Unable to use wifi device with UbuntuMATE 22.04.1 and Linux Mint 21

[Bret Busby]

Hello.

I have an Acer Aspire 5750G "laptop" computer, that I had been using for 
years, with Ubuntu.

It had been getting versions upgrades, and then, a couple stuffed the 
system, so I transferred the data and stopped using it.

Then, I, overnight, tried a clean install of Linux Mint 21, which 
installed okay, after I circumvented the bogus "You do not have an EFI 
partition for the boot loader - You and your descendants will burn in 
the River Styx, if you do not create this".

But, the Live iso image, and, the installed version, could not use the 
wifi device, to connect to the Internet, or, to see any other wifi devices.

But, the Control Center -> System Reports -> System Information shows 
the wifi device.

So, I tried using a live iso image of UbuntuMATE 22.04.1, on a Ventoy 
drive (Thank you, Liam Proven, for your guidance regarding the Ventoy 
drives).

That also, could not use the wifi device, and, thence, could not see any 
wifi devices outside the computer.

Then, I thought "Stuff it, I will see what Windows 7 can do".

A windows 7 installation is still resident on the computer (and, from 
trying to access some data in the Windows 7 installation, I appear to 
have not accessed that installation, for about 9 1/2 years).

And, of course, Windows 7 was able to quite happily use the wifi device, 
and, to see available wifi devices out side the computer.

I think that the Linux installations on the computer, had inherited 
legacy drivers for the wifi device, but, the current versions are not 
much good, if they cannot use the wifi device for Internet access, when 
a clean installation is performed.

In the Linux Mint 21 Control Center -> System Reports -> System 
Information, is shown for the Network devices, the Ethernet device, 
which is a Broadcom (in addition to the wifi device being a Broadcom), 
then, immediately below the Ethernet device, is

"
IF: enp2s0f0 state: down mac: <filter>
Broadcom BCM43227 802.11b/g/n vendor: Foxconn driver: bcma-pci-bridge v: 
N/A pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3:00 chip-ID: 14e4:4358
"

Now, what troubles me, is that the wifi device was usable by Linux, 
before a clean installation of a latest version (Linux Mint 21), and, 
both that clean installation, and, the latest UbuntuMATE live iso 
(22.04.1), cannot use the wifi device, presumably, because they lack 
drivers for it, in the iso images, making upgrades and downloading the 
driver, a Catch-22 situation, whilst MS Windows 7 quite happily works 
with the wifi device.

So, not, apart from using the now completely insecure for Internet 
access, MS Windows 7, to find and locate and download (if possible) a 
driver for the wifi device, how do I get a driver for the wifi device, 
down, and, install it, on the Linux Mint 21 installation, so that Linux 
Mint can access the Internet?

It seems rather amusing, that MS Windows 7 can access the Internet and 
other wifi devices, but, Linux Mint 21, and, UbuntuMATE 22.04.1, cannot, 
on the same computer.

It does raise the question of which is the more advanced operating 
system, unfortunately.

But, how do I get the driver down and installed, and, working, on the 
clean installation of the latest version (but, unable to be updated, 
because of its shortcomings) Linux?

..
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
(UTC+0800)
..............