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carryingweight

Member

Registered: 2022-09-18

Posts: 12

WiFi Not Working on 2015 Macbook Pro

I've tried every single solution offered by people on this thread. Tried the feature_disable in kernel params, tried downgrading wpa_supplicant, tried using iwd instead, tried symlinking firmwares. Nothing works and I need the WiFi to work.
This is the relevant output of

dmesg | grep firmware

Direct firmware load for brcm/brcmfmac43602-pcie.Apple Inc.-MacBookPro12,1.bin failed with error -2
Direct firmware load for brcm/brcmfmac43602-pcie.txt failed with error -2
Direct firmware load for brcm/brcmfmac43602-pcie.clm_blob failed with error -2
Direct firmware load for brcm/brcmfmac43602-pcie.txcap_blob failed with error -2

I can scan and list networks in my area, but when I try to connect (after password prompt) it connects for a good 10-15s and then returns an error: Activation failed: The Wi-Fi network could not be found (NetworkManager), and error: Operation not supported (when using iwd). This is beyond my skill level at this point, I really need some help. <3

Last edited by carryingweight (2026-05-26 02:43:00)

seth

Member

From: Won't reply 2 private help req

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 78,272

Re: WiFi Not Working on 2015 Macbook Pro

I've tried every single solution offered by people on this thread.

What "people in this thread" are you talking about?
Please don't paraphrase, https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=57855

This is the relevant output of

No, it is some - irrelevant - output.
The firmware would be brcmfmac43602-pcie.bin

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Broadcom_wireless
Do you have https://archlinux.org/packages/core/any … -broadcom/ ?
Have you tried the wl driver?
Please post your complete system journal for the boot after a connection attempt

sudo journalctl -b > /tmp/journal.txt

and then upload /tmp/journal.txt

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tano70

Member

Registered: 2014-04-16

Posts: 24

Re: WiFi Not Working on 2015 Macbook Pro

io riesco ad utilizzare tranquillamente il chip broadcom del macbook air 2015 che presumo sia identico a quello del macbookpro del 2015, semplicemente aggiungendo durante la fase di installazione tramite archinstall i pacchetti aggiuntivi broadcom-wl-dkms e linux-headers. Per il resto avendo in uso anche Gentoo sullo stesso macbook ottengo con speedtest una velocità decisamente minore su arch rispetto a quella ottenuta su Gentoo. Premetto che ho una fibra 1 giga e con Gentoo ottento stabilmente oltre 600 mega con punte di oltre 630mega in download e tra i 280 ed i 300 in upload. Con Arch il massimo a cui sono arrivato è circa 400/430 mega circa in download  e appena 190mega in upload, segno che qualcosa nella gestione del chip tra i due sistemi linux sia nettamente diversa

seth

Member

From: Won't reply 2 private help req

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 78,272

Re: WiFi Not Working on 2015 Macbook Pro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragraph
https://www.deepl.com/translator

I have no trouble using the Broadcom chip in the 2015 MacBook Air—which I assume is identical to the one in the 2015 MacBook Pro—simply by adding the additional packages `broadcom-wl-dkms` and `linux-headers` during the installation process via `archinstall`.

Otherwise, since I’m also running Gentoo on the same MacBook, I get significantly lower speeds on Arch than on Gentoo when running Speedtest.

I should note that I have a 1-gigabit fiber connection, and with Gentoo I consistently get over 600 megabits, with peaks of over 630 megabits for downloads and between 280 and 300 for uploads.
With Arch, the highest I’ve reached is about 400–430 megabits per second for downloads and just 190 megabits per second for uploads—a sign that something in how the chip is managed differs significantly between the two Linux systems.

What do you use on either to configure network and carrier?

find /etc/systemd -type l -exec test -f {} \; -print | awk -F'/' '{ printf ("%-40s | %s\n", $(NF-0), $(NF-1)) }' | sort -f

Are the signal strenghts comparable?

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tano70

Member

Registered: 2014-04-16

Posts: 24

Re: WiFi Not Working on 2015 Macbook Pro

What do you use on either to configure network and carrier?

find /etc/systemd -type l -exec test -f {} \; -print | awk -F'/' '{ printf ("%-40s | %s\n", $(NF-0), $(NF-1)) }' | sort -f

Are the signal strenghts comparable?

Si l'intensità del segnale è identica. eseguo il test a circa 1 metro dal mio router, senza muri ostacoli o altro.

il tuo comando mi da questo: autovt@.service                          | system
dbus-org.freedesktop.nm-dispatcher.service | system
dbus-org.freedesktop.timesync1.service   | system
display-manager.service                  | system
fstrim.timer                             | timers.target.wants
getty@tty1.service                       | getty.target.wants
lm_sensors.service                       | multi-user.target.wants
NetworkManager.service                   | multi-user.target.wants
NetworkManager-wait-online.service       | network-online.target.wants
nordvpnd.service                         | default.target.wants
p11-kit-server.socket                    | sockets.target.wants
pipewire-pulse.socket                    | sockets.target.wants
pipewire-session-manager.service         | user
pipewire.socket                          | sockets.target.wants
power-profiles-daemon.service            | graphical.target.wants
remote-fs.target                         | multi-user.target.wants
systemd-timesyncd.service                | sysinit.target.wants
systemd-userdbd.socket                   | sockets.target.wants
ufw.service                              | multi-user.target.wants
wireplumber.service                      | pipewire.service.wants
xdg-user-dirs.service                    | graphical-session-pre.target.wants

Comunque ho risolto passando al kernel lts del ramo 6.18.X (che del resto è quello che ho in uso sia su Gentoo che su Debian 13) e la velocità è identica a quella ottenuta dagli altri due sistemi linux

Last edited by tano70 (Yesterday 14:49:38)

seth

Member

From: Won't reply 2 private help req

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 78,272

Re: WiFi Not Working on 2015 Macbook Pro

1. Please avoid mindless full-quotes
2. Please use [code][/code] tags.
3. The only acceptable language except on https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewforum.php?id=30 is (bad) English

On topic:

In any case, I solved the problem by switching to the LTS kernel from the 6.18.X branch (which, incidentally, is the one I'm using on both Gentoo and Debian 13), and the speed is identical to that achieved by the other two Linux systems.

That does still not fully explain why the throughput went down (broadcom-wl is an out-of-tree driver)

Are you using nordvpn on gentoo as well? How's the throughput w/o VPN?
Can you check the LAN performance w/ https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Benchmarking#iperf ?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Networ … _interface - getting the status of the connection as well as the scan results will be more useful than physical distance explanations.

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tano70

Member

Registered: 2014-04-16

Posts: 24

Re: WiFi Not Working on 2015 Macbook Pro

Are you using nordvpn on gentoo as well? How's the throughput w/o VPN?
Can you check the LAN performance w/ https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Benchmarking#iperf ?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Networ … _interface - getting the status of the connection as well as the scan results will be more useful than physical distance explanations.

Yes, I am using NordVPN on Gentoo as well.
To answer your question, the download and upload throughput under VPN are highly comparable across all the systems I use. However, my main point was about the performance without the VPN active.
I noticed that under Arch Linux, running the latest 7.2.X kernel branch, the connection speed was significantly slower (by about 20%) compared to my other two Linux systems, which run the 6.18.X kernel branch.
To confirm this, I did a final test: I downgraded Arch Linux to the same 6.18.X kernel, and the throughput immediately went back to normal, matching the other systems. It is clear that the 7.2.X kernel regression in the Broadcom driver is what causes this 20% slowdown.

seth

Member

From: Won't reply 2 private help req

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 78,272

Re: WiFi Not Working on 2015 Macbook Pro

It is clear that the 7.2.X kernel regression in the Broadcom driver is what causes this 20% slowdown.

I assume some compatibility issue but as mentioned: broadcom-wl is an out-of tree driver and from what I can tell unmaintained since years.

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