Differences between revisions 27 and 28

Broadcom 43xx wireless devices

This page describes how to install and configure WiFi devices based on Broadcom 4303, 4306, 4309, 4311, 4312 and 4318 wireless chipsets.

?TableOfContents(3)

Device Identification

The page ["HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI"] explains how to identify a PCI device. For example:

update-pciids
lspci -nn

You should see your Broadcom Device

0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN [14E4:4311] (rev 01)
or 
0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini-PCI Card (rev 01)

The [:HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI#pci-id:PCI-Id] isn't sufficient to determine the Broadcom chipset within. The relevant driver has built-in logic to probe the actual chipset.

Drivers

There are multiple drivers supporting Broadcom wireless LAN chips.

Linux native drivers:

[#bcm43xx bcm43xx] driver ([http://bcm43xx.berlios.de/?go=devices supported devices])
- included in mainline kernels from 2.6.17-rc2
- disabled in Debian 2.6.24 and later kernels
- driver was removed from the mainline kernel in 2.6.26
[#b43 b43] driver ([http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#supported supported devices])
- the new driver for modern 802.11g and 802.11a chipsets
- introduced in kernel 2.6.24
[#b43_legacy b43legacy] driver ([http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#supported supported devices])
- for legacy 802.11b-only devices and the BCM4306 revision 2 chipset
- introduced in kernel 2.6.24

The bcm43xx driver is no longer developed. More information on the b43/b43legacy drivers can be found on the Linux Wireless [http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#b43andb43legacy b43 driver page]. Note that none of the above drivers support USB devices based on Broadcom wireless chipsets.

Using Windows' binary drivers:

[#ndiswrapper ndiswrapper] plus the relevant Windows NDIS driver. This is a workaround for devices not supported natively by Linux, such as USB devices based on Broadcom wireless chipsets.

?Anchor(bcm43xx)

Native bcm43xx driver (Etch with 2.6.18 kernel only)

For kernels earlier than 2.6.24. This is included as a module in Debian kernel images. The bcm43xx driver requires firmware which must be downloaded separately (can be performed by the etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package during installation).

You are required to install the etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package from the [:DebianVolatile:Debian Volatile] repository due to bug 437488. Installing the etch/bcm43xx-fwcutter package will fail to download firmware if requested.

1. Add the Debian Volatile repository (including the "contrib" section) to your /etc/apt/sources.list file, for example:

# Debian Volatile (Etch)
deb http://volatile.debian.org/debian-volatile etch/volatile main contrib non-free

2. Update the list of available packages and install the etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter and etch/wireless-tools packages:

aptitude update
aptitude install bcm43xx-fwcutter wireless-tools

If you have an Internet connection available, allow the etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package to fetch and extract firmware.

3. Load the bcm43xx module:

modprobe bcm43xx

4. Verify your device now has an avilable interface:

iwconfig

5. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:

ifconfig eth1 up

6. [:WiFi/HowToUse:Configure] your wireless interface as appropriate.

?Anchor(bcm43xx_troubleshoot)

Troubleshooting

Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg) to verify the required firmware files are being loaded by the driver. Lack of firmware is the usual reason for the "SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory" error message.
Ensure that you have installed the etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package from [:DebianVolatile:Debian Volatile].
Run "dpkg-reconfigure -plow bcm43xx-fwcutter" to fetch and extract firmware again. Firmware will only be fetched if not already present in the /lib/firmware directory on your system.
Your device may be detected (or better supported) through the b43 or b43legacy drivers. Install an etchnhalf kernel image ("apt-cache search linux-image-2.6.24-etchnhalf" and install one appropriate for your system), restart your system to boot using this kernel, then follow the [#b43 b43] or [#b43_legacy b43legacy] driver procedures below.

?Anchor(b43)

Native b43 driver

For 2.6.24 and later kernels with modern Broadcom 802.11g wireless chipsets. This is included as a module in Debian kernel images. 802.11b-only devices and BCM4306 revision 2 chipsets are supported by the [#b43_legacy b43legacy] driver instead. The b43 driver requires version 4 firmware which must be downloaded separately (can be performed by the b43-fwcutter package during installation).

1. Add a "contrib" section to your /etc/apt/sources.list file, for example:

deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib non-free

2. Install the b43-fwcutter and wireless-tools packages:

aptitude update
aptitude install b43-fwcutter wireless-tools

If you have an Internet connection available, allow the b43-fwcutter package to fetch and extract firmware.

3. Load the b43 module:

modprobe b43

4. Verify your device now has an avilable interface:

iwconfig

5. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:

ifconfig wlan0 up

6. [:WiFi/HowToUse:Configure] your wireless interface as appropriate.

Troubleshooting

Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg) to verify the required firmware files are being loaded by the driver. Lack of firmware is the usual reason for the "SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory" error message.
Run "dpkg-reconfigure -plow b43-fwcutter" to fetch and extract firmware again. Firmware will only be fetched if not already present in /lib/firmware/[b43|b43legacy] directories on your system.
If necessary, firmware can be manually acquired and extracted using the b43-fwcutter utility, see http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#firmwareinstallation

?Anchor(b43_legacy)

Native b43legacy driver

For 2.6.24 and later kernels with 802.11b-only devices or BCM4306 revision 2 chipsets. This is included as a module in Debian kernel images. Modern Broadcom 802.11g wireless chipsets are supported by the [#b43 b43] driver instead. The b43legacy driver requires version 3 firmware which must be downloaded separately (can be performed by the b43-fwcutter package during installation).

1. Add a "contrib" section to your /etc/apt/sources.list file, for example:

deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib non-free

2. Install the b43-fwcutter and wireless-tools packages:

aptitude update
aptitude install b43-fwcutter wireless-tools

If you have an Internet connection available, allow the b43-fwcutter package to fetch and extract firmware.

3. Load the b43legacy module:

modprobe b43legacy

4. Verify your device now has an avilable interface:

iwconfig

5. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:

ifconfig wlan0 up

6. [:WiFi/HowToUse:Configure] your wireless interface as appropriate.

Troubleshooting

Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg) to verify the required firmware files are being loaded by the driver. Lack of firmware is the usual reason for the "SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory" error message.
Run "dpkg-reconfigure -plow b43-fwcutter" to fetch and extract firmware again. Firmware will only be fetched if not already present in /lib/firmware/[b43|b43legacy] directories on your system.
If necessary, firmware can be manually acquired and extracted using the b43-fwcutter utility, see http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#firmwareinstallation

?Anchor(ndiswrapper)

NDISwrapper

This should only be used as a last resort, if the device is not supported by the native drivers (eg. Broadcom USB devices).
Etch users: Before resorting NDISwrapper, try using the b43 or b43legacy drivers via an etchnhalf kernel, as described in the [#bcm43xx_troubleshoot bcm43xx troubleshooting] section.

Module Installation

But because we already went through so many problems we will use the latest source code for NDISwrapper to make sure it works with our current kernel.
Install what is neccessary:

aptitude install build-essential
aptitude install linux-headers-`uname -r`

uninstall all versions you might have:

aptitude remove ndiswrapper-common
aptitude remove ndiswrapper-utils

Download the source, or check their website for latest source code [http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=93482 check for new source code]

mkdir tmp
cd tmp
wget http://superb-east.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper-1.52.tar.gz
tar -xzvf ndiswrapper-1.52.tar.gz

Blacklist native driver

To ensure there is no conflict with generic bcm43xx driver:

echo blacklist bcm43xx >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

Go to your ndiswrapper directory and compile the source:

cd ndiswrapper-1.52
make
make install
make distclean

Install NDIS driver

We already download this file R151517.EXE if not wget it again:

wget http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R151517.EXE

Unzip:

unzip -a R151517.EXE

Install driver. This time we use .inf file, and not the sys file.

ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf

List devices:

ndiswrapper -l

You should see:

bcmwl5 : driver installed
        device (14E4:4311) present

Do final steps:

ndiswrapper -m
modprobe ndiswrapper
echo ndiswrapper >> /etc/modules

Check the device

Check if device is in a list:

iwconfig

You should see something like:

wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:off/any
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated
          Bit Rate:54 Mb/s   Tx-Power:32 dBm
          RTS thr:2347 B   Fragment thr:2346 B
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management: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

?Anchor(use)

Connecting to the network

See [:WiFi/HowToUse:How To use Wifi network adapter].

-  ⇤ ← Revision 27 as of 2008-10-28 18:58:33 → 
  Size: 9194
  Editor: FranklinPiat
  Comment: link to WiFi/HowToUse
+   ← Revision 28 as of 2008-11-26 11:18:56 → ⇥
  Size: 11503
  Editor: GeoffSimmons
  Comment: Clarified drivers, remove old 2.6.25 info, consolidated bcm43xx procedure, et al
-Deletions are marked like this.
+Additions are marked like this.
 Line 3:
-''This page describes how to install and configure WiFi devices based on Broadcom chipsets 4303, 4306, 4309, 4311, 4312, and 4318, and Dell Wireless Card 1390.''
+''This page describes how to install and configure WiFi devices based on Broadcom 4303, 4306, 4309, 4311, 4312 and 4318 wireless chipsets.''
 Line 7:
-== Drivers ==

There are multiple drivers for those Broadcom chips :

Linux native drivers (Visit their [http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#supported supported devices]) :
 * Linux [#b43 b43] / [#bcm43xx bcm43xx] driver (the name changed in kernel 2.6.24)
 * Linux [#b43_legacy b43_legacy] driver (a split since 2.6.24, for older broadcom chipset. read [http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#b43andb43legacy b43 and b43legacy]).


Using Windows' binary blobs :
 * Linux [#ndiswrapper ndiswrapper] plus the windows binary driver. (this is a workaround for devices not supported natively by Linux).
-Line 22:
+Line 9:
-The page ["HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI"] explains how to identify a PCI device. For example :
+The page ["HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI"] explains how to identify a PCI device. For example:
-Line 35:
+Line 22:
- <!> '''The [:HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI#pci-id:PCI-Id] isn't sufficient to determine the broadcom chipset.''' : The driver have built-in logic to probe the actual chipset.

 <!> 1390 is working with ndiswrapper unless you have a kernel 2.6.20 then you can use bcm43xx-fwcutter)
+<!> '''The [:HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI#pci-id:PCI-Id] isn't sufficient to determine the Broadcom chipset within.''' The relevant driver has built-in logic to probe the actual chipset.

## Not making sense ## <!> 1390 is working with ndiswrapper unless you have a kernel 2.6.20 then you can use bcm43xx-fwcutter

== Drivers ==

There are multiple drivers supporting Broadcom wireless LAN chips.

Linux native drivers:
 * [#bcm43xx bcm43xx] driver ([http://bcm43xx.berlios.de/?go=devices supported devices])
  * included in mainline kernels from 2.6.17-rc2
  * disabled in Debian 2.6.24 and later kernels
  * driver was removed from the mainline kernel in 2.6.26
 * [#b43 b43] driver ([http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#supported supported devices])
  * the new driver for modern 802.11g and 802.11a chipsets
  * introduced in kernel 2.6.24
 * [#b43_legacy b43legacy] driver ([http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#supported supported devices])
  * for legacy 802.11b-only devices and the BCM4306 revision 2 chipset
  * introduced in kernel 2.6.24

The bcm43xx driver is no longer developed.  More information on the b43/b43legacy drivers can be found on the Linux Wireless [http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#b43andb43legacy b43 driver page].  Note that '''none''' of the above drivers support USB devices based on Broadcom wireless chipsets.

Using Windows' binary drivers:
 * [#ndiswrapper ndiswrapper] plus the relevant Windows NDIS driver.  This is a workaround for devices not supported natively by Linux, such as USB devices based on Broadcom wireless chipsets.

[[Anchor(bcm43xx)]]
=== Native bcm43xx driver (Etch with 2.6.18 kernel only) ===

For kernels earlier than 2.6.24.  This is included as a module in Debian kernel images.  The bcm43xx driver requires firmware which must be downloaded separately (can be performed by the DebPkg:etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package during installation).

 <!> You are required to install the DebPkg:etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package from the [:DebianVolatile:Debian Volatile] repository due to bug Bug:437488.  Installing the DebPkg:etch/bcm43xx-fwcutter package ''will fail'' to download firmware if requested.

1. Add the Debian Volatile repository (including the "contrib" section) to your /etc/apt/sources.list file, for example:
{{{
# Debian Volatile (Etch)
deb http://volatile.debian.org/debian-volatile etch/volatile main contrib non-free
}}}
2. Update the list of available packages and install the DebPkg:etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter and DebPkg:etch/wireless-tools packages:
{{{
aptitude update
aptitude install bcm43xx-fwcutter wireless-tools
}}}
If you have an Internet connection available, allow the DebPkg:etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package to fetch and extract firmware.

3. Load the bcm43xx module:
{{{
modprobe bcm43xx
}}}
4. Verify your device now has an avilable interface:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}
5. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
{{{
ifconfig eth1 up
}}}
6. [:WiFi/HowToUse:Configure] your wireless interface as appropriate.

[[Anchor(bcm43xx_troubleshoot)]]
==== Troubleshooting ====

 * Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg) to verify the required firmware files are being loaded by the driver.  Lack of firmware is the usual reason for the "SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory" error message.
 * Ensure that you have installed the DebPkg:etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package from [:DebianVolatile:Debian Volatile].
 * Run "dpkg-reconfigure -plow bcm43xx-fwcutter" to fetch and extract firmware again.  Firmware will only be fetched if not already present in the /lib/firmware directory on your system.
 * Your device may be detected (or better supported) through the b43 or b43legacy drivers.  Install an etchnhalf kernel image ("apt-cache search linux-image-2.6.24-etchnhalf" and install one appropriate for your system), restart your system to boot using this kernel, then follow the [#b43 b43] or [#b43_legacy b43legacy] driver procedures below.
-Line 40:
+Line 89:
-== Native b43 driver ==

On kernels 2.6.24 and newer, you should use the b43 driver, which is included as a module in Debian kernel images.

You must also install the firmware for this driver.

 * Add contrib section to your apt sources.list
 * Install the b43-fwcutter package
+=== Native b43 driver ===

For 2.6.24 and later kernels with modern Broadcom 802.11g wireless chipsets.  This is included as a module in Debian kernel images.  802.11b-only devices and BCM4306 revision 2 chipsets are supported by the [#b43_legacy b43legacy] driver instead.  The b43 driver requires version 4 firmware which must be downloaded separately (can be performed by the DebPkg:b43-fwcutter package during installation).

1. Add a "contrib" section to your /etc/apt/sources.list file, for example:
{{{
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib non-free
}}}
2. Install the DebPkg:b43-fwcutter and DebPkg:wireless-tools packages:
-Line 50:
+Line 100:
-aptitude install b43-fwcutter
}}}
 * Make sure driver is loaded
+aptitude install b43-fwcutter wireless-tools
}}}
If you have an Internet connection available, allow the DebPkg:b43-fwcutter package to fetch and extract firmware.

3. Load the b43 module:
-Line 56:
+Line 108:
- * Verify that your card works
{{{
ifconfig -a
iwconfig
+. Verify your device now has an avilable interface:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}
5. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
{{{
-Line 62:
+Line 116:
-If everything goes okay, you should see the wlan0 interface in the output of "ifconfig -a", wireless extensions for that interface in the output of "iwconfig", and no output at all from "ifconfig wlan0 up".  If "ifconfig wlan0 up" gives you a message "SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory", then probably you don't have the proper firmware.  Look [http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware here] for more information, and also consider filing a bug against the b43-firmware package.
+. [:WiFi/HowToUse:Configure] your wireless interface as appropriate.

## If everything goes okay, you should see the wlan0 interface in the output of "ifconfig -a", wireless extensions for that interface in the output of "iwconfig", and no output at all from "ifconfig wlan0 up".
==== Troubleshooting ====
 * Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg) to verify the required firmware files are being loaded by the driver.  Lack of firmware is the usual reason for the "SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory" error message.
 * Run "dpkg-reconfigure -plow b43-fwcutter" to fetch and extract firmware again.  Firmware will only be fetched if not already present in /lib/firmware/[b43|b43legacy] directories on your system.
 * If necessary, firmware can be manually acquired and extracted using the b43-fwcutter utility, see http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#firmwareinstallation
-Line 66:
+Line 125:
-== Native b43_legacy ==
+=== Native b43legacy driver ===
-Line 69:
+Line 128:
- * If your card is a BCM4306 Rev 2, or a Broadcom based 11Mbits only, then you should use b43legacy driver. First you should
+For 2.6.24 and later kernels with 802.11b-only devices or BCM4306 revision 2 chipsets.  This is included as a module in Debian kernel images.
Modern Broadcom 802.11g wireless chipsets are supported by the [#b43 b43] driver instead.  The b43legacy driver requires version 3 firmware which must be downloaded separately (can be performed by the DebPkg:b43-fwcutter package during installation).

1. Add a "contrib" section to your /etc/apt/sources.list file, for example:
{{{
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib non-free
}}}
2. Install the DebPkg:b43-fwcutter and DebPkg:wireless-tools packages:
{{{
aptitude update
aptitude install b43-fwcutter wireless-tools
}}}
If you have an Internet connection available, allow the DebPkg:b43-fwcutter package to fetch and extract firmware.

3. Load the b43legacy module:
-Line 73:
+Line 146:
- * Normaly, the kernel 2.6.25 detect if your 43xx card need to use b43legacy driver instead of b43, the installation require to extract the firmware with version 11 of b43-fwcutter http://bu3sch.de/b43/fwcutter/b43-fwcutter-011.tar.bz2 (not bcm43xx-fwcutter!), these extracted firmware files need to be placed in /lib/firmware/b43legacy/
 * The b43legacy driver need the firmware to be extracted from broadcom's driver version 3.130.20.0, for example this (proprietary) one "http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o".
 *If ifconfig respond "SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory" then it's probably that the driver didn't found a good firmware. 
 You might also install wireless-tools in order to use your wireless card
{{{
aptitude install wireless-tools
}}}

[[Anchor(bcm43xx)]]
== Native bcm43xx driver ==

On kernels older than 2.6.24, you should use the bcm43xx driver, which is included as a module in Debian kernel images.  The bcm43xx driver requires a firmware package which must be downloaded separately.

=== Installing the firmware (option 1) ===

 * Add contrib section to your apt sources.list
{{{
aptitude update
aptitude install bcm43xx-fwcutter
}}}
*Now test if drivers work
{{{
modprobe bcm43xx
}}}
 *Verify that your card is there:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}

=== Installing the firmware (option 2) ===

 * If you experience an error 404, go here [http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=445133 Bug 445133]
If failed, Download this script which was taken from lenny package:
{{{
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?msg=19;filename=install_bcm43xx_firmware.sh;att=1;bug=445133
}}}
 * Remove old script and place a new one.
{{{
rm /usr/share/bcm43xx-fwcutter/install_bcm43xx_firmware.sh
cp install_bcm43xx_firm
ware.sh /usr/share/bcm43xx-fwcutter/
chmod u+x /usr/share/bcm43xx-fwcutter/install_bcm43xx_firmware.sh
}}}
 * Retry install
{{{
apt-get install bcm43xx-fwcutter
}}}
 *Now test if drivers work
{{{
modprobe bcm43xx
}}}
 *Verify that your card is there:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}

=== Installing the firmware (option 3) ===

 *If iwconfig is not showing your card that means the drivers are not correct. We will need to try few sources of drivers. 
 *First source is dell site.
 *Download dell drivers, 
{{{
mkdir tmp
cd tmp
wget http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R151517.EXE
}}}
 *unzip
{{{
unzip R151517.EXE
}}}
 *Extract drivers
{{{
bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware bcmwl5.sys
}}}
 *Now test if drivers work
{{{
modprobe bcm43xx
}}}
 *Verify that your card is there:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}

=== Installing the firmware (option 4) ===

 *If that didn't work try following sources:
 1. [http://www.learnaboutlinux.net/files/bcmwl5.sys bcmwl5.sys from source 2]
 *Extract drivers
{{{
bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware bcmwl5.sys
}}}
 *Now test if drivers work
{{{
modprobe bcm43xx
}}}
 *Verify that your card is there:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}

=== Installing the firmware (option 5) ===

 1. [http://www.learnaboutlinux.net/files/wl_apsta.o wl_apsta.o from source 3] (treat wl_apsta.o just like bcmwl5.sys)
 *Extract drivers
{{{
bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta.o
}}}
 *Now test if drivers work
{{{
modprobe bcm43xx
}}}
 *Verify that your card is there:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}
+. Verify your device now has an avilable interface:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}
5. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
{{{
ifconfig wlan0 up
}}}
6. [:WiFi/HowToUse:Configure] your wireless interface as appropriate.

==== Troubleshooting ====
 * Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg) to verify the required firmware files are being loaded by the driver.  Lack of firmware is the usual reason for the "SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory" error message.
 * Run "dpkg-reconfigure -plow b43-fwcutter" to fetch and extract firmware again.  Firmware will only be fetched if not already present in /lib/firmware/[b43|b43legacy] directories on your system.
 * If necessary, firmware can be manually acquired and extracted using the b43-fwcutter utility, see http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#firmwareinstallation
-Line 191:
+Line 162:
-== Ndiswrapper ==
 *If the generic bcm43xx driver didn't work. 
 *Usually because you don't have kernel version 2.6.20, you will have to use ndiswrapper.
 *But because we already went through so many problems we will use the latest source code for ndiswrapper to make sure it works with our current kernel.

=== Install ndiswrapper ===
+=== NDISwrapper ===
 * This should only be used as a last resort, if the device is not supported by the native drivers (eg. Broadcom USB devices).
 * Etch users: Before resorting NDISwrapper, try using the b43 or b43legacy drivers via an etchnhalf kernel, as described in the [#bcm43xx_troubleshoot bcm43xx troubleshooting] section.

==== Module Installation ====
 * But because we already went through so many problems we will use the latest source code for NDISwrapper to make sure it works with our current kernel.
-Line 215:
+Line 186:
-=== Prevent conflict with bcm43xx ===
 *Now to make sure there is no conflic with generic bcm43xx driver do this:
+==== Blacklist native driver ====
 * To ensure there is no conflict with generic bcm43xx driver:
-Line 228:
+Line 199:
-=== Install driver ===
+==== Install NDIS driver ====
-Line 257:
+Line 228:
-=== Check the device ===
 *Check if device is in a list:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}
 *You should see something like:
+==== Check the device ====
Check if device is in a list:
{{{
iwconfig
}}}
You should see something like:
-Line 276:
+Line 247:
-== Connect to network ==
 *Gnome- Double click on Network Connection (If you don't have an icon click on add to panel, then Select "Network Monitor" and click add)
 *Name: Wlan0
 *Click on configure
 *Select Wireless connection
 *Properties
 *Pick a network, add a password, select dhcp and click ok
 *You should be connected.
+== Connecting to the network ==
See [:WiFi/HowToUse:How To use Wifi network adapter].
-Line 286:
+Line 251:
- *  * [:WiFi/HowToUse:HowToUse] Wifi adapter.
 * Generic bcm43xx and ndiswrapper (Explains it all) ~-[[BR]]. [http://www.learnaboutlinux.net/wireless_1390.htm]-~
 * Ndiswrpapper for 1390 only ~-[[BR]]. [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=297092]-~
+ * [http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware b43 and b43legacy: device firmware]
 * Generic bcm43xx and ndiswrapper (Explains it all) ~-[[BR]][http://www.learnaboutlinux.net/wireless_1390.htm]-~
 * Ndiswrpapper for 1390 only ~-[[BR]][http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=297092]-~

Diff for "bcm43xx"

Broadcom 43xx wireless devices

Device Identification

Drivers

Native bcm43xx driver (Etch with 2.6.18 kernel only)

Troubleshooting

Native b43 driver

Troubleshooting

Native b43legacy driver

Troubleshooting

NDISwrapper

Module Installation

Blacklist native driver

Install NDIS driver

Check the device

Connecting to the network

See Also