why is broadcom wireless so difficult with Ubuntu?

Question

This is the second laptop I've tried to convert to Linux and the only thing that gives me trouble is the wireless.

Answer 1

I've had the same problem, and this is what I did:

The best way to fix this is to first use a wired connection. Plug in an ethernet cable and do this:

1. Open a terminal and type the following:

   $ sudo apt-get install ndiswrapper-common

2. Find out what type of card you have. Just type in:

   $ lspci -vvnn | grep 14e4

If you get BCM4311, BCM4312, BCM4313, BCM4321, BCM4322, BCM43224, BCM43225, **BCM43227, or **BCM43228...

1. Type this in a terminal:

   $ sudo apt-get install bcmwl-kernel-source

If you get BCM4306/3, BCM4311, BCM4312, BCM4318, or BCM4320...

1. Type in this:

   $ sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter

   $ sudo apt-get install firmware-b43legacy-installer (if wanted)

   $ sudo modprobe -r b43 ssb wl (some things will give errors, don't worry)

   $ sudo modprobe b43

   $ sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

You should be able to now get ndiswrapper working, and I think that's about it. You can configure like normal from there...

Good luck ^-^