Wlan0 interface missing

[vanfanel]

Hi,

It seems that, with latest kernels/firmwares, I am missing the wlan0 interface after doing:
sudo modprobe brcmfmac
It used to work well, but now I got in dmesg:

pi@raspberrypi:~/src/eduke32 $ dmesg
[  373.191993] brcmfmac: F1 signature read @0x18000000=0x1541a9a6
[  373.204503] usbcore: registered new interface driver brcmfmac
[  373.210099] brcmfmac mmc1:0001:1: Direct firmware load for brcm/brcmfmac43430-sdio.bin failed with error -2
[  374.269564] brcmfmac: brcmf_sdio_htclk: HT Avail timeout (1000000): clkctl 0x50
[  375.279560] brcmfmac: brcmf_sdio_htclk: HT Avail timeout (1000000): clkctl 0x50

So I went and downloaded brcmfmac43430-sdio.bin to /lib/firmware/brcm/brcmfmac43430-sdio.bin.
Now, dmesg won't have any complains from modprobe, but wlan0 is still absent.
Any ideas on what is going on here, please?

[pelwell]

1. Which hardware platform is this?
2. What are the kernel and firmware versions (vcgencmd version)?
3. Which OS/distribution are you running?
4. Have you always had to use sudo modprobe brcmfmac? It ought to be loaded automatically - do you know why it isn't for you?
5. Was the firmware absent before you copied it there? Do you have any idea why?

[vanfanel]

@pelwell : I have just fixed it. I was missing /lib/firmware/brcm/brcmfmac43430-sdio.txt too, but modprobe will silently load the module anyway and the interface was still missing. Bad thing to do, if you ask me.
Anyhow, getting /lib/firmware/brcm/brcmfmac43430-sdio.txt fixed it.

Anyhow, for future reference (and in case you can include the firmware by default):

1. I am on a Raspberry Pi 3

2. vcgencmd version says:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ vcgencmd version
Nov  3 2017 17:00:25 
Copyright (c) 2012 Broadcom
version 1bcf9152e3b2ab5c67dcb9c7c1f6d9256d9a6f38 (clean) (release)

3. It's Raspbian LITE without systemd. I manually load/unload the modules I need for networking.

4. Yes, I always use a personal script to connect to WiFi networks manually.

5. The firmware was absent, yes: in fact, the /lib/firmware/bcrm directory didn't exist before I created it. I don't know why.

[pelwell]

It's Raspbian LITE without systemd.

Who creates this distribution? Raspbian (including Lite) uses systemd on Jessie and Stretch.

The firmware was absent, yes: in fact, the /lib/firmware/bcrm directory didn't exist before I created it. I don't know why.

/lib/firmware/brcm is present in a standard Raspbian Jessie/Stretch Lite image, so my theory is that whatever removed systemd also removed the firmware.

[vanfanel]

@pelwell : I removed most of systemd stuff, it's simply Raspbian LITE, not another specific distro.

[pelwell]

If you can show me a Raspbian Lite image less than a year old without the /lib/firmware/brcm directory then feel free to re-open this issue.

[vanfanel]

It may have been my fault, since it's a modified system, so don't worry. And sorry for making you wasting time on this. Thanks :)

[mimmoLinino]

I have a similar issue using a CM3 connected to a wifi module WSDSB-104GNI(BT).
At startup I see on dmesg the following messages:

[ 1382.362690] mmc1: queuing unknown CIS tuple 0x80 (2 bytes)
[ 1382.365644] mmc1: queuing unknown CIS tuple 0x80 (3 bytes)
[ 1382.368583] mmc1: queuing unknown CIS tuple 0x80 (3 bytes)
[ 1382.373856] mmc1: queuing unknown CIS tuple 0x80 (7 bytes)
[ 1382.543237] mmc1: new high speed SDIO card at address 0001
[ 1382.612847] brcmfmac: F1 signature read @0x18000000=0x1541a9a6
[ 1382.619101] brcmfmac: brcmf_fw_map_chip_to_name: using brcm/brcmfmac43430-sdio.bin for chip 0x00a9a6(43430) rev 0x000001
[ 1382.619326] usbcore: registered new interface driver brcmfmac
[ 1383.755363] brcmfmac: brcmf_sdio_htclk: HT Avail timeout (1000000): clkctl 0x50
[ 1384.825463] brcmfmac: brcmf_sdio_htclk: HT Avail timeout (1000000): clkctl 0x50

the wlan0 interface is missing. oin order to enable it I need to remove and then insert the brcmfmac module using the commands:

modprobe -r brcmfmac
modprobe brcmfmac

After that I see the folling messaged on dmesg:

[ 1531.373109] usbcore: deregistering interface driver brcmfmac
[ 1538.204465] brcmfmac: F1 signature read @0x18000000=0x1541a9a6
[ 1538.211679] brcmfmac: brcmf_fw_map_chip_to_name: using brcm/brcmfmac43430-sdio.bin for chip 0x00a9a6(43430) rev 0x000001
[ 1538.211937] usbcore: registered new interface driver brcmfmac
[ 1539.389533] brcmfmac: brcmf_c_preinit_dcmds: Firmware version = wl0: Oct 23 2017 03:55:53 version 7.45.98.38 (r674442 CY) FWID 01-e58d219f
[ 1539.390198] brcmfmac: brcmf_c_preinit_dcmds: CLM version = API: 12.2 Data: 7.11.15 Compiler: 1.24.2 ClmImport: 1.24.1 Creation: 2014-05-26 10:53:55 Inc Data: 9.10.39 Inc Compiler: 1.29.4 Inc ClmImport: 1.36.3 Creation: 2017-10-23 03:47:14
[ 1539.695418] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
[ 1539.695578] brcmfmac: power management disabled
[ 1540.626286] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready

How can I solve this issue?

[zmrow]

I'm also seeing the same behavior as @mimmoLinino on a RPi 3B.

[pelwell]

On a normal WiFi Pi, where the circuitry is known to be good, a failure to start like this is almost certainly caused by a lack of power. Power demands are often at their highest during booting when everything is being started at the same time. After booting, run "vcgencmd get_throttled". A result other than "0x0" will indicate a soft-error condition - probably under-voltage.

A 3B requires a full 2.5A supply - be careful with the choice of cables as well, as these can often introduce significant losses (one of the many things I've learnt in 4 years at Pi is how bad cheap USB cables can be, and how good ones can easily get damaged). If you have any additional hardware attached, try removing that while rebooting to see if WiFi starts up correctly.