Installing the operating system Ubuntu For many users, this is often the first step into the world of open source. However, immediately after installation, newcomers may encounter an unpleasant situation: the system works, but there is no internet connection because the wireless connection won't activate. This is a classic problem related to the lack of proprietary network card drivers, which are not included in the basic distribution due to licensing restrictions.
To solve the problem of initially downloading the necessary packages, you will most likely have to use a temporary wired connection via an Ethernet cable or share the Internet from your Android smartphone via a USB cable. No network access At the initial stage, installing specific drivers for the Wi-Fi module will not be possible, so prepare the cable in advance. Modern versions of the distribution, such as Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or 24.04, have significantly improved hardware support, but older adapters may still require manual configuration.
In this article, we'll cover every step, from hardware diagnostics to using the command line to force the interface to activate. You'll learn how to manage connections through a graphical interface and terminal utilities, a basic skill for any Linux user. It is critical to correctly identify the model of your Wi-Fi adapter before installing any packages.
Network equipment diagnostics
The first step before doing anything is to accurately determine the model of your network adapter. Linux sees hardware differently than Windows, so we need to know the manufacturer and chipset to select the appropriate driver. To do this, open a terminal using the keyboard shortcut. Ctrl+Alt+T, and enter the command to list all network devices.
The most informative command for getting detailed information is lspci -nnk | grep -iA3 net for internal cards or lsusb For external USB adapters, you'll see lines with vendor IDs in the command output, such as Intel Corporation, Realtek Semiconductor or BroadcomThis information is required to search for a specific driver package in the repositories.
⚠️ Attention: If the lspci command doesn't display the wireless device, check whether Wi-Fi is disabled using a hardware switch on the laptop case or a key combination (often Fn+F2 or Fn+F12). In some cases, the BIOS/UEFI may block the module.
It is also worth checking the radio module lock status using software. Command rfkill list will show a list of all wireless devices and their current status. If you see the status Soft blocked: yes, this means that the system has programmatically disabled the adapter, and it needs to be unblocked using the command rfkill unblock wifi.
Installing drivers via a graphical interface
The easiest way to resolve missing drivers is to use the built-in Additional Drivers utility. This tool automatically scans your hardware and offers to install proprietary modules if they're available in the official Ubuntu repositories. To launch it, go to the Applications menu and find "Software & Updates."
In the window that opens, go to the tab Additional drivers (Additional Drivers). The system may take some time to search for available updates and drivers for your hardware. If a suitable driver is found, it will be displayed in the list with a radio button for selection.
- 📀 Select the item marked using... from proprietary driver to activate the proprietary module.
- ⏳ Click the "Apply Changes" button and wait for the installation to complete without interrupting the process.
- 🔄 After successful installation, be sure to reboot your computer with the command
sudo rebootto activate the kernel module.
This method is the safest for beginners, as it eliminates the risk of errors when manually entering commands. However, it requires that you already have internet access via a cable or USB modem at the time of testing. If you don't have internet access at all, you'll have to use the manual installation method via the terminal after connecting the cable.
Setting up WiFi via the terminal (nmcli)
For advanced users or in situations where the GUI is unstable, the ideal tool is nmcli (NetworkManager command line interface). This utility allows you to manage network connections entirely from the terminal, which is especially useful on server versions of Ubuntu or for remote access. The command syntax may seem complex at first glance.
To get started, you need to enable the network manager if it is disabled. Enter the command nmcli radio wifi onto activate the wireless module. After that, you can start scanning available networks with the command nmcli dev wifi list, which will display a table with the SSID, operating mode, channel and signal strength.
nmcli dev wifi connect "Network_Name" password "Your_Password"Running this command will create a new connection and attempt to authenticate to the network. If successful, you'll receive a message stating that the device has been activated. The connection will be automatically re-established when you enter the network's coverage area.
☑️ Checking network settings
Solving problems with Broadcom and Realtek
Adapters from companies Broadcom And Realtek Most often, they cause difficulties in Linux due to the need to use proprietary binary drivers. For Broadcom devices, Ubuntu has a special meta-package. bcmwl-kernel-source, which contains the necessary modules. Installation is performed after connecting to the internet via cable.
To install, run the following sequence of commands: first, update the package lists sudo apt update, then install the driver sudo apt install bcmwl-kernel-sourceAfter installation, the module should load automatically, but sometimes you need to manually disable the loading of a conflicting open driver. bcma.
⚠️ Attention: Broadcom drivers are sensitive to Linux kernel updates. If Wi-Fi is lost after a system update, you may need to reinstall the driver package for the new kernel version.
With devices Realtek The situation can be more complicated, especially with newer models using the RTL88xx series chipsets. These often require compiling the driver from source code on GitHub, as they may not be available in the standard repositories. This requires installing the package build-essential and kernel header files linux-headers-generic.
Compiling Realtek drivers from GitHub
If standard methods don't work, find a driver repository for your model on GitHub (for example, from morrownr or lwfinger). Clone the repository, navigate to the folder, and run make & sudo make install . This requires the gcc compiler.
Table of popular commands for network management
To effectively manage connections, it's helpful to know basic commands. Below is a table of the most frequently used commands for diagnostics and configuration. Memorizing these commands will save you a lot of time in the future.
| Team | Description of action | Example of use |
|---|---|---|
ip link show |
Displays the status of all network interfaces. | Checking if the interface is up/down |
nmcli dev wifi |
Scans available wireless networks | Search for an access point by name |
sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager |
Restarts the Network Management service | Resetting a frozen connection |
iwconfig |
Shows wireless interface parameters | Checking signal quality and ESSID |
Usage ip link show This is especially useful for understanding logical interface names, which in newer versions of Ubuntu may look like wlp2s0 instead of the usual wlan0Knowing the exact interface name is required for many configuration commands.
Setting up static IP and DNS
Corporate networks or servers often require configuring a static IP address instead of automatically obtaining one via DHCP. In Ubuntu, this can be done through the graphical interface in the network settings by selecting the IPv4 tab and switching the method to "Manual." However, the terminal offers more flexible control.
To configure via nmcli The connection modification command is used. First, you need to know the connection name (you can find it out through nmcli connection show). Then the command is applied nmcli con mod"Name" ipv4.addresses 192.168.1.50/24 to set the address and mask.
Configuring DNS servers is equally important, especially if your ISP blocks access to certain resources or resolves domains slowly. You can specify public DNS servers from Google or Cloudflare. The command looks like this: nmcli con mod"Name" ipv4.dns"8.8.8.8 1.1.1.1"After making all the changes, don't forget to reboot the connection with the command nmcli con up"Name".
⚠️ Attention: When manually setting an IP address, make sure that the selected address is not occupied by another device on the local network, otherwise an IP conflict will occur and both devices will lose network access.
The applied settings are checked using the command ip addr show And cat /etc/resolv.confMake sure the default gateway is specified correctly, otherwise the Internet will not work even if the local network is available.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why doesn't Ubuntu see my Wi-Fi adapter after installation?
Most likely, your system is missing proprietary drivers for your network card. Connect your computer to the internet via an Ethernet cable or USB modem, then open "Programs and Updates" -> "Additional Drivers" to search for and install the necessary software.
How do I turn on Wi-Fi if the button is missing from the menu?
Open terminal and enter nmcli radio wifi onIf this does not help, check for hardware lock using the command rfkill listIf the status is "Hard blocked", use the physical switch on the laptop case.
Is it possible to share Ubuntu's Wi-Fi with other devices?
Yes, Ubuntu supports hotspot mode. In the graphical network settings, select "Use as hotspot." In the terminal, use the command nmcli dev wifi hotspot specifying the SSID and password.
What to do if Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting?
Try disabling power saving for Wi-Fi. Create a configuration file. /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf and set the value wifi.powersave = 2, then restart NetworkManager.