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I have a fresh install of 20.04 LTS on a DELL E6230 and the WiFi is failing. When I disconnect the wired connection, the WiFi does not show any networks to connect to. I have followed the instructions to install the firmware-b43-installer drivers from <here> and also tried the broadcom-sta-dkms/broadcom-sta-source from <here>. Both suggested 'fixes' have the same result, no WiFi icon and no networks displayed when searching. I can see the WiFi icon on the laptop chassis light up so I know the hardware switch is in the enabled position. I have also tried the command x from the terminal. I have toggled the hardware switch just to check that off the list. WiFi was working in Windows 10 before the Ubuntu install. Here is my network config:

sudo lshw -class network
  *-network                 
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection (Lewisville)
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 19
       bus info: pci@0000:00:19.0
       logical name: eno1
       version: 04
       serial: d4:be:d9:5e:d2:90
       size: 1Gbit/s
       capacity: 1Gbit/s
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=e1000e driverversion=3.2.6-k duplex=full firmware=0.13-3 ip=192.168.10.55 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=1Gbit/s
       resources: irq:33 memory:f7e00000-f7e1ffff memory:f7e39000-f7e39fff ioport:f080(size=32)
  *-network
       description: Wireless interface
       product: BCM43228 802.11a/b/g/n
       vendor: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
       logical name: wlp2s0
       version: 00
       serial: 08:3e:8e:4e:38:2a
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=wl0 driverversion=6.30.223.271 (r587334) latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
       resources: irq:17 memory:f7d00000-f7d03fff
--------------------------------------------------------
rfkill list all
1: hci0: Bluetooth
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
2: phy0: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
3: brcmwl-0: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
4: dell-wifi: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
5: dell-bluetooth: Bluetooth
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no

What else can I try?

Additional data requested:

dmesg | grep wl
-------------------------------------------------------------
[    3.378526] b43 bcma0:1 wlp2s0b1: renamed from wlan0
[  140.948297] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  141.041870] wlp2s0b1: send auth to 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  141.044239] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  141.045545] wlp2s0b1: associate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  141.048749] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=4)
[  141.049022] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  141.063947] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  141.089690] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlp2s0b1: link becomes ready
[  510.785746] wlp2s0b1: deauthenticating from 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING)
[  518.107800] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e
[  518.210704] wlp2s0b1: send auth to d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e (try 1/3)
[  518.213672] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  518.214412] wlp2s0b1: associate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e (try 1/3)
[  518.229062] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e (capab=0x1531 status=0 aid=2)
[  518.229343] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  518.247116] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e
[  518.265310] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlp2s0b1: link becomes ready
[  522.272491] wlp2s0b1: deauthenticated from d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e (Reason: 2=PREV_AUTH_NOT_VALID)
[  522.649148] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f
[  522.848305] wlp2s0b1: send auth to d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (try 1/3)
[  523.051992] wlp2s0b1: send auth to d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (try 2/3)
[  523.255938] wlp2s0b1: send auth to d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (try 3/3)
[  523.256842] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  523.259884] wlp2s0b1: associate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (try 1/3)
[  523.262201] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=2)
[  523.262475] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  523.312625] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f
[  571.154770] wlp2s0b1: deauthenticating from d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING)
[  573.661353] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  573.686946] wlp2s0b1: send auth to 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  573.691671] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  573.694686] wlp2s0b1: associate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  573.701997] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=4)
[  573.702266] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  573.804321] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  596.125334] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5
[  596.223697] wlp2s0b1: send auth to 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5 (try 1/3)
[  596.235951] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  596.239478] wlp2s0b1: associate with 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5 (try 1/3)
[  596.250993] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5 (capab=0x1431 status=0 aid=6)
[  596.251257] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  597.305197] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5
[  619.161925] wlp2s0b1: deauthenticating from 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5 by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING)
[  621.598817] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  621.759930] wlp2s0b1: send auth to 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  621.763563] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  621.767699] wlp2s0b1: associate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  621.772287] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=4)
[  621.772581] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  621.829531] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be

nmcli device wifi list

IN-USE  BSSID              SSID                        MODE   CHAN  RATE        SIGNAL >
        6C:F3:7F:73:65:C0  --                          Infra  1     130 Mbit/s  100    >
        6C:F3:7F:73:65:C1  MoE_Guest                   Infra  1     130 Mbit/s  100    >
        2C:BA:BA:28:36:1D  Menken                      Infra  5     270 Mbit/s  100    >
        6A:14:01:79:AD:89  DIRECT-89-HP M277 LaserJet  Infra  5     65 Mbit/s   100    >
        D4:AB:82:AE:A4:8E  menken-guest                Infra  6     130 Mbit/s  100    >
        D6:AB:82:AE:A4:8E  --                          Infra  6     130 Mbit/s  100    >
*       2C:BA:BA:28:3C:BE  Menken                      Infra  149   270 Mbit/s  100    >
        2C:BA:BA:28:35:D5  Menken                      Infra  5     270 Mbit/s  92     >
        2C:BA:BA:28:36:11  Menken                      Infra  5     270 Mbit/s  77     >
        78:D2:94:F0:C1:A1  IBEN-2.4                    Infra  11    195 Mbit/s  55     >
        2C:BA:BA:28:3C:76  Menken                      Infra  149   270 Mbit/s  54     >
        2C:BA:BA:28:3C:B2  Menken                      Infra  149   270 Mbit/s  34     >
        78:D2:94:F0:DA:19  IBEN-5                      Infra  153   405 Mbit/s  22     >
lines 1-14/14 (END)
nobody
  • 5,437
Dale Menken
  • 11
  • Additional information from dmesg output: [ 3.834100] wlan0: Broadcom BCM4359 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 6.30.223.271 (r587334) and [ 4.020851] wl 0000:02:00.0 wlp2s0: renamed from wlan0 – Dale Menken Feb 05 '21 at 22:19
  • Please edit your question to show the result of these terminal commands: dmesg | grep wl and also: nmcli device wifi list Welcome to Ask Ubuntu. – chili555 Feb 05 '21 at 22:45
  • I just finished rebuilding my laptop to remove the several attempts and get back to a clean installation. Then followed the instructions from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx and did the sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer process. Rebooted and hte WiFI showed networks. Connected to my router and I thought I was home free, then it dropped the connection. – Dale Menken Feb 06 '21 at 05:07
  • chili555 - requested data added above as it was too large to fit here. – Dale Menken Feb 06 '21 at 05:19
  • When it does connect, the throughput is horrible. 2-4mps down and fails on upload. Another laptop right next to this one running 20.04 gets 85.28 down and 17.79 upload. I must have the wrong drivers selected. – Dale Menken Feb 06 '21 at 05:30

2 Answers2

2

First of all, there is only one appropriate driver for your device: bcmwl-kernel-source. The package firmware-b43-installer is not needed and is not recommended at the link you gave. It is, however, not necessary to remove it. Do, however, confirm that bcmwl-kernel-source is properly installed:

sudo dpkg -s bcmwl-kernel-source | grep Status

Next,in your dmesg, we see that your wireless is consistently connecting, dropping and connecting again to another instance of the same SSID:

authenticate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e

authenticate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f

authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be

authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5

All of these are seperate instances of the SSID "Menken." There are six such instances in your scan. Not all are available at full signal strength. Some are 2.4 gHz bands and some are 5 gHz.

If these are access points over which you have administrative priveleges, I suggest that you rename them to something like Menken2.4, Menken5, Menkenkids, etc. Fixed channels and WPA2-AES are preferred. Avoid any autoselect.

If not, then I suggest that you bind Network Manager to the strongest instance of Menken to prevent the constant drops and reconnects and to assure that you are bound to the nearest and, presumably fastest. The process to do so is outlined here: Ubuntu connect drops. Worked for a while then started dropping again

chili555
  • 60,188
  • The bcmwl-kernel-source package was not installed so I added it and rebooted. Selected the MENKEN wifi network and it's fast like the other workstation. I have a mesh WiFi network and before I bind to only one I'll run as-is and test for a couple of days. Thank you very much for the guidance. Too many blind spots for only one access point. How can I assign a fixed channel to the WiFi network? – Dale Menken Feb 06 '21 at 20:11
  • Set a fixed channel at the router, like this,for example: https://help.ncf.ca/images/e/ee/TP-Link_8950_Change_Channel.png – chili555 Feb 06 '21 at 20:54
  • Still seeing odd wifi results on this E6230. After a re-install, in dmesg the wifi controller is reported as: wlan0: Broadcom BCM4359 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 6.30.223.271 (r587334), but in the lsw -class network report, it's called: product: BCM43228 802.11a/b/g/n. I only loaded the driver you recommended and now it does not see any wifi networks at all. Very strange ... – Dale Menken Feb 07 '21 at 00:47
  • May we see a full diagnostic report? https://askubuntu.com/questions/425155/my-wireless-wifi-connection-does-not-work-what-information-is-needed-to-diagnos/425180#425180 – chili555 Feb 07 '21 at 01:23
  • I think I found the missing piece. After a fresh install I have to install firmware-b43-installer & b43-fwcutter, before I install bcmwl-kernel-source. I provided three diags in the upload (fresh install, after b43 installs and after bcmwl. Seems to be working great right now except for tracking AP's by MAC, mesh networks should track by SSID so you can roam from AP to AP. This limitation would be a negative in a corporate office. – Dale Menken Feb 08 '21 at 23:06
  • Chili555, the paste sites don't seem to allow uploads of the tar.gz archive. Please advise. – Dale Menken Feb 08 '21 at 23:13
  • Usually, when you run the script, it creates a txt file which you can paste and also a tar.gz which can be used at ubuntuforums. Check for wireless-info.txt and paste it and give us the link. – chili555 Feb 08 '21 at 23:26
  • After both sets of drivers were added and a reboot: https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/zsyNR2k27w/ . As stated above, this is working except for the lack of MESH Network support. – Dale Menken Feb 09 '21 at 05:34
  • apt-get install bcmwl-kernel-source was enough for me to get it working. – cheche Jan 07 '24 at 09:46
0

The Broadcom chipset on this DELL E6230 required both sets of drivers to be installed to fully support wireless. This worked for me:

sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer b43-fwcutter
sudo reboot
sudo apt-get install bcmwl-kernel-source
sudo reboot

select your wifi network and enjoy.

Thanks to chili555 for all his help and guidance.

Dale Menken
  • 11
  • The b43 suite is not required and, in fact, if you examine your paste, you will see that b43, ssb, bcma et al are blacklisted. It is not necessary to install firmware for a driver that will explicitly not be used. – chili555 Feb 09 '21 at 20:58
  • That may be, but without installing the B43 drivers first, the bcmwl-kernel-source driver does not operate correctly and find any access points. I have re-installed 20.04 multiple times and every time that I don't install the B43 drivers that are called out in the dmesg text, the wireless does not work. Is it possible that there is firmware support in the B43 install that the bcmwl-kernel-source driver does not have? – Dale Menken Feb 11 '21 at 15:57
  • Not at all. If I had a Broadcom wireless, I would test. This is the first and, so far, only case I've ncountered of this behavior. – chili555 Feb 11 '21 at 17:08
  • Sorry for the delayed response, Snowmageddon caused several days of no internet. I have tested with a fresh install and just loading the bcmwl-kernel-source loaded and no networks were discovered. It seems something gets set or loaded by the B43 driver installs that is required. Not sure what as I'm fairly new to Linux to troubleshoot further. – Dale Menken Feb 17 '21 at 18:16
  • I don't understand this mechanism at all. However, if it's working as expeced, I wouldn't try to fix what isn't broken. I suggest that you call it fixed. – chili555 Feb 17 '21 at 20:54