Ubuntu – Could anyone help me get the NETGEAR WNA3100 (Broadcom BCM43231) wireless adapter to work

adapterbroadcomnetworkingwireless

I have just moved back to Ubuntu from Windows 7 and a few months ago, I bought a NETGEAR WNA3100 wireless adapter because my old adapter had broken. I plugged in my adapter and it doesn't seem to work, I also used the windows 7 drivers for it and tried them on the program "Windows Wireless Drivers" and they don't seem to recognize the device. However I have heard you need XP drivers but I can't seem to find them on the internet nor find them on the CD.

Could anyone help me get my wireless adapter to work? Any help is greatly appreciate.

P.S I do have internet connection though I have to tether my phone to my computer and then connect my phone to my router.

Best Answer

I had exactly the same problem with my WNA3100 and Ubuntu 11.04 After two weeks of trying all suggestions I could find on the net, I succeeded. I hardly know anything about Linux and found it quite simple. You just need the right driver.

Do the following step by step:

  • plug in the wna3100

  • open the terminal and type: lsusb

  • hit enter, you should see something like this: 

    Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0846:9020 NetGear, Inc.

  • if the answer is yes go on with the following

  • create a folder somewhere you could find it easily (name it wifi driver or so)

  • download the driver from here: (just copy the url, paste it in your web browser and hit enter if the link doesn't work)

    http://media.cdn.ubuntu-de.org/forum/attachments/2612284/Broadcom_bcm43xx_USB_32_64bit_v2.tar.gz

  • You will get a box that ask to open or save the driver file

  • open it with whatever program you use to unzip (or save it somewhere and unzip it from there)

  • unzip it to the folder you created in the first step

  • right click both .inf files, go to tab 'rights' and click on the make file executable box (mine is in dutch so I don't know if the translation is right)

  • close that window

  • do the same for the .sys files

  • now open the windows wireless driver program (download it from ubuntu software center if you don't have it)
  • browse the .inf file with that program and click install.
  • never erase the folder where the .inf and .sys files are found
  • pull out the wna3100
  • reboot your computer
  • plug in the wna3100, when it stops blinking open the network manager.
  • You should be able to see your wireless network.
  • if yes, then jump up like me and shout yeehaah (or something alike)
  • if not, i feel really sorry for you, but somehow this worked for me and my ubuntu 11.04.
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