B43 Wireless Autoconnect Failure

[Callum Hutchinson]

I installed raring to test whether this bug existed in it and quantal too. In the 3.8+ kernels there seems to be an issue with the b43 drivers, my wireless works however it won't automatically connect to my hidden wireless network. I know this didn't exist in 3.7.x because I was using those kernels absolutely fine, it's only when I tried 3.8 on both quantal and raring that the issue arose.
Note: I can't edit the wireless settings on my network as I am not the administrator in my house.

WORKAROUND: I have to go into network manager on each login and manually select the option to connect, it takes a while but then the connection works fine.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04
Package: linux-image-3.8.0-9-generic 3.8.0-9.18
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.8.0-9.18-generic 3.8.1
Uname: Linux 3.8.0-9-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.9-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: callum 1770 F.... pulseaudio
                      callum 3234 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA:
 country GB:
  (2402 - 2482 @ 40), (N/A, 20)
  (5170 - 5250 @ 40), (N/A, 20)
  (5250 - 5330 @ 40), (N/A, 20), DFS
  (5490 - 5710 @ 40), (N/A, 27), DFS
Date: Sun Mar 3 16:13:52 2013
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=53b96653-3e0d-426b-a911-9c34d8657655
InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-03-02 (1 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.04 "Raring Ringtail" - Alpha amd64 (20130301)
MachineType: Apple Inc. Macmini5,1
MarkForUpload: True
ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-9-generic root=UUID=b4faf392-19de-4749-bd48-bbda7a7519b3 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-3.8.0-9-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-3.8.0-9-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.103
SourcePackage: linux
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 01/24/2012
dmi.bios.vendor: Apple Inc.
dmi.bios.version: MM51.88Z.0077.B10.1201241549
dmi.board.asset.tag: Base Board Asset Tag#
dmi.board.name: Mac-8ED6AF5B48C039E1
dmi.board.vendor: Apple Inc.
dmi.board.version: Macmini5,1
dmi.chassis.type: 16
dmi.chassis.vendor: Apple Inc.
dmi.chassis.version: Mac-8ED6AF5B48C039E1
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAppleInc.:bvrMM51.88Z.0077.B10.1201241549:bd01/24/2012:svnAppleInc.:pnMacmini5,1:pvr1.0:rvnAppleInc.:rnMac-8ED6AF5B48C039E1:rvrMacmini5,1:cvnAppleInc.:ct16:cvrMac-8ED6AF5B48C039E1:
dmi.product.name: Macmini5,1
dmi.product.version: 1.0
dmi.sys.vendor: Apple Inc.

[Brad Figg (brad-figg)]

This change was made by a bot.

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

New information:
This bug does not appear to be caused by the network being hidden as my laptop can find and connect to it a-ok, changing bug title accordingly.

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

Also forgot to mention, ran 'apt-get install --reinstall firmware-b43-installer' and it downloaded fine, went to post config run it and said something along the lines of 'Aborting: Unsupported Device 14e4:4331'. 4331 happens to be the card's model number in the Mac mini I have.
Hope this helps.

[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 v3.9 kernel[0] (Not a kernel in the daily directory) and install both the linux-image and linux-image-extra .deb packages.

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/v3.9-rc1-raring/

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

I've added the unable to test tag, the kernel doesn't appear to have been fully compiled and packaged in the Mainline PPA at the minute, I'll keep checking back though. Leaving as uncomfirmed at the moment until I've actually got a kernel to test :)

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

Tested 3.9 kernel and this seems to make the issue worse as now my hardware has a delay on how long until connecting to networks becomes available in the network manager menu.

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

Here is the output from the terminal for reinstalling the firmware-b43-installer package. Interesting that it's 'unsupported' now.

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

Still not fixed with mainline kernel 3.9rc3.

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

Here's something else interesting, if I disable wifi and re-enable it after manually connecting the connection is fine. It's as if you have to tell the card that the ESSID is what it is and then it'll connect no problems.
Also curiously, apparently the wlan0 interface doesn't exist and hence, running other iwlist commands there are no settings related to it. iwlist suggests the device is there but unconfigured, iwconfig says the device doesn't exist at all, and yet it works clear as day if you manually connect (I'm typing on here right now.)
http://paste.ubuntu.com/5643575/

[Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury)]

This issue appears to be an upstream bug, since you tested the latest upstream kernel. Would it be possible for you to open an upstream bug report[0]? That will allow the upstream Developers to examine the issue, and may provide a quicker resolution to the bug.

Please follow the instructions on the wiki page[0]. The first step is to email the appropriate mailing list. If no response is received, then a bug may be opened on bugzilla.kernel.org.

[0] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Upstream/kernel

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

 B43 Wireless Autoconnect Failure

I installed raring to test whether this bug existed in it and quantal too.
In the 3.8+ kernels there seems to be an issue with the b43 drivers, my
wireless works however it won't automatically connect to my hidden wireless
network. I have to go into network manager on each login and manually
select the option to connect, it takes a while but then the connection
works fine.
I know this didn't exist in 3.7.x because I was using those kernels
absolutely fine, it's only when I tried 3.8 on both quantal and raring that
the issue arose.
Note: I can't edit the wireless settings on my network as I am not the
administrator in my house.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04
Package: linux-image-3.8.0-9-generic 3.8.0-9.18
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.8.0-9.18-generic 3.8.1
Uname: Linux 3.8.0-9-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.9-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: callum 1770 F.... pulseaudio
                      callum 3234 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA:
 country GB:
  (2402 - 2482 @ 40), (N/A, 20)
  (5170 - 5250 @ 40), (N/A, 20)
  (5250 - 5330 @ 40), (N/A, 20), DFS
  (5490 - 5710 @ 40), (N/A, 27), DFS
Date: Sun Mar 3 16:13:52 2013
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=53b96653-3e0d-426b-a911-9c34d8657655
InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-03-02 (1 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.04 "Raring Ringtail" - Alpha amd64 (20130301)
MachineType: Apple Inc. Macmini5,1
MarkForUpload: True
ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-9-generic
root=UUID=b4faf392-19de-4749-bd48-bbda7a7519b3 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-3.8.0-9-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-3.8.0-9-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.103
SourcePackage: linux
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 01/24/2012
dmi.bios.vendor: Apple Inc.
dmi.bios.version: MM51.88Z.0077.B10.1201241549
dmi.board.asset.tag: Base Board Asset Tag#
dmi.board.name: Mac-8ED6AF5B48C039E1
dmi.board.vendor: Apple Inc.
dmi.board.version: Macmini5,1
dmi.chassis.type: 16
dmi.chassis.vendor: Apple Inc.
dmi.chassis.version: Mac-8ED6AF5B48C039E1
dmi.modalias:
dmi:bvnAppleInc.:bvrMM51.88Z.0077.B10.1201241549:bd01/24/2012:svnAppleInc.:pnMacmini5,1:pvr1.0:rvnAppleInc.:rnMac-8ED6AF5B48C039E1:rvrMacmini5,1:cvnAppleInc.:ct16:cvrMac-8ED6AF5B48C039E1:
dmi.product.name: Macmini5,1
dmi.product.version: 1.0
dmi.sys.vendor: Apple Inc.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1142385

amd64, mac, b43, networking, wireless, kernel

Linux version 3.9.0-030900rc4-generic (apw@gomeisa) (gcc version 4.6.3
(Ubuntu/Linaro 4.6.3-1ubuntu5) ) #201303232035 SMP Sun Mar 24 00:36:21 UTC
2013

Description: Ubuntu Raring Ringtail (development branch)

Release: 13.04

If some fields are empty or look unusual you may have an old version.

Compare to the current minimal requirements in Documentation/Changes.

Linux callum-Macmini 3.9.0-030900rc4-generic #201303232035 SMP Sun Mar 24
00:36:21 UTC 2013 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Gnu C 4.7

Gnu make 3.81

binutils 2.23.2

util-linux 2...

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

Done, bug is hopefully reported upstream via email. Couldn't use the suggested format originally as seen in comment #12 but I've attached the info as the text document that comment links to. Hopefully this is sufficient enough :)

[monochromec (monochromec)]

Affects kernel 3.8.0-19-generic (stock on raring) too. I noticed wifi connections dropping constantly and overall pretty bad wifi performance after upgrading to raring recently. Testing with a 3.6.3 kernel produced the same results. At first I thought the firmware was to blame but after toying around with the open source b43 driver and b43-fwcutter (I'm using a MacbookPro 8,1 to test this) and comparing the installed firmware with the files from the proprietary Broadcom archive as described at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx#b43%20-%20Internet%20access I decided to use an older kernel.

And indeed the only way to eliminate this is to use a 3.2.0-32-generic image (the upgrade to raring removed quite a few images from /boot :-( ).

I will try a 3.9 kernel as outlined above once I have the time.

[monochromec (monochromec)]

Issue seems to have disappeared in kernel 3.9. As indicated in my last comment, I installed an upstream kernel (3.9.0-030900rc8-generic to be precise) and ran a 24 hour ping test. According to system logs no connection drops or loss of beacons. As a side effect, I could also remove the b43 from the list of SUSPEND_MODULES for the pm-utils (I couldn't get wakeup to work without reloading this kernel module after an upgrade to the first mainline kernel version 3 that came with an ordinary system upgrade if I recall correctly).

The only side-effect that I noticed that it takes about 3 - 4 seconds for the network manager (I'm using a Mate-based desktop) to indicate a re-established connection when waking up after a suspend. Assuming I will find the time, I'll investigate this delay with getting an IP address further and report my findings here.

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

Hmm, what card is it in your Macbook? I just reinstalled Raring and installed the freshly released 3.9 kernel and installed b43-fwcutter and firmware-b43-installer.
I'm still getting the unsupported device error upon executing the installer command. I'll try the BCM kernel source listed in additional drivers and see if that does anything.

[monochromec (monochromec)]

Issue resurfaced again this morning, syslog is inconclusive. Upstream kernel driver in 3.9 still seems to be buggy - unfortunately this issue cannot be reproduced easily it seems. Will investigate further time permitting. For the meantime I'm going back to the 3.2.0.32 kernel which seems to be the most stable still on my system after the raring upgrade.

lspci reports a Broadcom BCM4331 (PCI ID: 14e4:4331).

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

Interesting, so we both definitely have the same card and are affected by the same issue. What do you get when you run the firmware-b43-installer? Does the terminal output anything about an unsupported device with the PCI ID tag?
Odd that rc8 of 3.9 seemed to fix this and then the final 3.9 kernel (which I'm sure is virtually the same?) seemed to fix it for you.
I will reinstall again later and try the rc8 kernel and see if the fix is present for me.

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

RC8 fix wasn't present for me.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Callum Hutchinson, could you please confirm this issue exists with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/ . If the issue remains, could you please just make a comment to this.

Also, could you please test the latest upstream kernel available (not the daily folder) following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds ? It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue.Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested. If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tags:
kernel-fixed-upstream
kernel-fixed-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

where VERSION-NUMBER is the version number of the kernel you tested. For example:
kernel-fixed-upstream-v3.12

This can be done by clicking on the yellow circle with a black pencil icon next to the word Tags located at the bottom of the bug description. As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the following tags:
kernel-bug-exists-upstream
kernel-bug-exists-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug's Status as Confirmed. Please let us know your results. Thank you for your understanding.

[Callum Hutchinson (callumhutchinson1)]

Hi, sorry I'm afraid I just don't have the time right now to reinstall Ubuntu and give it the testing you're asking for.
As such I think the bug needs to remain in it's current state, I cannot test the upstream kernel nor install a dev build of Ubuntu.
If there's anything I need to do to 'close' the bug just let me know.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for linux (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Robert B (robertbub)]

This just started working for me with the 3.14 release of the Linux kernel.