Broadcom wireless driver doesn't work in ubuntu 14.04. My pci id is [14e4:43b1] (rev 03)

Question

I'm dual booting win 8 and Ubuntu on Yoga 3 Pro. I had the same issues as other users:

When I installed Ubuntu, the wifi wouldn't work until I blacklist'd ideapad_laptop.
then touchpad/touchscreen wouldn't work.
so I updated to latest kernel (3.19.0-031900-generic) and the touchpad and touchscreen worked but I can not for the life of me get wifi working. I've tried all suggestions found.

Any ideas? I'm happy to provide any info that you think may help narrow this down.

Here is the result of the wireless script:

Note: the script output shows wl in /etc/modules but I added that manually, when I run sudo modprobe wl, I get modprobe: FATAL: Module wl not found..

 ########## wireless info START ##########

 Report from: 18 Feb 2015 21:01 GMT +0000

 Booted last: 17 Feb 2015 22:53 GMT +0000

 Script from: 20 Sep 2014 23:04 UTC +0000

 ##### release ###########################

 Distributor ID:    Ubuntu
 Description:   Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS
 Release:   14.04
 Codename:  trusty

 ##### kernel ############################

 Linux 3.19.0-031900-generic #201502091451 SMP Mon Feb 9 14:52:52 UTC 2015 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

 Parameters: ro, quiet, splash, vt.handoff=7

 ##### desktop ###########################

 Ubuntu

 ##### lspci #############################

 01:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4352 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter [14e4:43b1] (rev 03)
    Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:0623]

 ##### lsusb #############################

 Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
 Bus 001 Device 004: ID 048d:8386 Integrated Technology Express, Inc. 
 Bus 001 Device 003: ID 1bcf:2c43 Sunplus Innovation Technology Inc. 
 Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0489:e07a Foxconn / Hon Hai 
 Bus 001 Device 006: ID 17ef:7203 Lenovo 
 Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

 ##### PCMCIA card info ##################

 ##### rfkill ############################

 3: hci0: Bluetooth
    Soft blocked: yes
    Hard blocked: no

 ##### lsmod #############################

 wmi                    19379  0 

 ##### interfaces ########################

 auto lo
 iface lo inet loopback

 ##### ifconfig ##########################

 eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr <MAC 'eth0' [IF]>  
           inet addr:192.168.2.251  Bcast:192.168.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
           inet6 addr: fe80::250:b6ff:fe59:f0bd/64 Scope:Link
           UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
           RX packets:1389 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
           TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
           collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
           RX bytes:576003 (576.0 KB)  TX bytes:277882 (277.8 KB)

 ##### iwconfig ##########################

 eth0      no wireless extensions.

 lo        no wireless extensions.

 ##### route #############################

 Kernel IP routing table
 Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface
 0.0.0.0         192.168.2.1     0.0.0.0         UG    0      0        0 eth0
 192.168.2.0     0.0.0.0         255.255.255.0   U     1      0        0 eth0

 ##### resolv.conf #######################

 nameserver 127.0.1.1

 ##### nm-tool ###########################

 NetworkManager Tool

 State: connected (global)

 - Device: eth0  [Wired connection 1] -------------------------------------------
   Type:              Wired
   Driver:            asix
   State:             connected
   Default:           yes
   HW Address:        <MAC 'eth0' [IF]>

   Capabilities:
     Carrier Detect:  yes
     Speed:           100 Mb/s

   Wired Properties
     Carrier:         on

   IPv4 Settings:
     Address:         192.168.2.251
     Prefix:          24 (255.255.255.0)
     Gateway:         192.168.2.1

     DNS:             192.168.2.1

 ##### NetworkManager.state ##############

 [main]
 NetworkingEnabled=true
 WirelessEnabled=true
 WWANEnabled=true
 WimaxEnabled=true

 ##### NetworkManager.conf ###############

 [main]
 plugins=ifupdown,keyfile,ofono
 dns=dnsmasq

 [ifupdown]
 managed=false

 ##### NetworkManager profiles ###########

 [[/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/purplepig]] (600 root)
 [connection] id=purplepig | type=802-11-wireless
 [802-11-wireless] ssid=purplepig | mac-address=<MAC address>
 [ipv4] method=auto
 [ipv6] method=auto

 ##### iw reg get ########################

 Region: Europe/Dublin (based on set time zone)

 country 00:
    (2402 - 2472 @ 40), (6, 20)
    (2457 - 2482 @ 40), (6, 20), PASSIVE-SCAN
    (2474 - 2494 @ 20), (6, 20), NO-OFDM, PASSIVE-SCAN
    (5170 - 5250 @ 160), (6, 20), PASSIVE-SCAN
    (5250 - 5330 @ 160), (6, 20), DFS, PASSIVE-SCAN
    (5490 - 5730 @ 160), (6, 20), DFS, PASSIVE-SCAN

 ##### iwlist channels ###################

 eth0      no frequency information.

 lo        no frequency information.

 ##### iwlist scan #######################

 eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

 lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

 ##### module infos ######################

 ##### module parameters #################

 ##### /etc/modules ######################

 lp
 rtc
 wl

 ##### modprobe options ##################

 [/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath_pci.conf]
 blacklist ath_pci

 [/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf]
 blacklist evbug
 blacklist usbmouse
 blacklist usbkbd
 blacklist eepro100
 blacklist de4x5
 blacklist eth1394
 blacklist snd_intel8x0m
 blacklist snd_aw2
 blacklist i2c_i801
 blacklist prism54
 blacklist bcm43xx
 blacklist garmin_gps
 blacklist asus_acpi
 blacklist snd_pcsp
 blacklist pcspkr
 blacklist amd76x_edac
 blacklist ideapad_laptop
 blacklist b43
 blacklist ssb
 blacklist bcma
 blacklist b43legacy
 blacklist brcm80211

 [/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-rare-network.conf]
 alias net-pf-3 off
 alias net-pf-6 off
 alias net-pf-9 off
 alias net-pf-11 off
 alias net-pf-12 off
 alias net-pf-19 off
 alias net-pf-21 off
 alias net-pf-36 off

 [/etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf]
 remove iwlwifi \
 (/sbin/lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs /sbin/rmmod) \
 && /sbin/modprobe -r mac80211

 [/etc/modprobe.d/mlx4.conf]
 softdep mlx4_core post: mlx4_en

 ##### rc.local ##########################

 exit 0

 ##### pm-utils ##########################

 [/etc/pm/power.d/disable_wol] (777 root)
 CONFFILE=/etc/default/tlp
 LIBDIRS='/usr/lib /usr/lib64'
 for d in ${LIBDIRS}; do
     if [ -d "${d}/pm-utils/power.d" ]; then
         blocked="${d}/pm-utils/power.d/${0##*/}"
         break
     fi
 done
 if [ -n "$blocked" ] && [ -x "$blocked" ]; then
     # else nothing to disable -> don't read $CONFFILE
     if [ -e "$CONFFILE" ] && . "$CONFFILE" && [ "$TLP_ENABLE" = '1' ]; then
         # TLP is enabled -> disable $blocked
         echo "Notice: '${blocked}' disabled by TLP."
     else
         exec "$blocked" $*
     fi
 fi
 exit 0

 [/etc/pm/power.d/laptop-mode] (777 root)
 CONFFILE=/etc/default/tlp
 LIBDIRS='/usr/lib /usr/lib64'
 for d in ${LIBDIRS}; do
     if [ -d "${d}/pm-utils/power.d" ]; then
         blocked="${d}/pm-utils/power.d/${0##*/}"
         break
     fi
 done
 if [ -n "$blocked" ] && [ -x "$blocked" ]; then
     # else nothing to disable -> don't read $CONFFILE
     if [ -e "$CONFFILE" ] && . "$CONFFILE" && [ "$TLP_ENABLE" = '1' ]; then
         # TLP is enabled -> disable $blocked
         echo "Notice: '${blocked}' disabled by TLP."
     else
         exec "$blocked" $*
     fi
 fi
 exit 0

 [/etc/pm/power.d/pci_devices] (777 root)
 CONFFILE=/etc/default/tlp
 LIBDIRS='/usr/lib /usr/lib64'
 for d in ${LIBDIRS}; do
     if [ -d "${d}/pm-utils/power.d" ]; then
         blocked="${d}/pm-utils/power.d/${0##*/}"
         break
     fi
 done
 if [ -n "$blocked" ] && [ -x "$blocked" ]; then
     # else nothing to disable -> don't read $CONFFILE
     if [ -e "$CONFFILE" ] && . "$CONFFILE" && [ "$TLP_ENABLE" = '1' ]; then
         # TLP is enabled -> disable $blocked
         echo "Notice: '${blocked}' disabled by TLP."
     else
         exec "$blocked" $*
     fi
 fi
 exit 0

 [/etc/pm/power.d/pcie_aspm] (777 root)
 CONFFILE=/etc/default/tlp
 LIBDIRS='/usr/lib /usr/lib64'
 for d in ${LIBDIRS}; do
     if [ -d "${d}/pm-utils/power.d" ]; then
         blocked="${d}/pm-utils/power.d/${0##*/}"
         break
     fi
 done
 if [ -n "$blocked" ] && [ -x "$blocked" ]; then
     # else nothing to disable -> don't read $CONFFILE
     if [ -e "$CONFFILE" ] && . "$CONFFILE" && [ "$TLP_ENABLE" = '1' ]; then
         # TLP is enabled -> disable $blocked
         echo "Notice: '${blocked}' disabled by TLP."
     else
         exec "$blocked" $*
     fi
 fi
 exit 0

 [/etc/pm/power.d/sched-powersave] (777 root)
 CONFFILE=/etc/default/tlp
 LIBDIRS='/usr/lib /usr/lib64'
 for d in ${LIBDIRS}; do
     if [ -d "${d}/pm-utils/power.d" ]; then
         blocked="${d}/pm-utils/power.d/${0##*/}"
         break
     fi
 done
 if [ -n "$blocked" ] && [ -x "$blocked" ]; then
     # else nothing to disable -> don't read $CONFFILE
     if [ -e "$CONFFILE" ] && . "$CONFFILE" && [ "$TLP_ENABLE" = '1' ]; then
         # TLP is enabled -> disable $blocked
         echo "Notice: '${blocked}' disabled by TLP."
     else
         exec "$blocked" $*
     fi
 fi
 exit 0

 [/etc/pm/power.d/usb_bluetooth] (777 root)
 CONFFILE=/etc/default/tlp
 LIBDIRS='/usr/lib /usr/lib64'
 for d in ${LIBDIRS}; do
     if [ -d "${d}/pm-utils/power.d" ]; then
         blocked="${d}/pm-utils/power.d/${0##*/}"
         break
     fi
 done
 if [ -n "$blocked" ] && [ -x "$blocked" ]; then
     # else nothing to disable -> don't read $CONFFILE
     if [ -e "$CONFFILE" ] && . "$CONFFILE" && [ "$TLP_ENABLE" = '1' ]; then
         # TLP is enabled -> disable $blocked
         echo "Notice: '${blocked}' disabled by TLP."
     else
         exec "$blocked" $*
     fi
 fi
 exit 0

 [/etc/pm/power.d/wireless] (777 root)
 CONFFILE=/etc/default/tlp
 LIBDIRS='/usr/lib /usr/lib64'
 for d in ${LIBDIRS}; do
     if [ -d "${d}/pm-utils/power.d" ]; then
         blocked="${d}/pm-utils/power.d/${0##*/}"
         break
     fi
 done
 if [ -n "$blocked" ] && [ -x "$blocked" ]; then
     # else nothing to disable -> don't read $CONFFILE
     if [ -e "$CONFFILE" ] && . "$CONFFILE" && [ "$TLP_ENABLE" = '1' ]; then
         # TLP is enabled -> disable $blocked
         echo "Notice: '${blocked}' disabled by TLP."
     else
         exec "$blocked" $*
     fi
 fi
 exit 0

 [/etc/pm/power.d/xfs_buffer] (777 root)
 CONFFILE=/etc/default/tlp
 LIBDIRS='/usr/lib /usr/lib64'
 for d in ${LIBDIRS}; do
     if [ -d "${d}/pm-utils/power.d" ]; then
         blocked="${d}/pm-utils/power.d/${0##*/}"
         break
     fi
 done
 if [ -n "$blocked" ] && [ -x "$blocked" ]; then
     # else nothing to disable -> don't read $CONFFILE
     if [ -e "$CONFFILE" ] && . "$CONFFILE" && [ "$TLP_ENABLE" = '1' ]; then
         # TLP is enabled -> disable $blocked
         echo "Notice: '${blocked}' disabled by TLP."
     else
         exec "$blocked" $*
     fi
 fi
 exit 0

 ##### udev rules ########################

 [/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules]
 # PCI device 0x14e4:0x43b1 (wl)
 SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="<MAC address>", ATTR{dev_id}=="0x0", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="wlan*", NAME="wlan0"
 # USB device 0x:0x (asix)
 SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="<MAC 'eth0' [IF]>", ATTR{dev_id}=="0x0", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="eth*", NAME="eth0"

 ##### dmesg #############################

 [  666.728265] WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 3235 at /home/kernel/COD/linux/drivers/base/firmware_class.c:1126 _request_firmware+0x1c1/0x1e0()
 [  666.728384]  [<ffffffff8150b6b1>] _request_firmware+0x1c1/0x1e0
 [  666.728388]  [<ffffffff8150b7cc>] request_firmware+0x3c/0x60
 [  666.728467] bluetooth hci0: firmware: brcm/BCM20702A0-0489-e07a.hcd will not be loaded
 [  666.728471] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: patch brcm/BCM20702A0-0489-e07a.hcd not found

 ########## wireless info END ############

Is ideapad_laptop still blacklisted? What suggestions did you try unsuccessfully to resolve this? Can you please perform Wifi diagnostics and [edit] your question to include the result? — David Foerster, Feb 18 '15 at 00:05
Here is a link to a Q&A that covers almost all issues about Broadcom Wifi. Maybe some steps over there might help you... — Byte Commander, Feb 18 '15 at 01:17
@ByteCommander I went thru your link. Still no joy. Would there be any known issues with going to 3.19 kernel? I'm thinking of reinstalling and double checking again... — eShankster, Feb 19 '15 at 20:18
Sorry, I am not the expert on wifi networking. I only knew about that Q&A and linked it. But I will ping an expert I know (chili555) in chat and ask him to come over for looking at your problem. — Byte Commander, Feb 20 '15 at 07:49

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 20 '15 at 13:39

1

Before we go any further, let's be certain that ideapad-laptop is working as expected. From a terminal:

sudo modprobe ideapad-laptop

Now do both your wireless switch and touchpad/touchscreen work as expected? If so, please remove the blacklist you added previously. Now for the wireless:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall bcmwl-kernel-source
sudo modprobe wl

Please note and post any errors.

answered Feb 20 '15 at 13:39

chili555

60,188

Hi @chili555, I'm in the process of re-installing, so I'll let you know how this goes later (at work currently). – eShankster Feb 20 '15 at 15:01
I believe the quirk in ideapad-laptop is fixed in kernel version 3.16 and later. I suggest, if you are reinstalling, you use Ubuntu 14.10 which uses the 3.16.0-xx kernel. Good luck! – chili555 Feb 20 '15 at 16:00
Excellent @chili555, I had removed/added some many drivers with my previous attempts, so when I did a clean build with 14.1 - everything worked. I just needed to blacklist ideapad-laptop as mentioned in many places. Thanks! – eShankster Feb 22 '15 at 12:08

Broadcom wireless driver doesn't work in ubuntu 14.04. My pci id is [14e4:43b1] (rev 03)

1 Answers1