Broadcom Linux hybrid wireless driver

Release Version: 6.30.223.248

Release Date: Thu 26 Jun 2014 03:30:34 AM PDT
DISCLAIMER
---------This is an Official Release of Broadcom's hybrid Linux driver for use with
Broadcom based hardware.
WHERE TO GET THE RELEASE
-----------------------For General Web releases: http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php
IMPORTANT NOTE AND DISCUSSION OF HYBRID DRIVER
---------------------------------------------There are separate tarballs for 32 bit and 64 bit x86 CPU architectures.
Make sure you use the appropriate tarball for your machine.
Other than 32 vs 64 bit, the hybrid binary is agnostic to the specific
versions (3.5.X) and distributions (Fedora, Ubuntu, SuSE, etc). It performs
all interactions with the OS through OS specific files (wl_linux.c, wl_iw.c,
osl_linux.c) that are shipped in source form. You compile this source on
your system and link with a precompiled binary file (wlc_hybrid.o_shipped)
which contains the rest of the driver.
PRECOMPILED DRIVER
------------------Some distros (Ubuntu and Fedora at the least) already have a version of
this driver in their repositories precompiled, tested and ready to go.
You just use the package manager to install the proper package. If
its available for your distro, this is usually an easier solution. See
the end of this document for further discussion.
ABOUT THIS RELEASE
------------------This is a rollup release. It includes and deprecates all previous releases
and patches. At the time of release there are no existing patches for this
release from Broadcom.
SUPPORTED DEVICES
----------------The cards with the following PCI Device IDs are supported with this driver.
Both Broadcom and and Dell product names are described. Cards not listed
here may also work.
BRCM
PCI
Product Name
Vendor ID
------------- ---------4311 2.4 Ghz
0x14e4
4311 Dualband
0x14e4
4311 5 Ghz
0x14e4
4312 2.4 Ghz
0x14e4
4313 2.4 Ghz
0x14e4
4321 Dualband
0x14e4
4321 Dualband
0x14e4
4321 2.4 Ghz
0x14e4
4321 5 Ghz
0x14e4
4322 Dualband
0x14e4
4322 2.4 Ghz
0x14e4

PCI
Device ID
--------0x4311
0x4312
0x4313
0x4315
0x4727
0x4328
0x4328
0x4329
0x432a
0x432b
0x432c

Dell
Product ID
----------Dell 1390
Dell 1490
Dell
Dell
Dell
Dell

1395
1501/1504
1505
1500

Dell 1510

4322 5 Ghz
43142 2.4 Ghz
43224 Dualband
43225 2.4 Ghz
43227 2.4 Ghz
43228 Dualband
4331 Dualband
4360 Dualband
4352 Dualband

0x14e4
0x14e4
0x14e4
0x14e4
0x14e4
0x14e4
0x14e4
0x14e4
0x14e4

0x432d
0x4365
0x4353
0x4357
0x4358
0x4359
0x4331
0x43a0
0x43a0

Dell 1520
Dell 1530/1540

To find the Device ID's of Broadcom cards on your machines do:

# lspci -n | grep 14e4
NOTABLE CHANGES
--------------Upgraded to support 3.11.x.
Added wowlan support.
REQUIREMENTS
-----------Building this driver requires that your machine have the proper tools,
packages, header files and libraries to build a standard kernel module.
This usually is done by installing the kernel developer or kernel source
package and varies from distro to distro. Consult the documentation for
your specific OS.
If you cannot successfully build a module that comes with your distro's
kernel developer or kernel source package, you will not be able to build
this module either.
If you try to build this module but get an error message that looks like
this:
make: *** /lib/modules/"release"/build: No such file or directory. Stop.
Then you do not have the proper packages installed, since installing the
proper packages will create /lib/modules/"release"/build on your system.
On Fedora install 'kernel-devel' from
Package Manager (System-> Administration-> Add/Remove Software)
or
yum install kernel-devel
or
yum install kernel-PAE-devel
On Ubuntu, you will need headers and tools. Try these commands:
# apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic
# apt-get build-dep linux
To check to see if you have this directory do this:
# ls /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build
BUILD INSTRUCTIONS
-----------------1. Setup the directory by untarring the proper tarball:
For 32 bit:
For 64 bit:

hybrid-v35-nodebug-pcoem-portsrc.tar.gz
hybrid-v35_64-nodebug-pcoem-portsrc.tar.gz

Example:
# mkdir hybrid_wl
# cd hybrid_wl
# tar xzf <path>/hybrid-v35-nodebug-pcoem-portsrc.tar.gz or
<path>/hybrid-v35_64-nodebug-pcoem-portsrc.tar.gz
2. Build the driver as a Linux loadable kernel module (LKM):
# make clean
# make

(optional)

When the build completes, it will produce a wl.ko file in the top level
directory.
If your driver does not build, check to make sure you have installed the
kernel package described in the requirements above.
This driver uses cfg80211 API. Code for Wext API is present and can be built
but we have dropped support for it.
As before, the Makefile will still build the matching version for your system.
# make API=CFG80211
or
# make API=WEXT (deprecated)
INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS
-------------------Upgrading from a previous version:
--------------------------------If you were already running a previous version of wl, you'll want to provide
a clean transition from the older driver. (The path to previous driver is
usually /lib/modules/<kernel-version>/kernel/net/wireless)
#
#
#
#
#

rmmod wl
mv <path-to-prev-driver>/wl.ko <path-to-prev-driver>/wl.ko.orig
cp wl.ko <path-to-prev-driver>/wl.ko
depmod
modprobe wl

The new wl driver should now be operational and your all done.
Fresh installation:
-----------------1: Remove any other drivers for the Broadcom wireless device.
There are several other drivers (besides this one) that can drive
Broadcom 802.11 chips. These include b43, brcmsmac, bcma and ssb. They will
conflict with this driver and need to be uninstalled before this driver
can be installed. Any previous revisions of the wl driver also need to
be removed.
Note: On some systems such as Ubuntu 9.10, the ssb module may load during
boot even though it is blacklisted (see note under Common Issues on how to
resolve this. Nevertheless, ssb still must be removed
(by hand or script) before wl is loaded. The wl driver will not function
properly if ssb the module is loaded.
# lsmod | grep "brcmsmac\|b43\|ssb\|bcma\|wl"

If any of these are installed, remove them:

# rmmod b43
# rmmod brcmsmac
# rmmod ssb
# rmmod bcma
# rmmod wl
To blacklist these drivers and prevent them from loading in the future:
# echo "blacklist ssb" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
# echo "blacklist bcma" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
# echo "blacklist b43" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
# echo "blacklist brcmsmac" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
2: Insmod the driver.
Otherwise, if you have not previously installed a wl driver, you'll need
to add a security module before using the wl module. Most newer systems
use lib80211 while others use ieee80211_crypt_tkip. See which one works for
your system.
# modprobe lib80211
or
# modprobe ieee80211_crypt_tkip
If your using the cfg80211 version of the driver, then cfg80211 needs to be
loaded:
# modprobe cfg80211
Then:
# insmod wl.ko
wl.ko is now operational. It may take several seconds for the Network
Manager to notice a new network driver has been installed and show the
surrounding wireless networks.
If there was an error, see Common issues below.
Common issues:
---------------* After the insmod you may see this message:
WARNING: modpost: missing MODULE_LICENSE()
It is expected, not harmful and can be ignored.
* If you see this message:
"insmod: error inserting 'wl.ko': -1 Unknown symbol in module"
Usually this means that one of the required modules (as mentioned above) is
not loaded. Try this:
# modprobe lib80211 or ieee80211_crypt_tkip (depending on your os)
# modprobe cfg80211
Now re-try to insmod the wl driver:
# insmod wl.ko
* If the wl driver loads but doesn't seem to do anything:
the ssb module may be the cause. Sometimes blacklisting ssb may not
be enough to prevent it from loading and it loads anyway. (This is mostly

seen on Ubuntu/Debian systems).

Check to see if ssb, bcma, wl or b43 is loaded:
# lsmod | grep "brcmsmac\|ssb\|wl\|b43\|bcma"
If any of these are installed, remove them:
# rmmod brcmsmac
# rmmod ssb
# rmmod bcma
# rmmod wl
# insmod wl
Back up the current boot ramfs and generate a new one:
# cp /boot/initrd.img-`uname -r` somewheresafe
# update-initramfs -u
# reboot
3: Setup to always load at boot time.
The procedure to make a module load at boot time varies from distro to
distro. Consult the docs for your specific distro to see how. The
following seems to work for my setup on Fedora and Ubuntu. Check your
docs to see the procedure for your distro.
Follow these steps to have the driver load as part of the boot process:
# load driver as described above
# cp wl.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/net/wireless
# depmod -a
# echo modeprobe wl >> /etc/rc.local (Fedora/SUSE)
Ubuntu ships a version of wl.ko, so those need to be disabled. On my
system the were several versions, so I searched and renamed the .ko's
like this:
# sh: for i in `find /lib /var -name wl\.ko`; do mv $i ${i}.orig; done
TX POWER EXPLAINED
-----------------'iwconfig eth1 txpower' & 'iwlist eth1 txpower' set and get the drivers
user-requested transmit power level. This can go up to 32 dbm and allows
the user to lower the tx power to levels below the regulatory limit.
Internally, the actual tx power is always kept within regulatory limits
no matter what the user request is set to.
WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 6.30.223.23X
--------------------------------+ Upgraded to Support 3.11 kernels
+ Added cfg80211 wowlan support for Magic Packets and Disconnect
WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 6.30.223.126
---------------------------------+ Upgraded to Support 3.8.x
+ Added 43142 support
+ Added 4352 support
+ Dropped WEXT support
WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 5.100.82.116

---------------------------------+ Support for Linux kernels > 3.0

WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 5.100.82.115
---------------------------------+ Added cfg80211 API support. The choice of API is done at compile time. If
kernel version >= 2.6.32, cfg80211 is used, otherwise wireless extension
is used. (End users should notice little difference.)
+ Supports Linux kernel 2.6.38
+ Fix for problem with rebooting while wireless disabled via airline switch.
+ Fix for PR102197 STA does not connect to hidden SSID
+ Fix for PR102214: Could not get rssi (-22)" print comes in 'dmesg' output
+ Supports monitor mode
+ Supports hidden networks
+ Supports rfkill
WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 5.100.82.38
--------------------------------+ Support for bcm43227 and bcm43228
+ Fix for issue where iwconfig was sometime reporting rate incorrectly
+ Supports rfkill in kernels 2.6.31 to 2.6.36
+ Supports scan complete event (SIOCGIWSCAN)
+ Adds EAGAIN (busy signal) to query of scan results
WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 5.100.57.15
--------------------------------+ Following fixes (issues introduced in 5.100.57.13)
Issue #87477 - 4313: DUT is not able to associate in WPA2-PSK TKIP/AES
Issue #87533 - NetworkManager: 4313: Unable to associate to APs with WPA2-PS
K
WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 5.100.57.13
--------------------------------+ 4313 PHY fixes to improve throughput stability at different ranges
+ Fix for interop issues with different APs
+ Fix for hangs seen during Fn-F2 sequence
- Support for rfkill in kernels 2.6.31 to 2.6.36
WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 5.60.246.6
-------------------------------+ Supports rfkill in kernels 2.6.31 to 2.6.36
+ Fix for compile error with multicast list in kernel 2.6.34
+ Fix for #76743 - Ubuntu9.04: Network manager displays n/w's with radio disable
d
WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 5.60.246.2
-------------------------------+ Supports up to linux kernel 2.6.36 (from 2.6.32)
+ Fix for #86668: [Canonical] Bug #611575/617369: System will hang if
you use the F2 hot key to enable/disable wireless quickly while
wireless is still in the process of re-association with AP
WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 5.60.48.36
-------------------------------+ Supports up to linux kernel 2.6.32
+ Supports hidden networks
+ Supports rfkill in kernels < 2.6.31
+ Setting power level via 'iwconfig eth1 txpower X' now operational
+ Support for bcm4313
+ Additional channels in both 2.4 and 5 Ghz bands

+ Fixed issue with tkip group keys that caused this message to repeat often:
TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=2 frame keyidx=1 priv=ffff8800cf80e840
+ Following fixes
Issue #72216 - Ubuntu 8.04: standby/resume with WPA2 and wpa_supplicant caus
es
a continuous assoc/disassoc loop (issue in 2.6.24 kernel)
Issue #72324 - Ubuntu 8.04: cannot ping when Linux STA is IBSS creator with
WEP
Issue #76739 - Ubuntu 9.04: unable to connect to hidden network after stdby/
resume
Issue #80392 - S4 resume hang with SuSE SLED 11 and 43225
Issue #80792 - LSTA is not able to associate to AP with transit
ISSUES FIXED AND WHAT'S NEW IN RECENT RELEASES
------------------------------------------+ Supports monitor mode
+ Supports cfg80211
+ Supports hidden networks
+ Supports rfkill
KNOWN ISSUES AND LIMITATIONS
---------------------------#72238 - 20% lower throughput on channels 149, 153, 157, and 161
#72324 - Ubuntu 8.04: cannot ping when Linux STA is IBSS creator with WEP
enabled
#72216 - Ubuntu 8.04: standby/resume with WPA2 and wpa_supplicant causes
a continuous assoc/disassoc loop (issue with wpa_supplicant, restarting
wpa_supplicant fixes the issue)
#76739 Ubuntu9.04: unable to connect to hidden network after stdby/resume
#76793 Ubuntu9.04: STA fails to create IBSS network in 5 Ghz band
KNOWN ISSUES AND LIMITATIONS IN EXTERNAL COMPONENTS
--------------------------------------------------wpa_supplicant 0.6.3 + nl80211 + WEP - (Note: This would only affect you if
you are using wpa_supplicant directly from the command line and specify
nl80211 interface, e.g. "wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -ieth1 ..". If you are using
network manager GUI to connect it should work file.)
wpa_supplicant 0.6.3 might have a bug that affect WEP connections created
through nl80211. Upgrade to wpa_supplicant to 0.7.3 would solve this problem.
Ubuntu 10.10 kernel + nl80211 + WPA/WPA2 - (Note: This would only affect you if
you are using wpa_supplicant directly from the command line and specify
nl80211 interface, e.g. "wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -ieth1 ..". If you are using
network manager GUI to connect it should work file.)
Some kernel versions of Ubuntu such as 2.6.35-22 (released with Ubuntu
10.10) may have problems that affect WPA/WPA2 connections created through
nl80211. Upgrade to 2.6.35-25 or later should solve this problem.
HOW TO USE MONITOR MODE
----------------------To enable monitor mode:
$ echo 1 > /proc/brcm_monitor0 => Creates a 'prism0' network interface for use b
y Wireshark and others.
$ ifconfig prism0 up
=> Enable the interface
To disable monitor mode:

$ echo 0 > /proc/brcm_monitor0

HOW TO ENABLE WOWL
----------------$ iw phyX wowlan enable magic-packet disconnect
$ iw phyX wowlan show
HOW TO INSTALL A PRE-COMPILED DRIVER
----------------------------------Some of the major linux distros already supply a version of this driver, so
you don't have to compile your own. Most of the distros keep this driver
along with other proprietary or non-GPL drivers in a separate repository.
For further information see the documentation for your specific distro.
Fedora:
-----su -c 'rpm -Uvh
http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-stable.noarch.
rpm
http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-stable.n
oarch.rpm'
su yum update
yum install kmod-wl
Ubuntu:
-----Go to System->Administration->Hardware Drivers
Choose the Broadcom STA wireless driver
Activate
Sometimes the driver does not show up in the Hardware Drivers choices. In
this case, try reintalling the driver from the GUI or shell like this:
From the GUI:
Package Manager (System>Administration>Synaptic Package Manager). Click the
Reload button in the upper left corner of Synaptic to refresh your index then
search for and reinstall the package named bcmwl-kernel-source.
From the shell:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get --reinstall install bcmwl-kernel-source
In either GUI or text case, after reinstalling, reboot your machine.
Now go back to System->Administration->Hardware Drivers
and you should see the driver enabled and working.