For the last couple of months, I have an issue closer to the one from the second poster.
The wifi chip (dongle) is not responding around every 5th boot so the kernel driver brcmfmac fails to upload its firmware. That happens independent of the operating system and kernel version.
That is the expected flow:
Code:
[ 12.039720] brcmfmac: brcmf_fw_alloc_request: using brcm/brcmfmac43456-sdio for chip BCM4345/9
[ 12.040287] usbcore: registered new interface driver brcmfmac
[ 13.631747] brcmfmac: brcmf_c_process_txcap_blob: no txcap_blob available (err=-2)
[ 13.632060] brcmfmac: brcmf_c_preinit_dcmds: Firmware: BCM4345/9 wl0: Feb 11 2020 11:54:51 version 7.45.96.61 (be7af2d@shgit) (r745790) FWID 01-a41d86bd es7.c5.n4.a3
[ 18.648148] ieee80211 phy0: brcmf_c_set_cur_etheraddr: Setting cur_etheraddr failed, -52
That is the flow where the wifi chip (dongle) is non-responsive:
Code:
[ 11.368358] brcmfmac: brcmf_fw_alloc_request: using brcm/brcmfmac43456-sdio for chip BCM4345/9
[ 11.370328] usbcore: registered new interface driver brcmfmac
[ 11.871130] ieee80211 phy0: brcmf_c_preinit_dcmds: Default MAC is used, replacing with random MAC to avoid conflicts
[ 11.871702] ieee80211 phy0: brcmf_c_set_cur_etheraddr: Setting cur_etheraddr failed, -52
[ 11.871726] ieee80211 phy0: brcmf_bus_started: failed: -52
[ 11.871755] ieee80211 phy0: brcmf_attach: dongle is not responding: err=-52
[ 11.955157] brcmfmac: brcmf_sdio_firmware_callback: brcmf_attach failed
Reloading the brcmfmac driver with rmmod / modprobe results in the same error logs - the wifi chip (dongle) remains inaccessible. It remains inaccessible with a reboot which is probably only resetting the cpu but not peripherals such as the wifi chip (dongle). Only a complete shutdown followed by a new boot gives me a 80% chance of the wifi chip (dongle) being accessible, again. That is exactly my current workaround: shutdown and new boot.
I would recommend OP to open the laptop and re-assure that every component sits firmly. I can't imagine it's an OS problem, but in an desperate attempt one could boot another OS as well.