Mint 18.3 WiFi not appearing

weinelb · 02-06-2018, 04:41 PM

ferrari,

I restored "NetworkManager" after "wicd" had no effect on problem. Hence, all 4 are above.

ferrari · 02-06-2018, 05:20 PM

Ok, that output confirms no wireless device node present. Probably no driver loaded. Check with 'lspci -nnk'.

Filtered for class 02 (network devices)...

Code:

lspci -nnk|grep '\[02' -A3

hydrurga · 02-06-2018, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weinelb

hydrurga,

Not mysterious, but intentional to suppress redundancy. Every "m" was preceded by 2 digits and a ";" and appeared to provide no additional information.

Reality: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse

Your output: deb http://archive.ubuntu.c/ubuntu xenialain restricted universeultiverse

Not particularly redundant.

Anyway, this is not relevant to the matter in hand. However it will confuse someone who reads this thread in the future and thinks that the source repository information you posted was a "A plain vanilla Mint 18.3 install."

ferrari · 02-06-2018, 05:39 PM

As camorri mentioned back in post #7, you will need to install firmware when using the open source b43 driver. Read the info in the links provided (in particular firmware installation) and you'll get this wireless NIC working.

weinelb · 02-06-2018, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferrari

Ok, that output confirms no wireless device node present. Probably no driver loaded. Check with 'lspci -nnk'.

Filtered for class 02 (network devices)...

Code:

lspci -nnk|grep '\[02' -A3

Here is lspci filtered (which didn't seem to help) output:

Code:

00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RS480/RS482/RS485 Host Bridge [1002:5950] (rev 10)
	Subsystem: Dell RS480/RS482/RS485 Host Bridge [1028:022a]
00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RC4xx/RS4xx PCI Bridge [int gfx] [1002:5a3f]
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:05.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RC4xx/RS4xx PCI Express Port 2 [1002:5a37]
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:06.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RC4xx/RS4xx PCI Express Port 3 [1002:5a38]
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:12.0 SATA controller [0106]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SB600 Non-Raid-5 SATA [1002:4380]
	Subsystem: Dell SB600 Non-Raid-5 SATA [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: ahci
	Kernel modules: ahci
00:13.0 USB controller [0c03]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SB600 USB (OHCI0) [1002:4387]
	Subsystem: Dell SB600 USB (OHCI0) [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: ohci-pci
00:13.1 USB controller [0c03]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SB600 USB (OHCI1) [1002:4388]
	Subsystem: Dell SB600 USB (OHCI1) [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: ohci-pci
00:13.2 USB controller [0c03]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SB600 USB (OHCI2) [1002:4389]
	Subsystem: Dell SB600 USB (OHCI2) [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: ohci-pci
00:13.3 USB controller [0c03]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SB600 USB (OHCI3) [1002:438a]
	Subsystem: Dell SB600 USB (OHCI3) [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: ohci-pci
00:13.4 USB controller [0c03]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SB600 USB (OHCI4) [1002:438b]
	Subsystem: Dell SB600 USB (OHCI4) [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: ohci-pci
00:13.5 USB controller [0c03]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SB600 USB Controller (EHCI) [1002:4386]
	Subsystem: Dell SB600 USB Controller (EHCI) [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
00:14.0 SMBus [0c05]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SBx00 SMBus Controller [1002:4385] (rev 14)
	Subsystem: Dell SBx00 SMBus Controller [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: piix4_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c_piix4, sp5100_tco
00:14.1 IDE interface [0101]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SB600 IDE [1002:438c]
	Subsystem: Dell SB600 IDE [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: pata_atiixp
	Kernel modules: pata_atiixp, pata_acpi
00:14.2 Audio device [0403]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA) [1002:4383]
	Subsystem: Dell SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA) [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel
00:14.3 ISA bridge [0601]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SB600 PCI to LPC Bridge [1002:438d]
	Subsystem: Dell SB600 PCI to LPC Bridge [1028:022a]
00:14.4 PCI bridge [0604]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SBx00 PCI to PCI Bridge [1002:4384]
00:18.0 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration [1022:1100]
00:18.1 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map [1022:1101]
00:18.2 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller [1022:1102]
00:18.3 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control [1022:1103]
	Kernel driver in use: k8temp
	Kernel modules: k8temp
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RS482M [Mobility Radeon Xpress 200] [1002:5975]
	Subsystem: Dell RS482M [Mobility Radeon Xpress 200] [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: radeon
	Kernel modules: radeonfb, radeon
05:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN [14e4:4311] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini-Card [1028:0007]
	Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
	Kernel modules: ssb, wl
08:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Limited BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX [14e4:170c] (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Dell BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: b44
	Kernel modules: b44
08:01.0 SD Host controller [0805]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter [1180:0822] (rev 19)
	Subsystem: Dell R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci
	Kernel modules: sdhci_pci
08:01.1 System peripheral [0880]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller [1180:0843] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Dell R5C843 MMC Host Controller [1028:022a]
	Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci
	Kernel modules: sdhci_pci

As you can see there is a driver for this device, and PCI, installed. As mentioned earlier in this thread, I have tried the recommended "bcmwl-kernel-source" driver and the non-legacy BCM4311 driver—all with same results.

ferrari · 02-06-2018, 06:27 PM

The relevant output is this

Code:

05:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN [14e4:4311] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini-Card [1028:0007]
	Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
	Kernel modules: ssb, wl

For the open source driver, make sure that you have installed the firmware as already explained. Also, as you have installed the proprietary wl driver ( by installing bcmwl-kernel-source), you may find it has blacklisted the b43 driver. Check the /etc/modprobe.d/ directory for a file with the relevant 'blacklist' entry. The following thread describes the same...

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=238180

weinelb · 02-06-2018, 06:32 PM

ferrari,

Thanks, but I'm calling it a day. I'll try that tomorrow.

ferrari · 02-06-2018, 06:39 PM

No worries - in your own time. We're all in different time zones anyway. Best dealt with a refreshed head. I think you should remove the broadcom package for this chipset anyway...

Code:

sudo apt-get remove bcmwl-kernel-source

Then check nothing still blacklisted. If in doubt, post

Code:

ls -l /etc/modprobe.d/

and finally via a wired ethernet connection install the firmware package and reboot.

weinelb · 02-07-2018, 06:58 AM

First, WiFi now appears in "Network Settings" and "Network Connections" but is "disabled per "nmcli g":

Code:

STATE      CONNECTIVITY  WIFI-HW   WIFI      WWAN-HW  WWAN    
connected  full          disabled  disabled  enabled  enabled

Even though WiFi is "ON" in "Network Connections" while showing "Unavailable" as status. This is confirmed by "nmcli d" content and screen capture:

Code:

DEVICE  TYPE      STATE        CONNECTION         
eth0    ethernet  connected    Wired connection 1 
wlan0   wifi      unavailable  --                 
lo      loopback  unmanaged    --

Click image for larger version

Name: Screenshot from 2018-02-07 07-03-27.jpg
Views: 25
Size: 55.8 KB
ID: 26935

Second, the b43 driver is not blacklisted per this "iwlwifi.conf" file shows:

Code:

# /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf
# iwlwifi will dyamically load either iwldvm or iwlmvm depending on the
# microcode file installed on the system.  When removing iwlwifi, first
# remove the iwl?vm module and then iwlwifi.
remove iwlwifi \
(/sbin/lsmod | grep -o -e ^iwlmvm -e ^iwldvm -e ^iwlwifi | xargs /sbin/rmmod) \
&& /sbin/modprobe -r mac80211

Finally, here is the relevant sections from "inix -Fxz" and full "inix -Sr":

Code:

[1;34mNetwork:  [0;37m [1;34mCard-1:[0;37m Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [1;34mdriver:[0;37m b43-pci-bridge [1;34mbus-ID:[0;37m 05:00.0[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [1;34mIF:[0;37m wlan0 [1;34mstate:[0;37m down [1;34mmac:[0;37m <filter>[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [1;34mCard-2:[0;37m Broadcom Limited BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [1;34mdriver:[0;37m b44 [1;34mv:[0;37m 2.0 [1;34mbus-ID:[0;37m 08:00.0[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [1;34mIF:[0;37m eth0 [1;34mstate:[0;37m up [1;34mspeed:[0;37m 100 Mbps [1;34mduplex:[0;37m full [1;34mmac:[0;37m <filter>[0;37m

Code:

[1;34mSystem:   [0;37m [1;34mHost:[0;37m nancyn-Vostro-1000 [1;34mKernel:[0;37m 4.10.0-38-generic x86_64 (64 bit)[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [1;34mDesktop:[0;37m Cinnamon 3.6.7  [1;34mDistro:[0;37m Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia[0;37m
[1;34mRepos:    [0;37m [1;34mActive apt sources in file:[0;37m /etc/apt/sources.list[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m deb http://www.openprinting.org/download/printdriver/debian/ lsb3.2 contrib[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [1;34mActive apt sources in file:[0;37m /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m deb http://packages.linuxmint.com sylvia main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [0;37mdeb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [0;37mdeb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [0;37mdeb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [0;37mdeb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse[0;37m
[1;34m          [0;37m [0;37mdeb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ xenial partner[0;37m
[0m

Any suggestion for making WiFi "Available"?

camorri · 02-07-2018, 09:33 AM

Looks like you have your wifi working. I think you have just an operational problem. I don't use NM on my desktops at home, only on my netbook which is my travelling machine.

I don't particularly like inxi as a way to display network information, I find it cluttered, although the information is there if you look for it.

I got my netbook out, and connected a ethernet cable. eth0 was down and wifi was working. I disconnected wlan0 with NM. I could not get eth0 to connect with NM. I opened a bash prompt, and ran the command 'ifconfig eth0 up'. ( I'm old school here, you can do the same with the ip command, but I can never remember the syntax ). That brought up eth0, I could ping my router, but no further. I did't have anything in /etc/resolv.conf ( no nameservers) I added 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 name servers and all was well.

I went back to the desktop, and tried to activate wlan0 with eth0 up. That did not work. I had to de-activate eth0 with ifconfig command. The I could activate wlan0. Then in NM, connections, I could select my wifi router, and was on-line.

Give this a try, and let us know what happens.

weinelb · 02-07-2018, 09:55 AM

camorri,

When I try to use "ifconfig" it allows this:

Code:

sudo ifconfig eth0 up

But when I try to do:

Code:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

It says "operation not permitted due to RF-kill" (whether "eth0" is up or down [disconnected]). I have tried ("0" is WiFi per "rfkill list"):

Code:

sudo rfkill unblock 0

but it has no effect ("rfkill list" still show "hard block: yes"). Could this be a BIOS issue?

camorri · 02-07-2018, 10:07 AM

I haven't had to use rfkill much, how ever, you can find out if there is a soft or hard block on a rf interface. In a terminal, 'rfkill list' will show the status of the interfaces. If you look at man rfkill help, you will see there is a command to upblock ( or block ) an interface.

I suspect you have one blocked.

Let us know.

weinelb · 02-07-2018, 10:31 AM

Hurray! Found it!

On checking BIOS found WiFi was not disabled, but WiFi Hotkey was enabled and default set to "Disable on boot". Hitting "function+F2" (the "WiFi key") removed the "hard block" as confirmed by:

Code:

rfkill list

Then, amazingly, a popup told me WiFi had automatically connected to the WiFi LAN with what I had added in "Network Connections" during the debug process! Here is the result:

Click image for larger version

Name: Screenshot from 2018-02-07 11-19-11.png
Views: 52
Size: 48.7 KB
ID: 26938

Mucho thanks, "camorri" for all the help.

camorri · 02-07-2018, 10:35 AM

Glad to see it working. You are most welcome.