Debian Lenny, Broadcom BCM4318 wifi (ibook G4)

This guide explains how to get the wireless network card on an ibook G4 working with Debian Linux.

The BCM4318 chipset is also found in Dell and Acer laptops

As Linux distros that support PPC are thinning out a bit and it was time for an upgrade, I decided to install Debian. I’m not sure why I haven’t used it as a desktop before, there is certainly no reason to get rid of my 12″ ibook G4 yet!

Anyway, just got Lenny installed and of course the wifi can’t work out the box due to the firmware not having a compatible licence. Fortunately this isn’t to hard to fix.

To double check if you have this wireless chipset run:

[user@localhost ~]# lspci | grep Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g

Then install the linux-headers and build-essential packages using apt (in my case):

[user@localhost ~]# apt-get install linux-headers-2.6.26-2-powerpc

[user@localhost ~]# apt-get install build-essential

If you’re not sure which kernel headers to install, running the command uname should help:

[user@localhost ~]# uname -a

Now it is just a case of installing the firmware package which comes from the ‘contrib’ Debian repos, which in turn grabs the firmware from openwrt.og, then dmps it in the right place.

Add ‘contrib’ to the end of the main Debian repo, like this (/etc/apt/sources.list):

deb http://debian.mirror.com/ lenny main contrib

deb-src http://debian.mirror.com/ lenny main contrib

Then install the firmware cutter using apt:

[user@localhost ~]# apt-get install b43-fwcutter

That’s it! Just say yes when it asks you if you would like to download and extract the firmware. Now if you’re using a graphical desktop clicking on network manager should now reveal any wireless networks in the area.

I had no trouble connecting to a WPA2 encrypted network using a 63 character key.

This Calmblue guide by Simon Bell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License