Broadcom wifi stopped working after update kernel to 3.2.1

mr.erdk · #1 24th January 2012, 03:30 PM

Hi everybody!

After today kernel update to version 3.2.1-3 my wifi card stopped working. Apparently brcmsmac was replaced by new version of b43 driver - which don't work with my wifi card at this moment.

Solution - stick to previous kernel version.

If anybody sees something familiar in their dmesg:
[ 257.565882] b43-phy1: Broadcom 4313 WLAN found (core revision 24)
[ 257.566039] b43-phy1 ERROR: FOUND UNSUPPORTED PHY (Analog 10, Type 8, Revision 1)
[ 257.566052] b43: probe of bcma0:0 failed with error -95
[ 257.566083] Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PMNLS ]

And no wifi card, there's your answer. I've already filled a bug in bugzilla: Bugreport I'm pasting it here for concern ones.

Cheers!

stoat · #2 24th January 2012, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.erdk

Apparently brcmsmac was replaced by new version of b43 driver

Well maybe, but why would b43 (an old driver that requires us to install firmware) replace a very new driver like brcmsmac which has been working great? I will be surprised if that turns out to be true. I don't have that new kernel, but why don't you find out by attempting to list those Broadcom wireless modules in the new kernel...

Code:

modprobe --list | grep -e b43 -e brcmsmac

List what modules currently are loaded for your wireless device...

Code:

lsmod | sort
lspci -k

See if a wireless interface exists...

Code:

ifconfig

Look through /etc/modprobe.d to see if or which wireless modules have been blacklisted...

Code:

su
cat /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

There could be other .conf files there with blacklisted wireless modules.

mr.erdk · #3 24th January 2012, 08:28 PM

I've already tried this

brcmsmac is not available in newest kernel, from Broadcom there is only brcmfmac:

[21:17:43] erdk /lib/modules/3.2.1-3.fc16.x86_64 $ find . -name "*brcm*"
./kernel/drivers/net/wireless/brcm80211
./kernel/drivers/net/wireless/brcm80211/brcmutil
./kernel/drivers/net/wireless/brcm80211/brcmutil/brcmutil.ko
./kernel/drivers/net/wireless/brcm80211/brcmfmac
./kernel/drivers/net/wireless/brcm80211/brcmfmac/brcmfmac.ko

So there's no brcmsmac at all. Currently I'm looking at kernel sources from src rpm, maybe it's just missed kernel option.

JEO · #4 24th January 2012, 09:04 PM

Do a Google search for "brcm80211 breakage"

I think they broke the brcmsmac driver trying to consolidate some shared code and in the interim enabled the b43 driver. However with b43 you will have to install firmware to get it to work.

JumaX9 · #5 29th January 2012, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stoat

Look through /etc/modprobe.d to see if or which wireless modules have been blacklisted...

Code:

su
cat /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

There could be other .conf files there with blacklisted wireless modules.

I had the same problem and it worked for me. I looked through the blacklist and "unblacklisted" the following:

bcm43xx
b43
bcma

Now I have wifi fully working on kernel 3.2.2 ^__^

jsiret · #6 29th January 2012, 07:12 PM

Thank you very much.