Differences between revisions 70 and 71

Broadcom 43xx wireless devices

This page describes how to enable support for WiFi devices based on Broadcom 4301, 4303, 4306, 4309, 4311, 4312, 4318 and 4320 chipsets on Debian systems.

Contents

Broadcom 43xx wireless devices

Identification

The PCI-Id is not sufficient to determine the Broadcom chipset within.

The relevant driver has built-in logic to probe the actual chipset, for example:

```
b43-phy0: Broadcom 4306 WLAN found
```

Refer to http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#Known_PCI_devices for more information.

Drivers

There are multiple drivers supporting Broadcom wireless LAN chipsets.

Linux native drivers:

b43 (supported devices, unsupported devices)
- The new driver for modern 802.11g and 802.11a chipsets.
- Introduced in Linux 2.6.24.
- Supports the BCM4312 low-power chipset as of Linux 2.6.32.
b43legacy (supported devices)
- For legacy 802.11b-only devices and the BCM4306 revision 2 chipset.
- Introduced in Linux 2.6.24.
brcm80211 (supported devices)
- Included in Debian Linux 2.6.32 kernel images.
- Supports the BCM4313 802.11g low-power chipset, BCM43224 and BCM43225 (802.11n) chipsets.
rndis_wlan (supported devices, unsupported devices)
- For devices with the BCM4320 USB chipset only.
- Introduced in Linux 2.6.25.
wl (supported devices)
- Non-free vendor driver, not in mainline Linux kernels.
- Supports the BCM4313 802.11g low-power chipset, BCM4321 and BCM4322 (draft-n) chipsets.
bcm43xx
- Included in mainline kernels from 2.6.17-rc2.
- Disabled in Debian 2.6.24 and later kernels.
- Removed from Linux at 2.6.26.

More information on b43/b43legacy can be found on the Linux Wireless b43 driver page. bcm43xx is no longer developed. Note that bcm43xx, b43, b43legacy, brcm80211 and wl do not support any USB devices based on Broadcom wireless chipsets.

Using Windows' binary drivers:

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 (other than the BCM4320 USB).

b43 and b43legacy

For Linux 2.6.24 and later kernels. Both drivers are included as modules in Debian kernel images.

Using Testing? Skip to the Squeeze section.

Lenny

The b43 driver supports modern Broadcom 802.11g wireless chipsets. The b43legacy driver supports Broadcom 802.11b-only devices and BCM4306 revision 2 chipsets.

The b43 driver requires version 4 firmware, whereas the b43legacy driver requires version 3 firmware. Firmware must be downloaded, which can be performed by the b43-fwcutter package during installation. An Internet connection is required.

Add a "contrib" component to /etc/apt/sources.list, for example:

# Debian Lenny/5.0
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib non-free

Update the list of available packages and 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.
The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via either:
```
modprobe b43
```
or
```
modprobe b43legacy
```
Verify your device has an available interface:
```
iwconfig
```
Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
```
ifconfig wlan0 up
```
Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Troubleshooting

Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg(1)) 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 the /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#device_firmware_installation

Squeeze

The b43 driver supports modern Broadcom 802.11g wireless chipsets. The b43legacy driver supports Broadcom 802.11b-only devices and BCM4306 revision 2 chipsets.

The b43 driver requires version 4 firmware, whereas the b43legacy driver requires version 3 firmware. Firmware must be downloaded, which can be performed by the firmware-b43-installer, firmware-b43legacy-installer or firmware-b43-lpphy-installer packages during installation. An Internet connection is required.

The b43-fwcutter package (as of 1:013~git20100413-1) no longer acquires firmware, separate installer packages are now used.

Add a "contrib" component to /etc/apt/sources.list, for example:

# Debian Squeeze (testing)
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian squeeze main contrib non-free

Update the list of available packages and install the wireless-tools package:
```
aptitude update
aptitude install wireless-tools
```
Install the appropriate firmware installer package:
For 802.11g devices with a BCM4306 revision 3, BCM4309, BCM4311, BCM4312 (not LP-PHY) or BCM4318 chipset, install firmware-b43-installer:
```
aptitude install firmware-b43-installer
```
For 802.11g devices with a BCM4312 LP-PHY chipset (PCI-ID 14E4:4315), install firmware-b43-lpphy-installer:
```
aptitude install firmware-b43-lpphy-installer
```
For 802.11b devices with a BCM4301, BCM4303 or BCM4306 revision 2 chipset, install firmware-b43legacy-installer:
```
aptitude install firmware-b43legacy-installer
```
A PCI ID check will be performed to prevent incorrect firmware installation. When satisfied, the relevant Broadcom proprietary driver will be acquired, the firmware within will be extracted and installed.
The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via either:
```
modprobe b43
```
or
```
modprobe b43legacy
```
Verify your device has an available interface:
```
iwconfig
```
Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
```
ifconfig wlan0 up
```
Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Troubleshooting

Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg(1)) 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 firmware-b43-installer, dpkg-reconfigure firmware-b43legacy-installer or dpkg-reconfigure firmware-b43-lpphy-installer (as relevant) to fetch and extract firmware again.
- If necessary, firmware can be manually acquired and extracted using the b43-fwcutter utility, see http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#device_firmware_installation. The b43-fwcutter package will need to be installed.

rndis_wlan

For Linux 2.6.25 and later kernels. This is included as a module in Debian kernel images.

The rndis_wlan driver supports wireless RNDIS¹ chipsets, of which the Broadcom 4320 USB chipset is the only one known at this time. This driver does not require firmware to be installed.

Belkin F5D7051 v1000 users: Due to the inclusion of its vendor and device ID, a Ralink RT2500USB driver will be incorrectly loaded for this device. Please blacklist the rt2500usb module before continuing. The F5D7051 v3000 is not supported.

Install the wireless-tools package:

aptitude update
aptitude install wireless-tools

Physically connect the device to your system.
The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via:
```
modprobe rndis_wlan
```
Verify your device has an available interface:
```
iwconfig
```
Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
```
ifconfig wlan0 up
```
Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Troubleshooting

This driver does not support connections to hidden WPA networks at this time.
If you are attempting to use a Belkin F5D7051 v1000 device, blacklist the rt2500usb module as advised earlier and execute modprobe -r rt2500usb to unload it.
Known problems with this driver are documented on its homepage.

NDISwrapper

This should only be used as a last resort, if the device is not supported by the native drivers (e.g. Broadcom USB devices, other than the BCM4320 USB).

Blacklist native drivers

If loaded, the b43/b43legacy drivers will conflict with NDISwrapper. To unload and blacklist:

modprobe -r b43 b43legacy
echo -e blacklist b43\\nblacklist b43legacy >> /etc/modprobe.d/local.conf

Installation

Kernel module and NDIS driver installation is described on the NDISwrapper page.

Supported Devices

b43

The page HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI explains how to identify a PCI device.

BCM4312 low-power variant (PCI-ID 14E4:4315)
- Requires Linux 2.6.32 and firmware 4.174.64.19.
- See b43 and b43legacy (Squeeze), or http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#fw-b43-lp to manually acquire firmware.

http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#Supported_chip_types - supported chipsets

Unsupported

BCM4321 (PCI-IDs 14E4:4328, 14E4:4329)
BCM4322 (PCI-ID 14E4:432B)

Support for the above chipsets is available via the non-free vendor driver, see wl.

http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#unsupported_chips - unsupported chipsets

b43legacy

The page HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI explains how to identify a PCI device.

http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#Supported_chip_types - supported chipsets

rndis_wlan

The page HowToIdentifyADevice/USB explains how to identify a USB device.

The following list is based on the alias fields of modinfo rndis_wlan in Debian 2.6.26 (2.6.26-25lenny1) kernel images.

USB: *:* (Vendor name unknown) (Device name unknown)
USB: 0411:004B MelCo., Inc. WLI-USB-G54 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 0411:00BC MelCo., Inc. WLI-U2-KG125S 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 050D:011B Belkin Components (Device name unknown)
USB: 0A5C:D11B Broadcom Corp. Eminent EM4045 [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 0B05:1717 ASUSTek Computer, Inc. WL169gE 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 0BAF:0111 U.S. Robotics USR5420 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 0BAF:011B U.S. Robotics Wireless MAXg Adapter [Broadcom 4320]
USB: 13B1:000E Linksys WUSB54GS v1 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 13B1:0014 Linksys WUSB54GS v2 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 13B1:0026 Linksys WUSB54GSC v1 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 1690:0715 Askey Computer Corp. [hex] Name: Voyager 1055 Laptop 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320]
USB: 1799:011B Belkin Components (Device name unknown)

http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/rndis_wlan#supported_chips - supported chipsets

Unsupported

Belkin F5D7051 v3000 (USB-ID 4317:0711)
Linksys WUSB54GSC v2 (USB-ID 1737:0075)
Tivo Wireless G USB Adapter (USB-ID 0A5C:BD11)

Support for these devices may be possible using NDISwrapper.

External Links

http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43 - b43, b43legacy homepage;
- b43 and b43legacy - device firmware installation
- irc://irc.freenode.net/bcm-users - driver IRC channel
http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/rndis_wlan - rndis_wlan homepage

CategoryHardware | CategoryWireless

Microsoft's unofficial CDC ACM variant, see USB CDC on Wikipedia. (1)

-  ⇤ ← Revision 70 as of 2010-09-22 04:24:58 → 
  Size: 17982
  Editor: GeoffSimmons
  Comment: Link brcm80211, drop BCM4313 as unsupported b43 device.
+   ← Revision 71 as of 2010-10-03 19:00:25 → ⇥
  Size: 13765
  Editor: GeoffSimmons
  Comment: Remove Etch procedures, amend rndis_wlan supported devices.
-Deletions are marked like this.
+Additions are marked like this.
 Line 10:
-<!> '''The [[HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI#pci-id|PCI-Id]] isn't sufficient to determine the Broadcom chipset within.'''
+<!> '''The [[HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI#pci-id|PCI-Id]] is not sufficient to determine the Broadcom chipset within.'''
 Line 40:
- * [[#bcm43xx-etch|bcm43xx]] ([[#supported-bcm43xx|supported devices]])
+ * bcm43xx
 Line 43:
-  * Removed from Linux in 2.6.26.
+  * Removed from Linux at 2.6.26.
 Line 57:
-==== Lenny, Etch ====

 . <!> [[DebianEtch|Etch]] users: These drivers are not present in the stock 2.6.18 kernel.
 . Install an [[EtchAndAHalf]] kernel: {{{apt-cache search linux-image-2.6- | grep etchnhalf}}} and install a package appropriate for your system.
 . Restart your system with this kernel before continuing.
+==== Lenny ====
-Line 67:
+Line 63:
-. Add a "contrib" component to {{{/etc/apt/sources.list}}} for your Debian version, for example: {{{
+. Add a "contrib" component to {{{/etc/apt/sources.list}}}, for example: {{{
-Line 70:
+Line 66:
-}}} ''or'' {{{
# Debian Etch/4.0
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free
-Line 127:
+Line 120:
-Line 149:
+Line 143:
- . <!> [[DebianEtch|Etch]] users: This driver is not present in the stock 2.6.18 kernel.
 . Install a 2.6.26 kernel from [[Backports|Debian Backports]].  Once your sources are configured: {{{apt-cache search linux-image-2.6.26}}} and install a package appropriate for your system.
 . Restart your system with this kernel before continuing.
-Line 155:
+Line 145:
-  {i} Belkin !F5D7051 v1000 users: Due to the inclusion of its vendor and device IDs, an Ralink RT2500USB driver will be incorrectly loaded for this device.  Please blacklist the {{{rt2500usb}}} module before continuing, see KernelModuleBlacklisting.  The !F5D7051 v3000 is not supported.
+  {i} Belkin !F5D7051 v1000 users: Due to the inclusion of its vendor and device ID, a Ralink RT2500USB driver will be incorrectly loaded for this device.  Please [[KernelModuleBlacklisting|blacklist]] the {{{rt2500usb}}} module before continuing.  The !F5D7051 v3000 is not supported.
-Line 179:
+Line 169:
-<<Anchor(bcm43xx-etch)>>
=== bcm43xx (Etch with 2.6.18 kernel only) ===
For Linux 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, which can be performed by the DebianPkg:etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package during installation.

 . <!> You are required to install the DebianPkg:etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package from the [[DebianVolatile|Debian Volatile]] repository due to bug DebianBug:437488.  Installing the DebianPkg:etch/bcm43xx-fwcutter package ''will fail'' to download firmware if requested.
##
 1. Add the Debian Volatile repository (including the "contrib" component) to your {{{/etc/apt/sources.list}}} file, for example: {{{
# Debian Volatile (Etch/4.0)
deb http://volatile.debian.org/debian-volatile etch/volatile main contrib non-free
}}}
 1. Update the list of available packages and install the DebianPkg:etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter and DebianPkg:etch/wireless-tools packages: {{{
aptitude update
aptitude install bcm43xx-fwcutter wireless-tools
}}}
 If you have an Internet connection available, allow the DebianPkg:etch-volatile/bcm43xx-fwcutter package to fetch and extract firmware.

 1. The necessary kernel module should be [[Modules|automatically loaded]].  If necessary, it can be manually loaded via: {{{
modprobe bcm43xx
}}}
 1. Verify your device has an available interface: {{{
iwconfig
}}}
 1. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example: {{{
ifconfig eth1 up
}}}
 1. [[WiFi/HowToUse|Configure]] your wireless interface as appropriate.

==== Troubleshooting ====
 * Examine the kernel ring buffer ([[DebianMan:1/dmesg|dmesg(1)]]) 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 DebianPkg: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) with the [[#b43-b43legacy|b43 or b43legacy driver]].
-Line 216:
+Line 171:
- * This should only be used as a last resort, if the device is not supported by the native drivers (e.g. Broadcom USB devices, other than the BCM4320 USB).
 * Etch users: Before resorting to NDISwrapper, try using the [[#b43-b43legacy|b43/b43legacy drivers]].
+This should only be used as a last resort, if the device is not supported by the native drivers (e.g. Broadcom USB devices, other than the BCM4320 USB).
-Line 219:
+Line 174:
-If loaded, the bcm43xx and b43/b43legacy drivers will conflict with NDISwrapper.  To unload and disable: 

===== Lenny, Etch with 2.6.24 kernel =====
{{{
+If loaded, the b43/b43legacy drivers will conflict with NDISwrapper.  To unload and [[KernelModuleBlacklisting|blacklist]]: {{{
-Line 225:
+Line 177:
-}}}

===== Etch with 2.6.18 kernel =====
{{{
modprobe -r bcm43xx
echo blacklist bcm43xx >> /etc/modprobe.d/local.conf
-Line 269:
+Line 215:
-The following list is based on the ''alias'' fields of {{{modinfo rndis_wlan}}} on Lenny.
+The following list is based on the ''alias'' fields of {{{modinfo rndis_wlan}}} in Debian 2.6.26 (2.6.26-25lenny1) kernel images.
-Line 272:
+Line 218:
-USB: 0411:004B MelCo., Inc. (Device name unknown)
USB: 0411:00BC MelCo., Inc. (Device name unknown)
+USB: *:* (Vendor name unknown) (Device name unknown)
USB: 0411:004B MelCo., Inc. WLI-USB-G54 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 0411:00BC MelCo., Inc. WLI-U2-KG125S 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
-Line 275:
+Line 222:
-USB: 0A5C:D11B Broadcom Corp. (Device name unknown)
USB: 0B05:1717 ASUSTek Computer, Inc. (Device name unknown)
USB: 0BAF:0111 U.S. Robotics (Device name unknown)
USB: 0BAF:011B U.S. Robotics Wireless MAXg Adapter
+USB: 0A5C:D11B Broadcom Corp. Eminent EM4045 [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 0B05:1717 ASUSTek Computer, Inc. WL169gE 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 0BAF:0111 U.S. Robotics USR5420 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320 USB]
USB: 0BAF:011B U.S. Robotics Wireless MAXg Adapter [Broadcom 4320]
-Line 282:
+Line 229:
-USB: 1690:0715 Askey Computer Corp. [hex] Voyager 1055 Laptop Adapter
USB: 1799:011B (Vendor name unknown) (Device name unknown)
+USB: 1690:0715 Askey Computer Corp. [hex] Name: Voyager 1055 Laptop 802.11g Adapter [Broadcom 4320]
USB: 1799:011B Belkin Components (Device name unknown)
-Line 290:
+Line 237:
+/* rndis_wlan can autodetect newer RNDIS devices not listed above. */
-Line 292:
+Line 239:
- * Tivo wireless G (USB-ID 0A5C:BD11) - ''simply a matter of adding alias to the module?''

Refer to the [[NdisWrapper|NDISwrapper]] page for device support.

<<Anchor(supported-bcm43xx)>>
=== bcm43xx ===
The page [[HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI]] explains how to identify a PCI device.

The following list is based on the ''alias'' fields of {{{modinfo bcm43xx}}} on Etch.
## list generated with: http://www.klabs.be/~fpiat/linux/hardware/modinfo-devnames/
 ~- {{{
PCI: 14E4:4301 Broadcom Corporation BCM4303 802.11b Wireless LAN Controller
PCI: 14E4:4307 Broadcom Corporation BCM4307 802.11b Wireless LAN Controller
PCI: 14E4:4318 Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller
PCI: 14E4:4319 Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 [AirForce 54g] 802.11a/b/g PCI Express Transceiver
PCI: 14E4:4320 Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller
PCI: 14E4:4324 Broadcom Corporation BCM4309 802.11a/b/g
PCI: 14E4:4325 Broadcom Corporation BCM43xG 802.11b/g
}}} -~

{i} Although listed above, the BCM4311 is only supported by this driver from kernel 2.6.20.6.  Use of the [[#b43-b43legacy|b43 driver]] is recommended.

 http://bcm43xx.berlios.de/?go=devices - supported devices
+ * Linksys WUSB54GSC v2 (USB-ID 1737:0075)
 * Tivo Wireless G USB Adapter (USB-ID 0A5C:BD11)

Support for these devices may be possible using [[NdisWrapper|NDISwrapper]].
-Line 327:
+Line 255:
- * [[http://bcm43xx.berlios.de/]] - bcm43xx homepage

Diff for "bcm43xx"

Broadcom 43xx wireless devices

Identification

Drivers

b43 and b43legacy

Lenny

Troubleshooting

Squeeze

Troubleshooting

rndis_wlan

Troubleshooting

NDISwrapper

Blacklist native drivers

Installation

Supported Devices

b43

Unsupported

b43legacy

rndis_wlan

Unsupported

See Also

External Links