[SOLVED] BCM43225 802.11b/g/n (rev 01) cannot connect to the internet.

edbarx · 11-20-2011, 01:23 AM

Hi, I am using Debian Squeeze with kde 4 installed. My problem is that I am trying to use wireless without success although I can get the router's name, signal strength and encryption type on the kde network settings application.

Wireless hardware:
04:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM43225 802.11b/g/n (rev 01)

Network connections --->> Wireless
SSID: known
MODE: infrastructure
BSSID: ??? (what is it?)
Restrict to Interface: Any
MTU: Automatic

Network connections --->> Wireless Security
Security: WPA/WPA2 Personal
Password: known to be correct

Any help will definitely be appreciated.
Thanks

Peacedog · 11-20-2011, 06:19 PM

Hi edbarx, Welcome to LQ. Please post the result of the following.

Code:

$ sudo lsmod | egrep '(wl)|(b43)|(lib)'
$ sudo lspci -vvnn | grep -i net

Good luck. ;-)

edbarx · 11-21-2011, 03:07 PM

Code:

# lsmod | egrep '(wl)|(b43)|(lib)'
lib80211_crypt_tkip     6709  0 
wl                   1937423  0 
lib80211                2870  2 lib80211_crypt_tkip,wl
libata                115869  1 ahci
scsi_mod              104853  4 sg,sr_mod,sd_mod,libata

Code:

# lspci -vvnn | grep -i net
04:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM43225 802.11b/g/n [14e4:4357] (rev 01)
05:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications AR8132 Fast Ethernet [1969:1062] (rev c0)
pcilib: sysfs_read_vpd: read failed: Connection timed out

Peacedog · 11-21-2011, 08:53 PM

Let's have a look at the ifconfig and iwconfig outputs please.

Code:

$ sudo ifconfig -a
$ sudo iwconfig

Good luck. ;-)

edbarx · 11-22-2011, 06:52 AM

Code:

# ifconfig -a
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr ************  
          inet addr:*.*.*.*  Bcast:*.*.*.*  Mask:*.*.*.0
          inet6 addr: ************/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:2462 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1187 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:1
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:910035 (888.7 KiB)  TX bytes:197568 (192.9 KiB)
          Interrupt:29 

eth1      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr ***********  
          inet6 addr: ****************/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 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:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
          Interrupt:17 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:*.0.0.*  Mask:*.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:120 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:120 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:7560 (7.3 KiB)  TX bytes:7560 (7.3 KiB)

Code:

# iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

eth1      IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:""  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Bit Rate:16 Mb/s   Tx-Power:24 dBm   
          Retry min limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Managementmode:All packets received
          Link Quality=5/5  Signal level=0 dBm  Noise level=0 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

Peacedog · 11-22-2011, 08:25 PM

Are you a member of the netdev group?

Code:

$ groups

Good luck. ;-)

Peacedog · 11-22-2011, 08:28 PM

If you're in the netdev group here is a couple of other things to look at.

http://wiki.debian.org/NetworkManage...ger_in_Squeeze

Good luck. ;-)

edbarx · 11-23-2011, 12:13 AM

Code:

$ groups
edbarx cdrom floppy audio dip video plugdev

It seems I am not a member of netdev.

Peacedog · 11-23-2011, 07:33 PM

Let's add you to that group and see if that solves your problem.

Code:

# usermod -a -G netdev username

Replace username with your actual users name.

Good luck. ;-)

edbarx · 11-24-2011, 06:55 AM

Could you please tell me what is the purpose of user groups and how they affect an OS's security on the network including the internet? I beg your pardon for asking this question, but I am concerned that if I do something wrong I might unwittingly expose my data.

Peacedog · 11-24-2011, 08:24 AM

Permissions and groups is a very broad topic, but I'll try to give you a short version as it pertains to your situation. Having a netdev group allows any user in that group to access devices and files for network configuration that are normally reserved for root. It's a safer alternative than running as root to access the devices/files you need. The group along with root has access which limits what certain users on the system have access to.

There is also a typo in my above post which I have corrected.

Good luck. ;-)

edbarx · 11-24-2011, 03:28 PM

So, effectively, you are telling me that the system is refusing to use the wifi because some network configuration files are not accessible for my user name.

Do you have an idea which files are these? I should think, if as a normal user with my limited account, I can view these files with a text editor, then it should mean, the problem is caused by something else.

Please, excuse my concern for being very cautious: I migrated from MS Windows to use GNU/Linux for security reasons primarily and then for free software.

Peacedog · 11-24-2011, 03:51 PM

I am saying it could be the problem, not that it is the problem. I understand your concern, but becoming a member of the group is safer than running as root. Groups are a safe way to allow users access to devices/files as well as restricting access to those same devices/files.

It is no different than being a member of the audio, cdrom, or plugdev groups. Without membership to those groups you wouldn't be able to use sound devices, cd/dvd devices, or pluggable devices. i.e. flash drives.

Good luck.;-)

edbarx · 11-25-2011, 06:11 AM

I will try your solution and report back. In case it doesn't solve my issue, how do I undo the effects of the command:

Code:

# usermod -a -G netdev username

Peacedog · 11-25-2011, 07:30 AM

Adding your user account to the netdev group is listed as a step in the wiki:

http://wiki.debian.org/WiFi/HowToUse#KDE

Quote:

KDE

1. Ensure your user account is a member of the netdev group.

If you still have concerns and would like to remove your user from that group, just issue usermod again with the groups you prefer to stay a member of.

Code:

# usermod -G edbarx, cdrom, floppy, audio, dip, video, plugdev, yourusername

That will keep you in all of the groups you are already a member of and remove the netdev group.

Good luck. ;-)