Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: wifi stops working in secure boot

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Peterborough, ON, Canada
    Beans
    244
    Distro
    Ubuntu 19.10 Eoan Ermine

    wifi stops working in secure boot

    I am running Ubuntu 16.04 on a Dell xps 13 - 9343, which uses a Broadcom wifi. Once I installed the Broadcom driver, the wifi worked fine until the other day when I messed around with some settings, trying to get a live usb recognized in it. I didn't touch it for several days and when I went back to it last night, wifi was not working. When I say not working, I mean it didn't recognize the wifi connection at all in the Network connection manager on the Unity panel; not in Gnome either. I checked Additional Drivers and the Broadcom driver was installed. I confirmed that it was still working in Windows 10. I next connected my Dell to ethernet, updated the software and reinstalled the Broadcom driver. Still no recognition of wifi at all. Next, I restarted the Dell and disabled secure boot- the wifi came back. I reconfirmed that the cause was the secure boot setting by restoring secure boot and then removing it. I can certainly live without secure boot, but I'd like to know how this causes a problem with Broadcom wifi, and whether there is a solution that would allow me to enable secure boot and have my wifi back.
    Main distros: Ubuntu 20.04 and Linux Mint 19.3

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Beans
    Hidden!

    Re: wifi stops working in secure boot

    Hi, your computer's Dell xps 13 - 9343 wifi card uses the "wl" driver.
    currently there are several others in your same situation and a bug report has been filed
    Code:
    https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bcmwl/+bug/1572659
    so, you can add your name to the list or replace the card with an intel card that does have
    linux support.

    good luck to you.
    Craving anchovy, herring and squid pizza.....with clam sauce

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Peterborough, ON, Canada
    Beans
    244
    Distro
    Ubuntu 19.10 Eoan Ermine

    Re: wifi stops working in secure boot

    Thanks for that, Hadaka. I added my name to the bug report.
    Main distros: Ubuntu 20.04 and Linux Mint 19.3

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    South Carolina, USA
    Beans
    26,047
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: wifi stops working in secure boot

    Our esteemed colleague Wild Man wrote a tutorial about how to create your own signing key. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2304607&page=9 Please note that he refers to the driver rtl8723be. We don't know if the same process works with your driver wl. Are you willing to try it and give us your report?
    "Oh, Ubuntu, you are my favorite Linux-based operating system" --Dr. Sheldon Cooper, B.Sc., M.Sc., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Peterborough, ON, Canada
    Beans
    244
    Distro
    Ubuntu 19.10 Eoan Ermine

    Re: wifi stops working in secure boot

    Thanks for the suggestion, chili555. What are the risks if it doesn't work? I'm not usually squeamish, but I recently made a stupid mistake cutting and pasting instructions that resulted in four hours to restore a computer. The instructions look straightforward, but the blue screen makes MOK look like a firmware patch of some sort. Can I bork my xps 13 trying this, or could it render my wifi card unusable even with secure boot disabled? If all I am risking is the time to try this, then no problem.
    Main distros: Ubuntu 20.04 and Linux Mint 19.3

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    South Carolina, USA
    Beans
    26,047
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: wifi stops working in secure boot

    Judging by the other thread, it either works or it doesn't. You can always, I assume, give up secure boot until this bug is resolved.

    I don't use secure boot. I've never tried this and I haven't a Broadcom device so I don't know for absolutely sure, but I highly doubt is can "bork" your computer. It is merely an attempt to create a key to let your driver into the locked door that is secure boot.

    If you have any doubts, turn off secure boot and wait.
    "Oh, Ubuntu, you are my favorite Linux-based operating system" --Dr. Sheldon Cooper, B.Sc., M.Sc., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D.

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •