[SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

LSH · 2025-08-20 10:11:21

ive installed arch linux on a MacBookPro 10.1, so it uses the broadcom driver to connect to the wifi. ive checked the supported devices for both brcm80211 and b43. my device wasnt included in any of those lists (BCM4331), so i installed broadcom-wl (in chroot, when i had ethernet support).
- the command to see my device (as the docs said, executed from the mbp10.1)

[~]$ lspci -vnn -d 14e4:
(...)
04:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries BCM4331 802.11/a/b/g/n (...)

the first time didnt work, so i installed it with the linux headers, since it said this in the docs:
"will need the linux-headers package for the installed kernel(s) in order to build the module. Those packages are optional to the DKMS package and will need to be installed manually."

ive yet to install it with `broacom-wl-dkms` since that tip was mentioned under the dkms variant, but i dont have ethernet support anymore. i also am too lazy to go through with the installation process again.

i've also tried making a local repository (following this guide), but when i entered this command:

[~/Packages]$ repo-add custom.db.tar.zst *.pkg.tar.zst
==> ERROR: Failed to acquire lockfile: /home/lsh/Packages/custom.db.tar.zst.lck.
[~/Packages]$ repo-add *.pkg.tar.zst
==> ERROR: 'acl-2.3.2-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst' does not have a valid database archive extension.

it always either said that custom.db didnt exist or that there was an issue with one of the packages. here's the same thing but with broadcom-wl-dkms:

[~/Packages]$ repo-add custom.db.tar.zst *.pkg.tar.zst
*same error as the first command from the other code block*
[~/Packages]$ repo-add *.pkg.tar.zst
==> ERROR: 'broadcom-wl-dkms-6.30.223.271-44-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst' does not have a valid database archive extension.

i've also tried launching from the live USB and "re-chrooting" into the drive, but it always had something wrong with it. i followed this tutorial on youtube. it always ended up this way:

[~]# mount /dev/sda3 /mnt
[~]# mount --mkdir /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot/efi
[~]# arch-chroot /mnt
mount: /mnt/proc: mount point doesn't exist
          dmesg(1) might have more information on this [and whatever]
==> ERROR: failed to setup chroot /mnt
[~]# dmesg
[whole lot of mumbo jumbo that i cant scroll up to inspect (i dont have a pgup and pgdown key)]

here's an `lsblk` summary for context of the last code block:

/dev/sda1 -- efi partition
/dev/sda2 -- root partition
/dev/sda3 -- home partition

i think maybe it's a problem with me not mounting the root partition? idk.

if you cant provide a solution to the main problem (check the title), then at least give me a command to check the log in the installation (in /dev/sda) to see what's wrong with `broadcom-wl`.

btw, i list SSIDs with the following command:

nmcli d wifi

as the help manual when running `nmcli d --help` says
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
solution:

i had `linux-lts` installed instead of the normal linux. i was installing the wrong headers. i was using the normal `linux-headers` instead of `linux-lts-headers` since i was using a different linux kernel edition.

Last edited by LSH (2025-08-21 09:14:02)

seth · 2025-08-20 14:29:17

Don't overcomplicate this.
For the main kernel ("uname -a") you'll only need https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x8 … oadcom-wl/ which you can download from the webpage, https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x8 … /download/ and then usb-walk to the target device and then "sudo pacman -U broadcom-wl*tar.zst"

Then (after a reboot) check "lspci -k", it'll tell which kernel modules cover the device and which one's currently in use.

Sidebar: https://superuser.com/questions/360418/ … -a-macbook

LSH · 2025-08-20 20:31:25

ive now reinstalled broadcom-wl with the local package, along with linux headers. same problem, but now there isnt *any* kernel driver for the network controller. at first there was bcma-pci-bridge (i think it was called), but now there isnt anything. it looks like broadcom-wl failed while trying to start, maybe?

i also found that `bcma` is also available as a kernel module. i tried to start that one with

sudo modprobe bcma

(as the docs said, btw) but it didnt work. i checked if `nmcli d` would print anything other than my loopback device, but it didnt.

ive also tried

sudo modprobe broadcom-wl

but that didnt work. same thing for `insmod`, didnt work either. (by didnt work i mean it said that it didnt exist)

i'll take a look and see how the dkms variant does. i think it'll be the right one, since im using `linux-lts` instead of normal linux and in the tip for the docs it said that it's kernel agnostic.

seth · 2025-08-20 20:40:04

broadcom-wl will blacklist the brcm in--tree drivers, the module is only "wl"
Can you post the output of "lspci -k -d 14e4:"?

LSH · 2025-08-20 21:01:17

its just the same as the output for `lspci -vnn -d 14e4:` that was mentioned in the docs. if you need the FULL output, here you go:

03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries NetXtreme BCM57786 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe (rev 10)
              Subsystem: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries Device 16b4
03:00.1 SD Host controller: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries BCM57765/57785 SDXC/MMC Card Reader (rev 10)
              Subsystem: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries Device 96bc
              Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci
              Kernel modules: sdhci_pci
04:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 02)
              Subsystem: Apple Inc. AirPort Extreme
              Kernel modules: bcma

seth · 2025-08-20 21:04:14

uname -a
modinfo wl | head -n4

LSH · 2025-08-20 21:13:29

i already installed the dkms variant. should i switch back to the regular variant and run this command? i am planning to install the linux-macbook kernel later on after fixing this btw so i think it's good if i keep the dkms variant

seth · 2025-08-20 21:19:15

dkms status

LSH · 2025-08-20 21:31:21

broadcom-wl/6.30.223.271, 6.16.1-arch1-1, x86_64: installed

seth · 2025-08-20 21:45:42

And you're booting that kernel?
And lspci still looks the same??

lsmod | grep wl
modinfo wl | head -n4

LSH · 2025-08-21 06:44:13

the kernel doesnt even exist apparently

modinfo: ERROR: Module wl not found.

seth · 2025-08-21 07:10:16

uname -a
pacman -Qs kernel | grep 'local/linux'

LSH · 2025-08-21 07:44:48

im on lts, as i said.

6.12.42-1-lts

local/linux 6.16.1.arch1-1
local/linux-api-headers 6.16-1
local/linux-headers 6.16.1.arch1-1
local/linux-lts 6.12.42-1

V1del · 2025-08-21 08:27:37

You don't have linux-lts-headers installed which are a requirement for DKMS to build modules, and what seth intended to be hinting at. Install linux-lts-headers, verify that retriggers a dkms build and that built broadcom-wl and then try to reboot (or modprobe the now built module for the correct kernel)

Last edited by V1del (2025-08-21 08:28:44)

LSH · 2025-08-21 09:11:57

ahhhh got it got it. i usually installed normal linux on my macbook thats why i was installing `linux-headers` instead

LSH · 2025-08-21 09:12:29

thank you guys

Arch Linux

#1 2025-08-20 10:11:21

[SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#2 2025-08-20 14:29:17

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#3 2025-08-20 20:31:25

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#4 2025-08-20 20:40:04

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#5 2025-08-20 21:01:17

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#6 2025-08-20 21:04:14

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#7 2025-08-20 21:13:29

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#8 2025-08-20 21:19:15

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#9 2025-08-20 21:31:21

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#10 2025-08-20 21:45:42

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#11 2025-08-21 06:44:13

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#12 2025-08-21 07:10:16

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#13 2025-08-21 07:44:48

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#14 2025-08-21 08:27:37

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#15 2025-08-21 09:11:57

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

#16 2025-08-21 09:12:29

Re: [SOLVED] broadcom-wl not working

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