bcmwl/brcm80211 can't see wifi channels >11 (2.462GHz)
| Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mactel Support |
New
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
| bcmwl (Ubuntu) |
Confirmed
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
Bug Description
Can't see channels >11 (2.462GHz) any more. Channels 1-11 still work, but 12 and 13 are invisible to both "iwlist scan" and network manager now.
The problem seems to be new in natty (alpha 2) with bcmwl-kernel-source 5.100.82.
System is a Macbook Air 3,1 with PCI device:
01:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM43224 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 01)
[01:00.0 0280: 14e4:4353 (rev 01)]
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: bcmwl-kernel-source 5.100.82.
ProcVersionSign
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-1-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelMo
Architecture: amd64
Date: Sat Feb 5 16:12:41 2011
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Alpha amd64 (20110202)
ProcEnviron:
LANGUAGE=en_AU:en
PATH=(custom, no user)
LANG=en_AU.UTF-8
LC_MESSAGES=
SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: bcmwl
| Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt) wrote | #1 |
| Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt) wrote | #2 |
| summary: |
- bcmwl can't see channels > 11 (2.462GHz) any more + bcmwl/brcm80211 can't see wifi channels >11 (2.462GHz) |
| Changed in bcmwl (Ubuntu): | |
| status: | New → Confirmed |
Seemingly confirmed by Broadcom themselves...
The new driver "brcm80211" which first appeared in kernel 2.6.38, and apparently first enabled in natty-beta-1 suffers from this same issue.
This led me to comments from Broadcom developers explaining why channels >11 are disabled by default:
"Regulatory Implementation
This generation of chips contain additional regulatory support independent of the driver. The devices use a single worldwide regulatory domain, with channels 12-14 (2.4 GHz band) and channels 52-64 and 100-140 (5 GHz band) restricted to passive operation. Transmission on those channels is suppressed until appropriate other traffic is observed on those channels."
[http://
I think it is safe to assume that Broadcom disabled channels >11 in (bcm)wl also, for the same reason. So the bug is confirmed and intentional, for radio regulatory compliance :(