[SOLVED] Can't get wireless working on 2008 laptop (Acer Extensa 5220) running Debian 12 (worked on Debian 11).

linustalman · 10-13-2023, 09:11 AM

Hi.

I expected the wifi to get sorted during install but no joy.

This worked for Debian 11, 10 and a few others: https://wiki.debian.org/wl#Broadcom_...vices_.28wl.29

I installed all the broadcom entries in Synaptic and rebooted, no change.

How can I the wireless going in Bookworm?

Thanks.

fatmac · 10-13-2023, 01:02 PM

Have you got 'non free firmware' in your sources list(?) - they separated out wifi, etc.

linustalman · 10-14-2023, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatmac

Have you got 'non free firmware' in your sources list(?) - they separated out wifi, etc.

Hi.

My sources list is:

Code:

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm main non-free-firmware
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security/ bookworm-security main non-free-firmware
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm-updates main non-free-firmware
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-backports main contrib non-free

fatmac · 10-14-2023, 04:44 AM

Maybe check that a module is being loaded...

Code:

lsmod | grep bcm

linustalman · 10-14-2023, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatmac

Maybe check that a module is being loaded...

Code:

lsmod | grep bcm

bcma 69632 1 b43

fatmac · 10-14-2023, 06:48 AM

There is another thing to check...

Code:

sudo rfkill list

&

Code:

sudo rfkill unblock all

Then, maybe, that is the wrong module; try inserting other bcm modules, to see if your wifi will work; then if it does, blacklist the one that was originally loaded by the system.

Otherwise, I can't think of anything else...

linustalman · 10-14-2023, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatmac

There is another thing to check...

Code:

sudo rfkill list

...

0: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
3: phy3: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no

linustalman · 10-15-2023, 04:02 AM

My WiFi card is a Broadcom BCM94311MCG.

linustalman · 10-15-2023, 08:19 AM

I didn't have my sources configured properly - needed more contrib on the lines. Now the b43 packages are available.

linustalman · 10-15-2023, 11:38 AM

I ran these commands and all seems fine.

Code:

sudo apt install firmware-b43-installer
sudo modprobe b43
sudo reboot

fatmac · 10-15-2023, 01:46 PM

Glad you got it sorted out.

linustalman · 10-16-2023, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatmac

Glad you got it sorted out.

Thank you.

I wonder if I should also do steps 2~7 here or if those are not needed for Bookworm.

fatmac · 10-16-2023, 03:54 AM

If it's working OK, I'd leave things as they are....

linustalman · 10-16-2023, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatmac

If it's working OK, I'd leave things as they are....

The old proverb - If it ain't broke, don't fix it. ;-)

pamela1 · 11-08-2023, 02:26 PM

Some laptops have physical switches or keyboard shortcuts to enable or disable wireless. Ensure that your laptop's wireless hardware is turned on. Look for a wireless switch on the sides or front of your laptop, or use the appropriate keyboard shortcut.