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wlan device disappears after first apt upgrade

Linux Kernel, Network, and Services configuration.
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dort
Posts: 4
Joined: 2018-02-03 01:46

wlan device disappears after first apt upgrade

#1 Post by dort »

Hi All,
Just installed the amd64 stretch from isos. I do not have a wired connection, so did the install, mounted the isos from USB, then installed kernel headers and build-essential.

I have a TP-LINK TL-WN725N wifi dongle that I want to use, so I pulled the driver over using a usb drive and installed. Bingo, wireless works!

I update my source lists and do an apt update then upgrade, and everything goes smoothly.

*I reboot, and now there is no wlan device anymore (as indicated by 'ip a', which only shows my wired interface and lo)*

lsusb shows that the driver installed and active:
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0bda:8179 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8188EUS 802.11n Wireless Network Adapter

My current version (after the upgrade):
Linux debian 4.9.0-5-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.9.65-3+deb9u2 (2018-01-04) x86_64 GNU/Linux

I haven't found much on this searching the forum or elsewhere. I actually completely reinstalled and ran through this EXACT process again with the same result.

Any ideas?

[Update]
Decided to rebuild the driver again, and now it won't build!
make[1]: *** /lib/modules/4.9.0.5-amd64/build M=/root/rtl8188eu-master modules
Makefile:151: recipe for target 'modules' failed

This built just fine before the upgrade. What happened?!

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4D696B65
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Re: wlan device disappears after first apt upgrade

#2 Post by 4D696B65 »

Why are you building a driver? Doesn't firmware-realtek work for you?
https://packages.debian.org/stretch/firmware-realtek

dort
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Joined: 2018-02-03 01:46

Re: wlan device disappears after first apt upgrade

#3 Post by dort »

I did not use those drivers, which I believe are from the non-free repo, because I had to install from the 3 debian isos, which only contain contrib and main. In order to get to the non-free repo, I would have needed a wireless connection...but, well, you see the problem. :)

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Thorny
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Re: wlan device disappears after first apt upgrade

#4 Post by Thorny »

dort wrote:I did not use those drivers, which I believe are from the non-free repo, because I had to install from the 3 debian isos, which only contain contrib and main. In order to get to the non-free repo, I would have needed a wireless connection...but, well, you see the problem. :)
Those aren't "drivers", they are firmware.

There is an "unofficial" (because of Debian policy) ISO though, that includes firmware.

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Head_on_a_Stick
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Re: wlan device disappears after first apt upgrade

#5 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

As has been noted, you do not have to build your own drivers to get the card working.

If you insist on building your own then you have to build new ones every time the kernel is updated.

Did you issue a `make clean` (or whatever) before attempting a rebuild?

Try downloading a fresh tarball.

Do you have the new kernel headers that are needed for a rebuild?

You really should just install the firmware you need instead (or get better hardware).
deadbang

Wheelerof4te
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Re: wlan device disappears after first apt upgrade

#6 Post by Wheelerof4te »

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:You really should just install the firmware you need instead (or get better hardware).
Or just use another distro. Hop on to
https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
and get some experience there before you consider Debian, it's much easier to setup. That's what I have done, anyway.

dort
Posts: 4
Joined: 2018-02-03 01:46

Re: wlan device disappears after first apt upgrade

#7 Post by dort »

Thank you all for your prompt replies and help.

Having the non-free firmware iso was exactly what I needed. It allowed me to set up the driver with the package manager. I am good now.

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Thorny
Posts: 542
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Re: wlan device disappears after first apt upgrade

#8 Post by Thorny »

dort wrote:Having the non-free firmware iso was exactly what I needed. It allowed me to set up the driver with the package manager.
Good for you, you've made intelligent choices.

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