RealTek RTL-8188CUs working well-how to

[kurt18947]

There are threads here about people having trouble with the Edimax ew-7811un nano wifi adapter and presumably other brands that use the RealTek 8188CUs chip. I find that mine will work - when first plugged in. The LED stays on steady. After a few minutes the connection will fail. Unplug and replug will work - for a few minutes then it will fail again. Here is the procedure I've followed to make this adapter work reliably. This is with Ubuntu Gnome 1210 but the same procedure worked with Mint 13.

First item of business was to download the correct driver from RealTek's web site using a reliable network connection. Next I plugged the 8188CUs device in and ran 'lsmod' noting which modules were loaded. The relevant modules I noted were "rtl8192cu", "rtl8192c_common" and "rtlwifi". I then opened gedit with sudo privileges and navigated to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf. I then added to the end of the file this:

# Blacklist native RealTek 8188CUs drivers
blacklist rtl8192cu
blacklist rtl8192c_common
blacklist rtlwifi

Save the file and close. I then renamed the downloaded Realtek folder (long file name) to something shorter and easier to type, in my case rtl8188. I had extracted the file to my desktop so the folder was /Desktop/rtl8188. Navigate to this folder and in the folder should be a file named "install.sh". I plugged the adapter in and typed this command:

sudo bash install.sh

Let the script run, restart and I was in business. I will keep the Realtek folder where I can find it again though. A new image/kernel will require running the script again. The Edimax seems like a great little adapter for a portable with failed/problematic/poorly supported WiFi, it only protrudes from the USB socket 10-12 mm. The signal level and link quality are every bit as strong as larger USB WiFi adapters and it doesn't seem to run warm at all. I hope someone will find this useful.

Edit to add: The correct module for both the RTL8188CUs and RTL8192SU (Dlink DWA-131) appears to be r8712u.

[ahallubuntu]

Right. One more thing: add the name of the new module (e.g. "8192cu") to the end of the file /etc/modules so the module will load automatically at each reboot.

To clarify what you said about the kernel: if you simply do an Ubuntu update that includes a new kernel, you'll need to re-build the module.

The Realtek 8188/8192 chipset is used in many of those generic little mini-USB WiFi dongles from numerous manufacturers, including some you can buy cheaply on eBay and Amazon.

[Sertorius]

Thank you very much, Kurt. It looks like you have solved a problem that has annoyed me for three days!

[kurt18947]

Right. One more thing: add the name of the new module (e.g. "8192cu") to the end of the file /etc/modules so the module will load automatically at each reboot.

To clarify what you said about the kernel: if you simply do an Ubuntu update that includes a new kernel, you'll need to re-build the module.

The Realtek 8188/8192 chipset is used in many of those generic little mini-USB WiFi dongles from numerous manufacturers, including some you can buy cheaply on eBay and Amazon.

Right. There appear to be two common chipsets for the tiny (nano) adapters, RTL8188CUs and one from I think Ralink. What surprised me about the tiny Edimax was signal strength. I expected pretty weak signal strength because there's no room for a larger antenna. In an 1800 sq. ft. wood frame/drywall house the signal strength is very good.

[manolomanolo]

Edit to add: The correct module for both the RTL8188CUs and RTL8192SU (Dlink DWA-131) appears to be r8712u.

First of all, thanks so much for your guide.
I followed it and finally my wifi dongle seems to work perfectly.

Just some notes.

1. I have the Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8188CUS 802.11n WLAN Adapter and I found the RTL8188CUS drivers HERE. So, please note that I downloaded and installed the RTL8188CUS drivers, not the r8712u.
2. I followed your guide after making a fresh install of Kubuntu 12.10. So, in order to install the drivers I also needed to install the gcc, the linux and the build-essential packages from repositories in order to let the installation process go on without errors.

Thank you again!

[kurt18947]

There are threads here about people having trouble with the Edimax ew-7811un nano wifi adapter and presumably other brands that use the RealTek 8188CUs chip. I find that mine will work - when first plugged in. The LED stays on steady. After a few minutes the connection will fail. Unplug and replug will work - for a few minutes then it will fail again. Here is the procedure I've followed to make this adapter work reliably. This is with Ubuntu Gnome 1210 but the same procedure worked with Mint 13.

First item of business was to download the correct driver from RealTek's web site using a reliable network connection. Next I plugged the 8188CUs device in and ran 'lsmod' noting which modules were loaded. The relevant modules I noted were "rtl8192cu", "rtl8192c_common" and "rtlwifi". I then opened gedit with sudo privileges and navigated to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf. I then added to the end of the file this:

# Blacklist native RealTek 8188CUs drivers
blacklist rtl8192cu
blacklist rtl8192c_common
blacklist rtlwifi

Save the file and close. I then renamed the downloaded Realtek folder (long file name) to something shorter and easier to type, in my case rtl8188. I had extracted the file to my desktop so the folder was /Desktop/rtl8188. Navigate to this folder and in the folder should be a file named "install.sh". I plugged the adapter in and typed this command:

sudo bash install.sh

Let the script run, restart and I was in business. I will keep the Realtek folder where I can find it again though. A new image/kernel will require running the script again. The Edimax seems like a great little adapter for a portable with failed/problematic/poorly supported WiFi, it only protrudes from the USB socket 10-12 mm. The signal level and link quality are every bit as strong as larger USB WiFi adapters and it doesn't seem to run warm at all. I hope someone will find this useful.

.

[kurt18947]

First of all, thanks so much for your guide.
I followed it and finally my wifi dongle seems to work perfectly.

Just some notes.

1. I have the Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8188CUS 802.11n WLAN Adapter and I found the RTL8188CUS drivers HERE. So, please note that I downloaded and installed the RTL8188CUS drivers, not the r8712u.
2. I followed your guide after making a fresh install of Kubuntu 12.10. So, in order to install the drivers I also needed to install the gcc, the linux and the build-essential packages from repositories in order to let the installation process go on without errors.

Thank you again!

I'm glad it worked for you. I edited my post above to remove the reference to the r8712u module. That works with my 8192SU adapter, it does not work with the 8188CUs and I'm not certain where it came from. I believe rtl8192CU is the default for the 8192SU chipset. Backport perhaps? The 8188CUs driver does work. I did not have to add the packages you did. Perhaps Ubuntu Gnome (whatever its name) includes them by default, kubuntu does not?

Edit: I found that the r8712u module is the replacement for the rtl8192CU module as of Nov. 2012.

[stealthdave]

If you're trying to compile this module on a more modern kernel (in my case 3.7.0-7-generic), then you'll need to patch the code as described here:

https://ask.fedoraproject.org/questi...2cu-fedora-18/

There is a patch on Launchpad the completely does the trick here:

Bug report link: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s.../+bug/1030858/
Direct patch link: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...read_run.patch

You need to have a launchpad account and be logged in to download the patch.

It took me several MONTHS to figure all of this out, so thanks to everyone who helped me put together the pieces! Hopefully this will save someone else a few months of grief!

- Dave

[tim_phillips]

Thought i'd add my solution

I've attached a script and patch that fixes up the 'implicit' error and the 'symbol' error, and then compiles and installs.

tested on 3.8 and 3.9 kernels.

put the script (sh file) and the patch (txt file) in the same folder as the downloaded file ( RTL8192xC_USB_linux_v3.4.4_4749.20121105.zip from http://tinyurl.com/c4v34vq )

run the script as root or sudo

don't forget to blacklist the native drivers:
put a file in to /etc/modprobe.d/ with this in it

# Blacklist native RealTek 8188CUs drivers
blacklist rtl8192cu
blacklist rtl8192c_common
blacklist rtlwifi

[tim_phillips]

even easier....

i've uploaded a deb file that will compile, install, and DKMS the drivers for you.

https://code.google.com/p/realtek-81...9-ubuntu-1304/