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Linux driver for the Realtek RTL8812BU and RTL8822BU Chipsets. These chipsets are used in USB WiFi adapters.

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88x2bu ( 88x2bu.ko )

Linux Driver for the RealTek RTL8812BU and RTL8822BU Chipsets.

  • v5.8.7.4 (Realtek) (2020-09-22)
  • Plus updates from the Linux community

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)
  • WPS - PIN and PBC Methods
  • IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac Client mode
    • Support wireless security for WEP, WPA TKIP and WPA2 AES PSK
    • Support site survey scan and manual connect
    • Support WPA/WPA2 TLS client
    • Support power saving mode
  • Soft AP mode
  • WiFi-Direct
  • MU-MIMO
  • Mesh
  • Wake on WLAN
  • Supported interface modes:
    • IBSS
    • Managed
    • AP (WiFi Hotspot) (Master mode)
    • Monitor
    • P2P-client
    • P2P-GO
  • USB mode control
  • Log level control
  • LED control
  • Power saving control
  • VHT control (allows 80 MHz channel width in AP mode)

Compatible CPUs:

  • x86, amd64
  • ARM, ARM64

Compatible Kernels:

  • Kernels: 2.6.24 - 5.8 (Realtek)
  • Kernels: 5.9 - 5.10

Tested Linux Distributions:

  • Arch Linux (kernel 5.4)

  • Arch Linux (kernel 5.9)

  • Linux Mint 20 (Linux Mint based on Ubuntu) (kernel 5.4)

  • Linux Mint 19.3 (Linux Mint based on Ubuntu) (kernel 5.4)

  • LMDE 4 (Linux Mint based on Debian) (kernel 4.19)

  • Ubuntu 20.10 (kernel 5.8)

  • Ubuntu 20.04 (kernel 5.4)

  • Ubuntu 18.04 (kernel 5.4)

  • Raspberry Pi OS (12-02-2020) (ARM 32 bit) (kernel 5.4)

Download Locations for Tested Linux Distributions:

Tested Hardware:

Note: Cudy does a good job of posting updated source code from Realtek. Support those who support us.

Compatible Devices:

Note: Some adapter makers change the chipsets in their products while keeping the same model number so please check to confirm that the product you plan to buy has the chipset you are expecting.

  • ASUS AC1300 USB-AC55 B1
  • ASUS U2
  • Cudy WU1400
  • Dlink - DWA-181
  • Dlink - DWA-182
  • Edimax EW-7822ULC
  • Edimax EW-7822UTC
  • EDUP EP-AC1605GS
  • FIDECO 6B21-AC1200M
  • NetGear A6150
  • TP-Link Archer T3U
  • TP-Link Archer T3U Plus
  • TP-Link Archer T4U V3
  • TRENDnet TEW-808UBM
  • Numerous additional products that are based on the supported chipsets

Installation Information:

The installation instructions that are provided are for the novice user. Experienced users are welcome to alter the installation to meet their needs.

The installation instructions require that your system has access to the internet. 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 an ultra cheap adapter in your toolkit that uses an in-kernel (plug and play) driver. Here is one: https://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-wifi.html

The installation instructions require the use of the terminal. The quick way to open a terminal: Ctrl+Alt+T (hold down on the Ctrl and Alt keys then press the T key)

The installation instructions make use of DKMS. DKMS is a system utility which will automatically recompile and install this kernel module 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 documentation (README.md) and scripts that you may need in the future.

Installation Steps:

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

Step 2: Update the system (select the option for the OS you are using):

Option for all Debian based distributions such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint and the Raspberry Pi OS:

$ sudo apt-get update

Option for Arch-based distributions such as Manjaro:

$ sudo pacman -Syu

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

Option for Raspberry Pi OS:

$ sudo apt-get install -y raspberrypi-kernel-headers bc build-essential dkms git

Option for LMDE (Debian based):

$ sudo apt-get install -y linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential dkms git

Option for Linux Mint or Ubuntu (all flavors):

$ sudo apt-get install -y dkms git

Option for Arch-based distributions such as Manjaro:

$ sudo pacman -S --noconfirm linux-headers dkms git

Step 4: Create a directory to hold the downloaded driver:

Note: The technique used in this document is to create a directory in the home directory called src.

$ mkdir src

Step 5: Move to the newly created directory:

$ cd ~/src

Step 6: Download the driver:

$ git clone https://github.com/morrownr/88x2bu.git

Step 7: Move to the newly created driver directory:

$ cd ~/src/88x2bu

Step 8: Run a preparation script if required:

Note: The Raspberry Pi OS and other ARM based systems require a preparation script.

Option for 32 bit Raspberry Pi OS:

$ sudo ./raspi32.sh

Option for 64 bit Raspberry Pi OS or 64 bit Ubuntu 20.10 for Raspberry Pi:

$ sudo ./raspi64.sh

Step 9: Run the installation script:

$ sudo ./install-driver.sh

Step 10: Reboot:

$ sudo reboot

Removal of the Driver:

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

Step 2: Move to the driver directory:

$ cd ~/src/88x2bu

Step 3: Run the removal script:

$ sudo ./remove-driver.sh

Step 4: Reboot:

$ sudo reboot

Driver Options:

A file called 88x2bu.conf will be installed in /etc/modeprob.d by default.

Location: /etc/modprobe.d/88x2bu.conf

This file will be read and applied to the driver on each system boot.

Here are two options to edit the driver options file:

Option 1: Edit 88x2bu.conf with a text editor using a terminal interface:

$ sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/88x2bu.conf

Option 2: From the driver directory, run the ./edit-options.sh script:

$ sudo ./edit-options.sh

The driver options are as follows:

Log level options: ( rtw_drv_log_level )

 0 = NONE (default)
 1 = ALWAYS
 2 = ERROR
 3 = WARNING
 4 = INFO
 5 = DEBUG
 6 = MAX

Note: You can save a log of RTW log entries by running the following in a terminal:

$ sudo ./save-log.sh

LED control options: ( rtw_led_ctrl )

 0 = Always off
 1 = Normal blink (default)
 2 = Always on

VHT enable options: ( rtw_vht_enable )

  0 = Disable
  1 = Enable (default)
  2 = Force auto enable (use caution)

Notes:

  • Unless you know what you are doing, don't change the default for rtw_vht_enable.
  • A non-default setting can degrade performance greatly in some operational modes.
  • For AP mode, such as when you are using Hostapd, setting this option to 2 will allow 80 MHz channel width.

Power saving options: ( rtw_power_mgnt )

 0 = Disable power saving
 1 = Power saving on, minPS (default)
 2 = Power saving on, maxPS

Note: 0 may be useful in unattended server setups or if dropouts are experienced.

USB mode options: ( rtw_switch_usb_mode )

 0 = No switch (default)
 1 = Switch from usb 2.0 to usb 3.0
 2 = Switch from usb 3.0 to usb 2.0

Note: When changing USB options, a cold boot is recommended.

Information about USB 3 support:

USB 3 support is off by default as there can be problems with older USB 3 ports, however, almost all USB 3 ports on modern systems work well so turning USB 3 support on should work fine for almost everyone and the difference in performance can be large.

See what your USB mode is:

$ lsusb -t
USB 2 =  480 Mb/s
USB 3 = 5000 Mb/s

iperf3 test results with USB 3 mode on:

Bitrate
-------------
566 Mbits/sec
545 Mbits/sec
556 Mbits/sec
577 Mbits/sec
566 Mbits/sec
556 Mbits/sec
556 Mbits/sec
556 Mbits/sec
565 Mbits/sec

Setting up a Bridged Wireless Access Point:

Note: This section is undergoing testing. Expect changes. Report problems.

Test setup:

Raspberry Pi 4B (4gb)
Raspberry Pi OS (12-02-20) (32 bit)
Driver: github.com/morrownr/88x2bu.git
Onboard WiFi disabled
Ethernet connection
EDUP EP-AC1605GS USB WiFi Adapter

Steps:

Optional: Disable Raspberry Pi onboard WiFi:

$ sudo nano /boot/config.txt

Add:

dtoverlay=disable-wifi

Optional: Change driver options:

$ sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/88x2bu.conf
rtw_vht_enable=2
rtw_switch_usb_mode=1

Update system:

$ sudo apt-get update

Install needed packages:

$ sudo apt install hostapd bridge-utils

Reboot system:

$ sudo reboot

Determine the names of the network interfaces:

$ ip link show

Note: The names of the ethernet and WiFi interfaces will need to replace eth0 and wlan0 below if your system uses different names.

$ sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

Add to bottom of file:

denyinterfaces eth0
denyinterfaces wlan0

$ sudo brctl addbr br0
$ sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

Add:

# Bridge setup
auto br0
iface br0 inet dhcp
bridge_ports eth0 wlan0

$ sudo nano /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

Add:

## hostapd.conf
#
## 2.4G Setup

interface=wlan0
bridge=br0
driver=nl80211

ssid=pi
country_code=US

#2g
hw_mode=g
channel=6

macaddr_acl=0 
auth_algs=3
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
wmm_enabled=1

wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=raspberry
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_pairwise=CCMP
rsn_pairwise=CCMP

##### IEEE 802.11n related configuration #####
ieee80211n=1
ht_capab=[HT40-][HT40+][SHORT-GI-20][SHORT-GI-40][MAX-AMSDU-7935][DSSS_CCK-40]

#
## end of hostapd.conf


Note: See ~/src/88x2bu/hostapd.conf for detailed information regarding this configuration file.

$ sudo nano /etc/default/hostapd

Add to bottom of file:

DAEMON_CONF="/etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf"
DAEMON_OPTS="-dd -t -f /home/pi/hostapd.log"

$ sudo systemctl unmask hostapd
$ sudo systemctl enable hostapd
$ sudo reboot

Entering Monitor Mode with 'iw' and 'ip':

Start by making sure the system recognizes the WiFi interface:

$ sudo iw dev

Note: The output shows the WiFi interface name and the current mode among other things. The interface name may be something like wlx00c0cafre8ba and is required for the below commands. The interface name wlan0 will be used in the instructions below but you need to substitute your interface name.

Take the interface down:

$ sudo ip link set wlan0 down

Set monitor mode:

$ sudo iw wlan0 set monitor control

Bring the interface up:

$ sudo ip link set wlan0 up

Verify the mode has changed:

$ sudo iw dev

Reverting to Managed Mode with 'iw' and 'ip':

Take the interface down:

$ sudo ip link set wlan0 down

Set managed mode:

$ sudo iw wlan0 set type managed

Bring the interface up:

$ sudo ip link set wlan0 up

Verify the mode has changed:

$ sudo iw dev

----------------------------- Various Tidbits of Information -----------------------------

How to disable onboard WiFi on Raspberry Pi 3B, 3B+, 3A+, 4B and Zero W.

Add the following line to /boot/config.txt:

dtoverlay=disable-wifi

How to forget a saved WiFi network on a Raspberry Pi

  1. Edit wpa_supplicant.conf:
$ sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

  1. Delete the relevant WiFi network block (including the 'network=' and opening/closing braces.

  2. Press ctrl-x followed by 'y' and enter to save the file.

  3. Reboot

Recommended Router Settings for WiFi:

Note: These are general recommendations based on years of experience but may not apply to your situation so testing to see if any help fix your problem is recommended.

Security: Use WPA2-AES. Do not use WPA or WPA2 mixed mode or TKIP.

Channel Width for 2.4G: Use 20 MHz fixed width. Do not use 40 MHz or 20/40 automatic.

Channel width for 5G: Using a 40 MHz fixed width may help in some situations.

Channels for 2.4G: Use 1 or 6 or 11. Do not use automatic channel selection.

Mode for 2.4G: Use G/N or B/G/N. Do not use N only.

Network names: Do not set the 2.4G Network and the 5G Network to the same name. Note: Many routers come with both networks set to the same name.

Power Saving: Set to off. This can help in some situations. If you try turning it off and you see no improvement then set it back to on so as to save electricity.

After making these changes, reboot the router.

Set regulatory domain to correct setting in OS:

Check the current setting:

$ sudo iw reg get

If you get 00, that is the default and may not provide optimal performance.

Find the correct setting here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2

Set it temporarily:

$ sudo iw reg set US

Note: Substitute your country code if you are not in the United States.

Set it permanently:

$ sudo nano /etc/default/crda

Change the last line to read:

REGDOMAIN=US

Recommendations regarding USB

  • If connecting your USB WiFi adapter to a desktop computer, use the USB ports on the rear of the computer. Why? The ports on the rear are directly connected to the motherboard which will reduce problems with interference and disconnection that can happen with front ports that use cables.

  • If your USB WiFi adapter is USB 3 capable then you need to plug it into a USB 3 port.

  • If you use an extension cable and your adapter is USB 3 capable, the cable needs to be USB 3 capable.

  • Some USB WiFi adapters require considerable electrical current and push the capabilities of the power available via USB port. One example is devices that use the Realtek 8814au chipset. Using a powered multiport USB extension can be a good idea in cases like this.

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Linux driver for the Realtek RTL8812BU and RTL8822BU Chipsets. These chipsets are used in USB WiFi adapters.

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