You need the driver files on a USB stick or second computer first

Installing a Broadcom WiFi driver offline in Ubuntu means downloading the driver on a computer that has internet, moving it to your Ubuntu machine on a USB stick, and then installing it from there. Ubuntu does not automatically detect and install Broadcom drivers the way Windows does, so you have to do this manually. The process takes about 20 minutes if you have the right files ready.

The most common Broadcom chips in laptops are the BCM43xx series. Your Ubuntu machine will not connect to WiFi until the driver is installed, so you cannot download anything directly on it. This is why you need a second device or a USB stick with the files already on it.

Key Takeaways

  • You must download the driver package on a computer with internet, then transfer it to your Ubuntu machine on a USB stick.
  • The broadcom-sta-dkms package is the most common driver for BCM43xx chips and works offline once you have the .deb file.
  • You will need to install build tools and kernel headers on your Ubuntu machine before the driver will compile and work.
  • If your Broadcom chip is newer, you may need the firmware-brcm80211 package instead, which you also download offline.
  • After installation, you must reboot your Ubuntu machine for the driver to load and your WiFi to appear in the network menu.

Identify your Broadcom chip model before downloading

You need to know which Broadcom WiFi chip your laptop has so you download the correct driver. If you can open your laptop case or check the original documentation, look for a model number starting with BCM. The most common ones are BCM4313, BCM4311, BCM4312, BCM4322, BCM43142, and BCM4350.

If you cannot physically see the chip, boot Ubuntu from a USB stick (without installing it) and open a terminal. Type lspci | grep Broadcom and press Enter. This will show you the exact chip model. Write down the full model number — you will need it to find the right driver package.

Download the driver package on a computer with internet

On any computer that has internet access, go to the Ubuntu package repository at packages.ubuntu.com. In the search box, type broadcom-sta-dkms and search. This is the standard driver for most Broadcom chips.

Find the version that matches your Ubuntu release. If you are running Ubuntu 22.04, look for the 22.04 version. Click on the version number, then look for the download link that ends in .deb. Right-click it and choose "Save link as" to download the file to your computer. Save it to a folder you can find easily — your Downloads folder works fine.

If broadcom-sta-dkms does not work for your chip (you will know this after you try to install it), you may need firmware-brcm80211 instead. Download that the same way from packages.ubuntu.com. Newer Broadcom chips often need the firmware package rather than the driver package.

Copy the driver file to a USB stick

Plug a USB stick into the computer where you downloaded the .deb file. Open your file manager and navigate to where you saved the driver file. Right-click the .deb file and choose "Copy". Open the USB stick in the file manager, right-click in the empty space, and choose "Paste".

Wait for the file to finish copying — do not unplug the USB stick while it is still writing. Once it is done, safely eject the USB stick by right-clicking it in the file manager and choosing "Eject". Now you can move the USB stick to your Ubuntu machine.

Plug the USB stick into your Ubuntu machine and open a terminal

Insert the USB stick into your Ubuntu machine. Open the file manager and you should see the USB stick appear in the left sidebar. Click on it to open it and confirm the .deb file is there.

Now open a terminal. Press Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard. A black window will open — this is the terminal. You will type commands here to install the driver. Do not close this window until you are finished.

Install build tools and kernel headers first

Before you install the Broadcom driver, your Ubuntu machine needs build tools and kernel headers. These are programs that let the driver compile and work with your specific kernel version. Type this command into the terminal and press Enter:

sudo apt install build-essential linux-headers-generic

The system will ask for your password. Type it in (you will not see the letters appear, but they are being entered) and press Enter. The download and installation will take several minutes. Wait for the terminal to show your username again and a blinking cursor — this means it is done.

If you get an error that says "Unable to locate package", your Ubuntu machine may not have access to the standard repositories. In that case, you will need to add the driver file itself without the build tools, which is more complicated. Stop here and check whether your USB stick has internet access through a wired Ethernet connection instead.

Install the driver from the USB stick

In the terminal, navigate to your USB stick by typing:

cd /media/username/USBNAME

Replace username with your Ubuntu username and USBNAME with the name of your USB stick (you can see this in the file manager). Press Enter. Now type:

sudo dpkg -i broadcom-sta-dkms_*.deb

The asterisk tells the terminal to find any version of the broadcom-sta-dkms file. Press Enter. The system will install the driver and compile it for your kernel. This takes one to three minutes. When it finishes, you should see a message saying the installation was successful.

If you downloaded firmware-brcm80211 instead, use the same command but replace broadcom-sta-dkms with firmware-brcm80211.

Reboot your machine and check for WiFi

After the driver installs, you must reboot your Ubuntu machine for the driver to load. Type:

sudo reboot

Press Enter. Your machine will shut down and restart. Wait for it to fully boot back up and show the login screen. Log in with your password.

Once you are logged in, look at the top right corner of your screen. You should now see a WiFi icon where there was none before. Click on it and you should see a list of available networks. Select your network and enter your WiFi password. If the WiFi icon still does not appear, the driver did not install correctly — go back to the terminal and check the installation messages for errors.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if the driver installation fails with a "dkms" error?

This usually means the build tools did not install properly. Go back to the terminal and run sudo apt install build-essential linux-headers-generic again. If it still fails, your Ubuntu machine may not have access to the package repositories. Try connecting with a wired Ethernet cable if you have one, or use a different Ubuntu version on the USB stick.

Can I install the driver without a USB stick?

Not easily. You need internet access to download the driver, and your Ubuntu machine has no WiFi until the driver is installed. A USB stick is the fastest way. Your only other option is to connect your Ubuntu machine to the internet with a wired Ethernet cable, then download and install the driver directly.

My WiFi still does not work after rebooting. What do I do?

Open the terminal again and type dmesg | grep -i broadcom to see if the driver loaded. If you see error messages, try the firmware-brcm80211 package instead. If the driver loaded but WiFi still does not work, your chip may need a different driver entirely — check the Ubuntu community documentation for your specific Broadcom model number.

Do I need to keep the USB stick plugged in after installation?

No. Once the driver is installed and you have rebooted, you can unplug the USB stick. The driver is now part of your Ubuntu system and will load every time you boot.

What if my Broadcom chip is not supported by these drivers?

Very old Broadcom chips (BCM4311, BCM4312) may need the b43 driver instead. Very new chips may need firmware from the Linux Wireless project. Check the Ubuntu community documentation for your specific chip model to find the correct driver package name, then download and install it the same way.