(SOLVED) No wireless connection Mint 12 ACER Extensa 5220

[mschrak]

Hi everyone,

I'm working with Linux Mint for quite some time now and wanted to install it on my Acer Extensa 5220. I just can't get any wireless Internet connection.

I installed it using a wired Network Connection. Everything went fine including all updates. I installed / activated the additional proprietary driver (the only one possible on the list) successfully? (Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driver).

Still I don't see any wireless Connections on the list to connect to (although there are many, shown on my other PC).

iwconfig says:
lo no wireless extensions
eth0 no wireless extensions
irda0 no wireless extensions

What did I do wrong? Any ideas,

Thanks,

Martin

[MarkX]

Hi everyone,

I'm working with Linux Mint for quite some time now and wanted to install it on my Acer Extensa 5220. I just can't get any wireless Internet connection.

I installed it using a wired Network Connection. Everything went fine including all updates. I installed / activated the additional proprietary driver (the only one possible on the list) successfully? (Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driver).

Still I don't see any wireless Connections on the list to connect to (although there are many, shown on my other PC).

iwconfig says:
lo no wireless extensions
eth0 no wireless extensions
irda0 no wireless extensions

What did I do wrong? Any ideas,

Thanks,

Martin

Martin,
Here are a few tips. They may sound trivial but check them.

At the front side there are two slide switches, one for controlling Bluetooth, the other one for controlling Wireless LAN. Using them can be tricky. Furthermore, the switch for Bluetooth is useless, because Bluetooth is anyway not supported by the Extensa 5220.

If the above does not work then try this link: http://www.linlap.com/wiki/acer+extensa+5220 as it has information about installing Linux on that model laptop and also directly addresses wireless.

Good luck

[mschrak]

OK, thank you, I'll do that. Although I tried the switch several times, also checked the BIOS but didn't get any response or idea...

[MarkX]

You can also try this: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 83&start=0 this was an issue in the RC. Could possibly be the same card.

[mschrak]

I had the same Problems with Mint 11 although I didnt use wireless so I didn't care...

I tried Windows and it worked. So it's no hardware issue.

[soccerz619]

What driver is currently installed? What is the exact model of the Broadcom WiFi driver? Type this to find out, and paste the output in your reply:

Code: Select all

 lspci -vvnn | grep 14e4

[mschrak]

02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetLink BCM5787M Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express [14e4:1693] (rev 02)
04:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN [14e4:4311] (rev 01)

Sorry, took some time... (I'm still beginner)

[soccerz619]

Try following this. I had to do the same thing with mine (use the wired internet to get me wireless...it was a pain). But that should do the trick for you, if you're following that.

[mschrak]

Looks ... complicated...

Good luck theres a weekend ahead..

[soccerz619]

Here I'll try to walk you through it.

You have a BCM 4311, and the site suggests that the STA drivers will be best to use. Open a terminal and copy+paste this in to it:

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get update

And when it finishes updating, type this:

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install bcmwl-kernel-source

Once it's done downloading, go to System > Administration > Hardware/Additional Drivers, and the STA drivers should be able to be activated for use.

If the driver fails to load, you may need to reinstall the bcmwl-kernel-source package. This can be done from System > Administration > Synaptic > Mark for Reinstallation.
Also, it says a reboot may be necessary!

Hope that helps!

[TBABill]

One of the problems with Natty and Oneiric is the STA is broken for the BCM4311. That may be why the OP is having difficulty. B43 works like a champ for it instead. All you have to do is

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sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter firmware-b43-installer

[lochbroom]

One of the problems with Natty and Oneiric is the STA is broken for the BCM4311. That may be why the OP is having difficulty. B43 works like a champ for it instead. All you have to do is

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter firmware-b43-installer

I found this solution for my Pavillion laptop...it worked...John

[mschrak]

Thank you all very much. This last B43 worked fine for me.

By the way: How do I mark this thread as "solved"?

[AlbertP]

You can edit the first post, to edit the title.

[mschrak]

OK, thanks. Didn't work at first because title was already exact max. length...