Update (4/12/2018): The master branch of Patjak’s bcwc_pcie repository is not compatible with Linux kernel 4.19.2+. Thankfully, the mainline branch is compatible.
The code below has been updated, but if you experience issues please try switching back to the master branch by changing the repository_branch variable at the top of the script.
When upgrading the Kernel on a Fedora workstation running on a Late 2015 MacBook Pro 13”, the Webcam ceases to function (as the drivers are compiled against the current kernel).
To get around this, I like to use the following script to automatically rebuild the firmware drivers against the new kernel, on kernel installation.
Hint: Make sure to set the following script as executable (i.e. chmod o+x /etc/kernel/postinst.d/install-facetimehd.sh).
Note: This makes use of Patjak’s reverse-engineered Broadcom 1570 drivers, which he has generously published on Git.
# /etc/kernel/postinst.d/install-facetimehd.sh
#!/bin/sh
firmware_source_path=/usr/src/bcwc_pcie
repository_url=https://github.com/patjak/bcwc_pcie.git
repository_branch=mainline
echo "Git: Cloning source into ${firmware_source_path}..."
git clone "${repository_url}" "${firmware_source_path}" -b "${repository_branch}"
cd "${firmware_source_path}"
echo "Git: Ensuring source is clean of any build files..."
git clean -fdX "${firmware_source_path}"
echo "Building firmware..."
cd firmware && \
make && \
sudo make install
cd .. # Change back to the repo's root directory
echo "Building module..."
make && make install
echo "Loading modules..."
depmod && modprobe facetimehd && echo 'All done!'