Broadcom B43 Wireless Driver will not enable

[ibeleaf]

upon upgrade from 7.10 to 8.04 my wireless card shut off... when i went to enable it i had to download the firmware again which it did, and installed, then it prompted me to restart my system, i did so, and found my wifi still not enabled, but when i went to the hardware drivers utility it had the green 'in use' light but 'enabled' was not checked, when i checked enable it prompted for a restart again, and this just creates a cycle.

[Matthew Woerly (nattgew)]

What is the output of
lspci
This sounds like https://bugs.launchpad.net/linux/+bug/182716

[edgar (e-rene)]

I am having exactly the same issue.

My Broadcom Wireless Driver used to work fine on 7.10 but it does not work for 8.04 beta any longer.

I also have two other issues but I am not sure if they can be posted here as well (Jockey Ubuntu):

1. Since I updated from Ubuntu 7.10 to Ubuntu 8.04 Beta, When Ubuntu boots and loads it takes a long time.
2. Every time I stay away from my laptop (1 minute aprox ) my screen brightness configuration gets reset and everything goes dark.

Please advice.

[ibeleaf (david-infusini)]

the brightness issue is easy... go to power mangement and click the 'general' tab and there a check box that says 'adjust lcd brightness with ambiance' uncheck that... or 'dim display when idle'

[Matthew Woerly (nattgew)]

What kind of card do you have?
Could you post the output of
lspci

[edgar (e-rene)]

Sure, I can send that information when I arrive home.

Just let me know how to get the "output of lspci" please.

Thank you!

[Matthew Woerly (nattgew)]

Open a terminal and type
lspci
and paste the output here.

[edgar (e-rene)]

There are my results:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML 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 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (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 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8038 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller (rev 14)
03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI (rev 01)
0a:09.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Cardbus Controller
0a:09.2 Mass storage controller: Texas Instruments 5-in-1 Multimedia Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO/xD)

Regards.

[Matthew Woerly (nattgew)]

Could you please do the same with the following commands?
lspci -v

Then do (these should say nothing)
rmmod b43
rmmod ssb
modprobe b43
And then post the output of
dmesg | tail

Copy and paste that last one, or make sure its not an I or l, its a | (Shift+\)

[edgar (e-rene)]

There you have:

lspci -v
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
 Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Unknown device 0110
 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
 Capabilities: [e0] Vendor Specific Information

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
 Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Unknown device 0110
 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
 Memory at d0300000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]
 I/O ports at 1800 [size=8]
 Memory at c0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
 Memory at d0400000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256K]
 Capabilities: [90] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable-
 Capabilities: [d0] Power Management version 2

00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
 Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Unknown device 0110
 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
 Memory at d0380000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]
 Capabilities: [d0] Power Management version 2

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
 Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Unknown device 0110
 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 22
 Memory at d0440000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
 Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2
 Capabilities: [60] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit+ Queue=0/0 Enable-
 Capabilities: [70] Express Unknown type IRQ 0

00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
 Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=02, sec-latency=0
 I/O behind bridge: 00002000-00002fff
 Memory behind bridge: 88000000-880fffff
 Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+) IRQ 0
 Capabilities: [80] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable-
 Capabilities: [90] Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Unknown device 0110
 Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 2

00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
 Bus: primary=00, secondary=03, subordinate=03, sec-latency=0
 Memory behind bridge: 88100000-881fffff
 Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+) IRQ 0
 Capabilities: [80] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable-
 Capabilities: [90] Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Unknown device 0110
 Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 2

00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
 Bus: primary=00, secondary=04, subordinate=04, sec-latency=0
 Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+) IRQ 0
 Capabilities: [80] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable-
 Capabilities: [90] Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Unknown device 0110
 Capabilities: [a0] Power M...

[Matthew Woerly (nattgew)]

Thanks.
Are you using network-manager to set this up? You could try removing that.
Now, do the same rmmods and modprobes, and then try to set up your card, see if it works.
If not, post the output of
ifconfig
iwconfig
dmesg | grep b43

[GTMS_OH (ericstockwell04)]

I'm experiencing the same thing on a Dell Inspiron 1501 running Kubuntu 8.04 beta. From a fresh install, lspci -v regarding chipsets with proprietary drivers:

01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS485 [Radeon Xpress 1100 IGP] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
    Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 01f5
    Flags: bus master, 66 MHz, medium devsel, latency 255, IRQ 20
    Memory at c8000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=128M]
    I/O ports at 9000 [size=256]
    Memory at c0100000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64k]
    [virtual] Expansion ROM at c0120000 [disabled] [size=128k]
    Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2

05:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI (rev 01)
    Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 0007
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
    Memory at c0200000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16k]
    Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 2
    Capabilities: [58] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable-
    Capabilities: [d0] Express Legacy Endpoint IRQ 0

I apply all system updates and reboot. I start K -> System -> Hardware Drivers Manager, enter my password, and it indicates "No proprietary drivers are in use on this system." Under the "Device driver" tree I show 2 devices, "ATI accelerated graphics driver", unchecked, "Not in use", and "Broadcom B43 wireless driver", unchecked, "In use", although I have not yet installed any drivers for it. My wireless light next to the keyboard is off.

I check the "Enabled" box for the ATI entry, click "OK" on the help box that comes up ("This driver is required to fully etc etc"), and Adept opens and downloads/installs the driver with no (apparent) hitches. Adept quits after installing, and the ATI entry's status changes to "Needs computer restart" with the box checked. I close the hardware driver manager and reboot. I start the Hardware Drivers Manager again, and the Broadcom entry still indicates "In Use" although I still have not installed the drivers, and my wireless light is still off.

I check the "Enabled" box for Broadcom, and click "OK" on the box informing me that the hardware will not work without the firmware, and Adept downloads and installs b43-fwcutter. Broadcom entry now indicates "Needs computer restart". I click "Close" on the hardware drivers manager, and reboot.

At this point, the laptop screen goes blank and it appears to hang for a very long time, refusing to fully shut down. Eventually I feed it a ctrl+alt+delete, and it finishes its shutdown (mostfully gracefully) and reboots. After logging into KDE, wireless light is still off and the hardware drivers manager comes up on its own. Broadcom is still marked as "In Use" but the Enabled button is still unchecked. Just for kicks I remove my wired ethernet cable and reboot. It hangs again, I ctrl-alt-delete again, it finishes and reboots.

Hardware drivers manager does not come up on its own this time, WLAN light is still off. I go into KNetworkManager and it indicates my wireless is enabled, I try to connect to my router and it hangs at "Configuring device" (duh).

Hope the details help.

[Matthew Woerly (nattgew)]

Thanks GTMS_OH.
Could you do what I told edgar to do, and post?

[GTMS_OH (ericstockwell04)]

Nattgew:

output of `sudo lspci -v`:

00:00.0 Host bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 Host Bridge (rev 10)
        Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 01f5
        Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64

00:01.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
        Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64
        Bus: primary=00, secondary=01, subordinate=01, sec-latency=64
        I/O behind bridge: 00009000-00009fff
        Memory behind bridge: c0100000-c01fffff
        Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000c8000000-00000000cfffffff
        Capabilities: [44] HyperTransport: MSI Mapping
        Capabilities: [b0] Subsystem: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge

00:05.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
        Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=04, sec-latency=0
        Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
        Capabilities: [58] Express Root Port (Slot+) IRQ 0
        Capabilities: [80] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable-
        Capabilities: [b0] Subsystem: ATI Technologies Inc Unknown device 5950
        Capabilities: [b8] HyperTransport: MSI Mapping

00:06.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
        Bus: primary=00, secondary=05, subordinate=07, sec-latency=0
        Memory behind bridge: c0200000-c02fffff
        Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
        Capabilities: [58] Express Root Port (Slot+) IRQ 0
        Capabilities: [80] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable-
        Capabilities: [b0] Subsystem: ATI Technologies Inc Unknown device 5950
        Capabilities: [b8] HyperTransport: MSI Mapping

00:12.0 SATA controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 Non-Raid-5 SATA (prog-if 01 [AHCI 1.0])
        Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 01f5
        Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 16
        I/O ports at 8438 [size=8]
        I/O ports at 8454 [size=4]
        I/O ports at 8430 [size=8]
        I/O ports at 8450 [size=4]
        I/O ports at 8400 [size=16]
        Memory at c0004000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
        Capabilities: [60] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [50] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit+ Queue=0/2 Enable-
        Capabilities: [70] #12 [0010]

00:13.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI0) (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
        Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 01f5
        Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 18
        Memory at c0005000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]

00:13.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI1) (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
        Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 01f5
        Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 19
        Memory at c0006000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]

00:13.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI2) (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
        Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 01f5
        Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ ...

[GTMS_OH (ericstockwell04)]

Ok, more. :)

`sudo rmmod b44` then outputs nothing.
`sudo rmmod ssb` now outputs nothing.
`sudo modprobe b43` outputs nothing.

`dmesg | tail` is:

[ 634.775081] ssb: SPROM revision 2 detected.
[ 634.784215] ssb: Sonics Silicon Backplane found on PCI device 0000:05:00.0
[ 634.787346] b43-phy1: Broadcom 4311 WLAN found
[ 634.828857] phy1: Selected rate control algorithm 'simple'
[ 634.891734] input: b43-phy1 as /devices/virtual/input/input19
[ 634.943477] b43-phy1 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode5.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 634.943484] b43-phy1 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 4).
[ 636.864699] input: b43-phy1 as /devices/virtual/input/input20
[ 636.908633] b43-phy1 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode5.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 636.908640] b43-phy1 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 4).

-------------------------

I assume this means I should download the firmware. I went to the website as directed, downloaded the firmware file, and ran the instructions as directed on the website (using the automatically installed fwcutter instead of the one they provide). My wireless light is now on. I will reboot and report back.

[GTMS_OH (ericstockwell04)]

Excellent! I am now able to wirelessly connect to my WEP-encrypted router with no difficulty. Although it now appears to work well, this should be a MUCH more automated process when using the (KDE) restricted driver manager. Hopefully it will be fixed in the 8.04 final release.

As a side note, in Gutsy (which automatically fetched and installed the firmware), after configuring my connection to my non-broadcasting WEP router, I was completely unable to connect to a friend's open but non-broadcasting router. I think this was with the bcm43xx driver, not b43 as I am using now. I will test my ability to connect to his router this afternoon and report any problems, if you think that would help.

[GTMS_OH (ericstockwell04)]

Ignore my comment about not being able to connect to an open but non-broadcasting router, that's entirely an eye-dee-ten-tee error :)

[edgar (e-rene)]

I did not work for me :(

This is what I did:

I did not removed the Network-manager y just disabled it from the startup.

I rebooted the computer so, when it started up again, the network-manager was not there.

I rerun the following commands again:

rmmod b43
rmmod ssb
modprobe b43

and then I tried to set the wireless driver as enabled again.

I was asked to reboot the system once again.

When I went back I did not work. Still no wireless.

This is my output:

root@edgar-laptop:/home/edgar# ifconfig
eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:4c:be:27
          inet addr:192.168.1.64 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::21b:24ff:fe4c:be27/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
          RX packets:9618 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:5639 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:13260233 (12.6 MB) TX bytes:469135 (458.1 KB)
          Interrupt:16

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:1628 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1628 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:81400 (79.4 KB) TX bytes:81400 (79.4 KB)

root@edgar-laptop:/home/edgar# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth1 no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wlan0_rename IEEE 802.11g ESSID:""
          Mode:Managed Channel:0 Access Point: Not-Associated
          Tx-Power=0 dBm
          Retry min limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr=2346 B
          Encryption key:off
          Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
          Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

root@edgar-laptop:/home/edgar# dmesg | grep b43
[ 42.840179] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4311 WLAN found
[ 88.623634] input: b43-phy0 as /devices/virtual/input/input9
[ 88.755101] b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode5.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 88.755250] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 4).
[ 91.502954] input: b43-phy0 as /devices/virtual/input/input10
[ 91.560418] b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode5.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 91.560425] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 4).
[ 108.659037] input: b43-phy0 as /devices/virtual/input/input11
[ 108.723001] b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode5.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 108.723008] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 4).
[ 125.792995] input: b43-phy0 as /devices/virtual/input/input12
[ 125.866656] b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode5.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 125.866664] b43-phy0 ERROR: Yo...

[Matthew Woerly (nattgew)]

Yes, especially since the instructions are hidden in the system logs.
If you look in your /lib/firmware folder, are there two folders called b43 and b43legacy?
If not, try:
sudo apt-get remove b43-fwcutter
sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter

[Christian Wolf (christianwolf)]

I confirm this regression (it worked in 7.10 and Hardy in Alpha6) for Hardy amd64 on HP Compaq NX6325.

Attached is lspci -v, dmesg looks the same like the others...

I also tried to copy the firmware used in 7.10 (which seems to be the original Broadcom FW) to /lib/firmware/b43/ucode5.fw but I got something like a format error. Obviously this ucode5.fw is another firmware (OS?). It did, however, refuse to work in G-Mode, gives you only 11 MBit / B-Mode.

Would be really disappointing to lose the out of the box WLAN feature in Hardy - dont want to got the ndiswrapper way. The NX6325 is a very popular notebook, would affect quite a few people.

[Christian Wolf (christianwolf)]

Hmm, possibly this problem only affects systems that did the latest kernel upgrade - jockey seems to think that the installation has been finished even if the filder /lib/firmware/b43 does not exist.

I finally got jockey to a re-install including download of the firmware when I blacklisted b43, purged b43-fwcutter, installed bcm43xx-fwcutter and modprobed bcm43xx, rebooted, blacklisted bcm43xx again and removed the blacklist entry for b43.

After that, I was able to install the WLAN from jockey, firmware gets loaded and I can connect via WPA2 to my AP.

Did you guys try a fresh install from the current installation images, not from beta? I think it will work out of the box from a installation AFTER the last kernel update.

[edgar (e-rene)]

This worked for me:

sudo apt-get remove b43-fwcutter
sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter

Now wireless is up and running.
Thanks.

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

There seem to be multiple problems in this report:

  * for people who have to uninstall and reinstall b43-fwcutter (or manually download the firmware), this is bug 197819.

  * for people who do have the firmware installed, but it still does not work, this is bug 182716.

Since the initial report shows it as 'in use' and 'disabled', this means that the module is loaded, but the firmware is not installed. Therefore it is a dup of 197819.