Broadcom B43 based, cheap pci card from ebay.

Dj_kourampies · 2011-10-26 13:07:15

I bought a super cheap PCI WLAN card from ebay, and im having some trouble with it.

I use wicd for connecting to networks, and works fine with my other, usb realtek based WLAN interface.

The broadcom pci card, gets dected with b43 and b43legacy, lists network, strength etc, but doesnt connect, it gets stuck at validating authentication. I tried changing the network to WPA in case WPA2 was the problem, but nothing changed.

Trying unencrypted or WEP isnt an option, cant risk anauthorized access even for a minute on this network.

Also there is no dual but with windows, or the chance of testing the card on a windows machine, but im pretty sure it will work with windows.

The specific card i bought is this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/WIRELESS-G-PCI- … 947wt_1396

Any suggestions or similar experiences?

Last edited by Dj_kourampies (2011-10-26 13:07:45)

Gusar · 2011-10-26 13:21:09

As always... (there's really a ton of broadcom-related posts here at the forums, a search would possibly already give you a solution):

a) post lspci -nn output so we know exactly wich card you have
b) do you have firmware installed? (b43-firmware or b43-firmware-legacy packages in AUR)

Dj_kourampies · 2011-10-26 17:02:50

a) 00:0a.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4320] (rev 03)
Subsystem: Broadcom Corporation Device [14e4:0453]
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 32, IRQ 18
Memory at dbfea000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
Kernel modules: ssb

the 4320 supposedly uses the legacy driver, but both b43 and b43-legacy have the same problem.

b)yes

It seems to be working ok, but when it comes to connecting, it gets stuck at validating authentication.

Gusar · 2011-10-26 17:14:25

You mean it actually works (well, loads) with b43? Because as you say, the documentation lists b43legacy as the driver to use. Anyway, I have a 4306 (same chip as yours, but mine is a miniPCI card) and it works fine with the b43legacy driver.

So let's go guessing a bit... Which manager are you using (networkmanager, wicd, netcfg)? Have you tried the others? After an unsuccessful connect attempt, what does dmesg say?

Edit: Weeee, 1000 posts!

Last edited by Gusar (2011-10-26 17:28:10)

Dj_kourampies · 2011-10-26 17:31:02

I tried the wl driver too, and now i killed it completely But i think i manage to get it on its original semi-working state.

I use wicd, because of wicd-curses. Its a server machine that has no X, and thats the easiest way to configure it. If you have any other suggestions than can be configured by terminal, Im glad to try.

Gusar · 2011-10-26 17:57:43

Dj_kourampies wrote:

I use wicd, because of wicd-curses. Its a server machine that has no X, and thats the easiest way to configure it. If you have any other suggestions than can be configured by terminal, Im glad to try.

netfcg. And possibly it's companion wifi-select.

Anyway, what's the output of dmesg after an unsuccessful connection?

Dj_kourampies · 2011-10-28 02:15:20

I had some time to check it out, and it seems it gets detected with b43, not b43legacy. I thought i was detected as b43-legacy too, but that was the modules and firmware not being uninstalled correctly.

Anyway the authentication problem is still there, and nothing on dmesg about it. Next plan is trying with netcfg.

Dj_kourampies · 2011-10-28 18:15:56

Update: I let it try to authenticate, and after few long tries, (2-3 mins each) it authenticated. If i disconnect and try again, the same thing happens. Seems to work ok after that though. Its not a matter of low signal, signal is fine. Its probably poor design of the chip/hardware/drivers.

Arch Linux

#1 2011-10-26 13:07:15

Broadcom B43 based, cheap pci card from ebay.

#2 2011-10-26 13:21:09

Re: Broadcom B43 based, cheap pci card from ebay.

#3 2011-10-26 17:02:50

Re: Broadcom B43 based, cheap pci card from ebay.

#4 2011-10-26 17:14:25

Re: Broadcom B43 based, cheap pci card from ebay.

#5 2011-10-26 17:31:02

Re: Broadcom B43 based, cheap pci card from ebay.

#6 2011-10-26 17:57:43

Re: Broadcom B43 based, cheap pci card from ebay.

#7 2011-10-28 02:15:20

Re: Broadcom B43 based, cheap pci card from ebay.

#8 2011-10-28 18:15:56

Re: Broadcom B43 based, cheap pci card from ebay.

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