# b43 no wireless extensions

## deltamalloc

I have a b43 compatible wireless network adapter in an old laptop. I have downloaded the drivers, used fwcutter to extract them following the guide at http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43

dmesg shows that the driver loads, and that the firmware loads. I get an interface wlan0, however it states no wireless extensions.

I checked the BIOS, and the wireless card was actually turned off, but turning it on again didn't do anything. Still "no wireless extensions". I find it strange though that I get identical results, even though the BIOS has "disabled" the adapter, shouldn't that make the adapter invisible to the system?

Anyway, I tried ifconfig wlan0 up and down, I tried hitting the fn+f2 key on the keyboard to turn the device on and off. Nothing. I get no warnings, no infor, no errors in dmesg or at the console. Just that it has no wireless extensions, iwlist wlan0 scan states that the interface doesn't support scanning.

I know this hardware works though, because it was up and running some time ago with Ubuntu.

Installing wpa_supplicant seems futile, if the interface doesn't even support wireless extensions then wpa_supplicant cannot possibly work. I want to first make it possible to use with iwlist and iwconfig, then do wpa_supplicant.

This is kernel 3.8.13, 32-bit.

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## 666threesixes666

compile in "wext" to your kernel....

mkultra@mksrv [ ~ ]$ zcat /proc/config.gz | grep WEXT

CONFIG_WEXT_CORE=y

CONFIG_WEXT_PROC=y

CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT=y

 good luck  :Very Happy: 

ive been tinkering with the idea of making a wiki page for broadcom wifi devices, however i only know b43 and did not have much luck with the other 2 modules.

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## deltamalloc

 *666threesixes666 wrote:*   

> compile in "wext" to your kernel....
> 
> mkultra@mksrv [ ~ ]$ zcat /proc/config.gz | grep WEXT
> 
> CONFIG_WEXT_CORE=y
> ...

 

I don't have any of those in my .config. What kernel are you using?

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## deltamalloc

All I have is:

grep WEXT .config

# CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT is not set

But that is under "network testing" and surely is not related?

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## 666threesixes666

mkultra@mksrv [ ~ ]$ uname -a

Linux mksrv 3.9.8 #1 SMP Fri Jul 5 02:16:22 EDT 2013 x86_64 AMD Phenom(tm) 9950 Quad-Core Processor AuthenticAMD GNU/Linux

mkultra@mksrv [ ~ ]$ cat /boot/config-3.4.47 | grep WEXT

CONFIG_WEXT_CORE=y

CONFIG_WEXT_PROC=y

CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT=y

maybe the configs show up once you mark CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT=y & depend upon that?

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## deltamalloc

CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT is sufficient. Thanks.

The comments in the .config file are misleading.

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## Gusar

What is misleading about *Quote:*   

> Enable this option if you need old userspace for wireless
> 
> extensions with cfg80211-based drivers.

 

?

No modern driver uses wireless extensions anymore. The only still used drivers that do are ipw2200 and r8712u. All other drivers, including the b43 driver you need, use netlink (nl80211), not wext. So you only need wext compatibility if you use "old userspace" aka wireless_tools. "New userspace" is net-wireless/iw. wpa_supplicant is both "old" (-Dwext) and "new" (-Dnl80211). The plan is to remove the CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT option at some point, though in practice I think it'll stay for quite a while still.

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## 666threesixes666

"old" (-Dwext) and "new" (-Dnl80211).....  and that means?

nl80211 afaik does not work on my box, and wext works great.

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## Gusar

 *666threesixes666 wrote:*   

> nl80211 afaik does not work on my box, and wext works great.

 

And the wifi card on your box is? And the driver you use is?

I just remembered a third still widely used driver that might use wext - wl aka broadcom-sta.

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## 666threesixes666

i have ath5k ath9k_htc prism54g b43 & rtl8187l  im set for many situations, and could sweep my b43 problems under the rug for a very long time.  ath5k is desktop, b43 is laptop, rest are interchangeable usb.

see post no. 2 of this thread gusar.  im not sure i could make this any clearer.

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## Gusar

b43, the ath drivers and rtl8187 use netlink. For prism54, there's a deprecated wext driver for pci/cardbus cards in the kernel. Then there's p54pci and p54usb, which are netlink.

No need for a condescending tone, I know a lot about wireless drivers, more than you it seems. None of the drivers you use are wext drivers. They only work with -Dwext and wireless_tools (iwconfig) because CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT is a compatibility layer in netlink.

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## 666threesixes666

well your right post number 1 should not need wext, but requests iwconfig.  k then resolve post no. 8 plz.  "I know more than you" GOOD, POST.    :Very Happy: 

im networkmanager, and would like to dump wext, where does nl80211 pick up where wext left off?  what kernel options need set?  have you thought about posting this to the wiki, set it in stone to keep this kind of thread off the forums, or down to 1 post pointing at the wiki links?

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