I used method 3 after uninstalling the existing driver for the broadcom card installed by default (my Broadcom 4312 wireless card is low power and requires firmware-b43-lpphy-installer_4.174.64.19-4_all.deb instead of the default firmware-b43-installer... I marked that file for removal and applied the change using Synaptic Package Manager.
This works for Ubuntu, Linux Mint XFCE and LMDE ...
To install the premade driver from Broadcom follow the instructions given by Broadcom for installation of the Broadcom-STA driver:
On a computer with Internet access, download the required firmware files from
http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/wl ... 130.20.0.o
http://mirror2.openwrt.org/sources/broa ... .5.tar.bz2
Copy the downloaded files to your home folder and execute the following commands
consecutively in a terminal to extract and install the firmware:
open terminal
su (makes you a super user)
(note that the prompt is now a # hashmark)
Type the following commands (after the # prompt)
tar xfvj broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2
sudo b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o
sudo b43-fwcutter --unsupported -w /lib/firmware broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5/driver/wl_apsta_mimo.o
I did not need to reboot. My device was recognized right away and I could connect without any activation...
I connected right away no troubles.
niebling
Addendum:
Building the driver using hybrid-portsrc_x86_64-v5_100_82_38.tar us also fairly easy and probably better.
This should work for many several versions lf Linux...
Just follow these instructions:
BUILD INSTRUCTIONS
------------------
1. Setup the directory by untarring the proper tarball:
For 32 bit: hybrid-portsrc_x86-32_v5.100.82.38.tar.gz
For 64 bit: hybrid-portsrc_x86-64_v5.100.82.38.tar.gz
Example:
# mkdir hybrid_wl
# cd hybrid_wl
# tar xzf <path>/hybrid-portsrc_x86-32_v5.100.82.38.tar.gz
2. Build the driver as a Linux loadable kernel module (LKM):
# make clean (optional)
# make
When the build completes, it will produce a wl.ko file in the top level
directory.
If your driver does not build, check to make sure you have installed the
kernel package described in the requirements above.
INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS
--------------------
Upgrading from a previous version:
---------------------------------
If you were already running a previous version of wl, you'll want to provide
a clean transition from the older driver. (The path to previous driver is
usually /lib/modules/<kernel-version>/kernel/net/wireless)
# rmmod wl
# mv <path-to-prev-driver>/wl.ko <path-to-prev-driver>/wl.ko.orig (Be careful to do this BEFORE you copy wl.ko to the wireless directory!!! )
# cp wl.ko <path-to-prev-driver>/wl.ko
# depmod
# modprobe wl
The new wl driver should now be operational and your all done. (follow the steps below to "install' the driver)
Fresh installation:
------------------
1: Remove any other drivers for the Broadcom wireless device.
There are several open source drivers that are used to drive Broadcom 802.11
chips such as b43 and ssb. They will conflict with this driver and need
to be uninstalled before this driver can be installed. Any previous
revisions of the wl driver also need to be removed.
Note: On some systems such as Ubuntu 9.10, the ssb module may load during
boot even though it is blacklisted (see note under Common Issues on how to
resolve this). Nevertheless, ssb still must be removed
(by hand or script) before wl is loaded. The wl driver will not function
properly if ssb the module is loaded.
# lsmod | grep "b43\|ssb\|wl"
If any of these are installed, remove them:
# rmmod b43
# rmmod ssb
# rmmod wl
To blacklist these drivers and prevent them from loading in the future:
# echo "blacklist ssb" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
# echo "blacklist b43" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
2: Insmod the driver.
Otherwise, if you have not previously installed a wl driver, you'll need
to add a security module before using the wl module. Most newer systems
use lib80211 while others use ieee80211_crypt_tkip. See which one works for
your system.
# modprobe lib80211 (this one worked for me)
or
# modprobe ieee80211_crypt_tkip
Then:
# insmod wl.ko
wl.ko is now operational. It may take several seconds for the Network
Manager to notice a new network driver has been installed and show the
surrounding wireless networks.
Common issues:
----------------
* After the insmod you may see this message:
"WARNING: modpost: missing MODULE_LICENSE()"
It is expected, not harmful and can be ignored.
* You might see this message:
"insmod: error inserting 'wl.ko': -1 Unknown symbol in module"
Usually this means that the wlan security module (as mentioned above) is
not loaded. Try this:
# modprobe lib80211
or
# modprobe ieee80211_crypt_tkip
and then re-try to insmod the wl driver.
# insmod wl.ko
* If the wl driver loads but doesn't seem to do anything:
the ssb module may be the cause. Sometimes blacklisting ssb may not
be enough to prevent it from loading and it loads anyway. (This is mostly
seen on Ubuntu/Debian systems).
Check to see if ssb, wl or b43 is loaded:
# lsmod | grep "b43\|ssb\|wl"
If any of these are installed, remove them:
# rmmod b43
# rmmod ssb
# rmmod wl
Back up the current boot ramfs and generate a new one.
# cp /boot/initrd.img-`uname -r` somewheresafe
# update-initramfs -u
# reboot
------------------------------------
UPDATE FOR KERNEL 3.0.0.1-amd64
Had to use patch for kernel versions later than 2.6.x.x ...
download the patch here:
http://www.mindwerks.net/wp-content/upl ... 6.38.patch
This patch supercedes the previous patch that is commonly referred to in other posts. That one no longer worked for me with
kernel 3.0.0.1-amd64
This works great with linux mint XFCE kernel 3.0.0.1-amd64... need to copy commands exactly:
make directory to comple driver ie. hybrid_wl
switch to directory: cd hybrid_wl
tar xfz hybrid-portsrc_x86_64-v5_100_82_38 (or whatever...)
patch -p1 < broadcom-sta_4_kernel-2.6.38.patch (or whatever you name the file...)
make clean
make
copy the wl.ko file to /lib/modules/3.0.0-1-amd64/kernel/net/wireless directory and then execute these commands (some may not be necessary):
depmod -a
rmmod wl
rmmod lib80211
rmmod ssb
rmmod b43
insmod lib80211
insmod wl
update-initramfs -u (to update kernel image to load wl.ko driver at boot time)
THanks!!! My other patch didn't work any longer... KEN