Ubuntu – How to install the wireless card driver offline

broadcomdriversnetworkingwirelessxubuntu

I just installed Xubunu 13.04, but it didn't detect my wireless card.
This is my wireless card:

Broadcom Corporation:BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY: Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card

I googled about it, and I found this solution :

Once you have confirmed that your WLAN device is supported, you may
proceed to installing the driver by running the following command from
Terminal window.

sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer

The problem is that I can't run this command in a terminal because I've no connection in xubntu. I'm currently posting this thread from Windows.

I downloaded the package firmware-b43-installer from debian, and when I tried to install it, it told me that I need the b43-fwcutter package so I download it, and when I tried to install it the terminal shows me that the installation needs some sources from the internet.

I don't have an Ethernet or some other internet connection source, the only way I can access to internet is from Windows.

How can I install my wireless card driver offline ?

Best Answer

I have done it on Xubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal):

Download firmware-b43-installer and b43-fwcutter from Ubuntu, choose the target release version (I chose Quantal) and architecture.
- Alternatively, if you have a Live CD or installed *Ubuntu of the same release with Internet access, you can do: apt-get -d install firmware-b43-installer and then look for both packages in /var/cache/apt/archives. Do not use packages from different releases.
- Do not download from Debian. Being a derivative does not imply that they are compatible, and does not imply that Debian's packages are suitable for Ubuntu.
On the target machine, do dpkg -i b43-fwcutter* && dpkg -i firmware-b43-installer*
- b43-fwcutter is a dependency of firmware-b43-installer, so it must be installed first.

Work in progress ..

Solves driver issue, but not in repeatable, stable manner.

Note: I have already tried all suggestions in: Installing Broadcom Wireless Drivers

Typically, after initial install of Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS (latest update) you will get an error message briefly on screen suggesting the wireless card's firmware is out of date.

In other words:

dmesg | grep -e b43 -e Broadcom

returns: (or very similar)

[    8.091376] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4312 WLAN found (core revision 15)
[    8.136098] b43-phy0: Found PHY: Analog 6, Type 5 (LP), Revision 1
[    8.161222] Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PNL ]
[    8.188507] b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode15.fw" not found
[    8.188512] b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43-open/ucode15.fw" not found
[    8.188516] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.

You need to install Non-Free drivers, then restart driver:

sudo apt-get install linux-firmware-nonfree

sudo modprobe -r b43 && sudo modprobe b43

Check the status:

dmesg | grep -e b43 -e Broadcom

should return: (or very similar)

[  306.159033] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4312 WLAN found (core revision 15)
[  306.200170] b43-phy0: Found PHY: Analog 6, Type 5 (LP), Revision 1
[  306.224407] Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PNL ]
[  306.628157] b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 666.2 (2011-02-23 01:15:07)

Note 1: If you instead did a full update (sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade) to 12.04.4, this may change the b43 firmware loaded to 2008 (which is not the latest).

Note 2: IMHO, this step is required to support the BCM4312-LP card, regardless of what driver you end up using.

The BCM4312-LP card should now be working ..

Try shutting down, removing power and Ethernet cable, waiting a full 20 seconds, and re-starting laptop/netbook ..

Check the status:

dmesg | grep -e b43 -e Broadcom

should return: (or very similar)

[  438.442062] eth1: Broadcom BCM4315 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 6.20.155.1 (r326264)

[    7.663552] eth1: Broadcom BCM4315 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 6.20.155.1 (r326264)
[  187.909055] Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PNL ]

Remove any soft/hard kill flags

sudo rfkill unblock all

I have tried ALL the following:

Loading the Broadcom STA driver (from icon, on top bar)

This (of course) crashed before completing install. However, once it attempts to install, the driver problem is resolved.
Manually running 'Additional Drivers', to load STA driver

So far, always crashes, stalls, or fail to load ..
Manaually running 'Additional Drivers, from command line

jockey-gtk

So far, either stalls or eventually loads ..

Will keep you updated ..

Feb-27:

No useful update.

I have used these steps 5-6 times successfully, but not fully repeatable ..

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – BCM 4312 LP-PHY card doesn’t detect any wireless networks

Work in progress ..

You need to install Non-Free drivers, then restart driver:

The BCM4312-LP card should now be working ..

I have tried ALL the following:

Related Question