Ubuntu and wireless internet

[alonza]

i have recently installed Ubuntu on my laptop.....everything is working fine but the wireless will not connect.

also i am not able to connect to my the Verizon mifi. does anyone know what i may be doing wrong?

the wireless icon in the top task pane is there but showing no signal.....i have messed with the wireless settings some and tried to set it up but had no luck...anyone have experience with this that can help me i thank you.

[mikemansell]

i have recently installed Ubuntu on my laptop.....everything is working fine but the wireless will not connect.

also i am not able to connect to my the Verizon mifi. does anyone know what i may be doing wrong?

the wireless icon in the top task pane is there but showing no signal.....i have messed with the wireless settings some and tried to set it up but had no luck...anyone have experience with this that can help me i thank you.

Depending on your network card, you will likely have to install the drivers. In Ubuntu, this is often a trivial task. First off, you will need to plug the device into a hard-wired network connection (ethernet) so that it has availability to the internet. Then you will want to do two things.

First, ensure that you have the non-free repositories configured. The easiest way to do that is head to the terminal ("Applications" -> "Accessories" -> "Terminal") and type in "sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list". You will need to enter your password, and from there a text editor window will open with a list of repositories. You will likely want to replace the contents of the file as follows (assuming you're on 10.10):

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick main restricted
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick main restricted
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick-updates main restricted
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick-updates main restricted
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick universe
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick universe
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick-updates universe
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick-updates universe
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick multiverse
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick multiverse
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick-updates multiverse
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick-updates multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu maverick partner
deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu maverick partner
deb http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu maverick main
deb-src http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu maverick main
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu maverick-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu maverick-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu maverick-security universe
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu maverick-security universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu maverick-security multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu maverick-security multiverse

Go ahead and save this file, then run the command "sudo apt-get update"

Next, you will simply want to tell Ubuntu to search for available hardware drives. To do so, navigate to the "System" menu, then select "Administration". From there, select the "Additional Drivers" button. A window should load, and after a minute or so you will likely see your network card as an available drive. Go ahead and activate it, let Ubuntu do its thing, and restart the computer.

I've attached an image showing what the "Additional Drivers" window should look like.

If you have any difficulties, be sure to post back. Better yet, if you cannot get the network card to detect, post its model number. We may be able to further assist you with this information.