To install a Wi-Fi driver on Ubuntu 26.04, run sudo apt install broadcom-sta-dkms for an older Broadcom card, then reboot. Intel, MediaTek, Realtek and Qualcomm chips, and most newer Broadcom ones, already have their driver built into Ubuntu, so there is nothing to download.
Below: how to find your chip, how to get online when Wi-Fi is the thing that is broken, and how to install the driver from your Ubuntu USB stick with no internet at all. The fixes cover Wi-Fi that is switched off, shows no networks, or keeps dropping. If you get stuck, leave a comment or contact us with your chip’s ID and we will help.
Install Wi-Fi Drivers in 4 Steps
Open a terminal with Ctrl + Alt + T. The steps work for laptops, desktop PCs and USB Wi-Fi adapters.
Find your Wi-Fi chip
For Wi-Fi built into a laptop or a card inside a PC:
lspci -nnk | grep -A3 -i netmike@ubuntu:~$ lspci -nnk | grep -A3 -i net
03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries BCM4360 802.11ac Dual Band Wireless Network Adapter [14e4:43a0] (rev 03)
Subsystem: ...
Kernel modules: bcmaLook at the Network controller line. The code in square brackets at the end, here 14e4:43a0, is the chip’s ID. The first half names the maker: 8086 is Intel, 14e4 Broadcom, 10ec Realtek, 14c3 MediaTek, 168c or 17cb Qualcomm.
A Kernel driver in use line means a driver is already loaded. In the example there is none, so this card needs one.
For a USB Wi-Fi adapter, use this instead. The ID comes straight after the word ID:
lsusbmike@ubuntu:~$ lsusb
...
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:b812 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. ...Get a temporary connection
Installing a driver needs internet, and Wi-Fi is the thing that is broken. Either of these works with no driver at all:
- Your phone over USB. Plug it in with a charging cable. On Android, turn on USB tethering in the hotspot settings. On an iPhone, turn on Personal Hotspot and tap Trust when asked. Ubuntu shows it as a wired connection within a few seconds.
- An Ethernet cable to your router, if the computer has a network port.
No phone or cable? The Broadcom driver is on the Ubuntu 26.04 USB stick itself. Do step 1, then install it from the USB stick.
Install the driver your chip needs
Find your chip’s maker and ID in the table:
| Your chip | What to install |
|---|---|
Intel (8086:...) |
Nothing. The driver is built in |
MediaTek (14c3:...) |
Nothing. The driver is built in |
Realtek (10ec:..., USB 0bda:...) |
Nothing for almost every chip. The driver is built in |
Qualcomm Atheros (168c:..., 17cb:...) |
Nothing. The driver is built in |
Broadcom ending in 4313, 4727, 432a, 432b, 432d, 4358, 4359, 4365, 43a0 or 43b1 |
Install broadcom-sta-dkms |
| Any other Broadcom | Usually nothing. If Wi-Fi is still missing after updating, see older Broadcom cards |
Whatever the chip, install updates first. Wi-Fi firmware and driver fixes arrive this way:
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgradeIf your Broadcom ID is in the table, install its driver:
sudo apt install broadcom-sta-dkmsIt builds the driver for your kernel, which takes a minute or two, and blocks the open-source Broadcom drivers that would clash with it. It comes from Ubuntu’s own restricted repository, which is turned on by default.
With Secure Boot on, the install asks you to choose a password. Pick a simple one. You type it once, at the next boot.
Additional Drivers may not list this driver, so install it by name as shown. The same goes for sudo ubuntu-drivers install.
Reboot and connect
sudo rebootIf you set a Secure Boot password, a blue MOK management screen appears before Ubuntu starts. Choose Enroll MOK, then Continue, then Yes, type the password and choose Reboot. It only waits a few seconds, so stay at the screen.
Your networks now show in the Wi-Fi menu in the top-right corner. To check from the terminal:
nmcli device statusmike@ubuntu:~$ nmcli device status
DEVICE TYPE STATE CONNECTION
wlp3s0 wifi connected ...
lo loopback connected (externally) loA wifi line means the driver is working, whether or not it says connected yet. No wifi line at all? See If Something Goes Wrong.
No Internet? Install the Driver From Your Ubuntu USB
The Ubuntu 26.04 USB stick carries the Broadcom driver and everything needed to build it, so you can install it with no connection at all. Use the stick you installed Ubuntu from, so its files match your system.
Plug in the USB stick and open it
Plug it in. Ubuntu opens it in Files. Then point the terminal at it:
sudo mount --bind "$(dirname /media/$USER/*/pool)" /mntls /mnt/pool/restricted/b/broadcom-sta/mike@ubuntu:~$ ls /mnt/pool/restricted/b/broadcom-sta/
broadcom-sta-dkms_6.30.223.271-29ubuntu1_amd64.debIf the first command says the folder does not exist, Ubuntu has not opened the stick yet. Click it once in the Files sidebar and run it again.
Add the USB stick as a package source
echo "deb [trusted=yes] file:/mnt resolute main restricted" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu-usb.listsudo apt updateThe update shows errors for the online servers, because there is no internet. Ignore them. The line that matters starts with Get: or Hit: and mentions file:/mnt.
Install the driver
sudo apt install broadcom-sta-dkmsapt takes the driver, the build tools and the kernel headers from the USB stick. The Secure Boot password prompt from step 3 above appears here too.
Remove the USB source and reboot
sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu-usb.list
sudo umount /mnt
sudo rebootEnrol the key at the blue screen if you set a password, then connect to Wi-Fi. Once online, run the update command from step 3 to bring everything up to date.
Buying a USB Wi-Fi Adapter for Ubuntu
A USB adapter is also the quickest way round a laptop chip that will not work. The chipset inside decides whether it works on Ubuntu, not the brand on the box.
| Maker | Chipsets with a driver built into Ubuntu 26.04 |
|---|---|
| Realtek | RTL8812AU, RTL8821AU, RTL8811AU, RTL8814AU, RTL8821CU, RTL8822BU, RTL8822CU, RTL8723DU, RTL8851BU, RTL8852AU, RTL8852BU, RTL8852CU |
| MediaTek | MT7601U, MT7610U, MT7612U, MT7921AU, MT7925U |
Search the model name plus “chipset” before you buy. Makers sometimes change the chipset between versions of the same model, so check the version number too.
If Something Goes Wrong
Wi-Fi is switched off and will not turn on
rfkill listmike@ubuntu:~$ rfkill list
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: yes
Hard blocked: noSoft blocked: yes means Ubuntu has it turned off, often through Airplane Mode. Unblock it:
rfkill unblock wifiHard blocked: yes means a switch outside Ubuntu. Look for a Wi-Fi key, usually one of the F keys pressed with Fn, or a slider on the side of older laptops. If neither helps, check that wireless is turned on in the firmware settings.
The driver loads but no networks appear
This is usually missing firmware. The kernel log says so:
sudo dmesg | grep -iE 'firmware|wlan|wifi'A line saying a .bin or .ucode file failed to load means the firmware package is damaged or incomplete. Reinstall the one for your chip and reboot:
sudo apt install --reinstall linux-firmware-realtek
sudo rebootThe others are linux-firmware-intel-wireless, linux-firmware-mediatek, linux-firmware-broadcom-wireless and linux-firmware-qualcomm-wireless.
For a very new Intel card that shows in lspci with no driver, Ubuntu has a newer Intel Wi-Fi driver. It is signed, so Secure Boot accepts it without a key:
sudo apt install linux-modules-iwlwifi-generic-hwe-26.04
sudo rebootBroadcom driver installed, but still no Wi-Fi
Check that the driver was built and loads:
dkms status
sudo modprobe wlmike@ubuntu:~$ dkms status
broadcom-sta/6.30.223.271, 7.0.0-..., x86_64: installedIf modprobe says Key was rejected by service, Secure Boot is blocking the driver because its key was never enrolled. Set a new password, reboot and enrol it at the blue screen as in step 4:
sudo update-secureboot-policy --enroll-key
sudo rebootThe NVIDIA drivers guide walks through the same blue screen for its driver. If dkms status shows nothing, reinstall the package with your temporary connection, or from the USB stick.
An older Broadcom card still has no Wi-Fi
Some older Broadcom cards use the built-in b43 driver, which needs firmware that Ubuntu cannot ship. The kernel log mentions b43 when this is the case:
sudo dmesg | grep -i b43Install the firmware with a temporary connection. The package downloads it from Broadcom while it installs, so it does not work offline:
sudo apt install firmware-b43-installer
sudo rebootWi-Fi keeps dropping or is slow
Wi-Fi power saving is on by default and some chips handle it badly. Turn it off:
printf '[connection]\nwifi.powersave = 2\n' | sudo tee /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/wifi-powersave-off.conf
sudo systemctl restart NetworkManagerWi-Fi reconnects within a few seconds. If drops continue, the cause is usually signal or router channel, not the driver.
Remove the Broadcom Driver
Go back to the open-source drivers
sudo apt purge broadcom-sta-dkms
sudo apt autoremove
sudo rebootPurge also deletes the file that blocks the open-source Broadcom drivers, so they load again after the reboot.
To undo the power saving fix, delete its file and restart NetworkManager:
sudo rm /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/wifi-powersave-off.conf
sudo systemctl restart NetworkManagerHelpful Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to install Wi-Fi drivers on Ubuntu 26.04?
Usually not. Intel, MediaTek, Realtek and Qualcomm chips, and most newer Broadcom ones, have their driver built into Ubuntu. Older Broadcom cards are the common exception and need sudo apt install broadcom-sta-dkms.
What happened to bcmwl-kernel-source?
Ubuntu 26.04 replaced it with broadcom-sta-dkms. It is the same Broadcom driver under a new package name, so older guides that say bcmwl-kernel-source now fail with package not found.
How do I install a Wi-Fi driver with no internet?
Share your phone's connection over USB tethering, or plug in an Ethernet cable. For a Broadcom card you can also install broadcom-sta-dkms straight from the Ubuntu 26.04 USB stick you installed from.
Should I install a Realtek Wi-Fi driver from GitHub?
Usually not on Ubuntu 26.04. Its kernel includes drivers for most Realtek chips, including the RTL8821CE, RTL8822BU, RTL8812AU and RTL8852 families. A driver from GitHub has to rebuild after every kernel update and needs a Secure Boot key.
Why does Additional Drivers not show my Wi-Fi driver?
Most Wi-Fi drivers are already built in, so there is nothing to list. The Broadcom driver may not appear either. Install it by name with sudo apt install broadcom-sta-dkms.
Which USB Wi-Fi adapter works on Ubuntu?
One with a chipset that has a built-in driver, such as Realtek RTL8812AU, RTL8821CU or RTL8852BU, or MediaTek MT7921AU or MT7612U. Check the chipset of the exact model version before you buy.
Updates, codecs, apps and the settings worth changing on a new Ubuntu 26.04 install.
More driver guides: Install Intel Graphics Drivers on Ubuntu · Install AMD Drivers on Ubuntu · Upgrade to Ubuntu 26.04