New subject: [Bug 870704] Linux WiFi for Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller broken regularly

Saturday, 27 October 2012

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=870704

            Bug ID: 870704
        QA Contact: extras-qa(a)fedoraproject.org
          Severity: high
           Version: 17
          Priority: unspecified
                CC: jonathan(a)jonmasters.org,
                    kmod-maint(a)lists.fedoraproject.org, msivak(a)redhat.com
          Assignee: kmod-maint(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
           Summary: Linux WiFi for Broadcom Corporation BCM4313
                    802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller broken regularly
        Regression: ---
      Story Points: ---
    Classification: Fedora
                OS: Linux
          Reporter: alice_knoll_drouin(a)yahoo.com
              Type: Bug
     Documentation: ---
          Hardware: x86_64
        Mount Type: ---
            Status: NEW
         Component: kmod
           Product: Fedora

Description of problem:
I have been running every version of Fedora since Fedora Core 6 and the WiFi
never had a problem until Fedora 17.  I never had to do anything for WiFi until
Fedora 15 or earlier when I was forced to installed broadcom-wl, akmod-wl and
kmod-wl from the Fusion repository for the WiFi to work.

I installed Fedora 17 one month after its released.  The WiFi did not work. 
Was it because the kmod-wl did not sync with the later Fedora 17 kernel?  To
ensure the quality of Fedora 17, I would refrain from hacking it to work by
compiling an external source.  Updating only form the Fedora and Fusion
repositories will ensure the integrity of Fedora 17.  Also, hacking it may not
work and render it inoperable with kernel panic.  After two or more normal
updates, the WiFi was finally working. 

My Fedora 17 WiFi was broken again since the update to
kernel-3.6.1-1.fc17.x86_64. In fact, that kernel does not boot up. The WiFi was
still not working on my next update to to kernel-3.6.2-4.fc17.x86_64. It is not
known whether the upcoming update to kernel-3.6.2-5.fc17.x86_64 would work at
all. On booting up earlier versions like kernel-3.5.6-1.fc17.x86_64 and
kernel-3.5.4-2.fc17.x86_64, the WiFi also did not work.  Was the WiFi operating
data that was used in earlier version corrupted?

There is a danger that future updates, including Fedora 18, with Broadcom
chipset will never work anymore as Broadcom cut the support resources or give
up updating kmod-wl to sync with the regular release of Linux kernel. Then,
Broadcom is truly liable to all its customers in time and resources wasted. 
Why is Broadcom selling a product that does not work suddenly?  I am guessing
that Broadcom is holding on to dear life by keeping its WiFi firmware at any
cost to its customers. That is gross irresponsibilities since there are many
Broadcom chipset devices running Linux.

Why did Broadcom WiFi works on Windows and may have problem with Linux? As it
is, Fedora has at least one monthly kernel update and Broadcom will always have
great difficulty keeping up. Why don't Broadcom pass over all the essential
codes to Linux like it did for Windows to relief of its pains and resources?
Now, it appears that Fedora 18 beta may also have similar problem! Perhaps, the
Fedora team can look into how to resolve this problem with Broadcom once and
for all.

Perhaps, the Fedora team can look into a fallback procedure to the last version
of Fedora like Fedora 10 for Broadcom chipset where users does not have to
install broadcom-wl, akmod-wl and kmod-wl from the Fusion repository and reset
the kernel to that point.  Fedora 17 and onwards is broken regurally because of
being held hostage by Broadcom is not the way as users will give up using
Fedora and move away from Fedora.

At the least, the Fedora team can look into including a universal base WiFi
module into the kernel such that WiFi is operational immediately after
installing any Fedora version without connecting to Wired LAN to install any
modules to make WiFi work on First Boot.  This base WiFi will also guarantee
WiFi connectivity whenever Broadcom has a problem or someone at Fedora broke
the WiFi with impunity.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
kernel-3.6.1-1.fc17.x86_64
kernel-3.6.2-4.fc17.x86_64

How reproducible:
May occur at any new kernel update.

Steps to Reproduce:
sudo yum -y update

Actual results:
kernel-3.6.1-1.fc17.x86_64 does not boot up
kernel-3.6.2-4.fc17.x86_64 WiFi still not working.
kernel-3.5.6-1.fc17.x86_64 WiFi that used to work does not work anymore.
kernel-3.5.4-2.fc17.x86_64 WiFi that used to work does not work anymore.

Expected results:
Keep updating using   'sudo yum -y update'   until the WiFi works again.
Expect Fedora 17 WiFi will work again before the release Fedora 18 in December.
 Otherwise, Fedora is broken as I do not have Fedora 17 to run.

Additional info:
I noticed that in Fedora 17 and one or two versions earlier, there was no SSID
list in the NetworkManager when the Wired LAN is connected.  One of the
improvement in Fedora 17 is that the NetworkManager icon changes to VPN icon
when the VPN is connected.

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[Bug 870704] New: Linux WiFi for Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller broken regularly