Would it be possible to get FreeBSD to work on an HP Pavilion DV6 after replacing a Broadcom wifi card with a FreeBSD compatible one?

Z

Zm79bsd

I've been thinking about installing FreeBSD on a 2010 HP Pavilion DV6 with an AMD Turion processor, but it has a broadcom WiFi card and it did not get detected so I had to use Ethernet to install it onto it. After realizing the WiFi card wasn't getting detected, I temporarily installed Linux Mint for the time being.

I then thought about buying a different laptop until I figured that the WiFi card can be switched, so now I plan on replacing the broadcom card with a different one that would work. Would this be possible?
 
Yes I would recommend Atheros ATH9K compatible modules.
Secondary Intel Wireless modules.
Problem is this is probably Mini-PCI socket and slimmer pickings.

Atheros AR9220 were PCI and worked good. AR9220 had 2.4 and 5ghz in 80211N
www.ebay.com

Atheros AR9220 Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n 300Mbps Wifi Mini PCI laptop Wlan card | eBay

Model: AR9220. 1 X Atheros AR9220 card,Not driver cd. South Afica,Asia countries and small countries.
www.ebay.com

You need to confirm what type expansion slot it has. Mini-PCI or Mini-PCIe.
 
it is possible to get Broadcom wifi working
but it depends if the particular card is supported

NapoleonWils0n

Thread 'Broadcom BCM43224 wifi working a lagg failover for the Macbook Air 2011'

Enable the Broadcom BCM43224 wifi for the Macbook Air 2011

IMG-3485s-1.webp


and optionally create a lagg failover device
to automatically switch between ethernet and wifi

Freebsd Handbook

docs.freebsd.org

Chapter 34. Advanced Networking

Advanced networking in FreeBSD: basics of gateways and routes, CARP, how to configure multiple VLANs on FreeBSD, etc
docs.freebsd.org docs.freebsd.org

notes on github

github.com

cerberus/freebsd/broadcom-wifi.org at master · NapoleonWils0n/cerberus

cerberus code library. Contribute to NapoleonWils0n/cerberus development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com

1 - install the net/bwn-firmware-kmod port

you can use poudriere to install the port if you use packages
instructions in the links above

2 - loader.conf

edit your loader.conf

Code: 
sudo vi...
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After looking at ebay it looks like it has a Mini-PCIe slot. So that opens you up to much newer offerings.

Atheros WB222 is the newest we support. Anything beyond that is 80211AC and unsupported.
www.ebay.com

Atheros Wlan Bluetooth AR9462 AR5B22 AR5BMD222 802.11N minipci-express Dualband | eBay

Mit Atheros XSPAN MIMO Technologie ( 2x Aktive Antennen). WICHTIG: Es müssen mindestens ZWEI Antennen an die Karte angeschlossen werden - sonst wird die Karte zerstört, da diese Karte 2x aktive Radios enthält, die gleichzeitig Daten senden und Empfangen können !
www.ebay.com
 
I tried to help somebody get a broadcom card working. It was a failure.
V

Thread 'Dell Wireless 1397 with FreeBSD 11.2 RC3'

Hi All,

I have installed FreeBSD 11.2 RC 3 in my Dell laptop along with Windows 10.
The problem is when I go for network setting during FreeBSD installation, It does not detect my wireless card but only Ethernet card is detected.
I checked the supported hardware list and found that my wireless card driver is not supported.
So far fine but I am not able to buy this thing since FreeBSD can run on very minimalistic hardware I heard.

Please correct me if I am wrong.



Thanks in advance.

Twenty bucks and a few screws...
 
If you already know the rest of that laptop works to your satisfaction it is definitely worth the 20 bucks for a Wifi card.

Keep in mind the card might be BIOS-locked, although HP usually does not.
 
Good Point that might depend on the year and model. BIOS Whitelist of allowed expansion modules.
I think it was a Wintel push starting with ultrabooks. That era. It seems to have ended at different times by manufacturers.
 
Phishfry said:
Yes I would recommend Atheros ATH9K compatible modules.
Secondary Intel Wireless modules.
Problem is this is probably Mini-PCI socket and slimmer pickings.

Atheros AR9220 were PCI and worked good. AR9220 had 2.4 and 5ghz in 80211N
www.ebay.com

Atheros AR9220 Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n 300Mbps Wifi Mini PCI laptop Wlan card | eBay

Model: AR9220. 1 X Atheros AR9220 card,Not driver cd. South Afica,Asia countries and small countries.
www.ebay.com

You need to confirm what type expansion slot it has. Mini-PCI or Mini-PCIe.
Click to expand...
It has a Mini-PCIe card
 
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