Broadcom BCM43228 failing on DELL Latitude E6230 running 20.04

Question

I have a fresh install of 20.04 LTS on a DELL E6230 and the WiFi is failing. When I disconnect the wired connection, the WiFi does not show any networks to connect to. I have followed the instructions to install the firmware-b43-installer drivers from <here> and also tried the broadcom-sta-dkms/broadcom-sta-source from <here>. Both suggested 'fixes' have the same result, no WiFi icon and no networks displayed when searching. I can see the WiFi icon on the laptop chassis light up so I know the hardware switch is in the enabled position. I have also tried the command x from the terminal. I have toggled the hardware switch just to check that off the list. WiFi was working in Windows 10 before the Ubuntu install. Here is my network config:

sudo lshw -class network
  *-network                 
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection (Lewisville)
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 19
       bus info: pci@0000:00:19.0
       logical name: eno1
       version: 04
       serial: d4:be:d9:5e:d2:90
       size: 1Gbit/s
       capacity: 1Gbit/s
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=e1000e driverversion=3.2.6-k duplex=full firmware=0.13-3 ip=192.168.10.55 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=1Gbit/s
       resources: irq:33 memory:f7e00000-f7e1ffff memory:f7e39000-f7e39fff ioport:f080(size=32)
  *-network
       description: Wireless interface
       product: BCM43228 802.11a/b/g/n
       vendor: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
       logical name: wlp2s0
       version: 00
       serial: 08:3e:8e:4e:38:2a
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=wl0 driverversion=6.30.223.271 (r587334) latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
       resources: irq:17 memory:f7d00000-f7d03fff
--------------------------------------------------------
rfkill list all
1: hci0: Bluetooth
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
2: phy0: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
3: brcmwl-0: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
4: dell-wifi: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
5: dell-bluetooth: Bluetooth
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no

What else can I try?

Additional data requested:

dmesg | grep wl
-------------------------------------------------------------
[    3.378526] b43 bcma0:1 wlp2s0b1: renamed from wlan0
[  140.948297] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  141.041870] wlp2s0b1: send auth to 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  141.044239] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  141.045545] wlp2s0b1: associate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  141.048749] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=4)
[  141.049022] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  141.063947] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  141.089690] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlp2s0b1: link becomes ready
[  510.785746] wlp2s0b1: deauthenticating from 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING)
[  518.107800] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e
[  518.210704] wlp2s0b1: send auth to d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e (try 1/3)
[  518.213672] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  518.214412] wlp2s0b1: associate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e (try 1/3)
[  518.229062] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e (capab=0x1531 status=0 aid=2)
[  518.229343] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  518.247116] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e
[  518.265310] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlp2s0b1: link becomes ready
[  522.272491] wlp2s0b1: deauthenticated from d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e (Reason: 2=PREV_AUTH_NOT_VALID)
[  522.649148] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f
[  522.848305] wlp2s0b1: send auth to d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (try 1/3)
[  523.051992] wlp2s0b1: send auth to d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (try 2/3)
[  523.255938] wlp2s0b1: send auth to d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (try 3/3)
[  523.256842] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  523.259884] wlp2s0b1: associate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (try 1/3)
[  523.262201] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=2)
[  523.262475] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  523.312625] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f
[  571.154770] wlp2s0b1: deauthenticating from d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING)
[  573.661353] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  573.686946] wlp2s0b1: send auth to 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  573.691671] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  573.694686] wlp2s0b1: associate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  573.701997] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=4)
[  573.702266] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  573.804321] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  596.125334] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5
[  596.223697] wlp2s0b1: send auth to 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5 (try 1/3)
[  596.235951] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  596.239478] wlp2s0b1: associate with 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5 (try 1/3)
[  596.250993] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5 (capab=0x1431 status=0 aid=6)
[  596.251257] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  597.305197] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5
[  619.161925] wlp2s0b1: deauthenticating from 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5 by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING)
[  621.598817] wlp2s0b1: authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be
[  621.759930] wlp2s0b1: send auth to 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  621.763563] wlp2s0b1: authenticated
[  621.767699] wlp2s0b1: associate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (try 1/3)
[  621.772287] wlp2s0b1: RX AssocResp from 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=4)
[  621.772581] wlp2s0b1: associated
[  621.829531] wlp2s0b1: Limiting TX power to 30 (30 - 0) dBm as advertised by 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be

nmcli device wifi list

IN-USE  BSSID              SSID                        MODE   CHAN  RATE        SIGNAL >
        6C:F3:7F:73:65:C0  --                          Infra  1     130 Mbit/s  100    >
        6C:F3:7F:73:65:C1  MoE_Guest                   Infra  1     130 Mbit/s  100    >
        2C:BA:BA:28:36:1D  Menken                      Infra  5     270 Mbit/s  100    >
        6A:14:01:79:AD:89  DIRECT-89-HP M277 LaserJet  Infra  5     65 Mbit/s   100    >
        D4:AB:82:AE:A4:8E  menken-guest                Infra  6     130 Mbit/s  100    >
        D6:AB:82:AE:A4:8E  --                          Infra  6     130 Mbit/s  100    >
*       2C:BA:BA:28:3C:BE  Menken                      Infra  149   270 Mbit/s  100    >
        2C:BA:BA:28:35:D5  Menken                      Infra  5     270 Mbit/s  92     >
        2C:BA:BA:28:36:11  Menken                      Infra  5     270 Mbit/s  77     >
        78:D2:94:F0:C1:A1  IBEN-2.4                    Infra  11    195 Mbit/s  55     >
        2C:BA:BA:28:3C:76  Menken                      Infra  149   270 Mbit/s  54     >
        2C:BA:BA:28:3C:B2  Menken                      Infra  149   270 Mbit/s  34     >
        78:D2:94:F0:DA:19  IBEN-5                      Infra  153   405 Mbit/s  22     >
lines 1-14/14 (END)

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 06 '21 at 14:37

First of all, there is only one appropriate driver for your device: bcmwl-kernel-source. The package firmware-b43-installer is not needed and is not recommended at the link you gave. It is, however, not necessary to remove it. Do, however, confirm that bcmwl-kernel-source is properly installed:

sudo dpkg -s bcmwl-kernel-source | grep Status

Next,in your dmesg, we see that your wireless is consistently connecting, dropping and connecting again to another instance of the same SSID:

authenticate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8e

authenticate with d4:ab:82:ae:a4:8f

authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:3c:be

authenticate with 2c:ba:ba:28:35:d5

All of these are seperate instances of the SSID "Menken." There are six such instances in your scan. Not all are available at full signal strength. Some are 2.4 gHz bands and some are 5 gHz.

If these are access points over which you have administrative priveleges, I suggest that you rename them to something like Menken2.4, Menken5, Menkenkids, etc. Fixed channels and WPA2-AES are preferred. Avoid any autoselect.

If not, then I suggest that you bind Network Manager to the strongest instance of Menken to prevent the constant drops and reconnects and to assure that you are bound to the nearest and, presumably fastest. The process to do so is outlined here: Ubuntu connect drops. Worked for a while then started dropping again

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 09 '21 at 20:24

The Broadcom chipset on this DELL E6230 required both sets of drivers to be installed to fully support wireless. This worked for me:

sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer b43-fwcutter
sudo reboot
sudo apt-get install bcmwl-kernel-source
sudo reboot

select your wifi network and enjoy.

Thanks to chili555 for all his help and guidance.

tombnyg · Answer 3 · 2024-09-17T13:54:30.283

On my Dell E6430 there is a BIOS setting that turns WiFi off when an ethernet connection is present. When I disabled this and installed the bcmwl-kernel-source - it all worked fine. I've struggled with this on almost every version of ubuntu install but currently 24.04 is working on this old as dirt laptop.

Update: after upgrading to 24.10 I have a very reproducible 'bug'. If I remove and restore power, wifi works ok. If I use shutdown -r now, the wifi does not see any APs. Here is some dmesg output from both cases: :::::::::::::: por.txt :::::::::::::: sudo dmesg |grep wl [ 5.670666] wl: loading out-of-tree module taints kernel. [ 5.670678] wl: module license 'MIXED/Proprietary' taints kernel. [ 5.670684] wl: module verification failed: signature and/or required key missing - tainting kernel [ 5.670687] wl: module license taints kernel. [ 6.481814] wlan0: Broadcom BCM4359 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 6.30.223.271 (r587334) [ 6.539015] wl 0000:02:00.0 wlp2s0: renamed from wlan0 [ 12.787449] memcpy: detected field-spanning write (size 429) of single field "dst" at /var/l ib/dkms/broadcom-sta/6.30.223.271/build/src/wl/sys/wl_cfg80211_hybrid.c:3086 (size 0) [ 12.787488] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 539 at /var/lib/dkms/broadcom-sta/6.30.223.271/build/src/wl /sys/wl_cfg80211_hybrid.c:3086 wl_inform_single_bss+0x40a/0x550 [wl] [ 12.787599] Modules linked in: snd_seq_dummy snd_hrtimer qrtr rfcomm cmac algif_hash algif_s kcipher af_alg bnep snd_hda_codec_hdmi snd_hda_codec_idt snd_hda_codec_generic binfmt_misc inte l_rapl_msr intel_rapl_common x86_pkg_temp_thermal intel_powerclamp snd_hda_intel coretemp snd_i ntel_dspcfg snd_intel_sdw_acpi kvm_intel snd_hda_codec snd_hda_core kvm snd_hwdep snd_pcm dell_ pc platform_profile crct10dif_pclmul polyval_clmulni snd_seq_midi polyval_generic snd_seq_midi_ event ghash_clmulni_intel btusb snd_rawmidi sha256_ssse3 dell_laptop btrtl sha1_ssse3 btintel a esni_intel crypto_simd btbcm at24 mei_hdcp mei_pxp dell_smm_hwmon dell_wmi wl(POE) snd_seq btmt k cryptd dell_smbios i915 i2c_i801 rapl dcdbas i2c_mux bluetooth snd_seq_device intel_cstate wm i_bmof dell_wmi_descriptor sparse_keymap i2c_smbus cfg80211 drm_buddy snd_timer ttm drm_display _helper lpc_ich mei_me snd cec mei soundcore rc_core i2c_algo_bit dell_smo8800 dell_rbtn joydev input_leds mac_hid serio_raw sch_fq_codel msr parport_pc ppdev lp parport efi_pstore [ 12.787720] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 539 Comm: wl_event_handle Tainted: P OE 6.11.0 -7-generic #7-Ubuntu [ 12.787729] RIP: 0010:wl_inform_single_bss+0x40a/0x550 [wl] [ 12.787863] ? wl_notify_scan_status+0x1c2/0x250 [wl] [ 12.787944] ? wl_inform_single_bss+0x40a/0x550 [wl] [ 12.788022] ? wl_inform_single_bss+0x40a/0x550 [wl] [ 12.788129] ? wl_inform_single_bss+0x40a/0x550 [wl] [ 12.788189] ? wl_inform_single_bss+0x40a/0x550 [wl] [ 12.788273] ? wlc_set_ratetable+0x2ce/0x3e2 [wl] [ 12.788350] ? wlc_ioctl_internal+0xbc/0x170 [wl] [ 12.788429] wl_notify_scan_status+0x1c2/0x250 [wl] [ 12.788514] wl_event_handler+0x7b/0x1a0 [wl] [ 12.788600] ? __pfx_wl_event_handler+0x10/0x10 [wl] [ 12.993024] UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in /var/lib/dkms/broadcom-sta/6.30.223.271/buil d/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c:1935:4 [ 12.993098] _wl_set_multicast_list+0x220/0x240 [wl] [ 12.993200] wl_set_multicast_list+0x3a/0xa0 [wl]

:::::::::::::: shut-r.txt :::::::::::::: sudo dmesg |grep wl [ 5.244455] wl: loading out-of-tree module taints kernel. [ 5.244466] wl: module license 'MIXED/Proprietary' taints kernel. [ 5.244472] wl: module verification failed: signature and/or required key missing - tainting kernel [ 5.244474] wl: module license taints kernel. [ 5.338743] wlan0: Broadcom BCM4359 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 6.30.223.271 (r587334) [ 6.465267] wl 0000:02:00.0 wlp2s0: renamed from wlan0

Broadcom BCM43228 failing on DELL Latitude E6230 running 20.04

3 Answers3