Broadcom Woes [SOLVED]

[ssrock64 1]

Hey, everybody. After installing Bodhi a few days ago and getting my audio to work at last yesterday, I've run into a new issue. When I did my last fresh install, I followed the instructions on the Bodhi site for 43xx Broadcom chipsets. Unfortunately, it didn't work. I can connect to the internet on wi-fi, but only if I'm sitting within ten feet of the router. After that initial failure, I attempted to follow the first set of instructions on lkubuntu, which didn't work. All of the instructions following the first set are for specific chipsets, none of which include mine (a 4313).

 

Should the same tweaks that are used to solve issues with the 4312 work with the 4313? I'd try it myself, but I want some confirmation before using the LP-PHY installer advocated for in the 4312 posts. I don't want a bunch of redundant and/or conflicting Broadcom software on my device, and I may have already passed that line with the two "solutions" I've tried.

[Charles@Bodhi 664]

Hey, everybody. After installing Bodhi a few days ago and getting my audio to work at last yesterday, I've run into a new issue. When I did my last fresh install, I followed the instructions on the Bodhi site for 43xx Broadcom chipsets. Unfortunately, it didn't work. I can connect to the internet on wi-fi, but only if I'm sitting within ten feet of the router. After that initial failure, I attempted to follow the first set of instructions on lkubuntu, which didn't work. All of the instructions following the first set are for specific chipsets, none of which include mine (a 4313).

 

Should the same tweaks that are used to solve issues with the 4312 work with the 4313? I'd try it myself, but I want some confirmation before using the LP-PHY installer advocated for in the 4312 posts. I don't want a bunch of redundant and/or conflicting Broadcom software on my device, and I may have already passed that line with the two "solutions" I've tried.

 

Did what you did include this option? The OP never came back with results, but AFAIR that 4313 should work better with the suggested bcmwl driver. Don't have that chipset myself to test it.

 

Enjoy,

Charles.

[ssrock64 1]

I'll try that in a moment. Everything I've done so far has given me a number of missing firmware warnings, and a few of them have told me in a fatal error that the wl module does not exist. Is this normal behavior?

[Charles@Bodhi 664]

Warnings could be about total different hardware. Anyway those are just warnings, nothing to worry about.

 

wl driver is not present on a default bodhi-install. The module has to be built. Therefor you need to install the building tools and the kernel-headers before installing/running the package.

For 4312-LP-PHY chips you needed a special version 5.xxx that is available in the bodhi repos. Not sure that is needed for 4313.

 

You can have a look in synaptic and search for bcmwl. The description mentions 4313 and the versions tab show the availability of both. You need to use force-version for the older one though. The latest version will be installed if not.

 

Charles.

[ssrock64 1]

I went back to the older version (5.x) and rebooted, with no luck. In fact, now my computer isn't seeing or connecting to any wireless network. Are there additional steps I'm missing?

 

EDIT: Jockey says that the correct driver is in use, but the network manager seems to think that my computer isn't capable of wireless.

[Charles@Bodhi 664]

can you give the outcome of

 
lsmod | grep brcm
lsmod | grep wl
modinfo wl

 

Charles.

[ssrock64 1]

Here's what I got.

 

depends:        lib80211
vermagic:       3.8.0-12-generic SMP mod_unload modversions 686
parm:           oneonly:int
parm:           piomode:int
parm:           instance_base:int
parm:           nompc:int
parm:           name:string
(name)@(name)-HP-Pavilion-dm1-Notebook-PC:~$
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004359sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004358sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004727sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004357sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000A99Dsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004353sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000432Dsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
(name)@(name)-HP-Pavilion-dm1-Notebook-PC:~$
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000432Bsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000432Asv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004329sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004328sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004315sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004313sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004312sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004311sv*sd*bc*sc*i*

[Charles@Bodhi 664]

So, executing the first two commands showed nothing?

And this is only modinfo?

 

Presuming you created that driver you need to activate it.

Just execute

 sudo modprobe wl

 

Now you should be able to test your wifi.

 

Please report back.

 

Charles

[ssrock64 1]

Yes, the first two commands showed no output. In addition, modprobe wl showed no output (though it's an improvement over the fatal error that used to show when I attempted to run it).

 

However, after a reboot I still have no wireless capability. The network manager displays only my wired connection still.

[ssrock64 1]

Okay, it turns out I may have had the wrong firmware version still selected. I went back to a 5.x version, but I just tried with an even older 5.x version and it brought me back to my original situation, with wi-fi functioning but only within a room's length of the router. Here's the output of the commands you asked for earlier now:

 

(name)@(name)-HP-Pavilion-dm1-Notebook-PC:~$ lsmod | grep brcm
brcmsmac              534567  0
brcmutil               14355  1 brcmsmac
cordic                 12518  1 brcmsmac
mac80211              541819  2 brcmsmac,b43
cfg80211              453853  3 brcmsmac,b43,mac80211
bcma                   39810  2 brcmsmac,b43
(name)@(name)-HP-Pavilion-dm1-Notebook-PC:~$ lsmod | grep wl
(name)@(name)-HP-Pavilion-dm1-Notebook-PC:~$ modinfo wl
ERROR: modinfo: could not find module wl

[ssrock64 1]

Do you have any other ideas?

 

If you think it's easier to just reinstall the OS, would I just install the old 5.x version of the drivers once I'm inside and theoretically be good?

[ssrock64 1]

Since I haven't had a response in awhile, I decided to go ahead and try what I mentioned above. I did a fresh install of Bodhi, and went through Synaptic to get the 5.100.82.38 version of the bcmwl package. I have not installed anything else on my system besides the Broadcom driver (and its mandatory associated software), and I'm waiting for a response until I proceed with any more actions. As of right now, I have the (supposedly) correct software version but the wl module is still not built. What do I do now?

 

Thank you, and I appreciate any further help. I think we may actually get somewhere now that I've done a fresh install. I can do another one if I've messed up already somehow.

[Charles@Bodhi 664]

Have been in hospital and could not react.

Did a quick search and found that your issue might come from the kernel you are having.

For kernelversion 3.4 and up the building config contains an instruction that can no longer be executed. That's why you never see it. And the 6.x version has another bug making it unusable. You need to manually correct a certain file and than build the driver. Sounds scary but it ain't that complicated.

 

I will write a quick tut on how to proceed. But first I need to have some confirmation about your hardware and kernel.

lspci -vnn | grep -i net
uname -a
lsmod

This will allow me to post the correct details to help you.

My tut will undo your action to get the wl-driver, don't worry.

Make sure you have a reliable internet-connection before doing the stuff in my tutorial.

 

That bcm4313 is a pain in the but. Even on Windows it has a lot of hick-ups.

 

Enjoy,

Charles.

[ssrock64 1]

First command:

03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4727] (rev 01)
07:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller [10ec:8168] (rev 06)

 

Second command:

Linux (name)-HP-Pavilion-dm1-Notebook-PC 3.8.0-12-generic #21 SMP Sun Mar 17 16:34:24 CDT 2013 i686 athlon i386 GNU/Linux

 

lsmod gave out a huge wall of text, but here's at least the last section of it (I can't scroll up above this section in terminology):

sp5100_tco             13746  0
snd_pcm                85934  3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
bluetooth             211395  2 btusb
psmouse                82383  0
hp_accel               25756  0
videobuf2_vmalloc      12920  1 uvcvideo
i2c_piix4              13227  0
bcma                   39810  1 brcmsmac
serio_raw              13031  0
videobuf2_memops       13042  1 videobuf2_vmalloc
snd_timer              28931  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
k10temp                12997  0
microcode              18433  0
lis3lv02d              19536  1 hp_accel
snd                    57014  10 snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_rawmidi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_seq,snd_hwdep,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm,snd_timer
soundcore              12600  1 snd
input_polldev          13648  1 lis3lv02d
snd_page_alloc         18398  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
mac_hid                13077  0
lp                     17455  0
parport                40930  1 lp
dm_raid45              76440  0
xor                    26062  1 dm_raid45
dm_mirror              21817  0
dm_region_hash         16100  1 dm_mirror
dm_log                 18164  3 dm_raid45,dm_mirror,dm_region_hash
btrfs                 795741  0
zlib_deflate           26622  1 btrfs
libcrc32c              12543  1 btrfs
ums_realtek            17928  0
usb_storage            43994  1 ums_realtek
radeon                883893  2
ttm                    72088  1 radeon
drm_kms_helper         47749  1 radeon
drm                   234196  4 radeon,ttm,drm_kms_helper
i2c_algo_bit           13316  1 radeon
ahci                   25631  2
libahci                26336  1 ahci
r8169                  62520  0
wmi                    18744  1 hp_wmi
video                  19116  0
zram                   18207  1

 

I hope your hospital visit wasn't for anything too bad, and I understand if there's any delays. I'm just a little antsy, is all.

[Charles@Bodhi 664]

Hospital visits are part of my life, alas.

 

Thanks for the info.

Your chip is indeed the infamous one with ID 14E4:4727.

Your lsmod shows the brcmsmac driver, that's sufficient.

Kernel info shows a 3.8 kernel for 32bit architecture.

 

Here's what to do in a nutshell:

 

BCM4313 issues.

 

Thanks to user varunendra on Ubuntu forums who provided most of the usefull info, see this thread.

LINK: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2140640

 

Problem is that the latest bcmwl-kernel-source package (version 6.x) does not really work. Neither do the opensource drivers brcmsmac e.a.

The earlier version of the wl driver is known to work, but refuses to compile on newer kernels (3.4 and up).

 

Need to know before proceeding:

your exact wifi-hardware version

your kernel version number

your architecture (64bit/32bit)

your current diver modules

This will be produced by the following commands:

lspci -vnn | grep -i net
uname -r
arch
lsmod

 

bcm4313 should have ID = 14E4:4727

 

The above part is done by you

 

Preparations to make for kernel 3.4 and up.

 

**You should have a reliable internet-connection to continue.**

 

Download the (sta) driver for your architecture (yours is 32bit) from

http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php

 

Create a folder bcm in your ~ and copy the downloaded driver into it. Now extract the file in there.

 

Open the src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c file in the extracted folder with your text editor

 

Delete the line (number 43) with "#include "

Further down you will find a line (number 388?) with " .ndo_set_multicast_list". Replace that with ">ndo_set_rx_mode", so it reads now:

	.ndo_set_rx_mode = wl_set_multicast_list,

 

double check the changes, save and close the file.

 

 

Preparations before building the driver module:

(One command at a time > let it finish > next command)

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-$(uname-r)

cd ~/bcm/hybrid-portsrc_x86_32-v5_100_82_112    (#for 64bit it's a slightly different name. tip: let the terminal autocomplete using TAB)

 

Within this folder execute next command to compile and build the module

make

You might see some warnings you can ignore.

When it has finished successful you should have a file "wl.ko" in your current directory. Check it's presence with

ls

 

ONLY if it is there you can proceed with the next commands (still in the same folder)

sudo su
modprobe -r b43 ssb brcmfmac brcmsmac bcma
modprobe -rfv wl 		#comment (if there is an error about missing wl module proceed with next command)
apt-get purge bcmwl-kernel-source
cp wl.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/net/wireless
depmod -a
modprobe -v wl
update-initramfs -u
exit

 

Edit: `uname -r` has accents graves around it, not single quotes.

 

If this part is causing errors, please report them here.

 

If all is well and you have tested your wifi to be working now you might want to blacklist the previously used modules.

gksudo leafpad /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Add the following lines:

blacklist brcmsmac

blacklist bcma

blacklist b43

blacklist ssb

save and close the file.

 

Edit: To make the blacklisting survive a reboot you need the following command:

sudo update-initramfs -u

 

Just to satisfy my curiosity I would like to know the outcome of (after doing the fore-mentioned stuff)

modinfo wl

please post that here.

 

Important Note.

Creating the driver this way will make it work with your current kernel version.

Whenever you decide to update your kernel you have to go through the proces again for that kernel.

 

Success.

Charles.

[ssrock64 1]

Wow, thank you so much. That took about twenty minutes to complete, but wireless is now working! For anybody reading this in the future, though, make sure you don't confuse a Grave Accent for an apostrophe. That bit stymied me for a short amount of time.

 

I'll mark this solved. Here's the output you requested:

 

parm:           piomode:int
parm:           instance_base:int
parm:           nompc:int
parm:           name:string
(name)@(name)-HP-Pavilion-dm1-Notebook-PC:~$
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004359sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004358sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004727sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004357sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000A99Dsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004353sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000432Dsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000432Csv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000432Bsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000432Asv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004329sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004328sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004315sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
(name)@(name)-HP-Pavilion-dm1-Notebook-PC:~$
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004312sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00004311sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
depends:        lib80211
vermagic:       3.8.0-12-generic SMP mod_unload modversions 686
parm:           oneonly:int

[Charles@Bodhi 664]

Wow, thank you so much. That took about twenty minutes to complete, but wireless is now working! For anybody reading this in the future, though, make sure you don't confuse a Grave Accent for an apostrophe. That bit stymied me for a short amount of time.

 

I'll mark this solved.

 

I'm glad that worked out. I had to rely on different sources, but could not test myself.

 

confuse a Grave Accent for an apostrophe

 

That's why I prefer copy/paste when doing things like this.

 

Enjoy Bodhi and your computer.

Charles.

[ssrock64 1]

Yeah, I would've copy-pasted but I was displaying the instructions on one computer while typing full-screen in the terminal on the other

[ssrock64 1]

One thing I forgot to ask when the thread was originally active: Can I delete the bcm folder in my ~ directory now (I'm assuming it was copied into the system somewhere), or is the Broadcom equipment dependant on the files in it?

[Charles@Bodhi 664]

This was needed to enable the building of the driver. The driver does not depend on it, so it is save to remove. However, if you need to rebuild that driver for some reason it might be useful to have it handy somewhere. Your choice of course.

 

Enjoy,

Charles.