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I have an installation of Ubuntu 16.04 x64 on my MacBook Pro Retina 2013 15". Using Internet via the Apple Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adapter is fine but using WIFI internet works the way different: it "sees" the network, it connects and it stay online for about 10 minutes. After it the WIFI interrupts and I have to switch OFF and then again ON the WIFI to recover the connection for the next 5-10 minutes and it repeats and repeats.. over and over..

I have installed driver Broadcom 802.11 (BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n (AirPort Extreme)) but with this driver the WIFI does not work completely. If I switch to the default driver (via Software&Updates->Additional Drivers) the WIFI works as described above.

Here is a system report: Download SYSTEM REPORT HERE

UPDATE: The output of the lspci -knn | grep Net -A2 command:

03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM57786 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe [14e4:16a3] (rev 10)
    Subsystem: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM57786 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe [14e4:16b4]
03:00.1 SD Host controller [0805]: Broadcom Corporation BCM57765/57785 SDXC/MMC Card Reader [14e4:16bc] (rev 10)
    Subsystem: Broadcom Corporation BCM57765/57785 SDXC/MMC Card Reader [14e4:96bc]
--
04:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n [14e4:4331] (rev 02)
    Subsystem: Apple Inc. AirPort Extreme [106b:00ef]
    Kernel driver in use: bcma-pci-bridge

UPDATED:

The solution, kindly suggested by the user Pilot6, did not work for me as: once I have done it step by step and reboot the WIFI completely disappears from the menu and even system settings.

The only thing began working form that point was to enable the Broadcom driver from the Software&Updates->Additional Drivers menu. But the problem is still the problem: the internet interrupts every 10-15 minutes.

The WIFI module works perfectly on MacOs 10.9 so the problem does not relate to the module's condition at all.

Any help is appreciated!

Thank you!

David Foerster
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Arsenii
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    Please run this script and [edit] your question with it, preferably, on pastebin – M. Becerra Jan 24 '17 at 19:03
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    Please [edit] your question and add output of lspci -knn | grep Net -A2 terminal command. – Pilot6 Jan 24 '17 at 19:14
  • I have just added the output – Arsenii Jan 24 '17 at 19:18
  • It looks like a wrong driver is loaded again. Please post the output of grep b43 /etc/modprobe.d/*. – Pilot6 Jan 25 '17 at 12:27
  • /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf:# replaced by b43 and ssb. – Arsenii Jan 25 '17 at 12:39
  • I updated my answer. Run the last command and reboot. – Pilot6 Jan 25 '17 at 13:36
  • No... Do not install that driver from Additional drivers. That will break it again after a reboot. – Pilot6 Jan 25 '17 at 15:25
  • @Pilot6 without using Broadcom driver the WIFI disappears at all from the computer (even from the Settings->Network). So the only thing now works - the Broadcom driver.. but.. it interrupts again.. but needs now more time to interrupt: before it was 5-7 mins, now about 12-15 mins. – Arsenii Jan 26 '17 at 13:26
  • @Pilot6 I am getting to hate my computer.... )) – Arsenii Jan 26 '17 at 13:30
  • Listen. The driver you install from "Additional drivers" is wrong for your adapter. Instead of doing what we suggest, you are doing wrong things that does not let to help you. I am voting to close this question as a duplicate of the generic Broadcom guide. – Pilot6 Jan 26 '17 at 14:10
  • @Pilot6 Yeah. I have just updated the question. I have really done everything you have suggested for me few times.... but the same result - the WIFI disappears from the menu and system settings. Even now I am writing this here only thankfully to the Broadcom driver enabled. Without it I do not have even an option to enable the WIFI across the system. – Arsenii Jan 26 '17 at 14:54
  • It is very inconsistent and unclear now. – Pilot6 Jan 26 '17 at 15:03
  • @Arsenii I think the bcma may be correct, remove the blacklist-bcma.conf – Pilot6 Jan 26 '17 at 15:47
  • @Pilot6 Thank you. I have just made everything from the link you have supposed for me ( Installing Broadcom Wireless Drivers ) and want to wait to see how it will work. I see that after those actions the Broadcom dirver has enabled itself again in the Software&Updates->Additional Drivers. So, let's see. I will write the update here a bit later. Thanks again for your help. – Arsenii Jan 26 '17 at 15:58
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    Forget about that "additional drivers" it confuses things. Can't you see that you installed not a recommended driver for your chip? I re-wrote my answer and tried to explain it. – Pilot6 Jan 26 '17 at 15:59
  • @Pilot6 Hi again! The driver works good enough (not as strong signal as expected, but enough). I use now wl. Thank you for your kindest help! – Arsenii Jan 27 '17 at 11:51
  • Please don't put the answer in the question! It's enough to mark the existing answer as accepted. – David Foerster Jan 27 '17 at 12:41
  • @DavidFoerster Ok. My apologies. I saw this practice many times across stackoverflow, wordpress etc. stackexchange sites. Again - sorry. – Arsenii Jan 27 '17 at 14:46
  • @Arsenii: Yes, unfortunately I see that frequently too but it goes against the StackExchange model of having clearly distinct question and answer posts instead of a flow of conversation posts like in a traditional forum or mailing list. – David Foerster Jan 27 '17 at 23:15

1 Answers1

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Three drivers theoretically may more or less support this wireless module.

  1. bcmwl-kernel-source that is seen as wl in lspci -knn | grep Net -A2 is a proprietary driver. It is installed when you use the "Additional Drivers" GUI. It blacklists all other drivers.

  2. b43 is an open source kernel module that is installed in Linux kernels. It requires firmware that can be installed by sudo apt install firmware-b43-installer.

  3. bcma is also an in-tree kernel module that supports some of Broadcom chips. It also claims to support the 4331 device.

Broadcom claims that wl supports the 4331, but these claims are not reliable. Some of chipstes that are listed by Broadcom simply do not work with that driver.

According to user experience the correct driver is b43.

bcma looks blatantly wrong for this adapter.

So, I suggest to blacklist bcma by

sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-bcma.conf <<< "blacklist bcma"

After that lspci -knn | grep Net -A2 should show b43 as the module in use. If it does not add it to /etc/modules by

sudo tee -a /etc/modules <<< "b43"

You can always remove this file to use the bcma driver by

sudo rm  /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-bcma.conf

If you have better experience with the wl module, you can use it.

But you need to understand what you are doing. When you install the Broadcom driver from "Additional Drivers" you install bcmwl-kernel-source and blacklist the b43.

Pilot6
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  • Thank you!!! Looks like still working without any interruptions! Great!!! – Arsenii Jan 24 '17 at 20:15
  • You need to reboot and test if the driver stays. If not, some actions are needed. – Pilot6 Jan 24 '17 at 20:16
  • Already done. Rebooted and still working. Thank you, really!!! – Arsenii Jan 24 '17 at 20:17
  • @Arsenii There is no need to edit the answer. It should work without a reboot. I asked for a reboot to test if b43 stays there and does not switch back to bcma. Or it did not work without a reboot? – Pilot6 Jan 24 '17 at 20:21
  • you should've added the notes about the necessary of reboot, as some alterations does NOT means reboot after and works without and people may think that it does not work (do not knowing that there MUST be done a reboot before it works). As THIS solution DID NOT work BEFORE the reboot. I have checked it. And only because of it I added this edit. This should be there. – Arsenii Jan 24 '17 at 20:21
  • So does it work without a reboot, or not? – Pilot6 Jan 24 '17 at 20:22
  • Not, really, for me. Only after the reboot it started to work. That is why I tried to add this to your kind answer. – Arsenii Jan 24 '17 at 20:23
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    OK, I see. I will add that. It could work without a reboot. – Pilot6 Jan 24 '17 at 20:23
  • Cool! Thank you again! You made my day )) Take care! – Arsenii Jan 24 '17 at 20:24
  • Hi! Today I am trying to use the WIFI and it seems to not working again. The same problem.. But this time it first gets very slow and than just interrupts at all.. May I ask you for a help again, please? Or do I need to reinstall the driver every time I turn on the computer? Thanks! – Arsenii Jan 25 '17 at 11:02
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    Please [edit] your question and add output of lspci -knn | grep Net -A2 terminal command. I will see which driver is loaded. – Pilot6 Jan 25 '17 at 11:18
  • Dear Pilot6 : here is output in the answer (updated) – Arsenii Jan 25 '17 at 12:21
  • It still does not work... I give up!!!!! I am going to buy some other WIFI module (usb) for my Macbook as I do not have anymore time to fight with the WIFI.... I have to reload WIFI every 2-3 minutes... I just have tired..... – Arsenii Jan 31 '17 at 14:57
  • @Arsenii - The network you're connected to - "Silknet" - has the worst possible wireless encryption settings. Change it to the recommended WPA2-AES only, at your router. Your current settings - mixed mode + TKIP - are known to cause those issues, in Linux, with any chipset/driver, affecting ones worse than others, Broadcom are the ones showing the most problems with your current settings. Sorry, nobody spotted it before. –  Jan 31 '17 at 19:21
  • I do not think the encryption is the problem since AES is available. The problem may be with the strong neighbor AP on the same channel 3. – Pilot6 Jan 31 '17 at 19:47