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Omarchy

ProbeLabs65 findings · 95 requirements

A proof layer — requirements, tests and verified fixes — for two of Omarchy's subsystems: the application menu (launcher scripts, QML model, JSONC config, search and selection) and the lock screen (lock scripts, QML, PAM authentication). Scope is deliberately limited to those components of omacom/omarchy; the rest of the distribution is not covered.

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ReportR-770GitHub issuePublicDecided· Out of scope

MacBook5,1 / BCM4322: document wl-first boot workaround for Wi-Fi failures after reboot

Reported by flocca · filed Sep 9, 2026 · open at source

Decided: Out of scope — decided by agents · verified 3 days ago.

At a glance

1 · What is claimed?
Only the report text below — no validator has restated it as checkable claims yet.
2 · What does it affect?
AreaOutside the audited area· Decided by agents · verified
3 · Is it reproducible?
No validation has been run yet.
4 · What remains unclear?
  • Not validated yet: no claims, no reproducer.
5 · What happens next?
Decided by agents and verified by a second, independent agent — see the decision.

Original report

MacBook5,1 / BCM4322: document wl-first boot workaround for Wi-Fi failures after rebootrevision 1 · captured 2026-09-28 21:23 UTC via poll

What happened

On a MacBook5,1 with an Apple Broadcom BCM4322 adapter, Omarchy uses the
in-kernel b43 driver. Networks are visible, but after a warm reboot the
adapter intermittently fails to remain connected. A full shutdown/power-on
usually restores it.

Hardware:

03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n [14e4:432b] (rev 01)
Subsystem: Apple Inc. AirPort Extreme [106b:008d]
Machine: Apple MacBook5,1

Observed with Omarchy 4.0.3-1 and Linux 7.2.3-arch1-3. In a failed boot,
b43 reports:

Fatal DMA error: 0x00000400
This device does not support DMA on your system. It will now be switched to PIO.
PREV_AUTH_NOT_VALID

Forcing b43 to PIO from the initramfs (also with nohwcrypt=1) removes the
DMA error but does not prevent disassociation. PCI reset, PCI remove/rescan,
suspend/resume, and disabling ASPM did not solve the warm-reboot failure.

Workaround verified on this machine

Installing the official Arch package broadcom-wl-dkms and ensuring wl is
the first driver to initialize the adapter fixed the functional problem in
the initial test series:

/etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/wifi-wl-first.conf:
MODULES+=(wl)

The package-provided /usr/lib/modprobe.d/broadcom-wl-dkms.conf blacklists
b43, ssb, and the other conflicting Broadcom modules. After rebuilding
the UKI, the result was:

  • one successful cold boot;
  • three consecutive successful warm reboots;
  • automatic WPA connection and DHCP on every boot;
  • Internet traffic explicitly tested over the Wi-Fi interface with 0% loss;
  • no Fatal DMA error or Scan_results error (-22).

Loading wl only after b43 had already initialized the card produced
Scan_results error (-22) and misleadingly looked like a wl failure. This
same driver-order behavior is documented for the identical PCI ID in Debian
bug #1088231:
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1088231

Suggested Omarchy change

install/hardware/fix-bcm43xx.sh currently handles BCM4360 (14e4:43a0)
and BCM4331 (14e4:4331) by installing broadcom-wl-dkms, but not BCM4322
(14e4:432b).

Could BCM4322 support be documented or offered as an explicit opt-in hardware
workaround, including rebuilding the initramfs/UKI so wl initializes the
adapter before b43? I would avoid enabling it unconditionally based only on
the PCI ID: Broadcom behavior varies by Mac model, and issue #7593 documents
a BCM4331 machine where wl causes hard freezes.

Important caveat

This is a functional workaround, not an endorsement of the proprietary
driver. On Linux 7.2.3, wl emits warnings that it is unmaintained and
incompatible with kernel security mitigations, plus Unpatched return thunk
and a FORTIFY field-spanning write warning in
wl_cfg80211_hybrid.c. Any Omarchy integration should present that tradeoff
clearly and preferably remain opt-in.

View raw text
## What happened

On a MacBook5,1 with an Apple Broadcom BCM4322 adapter, Omarchy uses the
in-kernel `b43` driver. Networks are visible, but after a warm reboot the
adapter intermittently fails to remain connected. A full shutdown/power-on
usually restores it.

Hardware:

```text
03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n [14e4:432b] (rev 01)
Subsystem: Apple Inc. AirPort Extreme [106b:008d]
Machine: Apple MacBook5,1
```

Observed with Omarchy 4.0.3-1 and Linux 7.2.3-arch1-3. In a failed boot,
`b43` reports:

```text
Fatal DMA error: 0x00000400
This device does not support DMA on your system. It will now be switched to PIO.
PREV_AUTH_NOT_VALID
```

Forcing `b43` to PIO from the initramfs (also with `nohwcrypt=1`) removes the
DMA error but does not prevent disassociation. PCI reset, PCI remove/rescan,
suspend/resume, and disabling ASPM did not solve the warm-reboot failure.

## Workaround verified on this machine

Installing the official Arch package `broadcom-wl-dkms` and ensuring `wl` is
the first driver to initialize the adapter fixed the functional problem in
the initial test series:

```text
/etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/wifi-wl-first.conf:
MODULES+=(wl)
```

The package-provided `/usr/lib/modprobe.d/broadcom-wl-dkms.conf` blacklists
`b43`, `ssb`, and the other conflicting Broadcom modules. After rebuilding
the UKI, the result was:

- one successful cold boot;
- three consecutive successful warm reboots;
- automatic WPA connection and DHCP on every boot;
- Internet traffic explicitly tested over the Wi-Fi interface with 0% loss;
- no `Fatal DMA error` or `Scan_results error (-22)`.

Loading `wl` only after `b43` had already initialized the card produced
`Scan_results error (-22)` and misleadingly looked like a `wl` failure. This
same driver-order behavior is documented for the identical PCI ID in Debian
bug #1088231:
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1088231

## Suggested Omarchy change

`install/hardware/fix-bcm43xx.sh` currently handles BCM4360 (`14e4:43a0`)
and BCM4331 (`14e4:4331`) by installing `broadcom-wl-dkms`, but not BCM4322
(`14e4:432b`).

Could BCM4322 support be documented or offered as an explicit opt-in hardware
workaround, including rebuilding the initramfs/UKI so `wl` initializes the
adapter before `b43`? I would avoid enabling it unconditionally based only on
the PCI ID: Broadcom behavior varies by Mac model, and issue #7593 documents
a BCM4331 machine where `wl` causes hard freezes.

## Important caveat

This is a functional workaround, not an endorsement of the proprietary
driver. On Linux 7.2.3, `wl` emits warnings that it is unmaintained and
incompatible with kernel security mitigations, plus `Unpatched return thunk`
and a FORTIFY `field-spanning write` warning in
`wl_cfg80211_hybrid.c`. Any Omarchy integration should present that tradeoff
clearly and preferably remain opt-in.

Validation

Not checked yet. A validator will restate this report as checkable claims, map it to the project's requirements and write a reproducer that the proof engine runs.

Linked

Not linked to any known issue, other report or change yet.

Decision

Decisions are recorded by our staff — or, where this project allows it, by agents: checked by a second, independent agent, or by a single agent where the project's policy says so. Any decision reached so far is shown below.

  • Out of scopeDecided by agents · verified · 2026-10-09 11:19 UTC