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⇤ ← Revision 9 as of 2011-05-21 06:47:22 →
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Comment: Mention change to brcmsmac at Linux 2.6.39, fix changelog link.
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Comment: Link BTS #628975.
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It is included in Debian Linux kernel images since [[DebianPts:linux-2.6]] [[http://packages.debian.org/changelogs/pool/main/l/linux-2.6/current/changelog#version2.6.32-22|2.6.32-22]]. Non-free firmware is required and must be installed prior to device operation. It is included in Debian Linux kernel images since [[DebianPts:linux-2.6]] [[http://packages.debian.org/changelogs/pool/main/l/linux-2.6/current/changelog#version2.6.32-22|2.6.32-22]], but not currently available during Debian installation (DebianBug:628975). Non-free firmware is required and must be installed prior to device operation.
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The following list is based on the ''alias'' fields of {{{modinfo brcm80211}}} in Debian 2.6.32 (2.6.32-31) kernel images. The following list is based on the ''alias'' fields of {{{modinfo brcm80211}}} in Debian 2.6.32 (2.6.32-34squeeze1) kernel images.

Translation(s): none

Broadcom 4313, 43224, 43225 devices (brcm80211, brcmsmac)

This page describes how to enable support for WiFi devices based on Broadcom BCM4313, BCM43224, BCM43225 chipsets on Debian systems.

Contents

  1. Broadcom 4313, 43224, 43225 devices (brcm80211, brcmsmac)
    1. Installation
      1. Squeeze
      2. Lenny
    2. Supported Devices
    3. See Also
    4. External Links

brcm80211 (brcmsmac as of Linux 2.6.39) is a free and open source mac80211 driver currently in development, supporting specific Broadcom 802.11n PCIe wireless LAN chipsets:

  • BCM4313 (PCI ID 14E4:4727)
  • BCM43224 (PCI ID 14E4:4353)
  • BCM43225 (PCI ID 14E4:4357)

It is included in Debian Linux kernel images since linux-2.6 2.6.32-22, but not currently available during Debian installation (628975). Non-free firmware is required and must be installed prior to device operation.

<!> This staging driver is only available for the x86 and x86-64 architectures (Debian i386 and AMD64 ports respectively) at this time.

{i} For support of other Broadcom PCI wireless LAN chipsets, see bcm43xx.

Installation

Squeeze

  1. Add a "non-free" component to /etc/apt/sources.list, for example: 

    # Debian Squeeze/6.0
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian squeeze main contrib non-free

  2. Update the list of available packages and install the firmware-brcm80211 and wireless-tools packages: 

    # aptitude update
# aptitude install firmware-brcm80211 wireless-tools

  3. As the driver may already be loaded, reinsert the module to access installed firmware: 

    # modprobe -r brcm80211 ; modprobe brcm80211

  4. Verify your device has an available interface: 

    # iwconfig

  5. Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Lenny

  1. Add the Debian Backports repository to /etc/apt/sources.list, also including the "non-free" component. For example: 

    # Backported packages for Debian Lenny/5.0
deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports lenny-backports main contrib non-free

  2. Update the list of available packages: 

    # aptitude update

  3. Install a Linux 2.6.32 kernel image appropriate for your system, along with the lenny-backports/firmware-brcm80211 and wireless-tools packages. For example: 

    # aptitude -t lenny-backports install linux-image-$(uname -r|sed 's,[^-]*-[^-]*-,,') firmware-brcm80211 wireless-tools
  4. Restart your system and boot with the newly installed kernel.

  5. The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via: 

    $ su
# modprobe brcm80211

  6. Verify your device has an available interface: 

    # iwconfig

  7. Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Supported Devices

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

The following list is based on the alias fields of modinfo brcm80211 in Debian 2.6.32 (2.6.32-34squeeze1) kernel images. 

  • PCI: 14E4:4353 Broadcom Corporation BCM43224 802.11a/b/g/n
PCI: 14E4:4357 Broadcom Corporation BCM43225 802.11b/g/n
PCI: 14E4:4727 Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller

See Also

CategoryHardware | CategoryWireless