14e4:43b1 DELL XPS 13 (9343) Only wireless 5GHz works, but not 2.4GHz

[ullix]

This laptop came factory preinstalled with Ubuntu 14.04, but it had and still has way too many problems.

I have now kernel 3.16.0-37-generic running. The wireless driver is wl, installed from bcmwl-kernel-source. I have wireless working at 5GHz with good speed, everything well. However, I can't connect to wireless on 2.4GHz.

Before I had kernel 3.13.0-52-generic, which had the same problem. I tried kernel 4.1.0-rc2 and rc3, but both failed on installing from bcmwl-kernel-source.

Trying "iwlist wlan0 freq" I get a list of channels 1-14 at 2.4GHz, and 32-66 at 5GHz. Still, only the 5GHz works. Other devices in my house do connect well to the 2.4GHz (from a Fritzbox router).

"iwlist wlan0 scan" has "no scan result" when 5GHz is disabled, and finds one network at 5.18GHz when enabled.

Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4352 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter [14e4:43b1] (rev 03)
 Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0019]

---
ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.10
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC1: ullix 1839 F.... pulseaudio
 /dev/snd/controlC0: ullix 1839 F.... pulseaudio
CurrentDesktop: MATE
DistributionChannelDescriptor:
 # This is a distribution channel descriptor
 # For more information see http://wiki.ubuntu.com/DistributionChannelDescriptor
 canonical-oem-somerville-trusty-amd64-20140620-0
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=7b6c248b-36d3-4dcf-9e9e-427d50206af6
InstallationDate: Installed on 2015-04-24 (25 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04 "Trusty" - Build amd64 LIVE Binary 20140620-04:25
MachineType: Dell Inc. XPS 13 9343
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
Package: linux (not installed)
ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-37-generic root=UUID=fda802ca-9257-4fed-bb0d-9f4756dca419 ro pcie_aspm=force radeon.modeset=0 plymouth:debug drm.debug=0xe nouveau.modeset=0 video.use_native_backlight=1 quiet splash pcie_aspm=force radeon.modeset=0 nouveau.modeset=0 video.use_native_backlight=1 "acpi_osi=Windows 2013"
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.16.0-37.51~14.04.1-generic 3.16.7-ckt9
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-3.16.0-37-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-3.16.0-37-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.127.11
Tags: trusty
Uname: Linux 3.16.0-37-generic x86_64
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
UserGroups: adm audio cdrom dialout dip fax floppy fuse lpadmin netdev plugdev sambashare scanner sudo tape video
_MarkForUpload: True
dmi.bios.date: 03/25/2015
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.bios.version: A03
dmi.board.name: 0TM99H
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.board.version: A00
dmi.chassis.type: 9
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA03:bd03/25/2015:svnDellInc.:pnXPS139343:pvr01:rvnDellInc.:rn0TM99H:rvrA00:cvnDellInc.:ct9:cvr:
dmi.product.name: XPS 13 9343
dmi.product.version: 01
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.

[ullix (ullix)]

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[ullix (ullix)]

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[Brad Figg (brad-figg)]

This change was made by a bot.

[Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury)]

Would it be possible for you to test the latest upstream kernel? Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Please test the latest v4.1 kernel[0].

If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tag 'kernel-fixed-upstream'.

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the tag: 'kernel-bug-exists-upstream'.

If you are unable to test the mainline kernel, for example it will not boot, please add the tag: 'kernel-unable-to-test-upstream'.
Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug as "Confirmed".

Thanks in advance.

[0] http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.1-rc4-unstable/

[ullix (ullix)]

Read the report. I did try the new kernels, and could not create the wl module

[ullix (ullix)]

I managed to install the 4.1.0 rc4 kernel
uname -a
Linux xps13 4.1.0-040100rc4-generic #201505181436 SMP Mon May 18 18:38:10 UTC 2015 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

but building the Broadcom wl module failed, the make.log is attached.

There is no wireless at all on this kernel

ullix@xps13:~$ sudo apt-get install --reinstall bcmwl-kernel-source
[sudo] password for ullix:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 reinstalled, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 1.512 kB of archives.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates/restricted bcmwl-kernel-source amd64 6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu0.1 [1.512 kB]
Fetched 1.512 kB in 1s (1.007 kB/s)
(Reading database ... 355279 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb ...
Removing all DKMS Modules
Done.
Unpacking bcmwl-kernel-source (6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu0.1) over (6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu0.1) ...
Setting up bcmwl-kernel-source (6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu0.1) ...
Loading new bcmwl-6.30.223.248+bdcom DKMS files...
Building only for 4.1.0-040100rc4-generic
Building for architecture x86_64
Building initial module for 4.1.0-040100rc4-generic

ERROR (dkms apport): kernel package linux-headers-4.1.0-040100rc4-generic is not supported
Error! Bad return status for module build on kernel: 4.1.0-040100rc4-generic (x86_64)
Consult /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.248+bdcom/build/make.log for more information.

modprobe: FATAL: Module wl not found.
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.103ubuntu4.2) ...
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-4.1.0-040100rc4-generic

[Seth Forshee (sforshee)]

This is most likely a problem with the wl driver, not the kernel. Adding a bcmwl task and marking the kernel task invalid.

It's not uncommon for dkms modules to fail to build against newer kernels. The one thing to check is that you installed the linux-headers package in addition to the linux-image package. If it still fails maybe try a 3.19 kernel. In my opinion a newer kernel is unlikely to help, but it's probably worth trying, and if it does help we can reopen the linux task.

The thing I'd suggest you check first though is what channel your AP is on. If it's not on 1-14 then you'll probably have to move it to a different channel. Otherwise if the bug is in the bcmwl driver there's may be little we can do to help since the majority of the driver is closed source.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

ullix, could you please test for this via http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/vivid-desktop-amd64.iso and advise to the results?

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. This particular bug has already been reported and is a duplicate of bug 1424676, so it is being marked as such. Please look at the other bug report to see if there is any missing information that you can provide, or to see if there is a workaround for the bug. Additionally, any further discussion regarding the bug should occur in the other report. Feel free to continue to report any other bugs you may find.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Daniel van Vugt, this bug report has nothing to do with a failed to build that 1424676 is scoped to.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Look at make.log. That's bug 1424676 :)

[ullix (ullix)]

Daniel,

that part may well be what is tested at the other bug, however, this in not the issue of this report. The issue here is that no 2.4GHz is available with kernels, where the bcmwl module DOES build!

These kernels with working wl module at 5GHz, yet failing at 2.4 GHz are now:
3.13.0-52-generic
3.13.0.53-generic
3.16.0-37-generic
3.16.0.38-generic
3.19.0-18-generic

My problem is to get the bare necessities working on this f***ing laptop, which came "factory pre-installed" with Ubuntu. How great; so far the worst computer I ever tried Ubuntu on.

[Seth Forshee (sforshee)]

On Fri, May 22, 2015 at 02:19:34PM -0000, Daniel van Vugt wrote:
> Look at make.log. That's bug 1424676 :)

But that's not the bug that's being reported here. It was encountered
when the reporter was asked to test with a newer kernel.

[ullix (ullix)]

Christopher,

I used the xps13 to install this http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/vivid-desktop-amd64.iso image on a 4GB USB stick using usb-creator-gtk version 0.2.56.3ubuntu0.1.

I tried to boot the stick on 2 different laptops, the xps13 and an old lenovo T60. On both I got:

Missing parameter in configuration file. Keyword: path
gfcboot.c32: not a COM32R image
boot:

[penalvch (penalvch)]

ullix, that's a bug in the Startup Disk Creator as scoped in https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/usb-creator/+bug/1446417 . Please see it for the WORKAROUND.

[ullix (ullix)]

Nope, not booting.

I am on 14.04. Under /usr/lib/syslinux there is no folder modules!

I searched the whole filesystem, and nowhere is libcom32.c32 or libutil.c32.

However, the two files exist on the stick under its /syslinux/

The menu.32 does not exist on the stick, but a vesamenu.32 does. I that suppoed to be renamed?

I found menu.c32 under 14.04 /usr/lib/syslinux. I copied that to the stick (to its root "/")

Again, I tried to boot on the same two laptops and again the same error message.

[ullix (ullix)]

I copied vesamenu.c32 to menu.c32 under the stick's /syslinux/ -- not booting, same error

I copied all three files menu.c32 ( copy from vesamenu.c32), libcom32.c32 and libutil.c32 to the stick's root -- not booting, same error

I renamed menu.c32 back to vesamenu.c32 and copied the 14.04 menu.c32 on the stick's root -- not booting, same error

Doesn't work

[penalvch (penalvch)]

ullix, not sure then. Sounds like you have may have fallen into another unique bug of usb-creator-*. Please feel free to file a report against it so that it is dealt with via a terminal:
ubuntu-bug usb-creator-gtk

Let us mark it Triaged for now, and we may circle back on further testing when it becomes available to do so.

Feel free to report this to Broadcom directly as outlined in https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx#Filing_bug_reports .

[ullix (ullix)]

I used mkusb following this page https://help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb and (without pre-treating the vivid-desktop-amd64.iso with isohybrid) attempted another stick creation. And presto, it works!

Tried booting on both my laptops, the present new DELL XPS13 and an old thinkpad T60, and it booted on both. Then it gets strange. On the T60 the menu under the panel network icon showed the WIFI entry, but greyed out - could not be selected. With this laptop I had never an issue with WIFI, albeit limited to 2.4GHz.

On the DELL, there was not even an entry for WIFI in the panel menu. Looked into "Additional Driver" and found the Broadcom STA listed, but inactiv. Activated, applied and there was the WIFI menu. I can connect to my lan!

Still, no sign of my 2.4GHz signal from the same router as the 5GHz signal. I verified with my Nexus7 tablet, that both signals are present.

Now it gets even stranger. On the panel network icon menu I see a signal from my neighbourhood on 2.4GHz. Again, verified with the Nexus that it is indeed on 2.4GHz. I can click on it on my DELL (but it needs a password, so here it ends).

But my local 2.4GHz signal is better than -30dB, while the neighbour's is very weak at -90 dB and still seen by the DELL. I believe this is a million fold difference!

I inactivated my router's 5GHz signal, so that it would only offer 2.4GHz - DELL now doesn't find anything (except still the neighbour's weak signal).

I tried to manually create my 2.4 network - no luck.

'iwlist wlan0 freq' finds 14 channels 2.4GHz and another 18 of 5 GHz. But this may not mean anything? Is there anything to determine whatever the wl module sees on 2.4GHz?

[ullix (ullix)]

Holy Moly! It gives me real pleasure to realize living in some kind of forbidden world, like outside of North America. Channels 12 and 13 of WIFI 2.4GHz are valid channels for the whole world, perhaps with the exception of North America. There is no need to block these channels!

The problem was that my router was transmitting on channel 13. And both channels 12 and 13 are NOT seen on my DELL, neither on 14.04 nor on Vivid.

As iwlist finds channels 1...13 (in the previous I said 14? Not seen anymore, maybe I had mislooked). This suggests that the clipping of the 2 channels may not be done by the broadcom module, but by something else in the ubuntu configuration.

I have now forced the router to channels 1...11 and wifi works well.