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en:users:drivers:b43
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For relicensing, the content of this page was removed.
The old website for now has a copy of the old content:
http://linuxwireless.sipsolutions.net/en/users/Drivers/b43/
b43 and b43legacy are wireless drivers for Broadcom SoftMAC chipsets. Kernel will automatically pick a proper module for you:
- b43 for any new (supported) hardware
- b43legacy for BCM4301 and early BCM4306 versions
Summary
- You need to have firmware files (usually in
/lib/firmware/) so b43(legacy) can upload them to the card and run properly.
Known problems & limitations
- Some stalls (on G-PHY only?) possibly related to CCK vs. OFDM, see WRT54g / b43 / mac802.11 BREAKTHROUGH
- N-PHY: 5 GHz support requires kernel 3.17+
- HT-PHY: no support for 5 GHz
- No support for 802.11n features (HT, aggregation, 40 MHz width)
Resolved problems
List of hardware
To check for a present hardware model execute following command:
lspci -nn -d 14e4:
If the chipset isn't listed, check if it's connected via SSB (Sonics Silicon Backplane). Such connected chipsets only become visible after the ssb kernel module has been loaded.
Please look carefully at device ID and chipset name.
| PCI-ID | Supported? | Chip ID | Modes | PHY version | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14e4:0576 | not tested | BCM43224 | a/b/g/n | ? | brcm80211 |
| 14e4:4301 | yes (b43legacy) | BCM4301 | b | B | |
| 14e4:4306 | yes (b43legacy) | BCM4306/2 | b/g | G | |
| 14e4:4307 | yes | BCM4306/3 | b/g | G | |
| 14e4:4311 | yes | BCM4311 | b/g | G | wl |
| 14e4:4312 | yes | BCM4311 | a/b/g | G (r8) | wl |
| 14e4:4313 | not tested | BCM4311 | a | ? | wl |
| no | BCM4313 | b/g/n | LCN (r1) | brcm80211 | |
| 14e4:4315 | yes | BCM4312 | b/g | LP (r1) | wl |
| 14e4:4318 | yes | BCM4318 | b/g | G (r7) | |
| 14e4:4319 | yes | BCM4318 | a/b/g | G | |
| 14e4:4320 | yes (b43legacy) | BCM4306/2 | b/g | G (r1) | |
| yes | BCM4306/3 | ? | G (r2) | ||
| 14e4:4321 | partially | BCM4321 | ? | N (r2) | |
| 14e4:4322 | yes (3.18+) | BCM4322 | b/g/n | N (r4) | |
| 14e4:4324 | yes (b43legacy) | BCM4306 | a/b/g | G (r1) | |
| yes | BCM4306/3 | a/b/g | G (r5) | ||
| 14e4:4325 | yes (b43legacy) | BCM4306/2 | b/g | G (r1) | |
| 14e4:4328 | partially | BCM4321 | a/b/g/n | N (r2) | wl |
| 14e4:4329 | partially | BCM4321 | b/g/n | N (r1) | wl |
| 14e4:432a | not tested | BCM4321 | a/n | N | wl |
| 14e4:432b | partially | BCM4322 | a/b/g/n | N (r4) | wl |
| 14e4:432c | yes | BCM4322 | b/g/n | N | wl |
| 14e4:432d | not tested | BCM4322 | a/n | N | wl |
| 14e4:4331 | yes (3.2-rc3+) | BCM4331 | a/b/g/n | HT (r1) | wl |
| 14e4:4350 | yes (3.8+) | BCM43222 | a/b/g/n | N (r6) | |
| 14e4:4353 | yes (3.1+) | BCM43224 | a/b/g/n | N (r6) | wl/brcm80211 |
| 14e4:4357 | yes (3.1+) | BCM43225 | b/g/n | N (r6) | wl/brcm80211 |
| 14e4:4358 | yes (3.17+) | BCM43227 | b/g/n | N (r16) | wl |
| 14e4:4359 | yes (3.17+) | BCM43228 | a/b/g/n | N (r16) | wl |
| 14e4:4360 | no | BCM4360 | ? | AC (r1) | |
| 14e4:4365 | no | BCM43142 | b/g/n | LCN40 (r3) | wl |
| 14e4:43a0 | no | BCM4360 | a/b/g/n/ac | AC? | wl |
| no | BCM4352 | a/b/g/n/ac | ? | wl | |
| 14e4:43a9 | yes (3.17+) | BCM43217 | b/g/n | N (r17) | |
| 14e4:43aa | yes (3.17+) | BCM43131 | b/g/n | N (r17) | |
| 14e4:43b1 | no | BCM4352 | a/b/g/n/ac | AC (r3) | |
| 14e4:4727 | no | BCM4313 | b/g/n | LCN (r1) | wl/brcm80211 |
| 14e4:a8d6 | not tested | BCM43222 | ? | N (6) | |
| 14e4:a8d8 | yes (3.6+) | BCM43224 | a/b/g/n | N (r6) | brcm80211 |
| yes (3.6+) | BCM43225 | ? | N (r6) | brcm80211 | |
| 14e4:a8db | partially (3.18+) | BCM43217 | b/g/n | N (r17) | |
| 14e4:a99d | not tested | BCM43421? | ? | ? |
Contact
- For instant contact you can try #bcm-users channel in IRC freenode network. Please note the limited activity and that you may need to wait for an answer.
- As a more reliable way you can use b43-dev mailing list.
In case of any problem, please start with providing hardware model (including ID) and description of the issue.
en/users/drivers/b43.txt · Last modified: 2018/08/23 14:22 by Carsten Grohmann
