WiFi issue with iMac
E: I AM NOT USING FEDORA. Please stop linking to guides for Fedora. They will not work. uBlue/Bazzite does not use dnf.
I got a free iMac. Installed Linux on an external drive. Bazzite, specifically. WiFi does not work. My research leads me to a problem with proprietary Broadcom drivers but no solutions. If you know how to get this working, your advice would be appreciated.
Also if there's another distro that works "out of the box" on Macs with GNOME I'd be open to installing that as well.
E: "System information" says it is a
Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (7.77.111.1 AirPortDriverBrcmNIC-1772.1)
Eat_Your_Paisley
in reply to Ulrich • • •Ulrich
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in reply to Ulrich • • •docs.bazzite.gg/Installing_and…
I'd also Google how to add the repo you need.
The only distros I've found that carry the broadcom drivers at install are the Ubunto families
rpm-ostree - Bazzite Documentation
docs.bazzite.ggUlrich
in reply to Eat_Your_Paisley • • •I know how to use rpm-ostree but thank you.
I don't use Google.
Saying "use a search engine" is not helpful. I've already done that.
HexagonSun
in reply to Ulrich • • •I have WiFi problems on most distros with my 2012 Retina MBP. Generally I can’t get it working.
The only two distros I can get it working on are EndeavourOS and Linux Mint.
Mint requires installing the proprietary drivers after installation, which it easy to do.
EndeavourOS is actually easier works “out of the box” for me. But I need to change it to use WPA2 instead of WPA3 for it to work on my Mac, being as old as it is.
Ulrich
in reply to HexagonSun • • •I could do that. I've never actually tried Mint before. Do you have a link or instructions?
HexagonSun
in reply to Ulrich • • •From memory….
If you open Driver Manager after installation it will say you need to either connect to Ethernet or insert the installation USB. Using the Installation USB is fine.
It should then automatically detect you have a Broadcom WiFi module and just give you a checkbox you can click next to the correct driver.
It will install the driver from the USB, say you need to restart and then you should be done! Upon rebooting your Mac should immediately recognise available WiFi networks and let you join them.
Ulrich
in reply to HexagonSun • • •HexagonSun
in reply to Ulrich • • •Amazing!
That distro is highly deserving of the praise it gets.
Hope you get on ok with the rest of Mint (and Cinnamon) 👍
Ulrich
in reply to HexagonSun • • •Unfortunately the audio outputs are not detected, the cursor blinks and disappears constantly, Steam wouldn't launch, and my camera is activated constantly for some reason...
😔
muusemuuse
in reply to Ulrich • • •This is probably not the best system for bazzite. Stick with something with a longer track record like Debian/ubuntu or better documentation like arch.
Those old macs can get really pissy with Linux sometimes but it can be done. Their WiFi chips are incredibly obnoxious to deal with. Worst case scenario you can swap wifi cards in some those or even simply use a USB WiFi card instead.
Ulrich
in reply to muusemuuse • • •muusemuuse
in reply to Ulrich • • •Google used to use Ubuntu on MacBooks though I’m not sure if that’s still the case. It has a reputation of being straightforward and well supported but not everyone likes what canonical is doing anymore.
Fedora is weirdly more complex and its documentation isn’t as great as it looks on the surface. It’s worth a try but honestly documentation is more important than out of box support at this point.
Arch needs a lot of handholding and it’s a bit of a handful but the wiki is amazing and frankly the best part of that particular distro. Unlike Ubuntu you would get a virgin GNOME experience more similar to fedora but it’s also easier to break things in arch than elsewhere so keep that in mind before you head down this road. Arch is an excellent education but not always a best place to live in.
Start with Ubuntu if you want to see how that hardware is supported. If it is a pain in the ass in Ubuntu, it’s likely to be a pain in the ass elsewhere too. Consider using a usb wifi nubbin and just moving in with that.
Ulrich
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