88x2bu-20210702

Notice: An updated standards compliant (mac80211), in-kernel driver for rtl8822/12bu chipset based adapters and modules is available and as of kernel 6.12 is of good quality. If your distro uses kernel 6.12 or later, there is no need to install this driver. The in-kernel driver is part of the rtw88 series of drivers. The in-kernel driver is Linux Standards compliant (mac80211) and is a much better driver than this one. This driver will no longer get API related updates beyond kernel 6.14 (unless provided by a user). If you use a kernel prior to 6.14, it is possible to use the new standards compliant driver by going to the following repo:

https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw88

If you decide to use the in-kernel driver, remember to first remove the driver in this repo. You can run the following to remove the driver in this repo:

$ sudo sh remove-driver.sh

It has been my pleasure to maintain this driver for the last several years. Thanks to all of those who helped.

Remember: Ask not what your operating system can do for you, but what you can do for your operating system.

Regards,

@morrownr

88x2bu ( 88x2bu.ko ) :rocket:

Linux Driver for USB WiFi Adapters that are based on the RTL8812BU and RTL8822BU Chipsets

• v5.13.1 (Realtek) (20210702) plus updates from the Linux community

Note: Please read the file "supported-device-IDs" for information about how to confirm that this is the correct driver for your adapter.

Supported Features

• IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi compliant
• 802.1x, WEP, WPA TKIP and WPA2 AES/Mixed mode for PSK and TLS (Radius)
• WPA3-SAE (Personal) (see FAQ)
• IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac Client mode
  • Supports wireless security for WEP, WPA TKIP and WPA2 AES PSK
  • Supports site survey scan and manual connect
  • Supports WPA/WPA2 TLS client
• Power saving modes
• Miracast
• WiFi-Direct
• MU-MIMO
• Mesh
• Wake on WLAN
• Wireshark compatible
• Aircrack-ng compatible
• Packet injection
• hostapd compatible
• AP mode DFS channel support
• Supported interface modes
  • Managed
  • Monitor (see Monitor_Mode)
  • AP (see FAQ) (see Bridged Wireless Access Point)
  • P2P-client
  • P2P-GO
• Log level control
• LED control
• Power saving control
• VHT control (allows 80 MHz channel width in AP mode)
• AP mode DFS channel control
• USB mode control

Not supported

• hcxdumptool (see hcxdumptool documentation)

A FAQ is available in this repo with the name FAQ.md

• Please read the FAQ and this document before posting issues.

Additional documentation is in the file 88x2bu.conf

Compatible CPU Architectures

• x86, i386, i686
• x86-64, amd64
• armv6l, armv7l (arm)
• aarch64 (arm64)
• riscv

Note: Additional CPU architectures may work but I currently only have the hardware to test the above.

Compatible Kernels

• Kernels: 5.10 - 5.11 (Realtek)
• Kernels: 5.12 - 6.14 (community support)
• Kernels: 6.18.4 and later (debian based distros only with gcc 15.2)

Note: Kernels earlier than 5.10 may work but are not tested or supported.

Tested Compilers

• gcc 12, 13 and 14
• gcc 15.2 (only for kernels 6.18.4 and later)

Tested Linux Distributions

Note: The information in this section depends largely on user reports which can be provided via PR or message in Issues.

• Arch Linux (kernels 5.4 and 5.11)

• Armbian (kernel 5.15) (Rock 4 SE (Rock 4b image with xfce))

• Debian (kernels 5.10, 5.15, 6.1, 6.18.4)

• Fedora Fedora 38 (6.2.13-300)

• Kali Linux (kernel 6.3, 6.18.4)

• Manjaro (kernel 5.15)

• openSUSE Tumbleweed (rolling) (kernel 5.15)

• Raspberry Pi OS (2023-10-10) (ARM and ARM64) (kernel 6.1)

• Raspberry Pi Desktop (2022-07-01) (x86 32 bit) (kernel 5.10)

• SkiffOS for Odroid XU4 (ARM 32 bit) (kernel 6.0.7)

• Ubuntu 24.04 (kernel 6.8) and 24.10 (kernel 6.11)

• Void Linux (kernel 5.18)

• RHEL 8.4, 8.6, 8.8, 8.9, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 and 9.4

Note: Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and distros based on RHEL are supported by Red Hat devs due to the way kernel patches are handled in Red Hat. I support knowledgable RHEL developers if they want to merge the required support and keep it current. I reserve the right to delete this support without notice if it causes any problems.

Current RHEL maintainer: misha4gps

Note: Android is supported in the driver according to Realtek. I will support knowledgable Android developers if they want to merge and keep current the required support (most likely just instructions about how to compile and maybe a modification or two to the Makefile).

Current Android maintainer: none

Note: OpenWRT is not supported. OpenWRT provides drivers for USB WiFi adapters. OpenWRT provided drivers include support for the MT7921au (AXE3000), MT7612u (AC1200), MT7610u (AC600) chipsets. It is a challenge to use Realtek based adapters that use out-of-kernel drivers with OpenWRT so it is strongly advised to use the already supported chipsets.

Compatible Devices

• ALFA AWUS036ACU
• ASUS AC1300 USB-AC55 B1
• ASUS AC53 Nano
• ASUS U2
• Cudy WU1400
• Edimax EW-7822UAD
• Edimax EW-7822ULC
• Edimax EW-7822UTC
• EDUP EP-AC1605GS
• FIDECO 6B21-AC1200M
• Linksys WUSB6300 V2
• NetGear A6150
• TRENDnet TEW-808UBM
• jjPlus WMU6202 miniPCIe - USB
• TP-Link Archer T4U ver.3 - USB (Realtek 802.11ac NIC 2357:0115)

• Numerous additional adapters that are based on the supported chipsets

Note: If you are looking for information about what adapter to buy, click here and look for Main Menu item 2 which will show information about and links to recommended adapters.

Note: If you decide to buy an adapter that is supported by this driver, I recommend you search for an adapter that is single-state and single-function. Multi-function adapters, wifi and bluetooth, can be problematic. For advice about single-state and multi-state adapters, click here and look for Main Menu item 1.

Installation Information

Warning: It is recommended that you follow the installation instructions in the Installation Steps section. Avoid installation by downloading the zip file if at all possible. Support can only be provided, on a best effort basis, if the Installation Steps in the next section are followed.

Warning: Installing multiple out-of-kernel drivers for the same hardware usually does not end well. The install-driver.sh script has the capability to detect and remove most conflicting drivers but not all. If this driver does not work well after installation and you have previously installed a driver that you did not remove, it is suggested that you run the following command in an effort to determine if you need to take action to manually remove conflicting drivers:

sudo dkms status

Warning: If you decide to do a distro upgrade, which will likely install a new version of kernel such as 5.15 to 6.1, you need to update this driver with the newest available code and then run the removal script before performing the disto upgrade. Use the following commands in the driver directory:

git pull

Note: Do not reboot before running the below command so that the driver stays active until after your distro upgrade is complete.

sudo sh remove-driver.sh

Note: The following command will reinstall the updated driver after you are finished with the distro upgrade and reboot.

sudo sh install-driver.sh

Internet access is required for initial installation. There are numerous ways to enable temporary internet access depending on your hardware and situation. One method is to use tethering from a phone.. Another method is to keep a WiFi adapter that uses an in-kernel driver in your toolkit.

You will need to use the terminal interface. The quick way to open a terminal: Ctrl+Alt+T (hold down on the Ctrl and Alt keys then press the T key).

An alternative terminal is to use SSH (Secure Shell) from the same or from another computer, in which case you will be in a suitable terminal after logging in, but this step requires that an SSH daemon/server has already been configured. (There are lots of SSH guides available, e.g., for the Raspberry Pi and for Ubuntu. Do not forget to secure the SSH server.)

You will need to have sufficient access rights to use sudo so that commands can be executed as the root user. (If the command sudo echo Yes returns "Yes", with or without having to enter your password, you do have sufficient access rights.)

DKMS is used for the installation, if available. DKMS is a system utility which will automatically recompile and reinstall this driver when a new kernel is installed. DKMS is provided by and maintained by Dell.

It is recommended that you do not delete the driver directory after installation as the directory contains information and scripts that you may need in the future.

Secure Boot: see FAQ.

Installation Steps

Note: The installation instructions are for the novice user. Experienced users are welcome to alter the installation to meet their needs. Support will be provided, on a best effort basis, based on the steps below. Another way to word this paragraph is that if you do not follow the below steps for installation, you are your own tech support.

Step 1: Open a terminal (e.g. Ctrl+Alt+T)

Step 2: Update and upgrade system packages (select the option for the distro you are using)

Note: If your Linux distro does not fall into one of options listed below, you will need to research how to update and upgrade your system packages.

• Option for Debian based distributions such as Ubuntu, Kali, Armbian and Raspberry Pi OS

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

• Option for Arch based distributions such as Manjaro

sudo pacman -Syu

• Option for Fedora based distributions

sudo dnf upgrade

• Option for openSUSE based distributions

sudo zypper update

• Option for Void Linux

sudo xbps-install -Syu

Note: It is recommended that you reboot your system at this point. The rest of the installation will appreciate having a fully up-to-date system to work with. The installation can then be continued with Step 3.

sudo reboot

Step 3: Install the required packages (select the option for the distro you are using)

Note: If your Linux distro does not fall into one of options listed below, you will need to research how to properly setup up the development environment for your system. General guidance follows.

Development Environment Requirements: (package names may vary by distro)

• Mandatory packages: gcc make bc kernel-headers build-essential git
• Highly recommended packages: dkms rfkill iw ip
• Mandatory packages if Secure Boot is active: openssl sign-file mokutil

Note: The below options should take care of the mandatory and highly recommended requirements. If Secure Boot is active on your system, please also ins