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Installing WiFi Driver Package for Thinkpad T440s

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pepestorm01
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Installing WiFi Driver Package for Thinkpad T440s

#1 Post by pepestorm01 »

Hi, I just recently installed Debian with no prior linux experience. I'm trying to install a WiFi driver package for my Thinkpad t440s but I'm completely lost on where to find the right package and how to install it. I went here:
https://packages.debian.org/buster/all/ ... i/download
What i put into the command line was sudo apt install firmware-iwlwifi and sudo apt install iwlwifi; both returned the error "unable to locate package". Right now the laptop is connecting via ethernet, but this isn't ideal. I would greatly appreciate clarity on this issue, especially from someone who also uses a t440s.

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stevepusser
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Re: Installing WiFi Driver Package for Thinkpad T440s

#2 Post by stevepusser »

Just download the deb file from the links at the bottom of the page. Go to the directory to where the deb file was downloaded, open a terminal in that directory, and run as root or with sudo:

Code: Select all

dpkg -i <replace-with-deb-file-name>
Usually you can use tab completion to complete the name of the file if you type the first few characters, and then hit the Tab key.
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Re: Installing WiFi Driver Package for Thinkpad T440s

#3 Post by sunrat »

Also you should read up a bit on package management. The package firmware-iwlwifi is available in the non-free section of the repository so I'm guessing you haven't enabled that in your sources.
Once you have added non-free, and after doing apt update to refresh the packages list, your apt install command should work.
But downloading it and installing as Steve suggested should work fine for this package.
As a beginner you may find the graphical package manager Synaptic a tiny bit easier to use for installing packages, although apt on the command line is more versatile and well worth learning.
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Re: Installing WiFi Driver Package for Thinkpad T440s

#4 Post by Hallvor »

I have that same type of Thinkpad. They are great.

There is good advice above.

With no prior experience, the easiest route would be to use this: https://cdimage.debian.org/images/unoff ... 0+nonfree/ That way, there is no hassle with drivers.

Here is a small beginner's guide: http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=145500
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD

pepestorm01
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Re: Installing WiFi Driver Package for Thinkpad T440s

#5 Post by pepestorm01 »

stevepusser wrote:Just download the deb file from the links at the bottom of the page. Go to the directory to where the deb file was downloaded, open a terminal in that directory, and run as root or with sudo:

Code: Select all

dpkg -i <replace-with-deb-file-name>
Usually you can use tab completion to complete the name of the file if you type the first few characters, and then hit the Tab key.
So i installed firmware-iwlwifi and it shows up in my list of packages, but there's no WiFi option in the system tray to see available networks. I've restarted to double check and no luck. Should I just install a different package?

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Re: Installing WiFi Driver Package for Thinkpad T440s

#6 Post by stevepusser »

Show us the output of lspci in the terminal so we can make sure you have an Intel wi-fi device. If you can recognize the chipset in the output, and trim it down to just that, that would be even better.

Or just use the image that includes the non-free firmware, as suggested above.
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pepestorm01
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Re: Installing WiFi Driver Package for Thinkpad T440s

#7 Post by pepestorm01 »

I don't know what changed, but after shutting down and logging in this morning the WiFi network drop-down menu appeared in the system tray. I guess my problem is solved!

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