Hello everyone. I am kind of new to Ubuntu. I have tried different versions of Linux in the past and have decided to put Ubuntu on on an extra laptop. I installed it but it will not let me connect to the web with wifi. I have tried different things and nothing seems to work. Can anyone help me out please.
Hi jw,
Welcome to our community.
Can you give me some more details? For instance, when you said it does not connect to the web, do you mean that it does not connect to your WiFi router at all, or does it connect to the router but you cannot get to browse the internet?
Also can you name two of the things you tried to get it work?
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Hello Bryan,
Thank you for replying. I cannot see any routers at all. It only gives me the ethernet connection which I do not have. On install when it asked to connect to internet, The choices were stippled out. I tried disabling ethernet. Also cycling power to router. tried reinstalling OS.
It is an Thinkpad-Edge-E431.
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Welcome to the forums @jwmullins
Open a terminal and run:
lspci | grep -i network
Post the output here. That tells us exactly which driver is needed.
For example, if it’s Broadcom, the fix is:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install bcmwl-kernel-source
Also worth checking quickly:
rfkill list
If WiFi shows as “blocked” you will need to unblock it.
Make sure you have all firmware up to date:
Use a network cable in the meantime to perform tasks that require internet.
The output says:
04:00.0 Network Controller: BroadcomInc and subsidiaries BCM43228 802.11a/b/g/n
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You need temporary internet just once:
- Plug in Ethernet, or USB-tether internet from your phone.
Then run:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install bcmwl-kernel-source
Reboot after it finishes.
Make sure its not disabled/blocked as well if it still does not work, check with:
rfkill list
Thanks. I will give it a try. It will take a little time. I have to take it to another room.
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rfkill list shows no wifi only bluetooth.
That check is for after you have installed bcmwl-kernel-source using the commands above.
I will give it another try.
I tried it again and noticed it says:
Could ot open (/var/lib/dpkg/lock-frontend)
Unable to acquire dpkg (/var/lib/dpkg/lock-frontend)
That was when I tried to install it.
Hello again. I just checked my firmware update and found it is over 9 years old. I think I will go through the steps you have linked above and update my firmware before trying anything else. Thank you for taking the time to help me. I will let you know what happens.
that message means another package manager process is already running.
So maybe you should reboot the laptop first before installing the broadcom drivers.
This is a high-risk process if not done carefully. Losing power or not having internet access on your laptop, for example. Be careful.
Updating laptop firware may not fix Wi-Fi if you don’t have the Broadcom Wi-Fi driver installed. The focus should be on installing working drivers first.
@hydn Does the Ubuntu installer allow for third party drivers to be installed? If that option was missed during installation, is there an easy way to install them?
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Good question! Hm. Well, if there was no internet during install, the checkbox effectively does nothing. So it’s often best to make sure you have a network cable or tether connection during Ubuntu install when possible.
But yes, during the install wizard, a user must explicitly check the box during that installation. If it wasn’t checked. Then, with internet access connected, you can go to Settings → Additional Drivers or by installing the required package (in this case bcmwl-kernel-source) once the system has internet access.
Hello Hayden,
Tried to update firmware but it appears nothing happened.
Is there a way to switch from Legacy BIOS to uefi using the terminal?
It still says it is 9 years old. After reboot.
Do you think it would be worth it to reinstall OS while on ethernet?
No, not from the terminal.
Switching from Legacy BIOS to UEFI is a firmware setting. It has to be changed in the ThinkPad’s BIOS/Setup screen. There’s no safe or supported way to flip that from inside Linux.
Also, changing Legacy ↔ UEFI on an existing install usually makes the system unbootable unless the disk layout and bootloader were set up for UEFI from the start. It’s not something I’d recommend doing mid-install.
The problem here is the missing Broadcom driver. Reinstalling just to have internet during setup won’t change that, and you’d still end up installing the same bcmwl-kernel-source package afterward anyway.
Reboot and try again. Installing the Broadcom driver is still the priority.
Only consider a reinstall if there are other unrelated issues or if you specifically want to switch to UEFI and are fine starting clean.
Hello Hayden and Bryan.
Just wanted to let you know that I reinstalled 24.04.3 LTS while connected with ethernet. It went okay. It took longer to install because it downloaded a lot more files. I did an update and applied PRO. I haven’t finished my setup yet but I do have wifi now and should be able to finish it today. Thank both of you for your time and effort. I am 79 and a little new to Linux. Hope both of you have a great day.
By the way. I think I will be updating my firmware today also.
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Great news! Yes, it’s a longer install process, but generally worth it due to the convenience of having all or most of the requirements installed and ready-to-go after that first boot.
Kudos on adding Pro (ESM). Now you have support for another 8 years! That’s very hard to beat. I’m also using Ubuntu 24.04 LTS on my desktop.
We invite you to look around to forum topics to see if you find anything that interests you. Also, when you settle on a desktop setup/wallpaper, etc. you are welcome to share here:
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But I don’t wanna use snap to do everything, Having to learn a whole new way of doing things is why I didn’t choose Ubuntu in the first place, along with Gentoo etc. I found my comfy spot I ain’t leaving it. 
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I get that. I don’t use Snap. I use apt unless it’s not available in apt, even then snap is optional.
I like using terminal for package management. Also see: Remove Snap Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and 24.04 LTS
But of course you prefer other flavors of Linux and that’s really what matters. And is totally fair. 
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