Wifi works on live USB, but NOT after installed to pc.

[tfbielawsski]

Hi,

Running Kubuntu Live USB I am able to simply go to Driver Manager and select the Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driver, and gain use of my wifi adapter.

After installing to pc, I am still able to go to Driver Manager and select the driver, but it does NOT enable my wifi adapter. (Oddly, this method worked with Linux Mint 17.2 before I wiped it and installed Kubuntu).

I have tried installing bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu2_amd64.deb from /pool/restricted/b/bcmwl on my usb, but nothing happens.

I have no Internet access from which to download files or install packages, unless I use a live USB. Can I fix the hard drive Kubuntu from the live USB Kubuntu?

Any other suggestions?

Im running Kubuntu 15.04 with no other OS installed.
Dell Inspiron 3148
Intel core i3 4030 processor
broadcom wireless 43142 chipset
4GB RAM
240GB SSD
No optical drive, no ethernet port

Any help greatly appreciated!

Tom

[tfbielawsski]

Update:
I am not sure if this is solved. Here goes:
Since the live USB worked on Kubuntu, I decided to try Ubuntu live USB. I was able to go to Driver Manager and update the driver on the live USB and wifi worked. When I installed Ubuntu, the same situation happened. I was able to get to Diver Manager, but selecting the driver had no effect. I expected this, because of the similarities between the two distros. Of note is that Linux Mint 17.2 Driver Manager did allow the updated driver to take effect. Perhaps this is because it is based on 14.XX?

In any case, I found an old USB wifi adapter and got online. I went to http://packages.ubuntu.com/vivid/amd...ource/download and downloaded the .deb file. Installed it in Kubuntu. Removed the usb wifi adapter. PC wifi was working! No restart required. Did not have to go into Driver Manager. I will test this on Ubuntu partition and report (Ill likely remove it too).

Of note, I did try installing the .deb file from the "pool" folder of the live USB and it had no effect whatsoever on either distro. For some reason, it wanted the fresh download from the link listed above. Fine and dandy, but when you have a newer computer with no ethernet port, it makes this a tricky process. Luckily I found my little USB wifi device and was able to fix.

[tfbielawsski]

Worked on Ubuntu 15.04 as well.

[elijathegold]

For anyone who finds this thread, a simpler solution for Broadcom chipsets is to temporarily plug in an ethernet cable or as in this case, older wifi adapter and run

sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer

in the terminal. When entering your password, it will look like nothing is happening.