Arch Linux

dreadz

Member

Registered: 2011-11-23

Posts: 27

Wifi is hard blocked at boot

Hi guys, my wifi is always hard blocked at boot and
i have to press the button and then wicd -> refresh -> connect
although i have ticked the auto-connect option.

Here is some info

[darsi@Comp ~]$ uname -a
Linux Comp 3.19.3-1-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Thu Mar 26 15:12:16 CET 2015 i686 GNU/Linux

lspci -k
07:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company BCM4312 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller
	Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
	Kernel modules: ssb

[darsi@Comp ~]$ cat /etc/modprobe.d/hp.conf 
blacklist hp_wmi
blacklist wmi

[darsi@Comp ~]$ cat /etc/modules-load.d/b43.conf 
b43

[darsi@Comp ~]$ rfkill list
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: yes

There are 2 posts i found on this

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=181194
and
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=168592

but blacklisting wmi didn't work out and i would really like to stick to wicd because it's my gf laptop
and when she goes to uni there is a eduroam and wicd doesn't need any xtra config like NM do.

Is there anything i can do in order to get the wifi starting at boot w/o pressing the button and
to auto-connect to known networks?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

olive

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2008-06-22

Posts: 1,490

Re: Wifi is hard blocked at boot

I you are sure it is not hardware hard blocked (I mean is there a physical switch you can move?), you may try to recompile the kernel with rfkill disabled (really disabled, not compiled a module). In the past I have solved similar problem with this work around; it was however about 3 years ago, I have had no problems any longer with recent kernels.

dreadz

Member

Registered: 2011-11-23

Posts: 27

Re: Wifi is hard blocked at boot

I you are sure it is not hardware hard blocked (I mean is there a physical switch you can move?).

It is not a switch but a button, and in Windows i don't need to hit the button every time, it just stays on,
so i suppose i can achieve the same here too.

For example when it boots, i can see the light on the button flashes from red to blue ( blue being on ) when the b43 module
is loaded, but it just flashes and goes to red again.

Maybe you can guide me on how to do the thing with rfkill off and kernel recompile ?

olive

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2008-06-22

Posts: 1,490

Re: Wifi is hard blocked at boot

Basically, to compile the kernel, take the archlinux package (via abs or yaourt (available from the aur). Uncomment the make xconfig in the PKGBUILD. When the X configuration tool is launched, search for rfkill. Note that I don't know if it will sole your problem. I just say that it has solved a similar problem in the past for me.

Last edited by olive (2015-04-08 17:26:54)

R00KIE

Forum Fellow

From: Between a computer and a chair

Registered: 2008-09-14

Posts: 4,734

Re: Wifi is hard blocked at boot

Have you tried using an udev rule to unblock it with rfkill after the driver loads?

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R00KIE
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olive

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2008-06-22

Posts: 1,490

Re: Wifi is hard blocked at boot

Have you tried using an udev rule to unblock it with rfkill after the driver loads?

This is not the first thing to try. The first thing is to try to unblock it with rfkill manually, but I presume this has already been done.  If you cannot unblock it with the good rfkill command, udev rules won't help any further.

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,353

Re: Wifi is hard blocked at boot

Maybe whoever wrote the BIOS decided that only Window operating systems need the radio.  Perhaps you could spoof it into thinking you are running Windows.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/DS … of_Windows

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R00KIE

Forum Fellow

From: Between a computer and a chair

Registered: 2008-09-14

Posts: 4,734

Re: Wifi is hard blocked at boot

Have you tried using an udev rule to unblock it with rfkill after the driver loads?

This is not the first thing to try. The first thing is to try to unblock it with rfkill manually, but I presume this has already been done.  If you cannot unblock it with the good rfkill command, udev rules won't help any further.

Well spotted

On the other hand, if there really isn't an hardware switch it should be possible to toggle it by software.

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R00KIE
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dreadz

Member

Registered: 2011-11-23

Posts: 27

Re: Wifi is hard blocked at boot

Have you tried using an udev rule to unblock it with rfkill after the driver loads?

This is not the first thing to try. The first thing is to try to unblock it with rfkill manually, but I presume this has already been done.  If you cannot unblock it with the good rfkill command, udev rules won't help any further.

I have actually try to rfkill, but since it have effect on soft block only it doesn't help.

Maybe whoever wrote the BIOS decided that only Window operating systems need the radio.  Perhaps you could spoof it into thinking you are running Windows.

Thanks for that, i will give it a go today and post an update.

Basically, to compile the kernel, take the archlinux package (via abs or yaourt (available from the aur). Uncomment the make xconfig in the PKGBUILD. When the X configuration tool is launched, search for rfkill. Note that I don't know if it will sole your problem. I just say that it has solved a similar problem in the past for me.

It looks like a long shot to me, but if the DSDT doesn't help i might attempt this too although i'm afraid it is beyond my comprehension

Last edited by dreadz (2015-04-11 12:52:19)