This tutorial is trying to help those who want to create AP wifi hotspot in Ubuntu Laptop but stuck at “Wifi Hotspot: Access Point Mode Is Not Supported By This Device” error message.
I’ve written three tutorials about how to turn Ubuntu Laptop into a wifi hotspot for Android, and Windows phones. Access Point Mode does not support issue is one of the most asked questions from my readers. Below I will show how to fix it using Broadcom bcm4313 as example.
UPDATE: THIS TUTORIAL IS OUTDATED! It does NOT work anymore in current Ubuntu releases!
1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below to tell your wireless chip information:
lspci | grep -i Network
In my case, it outputs:
02:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11bgn Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)
The chip id is BCM4313, manufactured by Broadcom.
2. Check the below table. Find out the driver that works for your wireless adapter and support AP mode.
For Broadcom, there are three drivers that support AP mode, but only brcmsmac (check link page for supported chips) support wifi chip BCM4313.
| Driver | Manufacturer | Support AP Mode |
| adm8211 | ADMtek/Infineon | no |
| airo | Aironet/Cisco | ? |
| ar5523 | Atheros | no |
| at76c50x-usb | Atmel | no |
| ath5k | Atheros | yes |
| ath6kl | Atheros | no |
| ath9k | Atheros | yes |
| ath9k_htc | Atheros | yes |
| ath10k | Atheros | ? |
| atmel | Atmel | ? |
| b43 | Broadcom | yes |
| b43legacy | Broadcom | yes |
| brcmfmac | Broadcom | no |
| brcmsmac | Broadcom | yes |
| carl9170 | ZyDAS/Atheros | yes |
| cw1200 | ST-Ericsson | yes |
| hostap | Intersil/Conexant | ? |
| ipw2100 | Intel | no |
| ipw2200 | Intel | no |
| iwlegacy | Intel | no |
| iwlwifi | Intel | yes |
| libertas | Marvell | no |
| libertas_tf | Marvell | yes |
| mac80211_hwsim | Jouni | yes |
| mwifiex | Marvell | yes |
| mwl8k | Marvell | yes |
| orinoco | Agere/Intersil/Symbol | no |
| p54pci | Intersil/Conexant | yes |
| p54spi | Conexant/ST-NXP | yes |
| p54usb | Intersil/Conexant | yes |
| rndis_wlan | Broadcom | no |
| rt61pci | Ralink | yes |
| rt73usb | Ralink | yes |
| rt2400pci | Ralink | yes |
| rt2500pci | Ralink | yes |
| rt2500usb | Ralink | yes |
| rt2800pci | Ralink | yes |
| rt2800usb | Ralink | yes |
| vt6656 | VIA | yes |
| wil6210 | Atheros | yes |
| wl12xx | Texas Instruments | yes |
| zd1211rw | ZyDAS/Atheros | yes |
3. Find out current driver running on your wifi adapter by running below command:
ethtool -i wlan0 | grep driver
If need, install ethtool from Ubuntu Software Center. The command outputs something like this:
driver: wl0
So in my case I need to switch wireless driver from wl0 to brcmsmac to get AP mode support.
4. Install brcmsmac driver.
sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer
5. After installed the new driver, try to enable it from Additional Drivers utility (search & open it from the Unity Dash), and finally restart.
6. Finally run:
iw list
Below section tells you AP mode is support now:
Supported interface modes:
* IBSS
* managed
* AP
* AP/VLAN
* monitor
For some wireless chips, run below command instead to check out supported interface modes:
sudo iwconfig wlan0 mode master
7 To make this work at next boot, go to /etc/modprobe.d directory in terminal:
cd /etc/modprobe.d/ && ls
Or in your file browser (open as root), find out and remove the line blacklist brcmsmac that blacklist the driver in any file in that directory.
I have exactly the same chip. In the end of step 4, when I run lsmod |grep brcmsmac, grep finds nothing. What do you think the problem may be? Thanks a lot.
Do step 5 and then step 3 and see the if the driver has switched to brcmsmac. If not, you may consider remove the previous driver (wl0 as example):
Unblock brcmsmac driver from the config files under /etc/modprobe.d and finally reboot.
When i try to run this comd
sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer
to install the suitable driver it aborts the installation with the output
No chroot environment found. Starting normal installation
Unsupported device(s) found: PCI id 14e4:4727
What do you think the issue is? Could you please get back to me asap.
Thanks
Thanks
I have an HP2140 Mini and am trying to get it running a wifi hotspot. (In Windows 7 Connectify works just fine)
The HP2140 Mini has a Broadcom Corporation BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller (rev 01) wifi on my system and as far as I can tell, I need to install the b43legacy driver.
I tried following the guide above, but the process did not work. I think the problem lies in these steps below.
4. Install brcmsmac driver. (QUESTION: Do i need to use brcmsmac or b43legacy?)
sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer
5. Disable the previous driver wl0:
sudo modprobe -r wl
Load the new one:
sudo modprobe brcmsmac
What code should I use to load the new driver?
Thanks for your help in getting this running!
After installed “firmware-b43-installer”, try to enable this driver in the Additional Drivers utility (search and open it from the Unity Dash).
in additional drivers utility i am finding only only Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wirless driver source from bcmwl-kernel only… and other option is do not use this device.
i have installed firmware-b43-installer as per step 4. but its not showing in additional driver utility ….wat to do
thanx in advance
hey thanx its working now….i disabled the existing driver thats all…thanx once agin
how did you enable the driver, I have the same problem.
thanx in advance,
I am having the same problem too.
In additional drivers utility i am finding only “Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wirless driver source from bcmwl-kernel” only… and other option is “do not use this device.”
i have installed firmware-b43-installer as per step 4. but its not showing in additional driver utility ….
Please suggest some solution which worked for you…
Thanks
Can you suggest some solution.
I followed the guide and then I clicked “do not use this device”. Worked perfectly for me (:
i got this error too,only fond one driver.
Hi Ji M,
In Additional Drivers; It doesn’t show anything other than the drivers I am already using as Wifi Driver i.e. Brodcom 802.11 Linux STA …………… and it is already selected.
U mentioned in before comments as – restart . should i have to restart my Laptop?
Hope to hear you on this question ?
Thanks,
Jiten
i followed your steps and ran
>iw list
supported interface modes: IBSS and managed
it doesn’t show AP as a supported interface mode.
what do i do?
my system is a lenovo g550, with broadcom BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev-01)
my OS – ubuntu 14.04
driver is wl0
You have to use the b43 driver. After installed the
firmware-b43-installer, try to switch driver from the Additional Driver utility.I have followed your steps 4, 5,and 6 and i still don’t see AP as a supported interface.
Is here anything else i can do?
This worked for me..thx!
I have mint 17.1 and this does not comes with additional drivers.
from where i can enable the brcmsmac driver.
please reply asap
Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Wireless-N 1000 [Condor Peak]
driver: iwlwifi
Supported interface modes:
* IBSS
* managed
* monitor
What to do?
Connectify worked in windows. :(
I have exact the same problem with you, my wifi device is intel 5100AGN, and
driver:iwlwifi
Supported interface modes:
* IBSS
* managed
* monitor
is your problem solved? and how?
Did you solve that?
I have the same problem, but may wireless cars is “Centrino Advanced-N 6200”
driver: iwlwifi
Supported interface modes:
* IBSS
* managed
* monitor
Connectify worked on windows.
Hey! This worked for me. Thanks a lot!
How to enable the brcmsmac driver ?
About Enable the driver,i choose “do not use this device” and reboot many times.i donot know why,but it works…
And The system uddate something,i donot know if it related.
07:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM43142 802.11b/g/n (rev 01)
i have
06:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM43142 802.11b/g/n (rev 01)
there is no drivers available for this card that support AP mode.
plz help me
Hmm. I have another situation
ethtool -i wlan0 | grep driver
Cannot get driver information: No such device
I’ve changed wlan0 to ra0
igor_roz@Kingfisher:/tmp$ ethtool -i ra0
driver: RALINK WLAN
version:
firmware-version:
bus-info: CSR 0xffffc90005300000
supports-statistics: no
supports-test: no
supports-eeprom-access: no
supports-register-dump: no
supports-priv-flags: no
igor_roz@Kingfisher:/tmp$ ethtool -i ra0 | grep driver
driver: RALINK WLAN
Any ideas?
Network controller: Ralink corp. RT3290 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe
“dmesg” command will tell you which network interface your card is using
My case is using “wlan1”:
New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8194
[21238.895998] usb 4-1.5.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[21238.895999] usb 4-1.5.2: Product: 802.11n NIC
[21238.896000] usb 4-1.5.2: Manufacturer: Realtek
[21238.896001] usb 4-1.5.2: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
[21239.356962] usb 4-1.5.2: reset high-speed USB device number 16 using ehci-pci
[21239.552731] usb 4-1.5.2: reset high-speed USB device number 16 using ehci-pci
[21305.339419] usb 4-1.5.2: USB disconnect, device number 16
[21312.187013] usb 4-1.5.4: new high-speed USB device number 17 using ehci-pci
[21312.281522] usb 4-1.5.4: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8194
[21312.281525] usb 4-1.5.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[21312.281527] usb 4-1.5.4: Product: 802.11n NIC
[21312.281529] usb 4-1.5.4: Manufacturer: Realtek
[21312.281530] usb 4-1.5.4: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
[21312.282386] r8192du: EEPROM type is E-FUSE, Unknown CUT chip
[21312.499002] r8192du: MacPhyMode: SINGLEMAC_SINGLEPHY
[21312.499127] Chip Version ID: VERSION_NORMAL_CHIP_92D_D_CUT_SINGLEPHY.
[21313.541387] rtl8192du 4-1.5.4:1.0 wlan1: renamed from wlan0
I have bcm4360 chip. AP not supported error. Which driver do I use? Its a macbook pro version 11,1. Its not listed in broadcom site.
Thanks
My wifi chipset is Broadcom BCM43142, can the above procedure help in access point mode support?
Hi Ji,
Actually there is another problem with my card that i am able to create AP-hotspot in windows but not able to create AP-hotspot in ubuntu with the same intel wireless card. Can u suggest the solution for this problem ??
Regards. when i check the manufacter it says it is intel, so when i look for the proper driver it should be iwlwifi, but when i run “ethtool -i wlan0 | grep driver” i get:
driver: iwlwifi
:/ so… look like i have the right driver and it still does not support Access Point mode
My hardware does not support any of the drivers, only wl is supported.
08:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM43142 802.11b/g/n [14e4:4365] (rev 01)
What do i do in that case?
same here…
can i GOD tell me which driver support AP mode for BCM43142 802.11b/g/n :( why dont they make one :(
I am a new user and dont know about linux. After taking all steps virtual wifi starts and shows a popup display about it, and my detects it but when i want to connect, it cannot connected. My hardware details 10:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8191SEvA Wireless LAN Controller (rev 10) and ubuntu version is 12.04.
please help me for all steps.
Dear jim i am able to run ap mode in my computer but not able run the new drive on every start up.
I followed “Geo’s” comment and This is how i enabled AP mode
step 5 only shows this option and it already selected
Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wirless driver source from bcmwl-kernel only
After step 5 performed these two additional steps
sudo modprobe -r wl
sudo modprobe brcmsmac
and an iw list check confirmed ap mode
But i have to run those steps again on every reboot, I tried to follow your last step ie
cd /etc/modprobe.d/ && ls
and the output is
alsa-base.conf blacklist-modem.conf iwlwifi.conf
blacklist-ath_pci.conf blacklist-oss.conf mlx4.conf
blacklist-bcm43.conf blacklist-rare-network.conf modesetting.conf
blacklist.conf blacklist-watchdog.conf vmwgfx-fbdev.conf
blacklist-firewire.conf dkms.conf
blacklist-framebuffer.conf fbdev-blacklist.conf
No blacklist brcmsmac is available
what to do now to make the new brcmsmac to load on startup
Hey ,
I have atheros ath9k for my Samsung netbook. I have found that my device supports AP mode. I have also created a new wifi connection. I dont know why it is a hidden network in my Xubuntu 14.04 but, when i connect to this hidden network, i Cant access internet from my android phone or my netbook. Sorry i am new to this stuff. Please help me
i have BCM43142 (14e4:4365).
there is no drivers available for this card that support AP mode.
plz help
Hello. Thnaks for yor help. But i still have Got a problem.
Here it is what i have got
–Driver— Manufacturer— Support AP Mode
–wlwifi — Intel —- yes Driver
but when i hit [ iw list] it says
Supported interface modes:
* IBSS
* managed
* monitor
software interface modes (can always be added):
my quation is how could this happen? and is that mean interface mode also can be added? how? ..what im i supposed to do to create wifi hostpot for my android phone?
again thank you for your help.
I have Broadcom Corporation BCM43142 802.11b/g/n (rev 01) chip.
when i give command ethtool -i wlan0 | grep driver output is “Cannot get driver information: No such device”
ethtool is already installed in my system.
which driver should i install and how?
I am happy with my “4312” is actuall supported by brcmsmac driver althrough it is not in the support list
For Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM43142 802.11b/g/n, There are no linux drivers for this adapter that support AP mode.
driver didn’t change from wl0 to brcmsmac
sudo apt-get purge –remove bcmwl-kernel-source
This command you have suggested in one of the command to kill the previous driver. After restarting the system again the old driver is shown when i try to see the driver which is in active. Could you please suggest ?
I have Broadcom Corporation BCM43227 802.11b/g/n, how can I make step 4 successful?thank u~
I have chip as: Broadcom Corporation BCM43142 802.11b/g/n (rev 01) in my laptop . Please tell me what should i do…
When I use the “ethtool -i wlan0 | grep driver” command, the driver is shown as “brcmsmac” but it’s not showing up in my Additional Drivers. I only see the Broadcam STA Wireless driver, which isn’t activated, as well as drivers for my GPU. Can anyone help me with enabling the driver? I’m also running Ubuntu 12.04 instead of 14.04. Could that be a problem?
There is an error in your tutorial. The driver iwlwifi for intel just supports the following three interface modes: * IBSS * managed * monitor without AP. Therefore, i want to ask you if there are other mehods to solve this problem about intel wireless adapter? Thank you!
i already have iwlwifi driver and i stil get the ap not supported error
Hey, Ji m
So far so good, I had the AP mode not supported error and this kinda saved me. The network is created and I detect it on my other PC and on my phone, however I cannot connect to the network. It sometimes get stuck at Obtaining IP direction, and sometimes just calls it a bad connection. My wireless card is a broadcom 4312.
Finally it works very vell.Thanks to my bcm4313 chip :)
Guys After all these operations do the following:
1) Run command:
sudo lshw -C network
2) find a string describing your Wireless driver name (for example: “driver=wl0”)
3) Open /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
4) Comment all the strings similar to
blacklist b43
blacklist b43legacy
blacklist ssb
blacklist bcm43xx
blacklist brcmsmac
5) Add to blacklist your current Wireless driver (in my example this is “driver=wl0”)
6) Reboot your system.
7) Run again:
sudo lshw -C network
You should see name of the new driver.
Then setup your Wireless hotspot:
How To Set Up A Wireless Hotspot (Access Point Mode) That Supports Android In Ubuntu
http://www.webupd8.org/2013/06/how-to-set-up-wireless-hotspot-access.html