8 mo. ago • 85%

No wifi on Linux Mint. Macbook pro 2017

Finally decided to convert to the penguin. I have live booted mint from a usb, without installing it yet, on a macbook pro 2017. But none of the WiFi networks in my apartment are showing, except for a few weak ones. Help a newbie out :)

Edit: To clarify it is not installed yet. Just used it from a live usb.

Edit 2: Used phone as tether for internet and went through all managers. But none had any updates that worked. I also tried installing b43 and after that wl. But both did nothing on the live usb boot, I assume since modprobe doesn't do anything on a live boot. But I ain't installing if it won't even work on the live boot.

@RedNight left a link that suggests this macbook, version 14.2, wifi doesn’t work with linux. https://github.com/Dunedan/mbp-2016-linux

Final edit: Fedora also didn't work. So it's a hardware compatibility issue.

TLDR: If u have a macbook 2017 version 14.2 the wifi won't work on linux so don't try.

28 comments

The machine is fully supported by Mint, but because it's a non-free firmware driver, you will need to add either an ethernet cable, or a usb-to-ethernet adapter, or you could tether from your phone. Then you can install either the b43, or the wl driver (depends which chipset you have), and then wifi and bluetooth are going to work like a charm. I had to do the same on my mac mini. Apple uses broadcom chips that don't have full open source bits, so they're not part of the live ISO. You'll first need to find another way to get to the internet, and then fetch the right files.

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- I got internet by tethering my phone. After that I went through all the managers, tried installing b43 and after that wl. But both did nothing on the live usb boot. @RedNight left a link that suggests this macbook version wifi doesn't work with linux. https://github.com/Dunedan/mbp-2016-linux
  
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I had a similar issue with Mint on my Latitude 7480, ended up using Fedora where everything just seems to work.

Best advice I can suggest is always use a live USB because if something doesn't work there it won't after install either.

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- Yeah luckily this is on a live USB. I'll try fedora if nothings works thx for the recomendation
  
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- Hey, I have a Latitude 7280 which I believe should be the 12" version of yours. A year or so ago I tried running Linux on mine (I believe EndeavourOS but also tested with Debian) and I couldn't get sleeping to work right. When the laptop would wake up it seemed to just stay on a black screen and I'd have to hard power it down.
  
  Was this something you ran into with yours? I've been forced to use Windows on this laptop since because I never figured that issue out and couldn't find anyone else with it
  
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Connect to ethernet and update drivers maybe

6
- Only c ports on my device, ill get a plug
  
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  Try USB tethering from phone. I had similar issue with my first install. Updating drivers helped.
  
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rmmod b43 rmmod bcma rmmod wl modprobe wl
6
- None of these modules are found. It's a live boot so idk of these are only present after install?
  
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  I installed Arch on Macbook Air 2017 by applying this. I did these steps right after set keyboard, and after this I connect with iwd.
  
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Broadcom drivers.

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Use hotspot or tethering from phone to give the Macbook Internet, and update the WiFi drivers and firmware. Or get an ethernet adapter for USB port.

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Had a similar experience with a '13 air. Everything works, except wifi. F'n Broadcom. Don't remember how I got a working driver, but the next time it breaks I'll just try to order some compatible wireless card instead.

4
Check your region settings. Maybe you are not listening on the right channels for your country.

4
- The weird thing is that it picks up 1 or 2 wifi from my neighbours but really weak like 9%. But it doesn't seem te scan my own.
  
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After installation, run driver manager. It will install any proprietary drivers, and firmware. You will need to provide the laptop an internet connection through an ethernet cable when you run it though.

https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/drivers.html

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- No luck. I used my phone as tether but none of the managers worked.
  
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Yes, Macbook Pro 2017 has issues with Linux. See here for what does and doesn't work: https://github.com/Dunedan/mbp-2016-linux

Some workaround fixes here: https://gist.github.com/roadrunner2/1289542a748d9a104e7baec6a92f9cd7

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- Great link mate. I think this explains why none of the suggestions are working.
  
  "The MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar come with a Broadcom Limited BCM43602 802.11ac Wireless LAN SoC (rev 02) which is also supported by brcmfmac, but has several issues rendering it unusable, caused by the available firmware. The issues are caused by failing country detection and are:
  
  -Only 2.4Ghz APs are shown -Connecting to an AP barely works or fails directly"
  
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  Great. I'm glad you saw them. Yeah, I've been watching this device for years hoping for better support. The very technical manual WiFi fixes do seem to work, but I think a usb WiFi adapter might be more pleasant.
  
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I had constant issues with wifi when running mint ~3 years ago. I never managed to fix it and instead switched to fedora.

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Have you by any chance configured the wifi channels on your router/AP by hand? I had a problem a long time ago, where some device would assume it's in the US, while the AP was set to another country code and you could choose wifi channels that in the US are verboten.

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- No nothing configured by me on the router
  
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I think the Driver Manager may be able to help you select the correct one or at least make the correct one permanent.

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- Sadly the driver manager says no drivers needed
  
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I'd try another distro - I've had issues with Mint and wifi in the past. MXLinux saw wifi when Mint didn't. Or maybe Ubuntu.

0
- Not sure why this is downvoted? But yeah if this doesn't work i will try to some others
  
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