Recent ImageBuilder build issues for WRT3200ACM on master

[lss4]

Right now I'm planning to build another image for my WRT3200ACM using ImageBuilder, but the build fails because the package mwlwifi-firmware-88w8964 is absent.

In the build output I noticed:
Unknown package 'mwlwifi-firmware-88w8964'

After looking into the repositories I noticed the package in question is indeed not there, but in turn there's a mwl8k-firmware package (which I assume is the firmware for both 88w8864 and 88w8964). Is this package the one I should be used for this router from now on? If so, the ImageBuilder build profiles are currently broken as they are still referencing the old package and I need to manually edit the profile to get it built...

[lss4]

UPDATE: I was wrong!

The mwl8k-firmware contained nothing about 88w8864 and 88w8964 at all!

As a result, Wi-Fi does not work on the resulted image!

So the temporary solution would be to use the mwlwifi-firmware-88w8964 I downloaded when I was building my previous image... though I don't know if there are any updates to the firmware since then... my last build was in last September, r14614.

[daniel]

Should get fixed with
https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/openwrt/patch/YFe4BHKrZaHXWnfL@makrotopia.org/

[lss4]

Okay, will take a look once the patch lands.

For now, if the user still has a firmware package downloaded during a previous snapshot build, he can always enable a local package repository (like before) and put it there to allow the build to succeed.

I didn't test it myself... but an earlier version of the firmware package (mwlwifi-firmware-88w8964 and others) can still be obtained from 19.09.7, which might be able to satisfy the dependency for the time being...

[Roland-B]

Collected errors:
 * opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package mwlwifi-firmware-88w8964.
 * opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package mwlwifi-firmware-88w8964.
make[2]: *** [Makefile:158: package_install] Error 255
make[1]: *** [Makefile:118: _call_image] Error 2
make: *** [Makefile:208: image] Error 2

I still have this very issue with fresh install of the Imagebuilder listed below? Sadly i did a "make clean" so no longer have it in the dl folder.

https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/19.07.7/targets/mvebu/cortexa9/openwrt-imagebuilder-19.07.7-mvebu-cortexa9.Linux-x86_64.tar.xz

Can someone offer me some help please, I am a very basic linux user. Thanks In advance.

Roland

[hnyman]

The fix for master was backported to 19.07, and there the old 19.07.7 imagebuilder assumes to find the blob from the old place.

@Roland-B

Sadly i did a "make clean" so no longer have it in the dl folder.

Just download it manually.

The original issue with master was fixed a few days ago, and the same fix was backported to 19.07. in future the mwlwifi firmware blobs are build together with the firmware image builds, while they were earlier built together with the generic packages.

https://git.openwrt.org/?p=openwrt/openwrt.git;a=commitdiff;h=9b3aaf1cdb873cc2a7b2f2ef4e72ddb716afba38

With 19.07, the old imagebuilder from the 19.07.7 release probably wrongly thinks that the mwlwifi firmware blobs are still with the packages.

You need a new 19.07 imagebuilder from
https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/19.07-SNAPSHOT/targets/mvebu/cortexa9/

Or manually download the firmware blob packages from

https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/19.07-SNAPSHOT/targets/mvebu/cortexa9/packages/ to your local package downloads directory.

[Roland-B]

Thanks for the quick reply, much appreciated. Guess Ill have to wait for the new realease of the finished stable 21.02 image builder then

Still doesnt make much sense to me to make this change now and backport it to this version so breaks it for inexperienced users like me who use the basic builders, and also the online web based ones..

I don't really want to be running a snapshot build. Can't someone force a rebuild of the imagebuilder for 19.07.07 if they make these types of changes. Anyone now downloading this imagebulder wont have a clue that its broken and pull their hair out trying to work out what they did wrong when its not their fault.. very poorly thought out change imo..

Roland.

[Roland-B]

To anyone with same issue as myself on 19.07.7 you can get replacement modded wifi driver/firmware files from here:

kmod-mwlwifi_4.14.221+kaloz-a2fd00bb-19077_arm_cortex-a9_vfpv3-d16.ipk

mwlwifi-firmware-88w8964_kaloz-a2fd00bb-19077_arm_cortex-a9_vfpv3-d16.ipk

As "hnyman" has kindly stated above, copy these files to "Packages" folder in the Imagebuilder for 19.07.7 for target /mvebu/cortexa9. These are modded drivers so be aware may be better or worse than the official ones that were there before the change. This will then allow the build to finish, and no need to move to snapshot builds/packages to fix for now.

Edit : Have now found the original unmodded firmware file required which can be copied into "Packages" folder to get the build working here -> mwlwifi-firmware-88w8964 if you dont want to use the updated modded wifi drivers.

Roland.