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I am brand new to Ubuntu, and have just made a dual boot system, running Windows 7 as well. During the Windows installation, Windows was able to automatically search for a WiFi access point, but Ubuntu, however, is unable to search for WiFi access points. If it is possible, I am unable to figure out how, otherwise it prompts me to manually enter my SSID key as well as my BSSID key, and my device MAC address, which I'm unaware of how to locate. Could anyone tell me if there is any way to have Ubuntu search for an access point? And if not, could someone please tell me where to find the info that I enter manually? I've also tried hardwiring my laptop directly to my router via ethernet cable, and Ubuntu still does not acknowledge any network connection. Any and all input would be most appreciated, as I have just recently begun an introductory Linux course, and this has caused it to come to a standstill. Thanks in advance

Jason Gervasio
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Typically, the Network Manager icon at the top right will show available networks, like this: http://www.techotopia.com/images/d/de/Ubuntu_10.10_networkmanager_menu.jpg Then you click the one you want to connect to and you are challenged for the WPA2 key.

If you see no networks, it is possible that your wireless device doesn't yet have a required driver. The fastest and easiest way to collect the information is from the terminal. Please press Ctrl+Alt+t and run and post:

lspci -nn | grep 0280

Also post the result of:

rfkill list all

Your Broadcom probably requires firmware. Please hook up the ethernet and do:

sudo apt-get purge bcmwl-kernel-source

If you have the card combination I suspect, your ethernet should now be available so do:

sudo modprobe b44
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer

After a reboot, wireless networks should be selectable in Network Manager.

chili555
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  • Thank you chili. The result of the first command was as follows: 0b:00 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN [14e4:4311] (rev 01)

    The result of the second command: 0: hci0: Bluetooth Soft blocked: no Hard blocked: no

     – Jason Gervasio Nov 16 '14 at 17:03
  • Thank you very much for your patience and time chili, your hypothesis was correct! My WiFi is up and running. Why all this trouble to get this firmware? It was an easy fix if you know what to look for, but I feel as though most people are like myself and don't know these commands or what may have even been causing the problem initially. – Jason Gervasio Nov 23 '14 at 14:22
  • Glad it's working! There are good explanations here: http://askubuntu.com/questions/55868/installing-broadcom-wireless-drivers/60395#60395 and here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2214110 Unfortunately, Broadcom keeps their firmware as proprietary and not open source. If it were open source, it could be included in Ubuntu by default. – chili555 Nov 23 '14 at 14:38