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Old 12-29-2020, 02:11 PM   #1
Thebigslow
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Wifi adaptor hell and back . Any help appreciated


Hey guys. Recently decided to get rid of Windows 10 and move onto Linux mint. All was going well until I realised that my WiFi adapter apparently doesn't work with Linux (even though there's a Linux file on the install cd rom) I've ordered a new one which specified it could be used for Linux but somehow can't find any way to install the drivers off the disk. I've tried plugging it into ethernet and using driver manager both times and have got nothing. I have tried fiddling with the files inside the driver disc and got round to an install.sh file. However I can't change the permission to execute as it says its read only. Does anyone have any ideas on a fix? Was really excited to start learning computers through Linux and am confused so early.
The two wifi adapters in question are.

XVZ USB WiFi dongle for PC 600Mbps dual band 2.4GHz/5GHz
&
Foktech Wifi Dongle, AC600 802.11ac Dual Band 5GHz Mini Wireless Network USB Wifi Adapter

Thanks again for any help!
 
Old 12-29-2020, 03:47 PM   #2
business_kid
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Hi, Thebigslow and welcome to LQ. The more information we get, the quicker we get you out of a mess. Actually, it's quite OK to be confused on this. The first time it happened to me, I was.

Basically, you need to tell us are your wifi adapters wireless cards, or usb devices? What is your distribution and version or silly name (e.g. Debian 'buster') See this How_To_Ask_a_Question

Also, if there's a wifi card, post the output of
Code:
sudo lspci
If it or they are on usb post the output of
Code:
sudo lsusb
 
Old 12-29-2020, 05:30 PM   #3
tofino_surfer
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Quote:
Basically, you need to tell us are your wifi adapters wireless cards, or usb devices?
bk the OP already did this in the original post.

Quote:
The two wifi adapters in question are.

XVZ USB WiFi dongle for PC 600Mbps dual band 2.4GHz/5GHz
&
Foktech Wifi Dongle, AC600 802.11ac Dual Band 5GHz Mini Wireless Network USB Wifi Adapter
Please read the original post.

Also there is no need to use sudo with either lspci or lsusb for a basic listing.

Last edited by tofino_surfer; 12-29-2020 at 05:35 PM.
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 12-29-2020, 05:43 PM   #4
tofino_surfer
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The important thing with Wifi adapters is who makes the chipset. Intel is the best with kernel support. Realtek can have good Linux support depending on distro. Broadcom is the worst and requires a binary driver to be compiled for each kernel. You need to find this out. I doubt it is Intel as you wouldn't be having problems. It can be hard to find this out as manufacturers often don't advertise this unless it is Intel.

From Amazon if this is the model you have:

Code:
XVZ USB Wifi Adapter 1900Mbps Wireless Network Card Dual Band 2.4G 5GHz Wi-fi Dongle

Key Features
-Ultimate Wi-Fi Speed -- AC1900(600Mbps on 2.4GHz or 1300Mbps on 5GHz band) wireless speed with the next generation Wi-Fi - 802.11ac
-Dual Band Wireless -- 2.4GHz and 5GHz band for flexible connectivity
-Ultimate Range -- High gain antennas ensure superior range and stability
-Beamforming Technology -- Delivers a more targeted and highly efficient wireless connections
-Super Speed USB 3.0 Port -- Up to 10x faster than USB 2.0
-WPS Button -- Easy wireless security encryption at a push of the WPS button
-Backward Compatibility -- with support for 802.11 a/b/g/n standards

Specifications
-Chipset: Realtek RTL8814
-Interface: USB 3.0 Hi-Speed connector
-Wireless Speed: 11n Up to 600Mbps or AC Up to 1300mbps
-Frequency Range: 2.4GHz & 5.8GHz
-Wireless Transmit Power: 20dBm(MAX EIRP)
-Modulation Technique: OFDM/CCK/16-QAM/64-QAM
-Work Mod: Ad-Hoc/Infrastructure
-Temperature Range: Operating:-20 to 70C , Storage:-40-90C
-Support Operating System: Windows Vista/Win 7/Win 8/Win 8.1/Win 10
-Dimensions(H x W x D): 81.5 x 40.5 x 14.5mm

Package includes:
1 x 1900M USB WiFi Adapter
1 x CD Driver
I found a Linux driver for this which is no longer maintained.

https://github.com/tpircher/rtl8814AU

Code:
rtl8814AU

Realtek 8814AU USB WiFi driver.

Forked from Diederik de Haas' repository which is based on version 4.3.21 of an Edimax driver for the EW-7833UAC device.

Updated with support for kernels >= 4.14 and < 5.3.
Caveat Emptor

This repository is no longer maintained.

If you are thinking of buying a product with this chip in: don't, unless you are prepared to put a considerable amount of work in yourself. More generally, don't buy any hardware that is not supported by the mainline kernel. Some companies claim "Linux support" on the box, on the basis that some third party hosts some (likely unsupported and unmaintained) driver source code for an antiquated kernel version. If you have the choice, look for better alternatives.
You never mentioned whether you have a laptop or a desktop. If you have a desktop with a free PCIe slot I highly recommed the ASUS PCE-AC55BT card.

If you have a laptop and a free M.2 slot Intel makes plug-in WiFi cards for laptops.

Last edited by tofino_surfer; 12-29-2020 at 06:10 PM.
 
Old 12-29-2020, 06:04 PM   #5
TB0ne
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thebigslow View Post
Hey guys. Recently decided to get rid of Windows 10 and move onto Linux mint. All was going well until I realised that my WiFi adapter apparently doesn't work with Linux (even though there's a Linux file on the install cd rom) I've ordered a new one which specified it could be used for Linux but somehow can't find any way to install the drivers off the disk. I've tried plugging it into ethernet and using driver manager both times and have got nothing. I have tried fiddling with the files inside the driver disc and got round to an install.sh file. However I can't change the permission to execute as it says its read only. Does anyone have any ideas on a fix? Was really excited to start learning computers through Linux and am confused so early.
The two wifi adapters in question are.

XVZ USB WiFi dongle for PC 600Mbps dual band 2.4GHz/5GHz & Foktech Wifi Dongle, AC600 802.11ac Dual Band 5GHz Mini Wireless Network USB Wifi Adapter
One question would be what VERSION of Mint are you using?? Realtek is pretty well supported at this point, so if you're not using the latest Mint, you may want to start fresh with that, and see if it works.

And what have you done to try to connect to your wifi?? What desktop environment are you using, and have you just clicked on the network manager icon and checked to see whether or not you can configure your wifi connection? You *SHOULDN'T* (maybe) have to run that install shell script, but since it's on CD-ROM, you obviously won't be able to change anything on it. You can, however, just run "sh /path/to/cdrom/directory/install.sh", and it will execute.
 
Old 12-29-2020, 10:13 PM   #6
tofino_surfer
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Upon further research I found this set of drivers for Realtek.

https://github.com/aircrack-ng

There is one for rtl8814au.

https://github.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8814au
 
Old 12-30-2020, 05:37 AM   #7
business_kid
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Yeah, the kernel doesn't support the 8814 as of 5.4.68 anyhow.

Many companies hire a linux dev whose code will be accepted by team, so he can write drivers and patches and get them accepted. Realtek don't. They write code and patches but you have to compile them separately, and they end up in /lib/modules/version/misc. You need a compiled kernel source for them, and your headers need to match, but go for it.
 
Old 12-30-2020, 05:40 AM   #8
fatmac
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It needs to go into /lib/firmware, & then the system should find & use it on the next reboot.
 
Old 12-30-2020, 12:39 PM   #9
tofino_surfer
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Quote:
Yeah, the kernel doesn't support the 8814 as of 5.4.68 anyhow.
However the OP is using Linux Mint which is an LTS distribution which uses LTS kernels. Linux Mint 19.2 uses I believe 4.15 which is an LTS kernel.

The OP needs to post the output of:

Code:
$ uname -r
$ cat /proc/version
 
Old 12-31-2020, 08:57 PM   #10
computersavvy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thebigslow View Post
Hey guys. Recently decided to get rid of Windows 10 and move onto Linux mint. All was going well until I realised that my WiFi adapter apparently doesn't work with Linux (even though there's a Linux file on the install cd rom) I've ordered a new one which specified it could be used for Linux but somehow can't find any way to install the drivers off the disk. I've tried plugging it into ethernet and using driver manager both times and have got nothing. I have tried fiddling with the files inside the driver disc and got round to an install.sh file. However I can't change the permission to execute as it says its read only. Does anyone have any ideas on a fix? Was really excited to start learning computers through Linux and am confused so early.
The two wifi adapters in question are.

XVZ USB WiFi dongle for PC 600Mbps dual band 2.4GHz/5GHz
&
Foktech Wifi Dongle, AC600 802.11ac Dual Band 5GHz Mini Wireless Network USB Wifi Adapter

Thanks again for any help!
The driver on the CD that came with the dongle is likely a windows only driver and won't work in linux. That CD is for installing the device on a windows OS. Some posts ahead of this give you some good hints that should be investigated, and data requested should be posted here.

Very few devices require drivers from the manufacturer to work, although there are some. Most manufacturers don't support linux so there are a lot of open source drivers to fill that niche.

I am wondering which OS you are using to try to do the driver install. Does linux mint have a driver manager? (bolded above) If so that is news to me, & I know windows does.

Last edited by computersavvy; 12-31-2020 at 09:06 PM.
 
Old 01-01-2021, 01:07 AM   #11
tofino_surfer
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The driver on the CD that came with the dongle is likely a windows only driver and won't work in linux. That CD is for installing the device on a windows OS.
How do you know this ? Did you even read the original post ? Windows drivers don't use bash install.sh scripts. This was the very next line after the ones you highlighted. I will highlight it myself.

Quote:
All was going well until I realized that my WiFi adapter apparently doesn't work with Linux (even though there's a Linux file on the install cd rom) I've ordered a new one which specified it could be used for Linux but somehow can't find any way to install the drivers off the disk. I've tried plugging it into ethernet and using driver manager both times and have got nothing. I have tried fiddling with the files inside the driver disc and got round to an install.sh file.
The primary mistake the OP made was not buying devices with Intel chipsets instead of two no-name brands.
 
Old 01-01-2021, 04:18 AM   #12
beachboy2
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Thebigslow,

According to most purchasers on Amazon, this BrosTrend 1200Mbps Linux USB WiFi Network Dongle works:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BrosTrend-1...ct_top?ie=UTF8

Extract from feedback:
Quote:
I have the latest Xubuntu 20.04 operating system. The included CD has Mac drivers, but Linux is installed from a terminal command which invokes the installation of required dependencies over the Internet. So I connected to the network with a CAT5 cable, pasted the command into a terminal, rebooted after it completed, and the wifi adapter works perfectly!
 
  


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