Solution to Broadcom 43xx Card Problem (12.10 - Quantal Quetzal)

[billwww]

I waited for one new kernel (they're coming often these days), but when that didn't help, I followed the procedure linked to in TC's reply (#14 above). That seems to have worked for my BCM4313 card in an Acer Aspire One 722.

I'm happy for now, but updates shouldn't break working drivers.

[billwww]

I spoke too soon. When I booted ubuntu (12.04) the next time, the same symptoms were back (network shows connected in list but browser reports no connection; wireless icon shows continuous scanning). I tried doing just a modprobe wl: that didn't work. I then ran the reconfiguration followed by another modprobe wl, but that no longer fixed the problem even once.

So . . . Try other fixes? Wait for another kernel update? Upgrade? (though 12.10 seems fraught with the same problems).

[sushi80]

My wifi also suddenly stop to work

I have a new Lenovo G580 with Broadcom 4313
Last week i've installed 12.10, update the os using wifi (i don't use lan) and no problem (maybe had some intermittent problems but i was able to stream and download)
On Tuesday 12th Feb I've received some update (i think there was the kernel) and my wifi was gone!
Was keep trying to connect but failing every time. i got connected just few times to my AP but i wasn't able to browse internet

I've tried different things but i'm stuck now...

[Camilo Cienfuegos]

My wifi also suddenly stop to work

I have a new Lenovo G580 with Broadcom 4313
Last week i've installed 12.10, update the os using wifi (i don't use lan) and no problem (maybe had some intermittent problems but i was able to stream and download)
On Tuesday 12th Feb I've received some update (i think there was the kernel) and my wifi was gone!
Was keep trying to connect but failing every time. i got connected just few times to my AP but i wasn't able to browse internet

I've tried different things but i'm stuck now...

Hi I had similar problem possibly related to this one, although I am running 12.04.2. The network manager totally bummed after the update, couldn't get any connections.

Try looking in the archives directory:

ls -r /var/cache/apt/archives

I found the old driver in there for my system (for me it was called bcmwl-kernel-source_6.20.155.1+bdcom-0ubuntu0.0.1_i386.deb it might be similar for you). I then reinstalled this package using "sudo dpkg -i <drivername.deb>"

After a restart the connections worked perfectly as they did before. Still trying to figure out what exactly went wrong though.

[sushi80]

i can't find any driver in there!!

i opened a new tred for my problem
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2116035

[arashiko28]

I have solved the problem halfway... every post works... halfway... every time I shutdown or reboot the laptop, the wifi is off and the button does not work. I have to open menu> preferences> software sources> additional drivers and choose to not to use the drivers and then choose the drivers again...
It is tiresome to have to do this every time I turn on my laptop.

This is an Acer Aspire One netbook D250
I have installed Lubuntu 12.10

Aspire-one:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GSE Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GSE Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family) SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR8132 Fast Ethernet (rev c0)

lspci -nn
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GSE Express Memory Controller Hub [8086:27ac] (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GSE Express Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:27ae] (rev 03)
00:02.1 Display controller [0380]: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:27a6] (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller [8086:27d8] (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 1 [8086:27d0] (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 2 [8086:27d2] (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 3 [8086:27d4] (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 4 [8086:27d6] (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 [8086:27c8] (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 [8086:27c9] (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 [8086:27ca] (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 [8086:27cb] (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller [8086:27cc] (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge [8086:2448] (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge [8086:27b9] (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller [0106]: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family) SATA Controller [AHCI mode] [8086:27c5] (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family SMBus Controller [8086:27da] (rev 02)
01:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY [14e4:4315] (rev 01)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR8132 Fast Ethernet [1969:1062] (rev c0)

[ATW136]

Linux Newbie

Xubuntu Desktop 12.10 via downloaded ISO.

This morning's software updates (3/19/13) included an update for the Linux Kernel to 3.5.0-26. After installing, my WPA2-PSK Wifi no longer worked.

I fixed the problem using the steps below and am posting since it might help others. Because the problem is likely to happen again (see the reason why below), I have asked a question at the end about whether or not there is an even better way to fix the problem.

What I Discovered
As I went through each step of Gnusci's guidelines for information needed to provide answers, I discovered that there were
no differences in the requested information for the installations for the two kernels. The details are:

PC
Dell Mini 1011

$ lspci -nn | grep '14e4'
03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY [14e4:4315] (rev 01)

ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:24:e8:c4:3b:88
inet addr:192.168.100.9 Bcast:192.168.100.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::224:e8ff:fec4:3b88/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:213 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:100 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:40291 (40.2 KB) TX bytes:12398 (12.3 KB)

eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:26:5e:10:ee:74
inet addr:192.168.100.7 Bcast:192.168.100.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::226:5eff:fe10:ee74/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:99 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:99
TX packets:68 errors:27 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:19684 (19.6 KB) TX bytes:15009 (15.0 KB)
Interrupt:17

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:105 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:105 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:8296 (8.2 KB) TX bytes:8296 (8.2 KB)

iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

eth1 IEEE 802.11 Access Point: Not-Associated
Link Quality:5 Signal level:223 Noise level:199
Rx invalid nwid:0 invalid crypt:0 invalid misc:0

$ lsmod | grep "wl"
wl 2442880 0
lib80211 14041 2 lib80211_crypt_tkip,wl

$ dmesg | grep "wl"
[ 23.790688] wl: module license 'MIXED/Proprietary' taints kernel.

$ dmesg | grep "Broadcom"
[ 23.803618] eth1: Broadcom BCM4315 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 5.100.82.112

$ sudo lshw -C network
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
logical name: eth1
version: 01
serial: 00:26:5e:10:ee:74
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=wl0 driverversion=5.100.82.112 ip=192.168.100.7 latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bg
resources: irq:17 memory:f0100000-f0103fff
*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:04:00.0
logical name: eth0
version: 02
serial: 00:24:e8:c4:3b:88
size: 100Mbit/s
capacity: 100Mbit/s
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list rom ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=full ip=192.168.100.9 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=MII speed=100Mbit/s
resources: irq:43 ioport:2000(size=256) memory:f0510000-f0510fff memory:f0500000-f050ffff memory:f0520000-f053ffff

$ iwlist scan
lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth1 Interface doesn't support scanning.

$ lsb_release -d
Description: Ubuntu 12.10

$ uname -mr
3.5.0-26-generic i686 (32 bit) Previous kernel was 3.5.0-25-generic i686

$ sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart
I got error messages with this and after googling replaced with "sudo service networking restart". It didn't do anything and later discovered that a working wifi would stop working after running the command.

What I Did
I had gotten this network card to work previously following the WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx wiki instructions for the wl module by installing the bcmwl-kernel-source as described for 12.10. I decided to repeat the steps to try to resolve the problem. The dialog said that it recompiled against the new kernel... and it worked!! The previous kernel, 3.5.0-25, no longer works but I can live with that.

Now, my question:
The .../bcm43xx instructions also indicate that a 4312 LP-PHY controller should be updated using these instructions:
" or, if you need a LP-PHY version (e.g BCM4312), use:
sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-lpphy-installer"

That sounds like a permanent solution (I am assuming that it means no more reinstalls as updated kernels are released.). But, if I do that update, will I still be able to dual-boot this machine with Windows and Wifi or will the update restrict me to Ubuntu only?

Thanks.

[Silverflyer]

Do any of the fixes listed here work on 12.04?

[zafar142003]

Before either of us get too excited, I have not yet upgraded from Precise and have a different network card. That said, here is a bit of (somewhat) useful information that I've found so far today.

Impatient Executive version:
Try installing the Broadcom-STA driver (wl) via these instructions:

<a href="http://wiki.debian.org/wl"> Debian Wiki on WiFi using Broadcom driver </a>

OK, let's hope you're not too impatient just in case I'm wrong about the above.

More Detailed version:

Reference 1:

<a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx#Installing%20STA%20drivers"> Reference 1 </a>

Reference 2:

<a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/b43-fwcutter/+bug/651010"> Reference 2 </a>

According to the Ubuntu Docs (Reference 1) you (BCM4311) and I (BCM4312) should be using the 'wl' driver which *does* instruct the blacklisting of ssb and others, as I recall. I say this because I'm currently using a different driver but I've used the 'wl' (broadcom-sta) driver in the past with great success. But somewhere I got steered away from it on this card because it is one of the 'low power' cards.

Care to share your lspci information? Here's mine:

$ lspci -vvnn|grep 14e4

yields:

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

For me, the "LP-PHY" means (from some source) that I should use the following (from dpkg):
b43-fwcutter install
firmware-b43-lpphy-installer install

This is in agreement with what I found earlier in the thread (actually, the original post):
"Had the same problem, then I noticed that instead of firmware-b43-installer I had to install (manually, via synaptic) firmware-b43-lpphy-installer." --Kontza in LaunchPad.

<a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/b43-fwcutter/+bug/651010" Ref 2 </a>

(Reference 2)

But also see (again, from the original post):

<a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx#Installing%20STA%20drivers" Ref 1 </a>

(Reference 1)

I think our situations are sufficiently different that what I'm currently using is not your solution despite Mr. Konza's expert advice (which applies to me). I am much more familiar with the Debian advice as that is what I've used in the past for some really old hardware using a PCMCIA wifi card (Linksys, I think, but a Broadcom chipset nonetheless).

Care to share what you've tried that hasn't worked?

General comment: This thread started over two years ago. 62 pages is quite a lot and I won't read all of them unless I'm stuck on an elevator and the rest of the Internet is down. :^)

I agree with HunkirDowne. I had Ubuntu 12.04 and Broadcom STA driver (with BC4312 lp-phy card) installed. After a kernel update the Wifi refused to connect to scanned networks. After reading his advice, I unistalled the STA driver (from the 'additional drivers' section) and installed firmware-b43-lpphy-installer from synaptic. This solved the problem and wifi works as before. Thanks HukirDowne.

[md_shafiq_sumon]

Every body thank for the question and answer.