03) 00:10.0 USB Controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 80) 00:10.1 USB Controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 80) 00:10.2 USB Controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 80) 00:10.3 USB Controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 [1106:3104] (rev 82) 00:11.0 ISA bridge [0601]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8235 ISA Bridge [1106:3177] 00:11.1 IDE interface [0101]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE [1106:0571] (rev 06) 00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller [1106:3059] (rev 50) 00:11.6 Communication controller [0780]: VIA Technologies, Inc. AC'97 Modem Controller [1106:3068] (rev 80) 00:12.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102 [Rhine-II] [1106:3065] (rev 74) 00:13.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: VIA Technologies, Inc. IEEE 1394 Host Controller [1106:3044] (rev 80) 00:18.0 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration [1022:1100] 00:18.1 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map [1022:1101] 00:18.2 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller [1022:1102] 00:18.3 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control [1022:1103] 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: ATI Technologies Inc RV350 [Mobility Radeon 9600 M10] [1002:4e50] iwlist scan lo Interface doesn't support scanning. eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning. wmaster0 Interface doesn't support scanning. wlan0 No scan results Can anyone help? I'd appreciate it.

You can try and see if you can connect manually without Network Manager running:

sudo /etc/dbus-1/event.d/26NetworkManagerDispatcher stop
sudo /etc/dbus-1/event.d/25NetworkManager stop

This will only stop Network Manager until you reboot. You can then try to see if you can see anything by doing 'sudo iwlist scan'. You might have to try a couple of times before it sees something. If something does show up, you can then try to connect:

sudo dhclient -r wlan0
sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid <name>
sudo dhclient wlan0

You will need to have any encryption turned off before you can try this because I didn't provide the command for WEP or WPA.