Wireless not working (14.04, Macbook 5.1)

[chili555]

Yikes!

/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.248+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c: In function ‘osl_getcycles’:
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.248+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:935:2: error: implicit declaration of function ‘rdtscl’ [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
rdtscl(cycles);
^
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.248+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c: At top level:
cc1: warning: unrecognized command line option "-Wno-date-time" [enabled by default]
cc1: some warnings being treated as errors
make[1]: *** [/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.248+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.o] Error 1
make: *** [_module_/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.248+bdcom/build] Error 2

This is the subject of a bug:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...l/+bug/1578455

The only solution I know of is to boot into an earlier kernel version at the GRUB menu and wait for a fix.

[Waudby]

Yikes! This is the subject of a bug:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...l/+bug/1578455

The only solution I know of is to boot into an earlier kernel version at the GRUB menu and wait for a fix.

Might be a stupid question, but would updating to 16.04 help? (I suspect no.) It's been on my to-do list for a while anyway.

Not the end of the world, most times I'm within a cable's reach of the router.

Greatly appreciate all your help on this chili.

[chili555]

I'm working on a theory; please be patient with an old tinkerer. Please run and post:

dkms --version
gcc --version
sudo dpkg -s bcmwl-kernel-source | grep Version
lsb_release -a

On my 16.04 machine, also running kernel version 4.4.0-34-generic, bcmwl-kernel-source builds successfully and the module wl loads without complaint.

My results are:

dkms: 2.2.0.3
gcc (Ubuntu 5.4.0-6ubuntu1~16.04.2) 5.4.0 20160609
Version: 6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu8
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS
Release:	16.04
Codename:	xenial

A little bailing wire, some super glue and a whack with a hammer and we might fix this thing. Oh, and maybe duct-tape.

[Waudby]

A little bailing wire, some super glue and a whack with a hammer and we might fix this thing. Oh, and maybe duct-tape.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Please run and post:

dkms --version
gcc --version
sudo dpkg -s bcmwl-kernel-source | grep Version
lsb_release -a

My results:

dkms: 2.2.0.3
gcc (Ubuntu 4.8.4-2ubuntu1~14.04.3) 4.8.4
Version: 6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu0.2
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:    Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS
Release:    14.04
Codename:    trusty

[chili555]

Please download the 16.04.1 LTS iso and create a USB or DVD and try the live session. You will be able to install bcmwl-kernel-source from the terminal as above and see if it installs, all within the live session. If so, I'd proceed with the 16.04 installation.

I am a little hesitant to try to upgrade gcc and bcmwl on your 14.04 system. I'm a bit concerned that we'll make it worse.

Installing 16.04 should take 15-20 minutes.

[Waudby]

Okay, I will give this a try tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

[Waudby]

Well, that was fun.

I ran 16.04 from a live cd session and installed bcmwl-kernel-source. It installed with no errors, so I went ahead and installed 16.04. Went a little sideways after that. First there was the Nvidia graphics issues with screen resolution. Fixed that, then got stuck with the login loop. Fixed that. Frantically looked for the data on my home directory, panicked on finding it empty, then relieved when I found it in a parallel directory in the home folder for some reason. Fixed that. Managed to keep most of my system settings in the process.

Anyways, after all that... my wireless works perfectly. So upgrading to 16.04 resolved this issue for me. (Should note I'm using the 32-bit version?)

Thanks again chili. I did indeed need some duct tape on this one.