This may be of some help if you have a Broadcom wireless chip in your laptop. This has been used countless times when I’ve installed Ubuntu on my own and my friend’s laptops.
In terminal, first do
sudo lshw -class network
then
lspci -vvnn | grep 14e4
to find out if there is a Broadcom (BCM4311) controller. If you have access to an ethernet connection, then do the following:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer
sudo apt-get remove bcmwl-kernel-source
sudo reboot
After rebooting, issue the following command:
iwconfig
to verify your installation. This avoids installing a proprietary device driver that may not work as well.
Edit: Also see a comprehensive Askubuntu page devoted to Broadcom wireless drivers. -
And also -
where I first found this information. Good luck everyone.