How can I fix Broadcom driver Wifi with 4.15.0-xx kernel on Ubuntu 16.04

wireless networking drivers broadcom 16.04

I reinstalled a driver on Windows for Broadcom Network Adapter and after that my WiFi stopped working on Ubuntu(16.04) completely.

I tried to reinstall drivers, using this commands:

1. sudo apt-get purge bcmwl-kernel-source
2. sudo apt-get install bcmwl-kernel-source

But it didn't help

Output of the second command(install bcmwl-kernel-source):

Unpacking bcmwl-kernel-source (6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.2) ...
Setting up bcmwl-kernel-source (6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.2) ...
Loading new bcmwl-6.30.223.271+bdcom DKMS files...
First Installation: checking all kernels...
Building only for 4.15.0-24-generic
Building for architecture x86_64
Building initial module for 4.15.0-24-generic
ERROR: Cannot create report: [Errno 17] File exists: '/var/crash/bcmwl-kernel-source.0.crash'
Error! Bad return status for module build on kernel: 4.15.0-24-generic (x86_64)
Consult /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/make.log for more information.
modprobe: FATAL: Module wl not found in directory /lib/modules/4.15.0-24-generic
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.122ubuntu8.11) ...
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-4.15.0-24-generic
W: Possible missing firmware /lib/firmware/i915/kbl_guc_ver9_14.bin for module i915
W: Possible missing firmware /lib/firmware/i915/bxt_guc_ver8_7.bin for module i915
root@roman-Lenovo-G510:~# apt-get install bcmwl-kernel-source
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
bcmwl-kernel-source is already the newest version (6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.2).

This command lspci -nn -d 14e4 outputs:

08:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM43142 802.11b/g/n [14e4:4365] (rev 01)

Could you tell me how to fix my problem?

/var/crash/bcmwl-kernel-source.0.crash

ProblemType: Package
DKMSBuildLog:
 DKMS make.log for bcmwl-6.30.223.271+bdcom for kernel 4.15.0-24-generic (x86_64)
 Вт июл  3 16:26:40 MSK 2018
 make: Entering directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-4.15.0-24-generic'
 Makefile:976: "Cannot use CONFIG_STACK_VALIDATION=y, please install libelf-dev, libelf-devel or elfutils-libelf-devel"
 CFG80211 API is prefered for this kernel version
 Using CFG80211 API
   CC [M]  /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.o
 /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c: In function ‘osl_os_get_image_block’:
 /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:1083:26: warning: passing argument 2 of ‘kernel_read’ makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
   rdlen = kernel_read(fp, fp->f_pos, buf, len);
                           ^
 In file included from ./include/linux/huge_mm.h:7:0,
                  from ./include/linux/mm.h:463,
                  from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/include/linuxver.h:65,
                  from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:25:
 ./include/linux/fs.h:2858:16: note: expected ‘void *’ but argument is of type ‘loff_t {aka long long int}’
  extern ssize_t kernel_read(struct file *, void *, size_t, loff_t *);
                 ^
 /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:1083:37: warning: passing argument 3 of ‘kernel_read’ makes integer from pointer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
   rdlen = kernel_read(fp, fp->f_pos, buf, len);
                                      ^
 In file included from ./include/linux/huge_mm.h:7:0,
                  from ./include/linux/mm.h:463,
                  from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/include/linuxver.h:65,
                  from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:25:
 ./include/linux/fs.h:2858:16: note: expected ‘size_t {aka long unsigned int}’ but argument is of type ‘char *’
  extern ssize_t kernel_read(struct file *, void *, size_t, loff_t *);
                 ^
 /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:1083:42: warning: passing argument 4 of ‘kernel_read’ makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
   rdlen = kernel_read(fp, fp->f_pos, buf, len);
                                           ^
 In file included from ./include/linux/huge_mm.h:7:0,
                  from ./include/linux/mm.h:463,
                  from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/include/linuxver.h:65,
                  from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:25:
 ./include/linux/fs.h:2858:16: note: expected ‘loff_t * {aka long long int *}’ but argument is of type ‘int’
  extern ssize_t kernel_read(struct file *, void *, size_t, loff_t *);
                 ^
   CC [M]  /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.o
 /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c: In function ‘wl_init_timer’:
 /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c:2359:2: error: implicit declaration of function ‘init_timer’ [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
   init_timer(&t->timer);
   ^
 /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c:2360:10: error: ‘struct timer_list’ has no member named ‘data’
   t->timer.data = (ulong) t;
           ^
 /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c:2361:20: error: assignment from incompatible pointer type [-Werror=incompatible-pointer-types]
   t->timer.function = wl_timer;
                     ^
 cc1: some warnings being treated as errors
 scripts/Makefile.build:332: recipe for target '/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.o' failed
 make[1]: *** [/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.o] Error 1
 Makefile:1552: recipe for target '_module_/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build' failed
 make: *** [_module_/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build] Error 2
 make: Leaving directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-4.15.0-24-generic'
DKMSKernelVersion: 4.15.0-24-generic
Date: Tue Jul  3 16:26:46 2018
DuplicateSignature: dkms:bcmwl-kernel-source:6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.2:/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c:2359:2: error: implicit declaration of function ‘init_timer’ [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
Package: bcmwl-kernel-source 6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.2
PackageVersion: 6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.2
SourcePackage: bcmwl
Title: bcmwl-kernel-source 6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.2: bcmwl kernel module failed to build

/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/make.log

DKMS make.log for bcmwl-6.30.223.271+bdcom for kernel 4.15.0-24-generic (x86_64)
Чт июл  5 16:26:16 MSK 2018
make: Entering directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-4.15.0-24-generic'
Makefile:976: "Cannot use CONFIG_STACK_VALIDATION=y, please install libelf-dev, libelf-devel or elfutils-libelf-devel"
CFG80211 API is prefered for this kernel version
Using CFG80211 API
  CC [M]  /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.o
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c: In function ‘osl_os_get_image_block’:
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:1083:26: warning: passing argument 2 of ‘kernel_read’ makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
  rdlen = kernel_read(fp, fp->f_pos, buf, len);
                          ^
In file included from ./include/linux/huge_mm.h:7:0,
                 from ./include/linux/mm.h:463,
                 from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/include/linuxver.h:65,
                 from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:25:
./include/linux/fs.h:2858:16: note: expected ‘void *’ but argument is of type ‘loff_t {aka long long int}’
 extern ssize_t kernel_read(struct file *, void *, size_t, loff_t *);
                ^
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:1083:37: warning: passing argument 3 of ‘kernel_read’ makes integer from pointer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
  rdlen = kernel_read(fp, fp->f_pos, buf, len);
                                     ^
In file included from ./include/linux/huge_mm.h:7:0,
                 from ./include/linux/mm.h:463,
                 from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/include/linuxver.h:65,
                 from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:25:
./include/linux/fs.h:2858:16: note: expected ‘size_t {aka long unsigned int}’ but argument is of type ‘char *’
 extern ssize_t kernel_read(struct file *, void *, size_t, loff_t *);
                ^
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:1083:42: warning: passing argument 4 of ‘kernel_read’ makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
  rdlen = kernel_read(fp, fp->f_pos, buf, len);
                                          ^
In file included from ./include/linux/huge_mm.h:7:0,
                 from ./include/linux/mm.h:463,
                 from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/include/linuxver.h:65,
                 from /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/shared/linux_osl.c:25:
./include/linux/fs.h:2858:16: note: expected ‘loff_t * {aka long long int *}’ but argument is of type ‘int’
 extern ssize_t kernel_read(struct file *, void *, size_t, loff_t *);
                ^
  CC [M]  /var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.o
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c: In function ‘wl_init_timer’:
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c:2359:2: error: implicit declaration of function ‘init_timer’ [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
  init_timer(&t->timer);
  ^
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c:2360:10: error: ‘struct timer_list’ has no member named ‘data’
  t->timer.data = (ulong) t;
          ^
/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c:2361:20: error: assignment from incompatible pointer type [-Werror=incompatible-pointer-types]
  t->timer.function = wl_timer;
                    ^
cc1: some warnings being treated as errors
scripts/Makefile.build:332: recipe for target '/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.o' failed
make[1]: *** [/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build/src/wl/sys/wl_linux.o] Error 1
Makefile:1552: recipe for target '_module_/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build' failed
make: *** [_module_/var/lib/dkms/bcmwl/6.30.223.271+bdcom/build] Error 2
make: Leaving directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-4.15.0-24-generic'

Canonical updated HWE stack for Ubuntu 16.04 to the 4.15 kernel. But they forgot to update the Broadcom wireless driver, so it can be built. It is a critical and a very stupid bug, that will cause trouble for many people using the LTS.

Now the issue is being fixed and a compatible driver version has been built

This issue can be solved by installing a compatible version of bcmwl-kernel-source that should build on the 4.15 kernels.

Download http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/restricted/b/bcmwl/bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.3_amd64.deb

and install it using dkpg.

This can be done by

wget http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/restricted/b/bcmwl/bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.3_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu1~1.3_amd64.deb

Windows is not related at all.

The problem is that you have a kernel that is not compatible with the driver.

Important: If you don't have any other network connection but the Broadcom Wi-Fi, you can boot with a previous kernel using grub menu and install the driver. It should build for all kernels.


Apropos to Pilot6's nice answer to this question, it looks like an official fix for xenial (i.e. not requiring one to install packages from bionic) has been released (if you use package broadcom-sta), or else committed (if you use package bcmwl which provides bcmwl-kernel-source).

For further info, see:

broadcom-sta: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/broadcom-sta/+bug/1777444

bcmwl: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bcmwl/+bug/1777646

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