Installing USB Wireless Adapter

[doraimom]

Hi. I have recently open a thread here in order to try fixing my intel 7260 wireless card connection. Since it's showing little progress there and since I have an external USB wireless adapter at hand, I'd like your help to use it. May you help me?

The wireless adapter is called EDIMAX AC600. I have downloaded the Linux drivers from their website, followed the installation instructions and no error was shown during the installation. Now, I'm trying to use it but somehow the laptop is not "charging" the adapter (its on light indication is always off no matter the USB port I plug it in). I have tried the USB adapter while using windows and it works just fine, shining its blue light. So, i thought I might need to turn on the device. Unfortunately, I can't find the interface name (since it's turn off by the system). I tried something like "ifup wlan1" guessing its name would be wlan1, since the build in wireless card is named wlan0. That didn't work.

Can anyone help me?

I'm also having some problems with the Gnome NetworkManager. Although I am connected to the internet using the build in Intel wireless card, Gnome's networkmanager doesn't recognize the connection and displays an offline tray icon in the GUI. Its behavior is like there is no network card / adapter in the laptop.

My distro is Debian. Laptop Dell xps 12.
Hope someone can help me and suggest some commands to try here.
thank you.

[NorthEast]

The kernel needs to be able to see the usb wireless adapter in the first place. It's not clear that has occurred.
Two ways to check whether the kernel sees your usb wireless adapter:
1. run: lsusb, in a terminal and look through the output to see if the wifi device has appeared. This output usually provides the driver name as well, so you could check that against the driver you installed.
2. run, as root: dmesg -w, in a terminal and watch the output as you plug your usb wireless adapter into the usb socket. If the kernel sees the adapter, it will show up in the output.

If the kernel sees the usb wireless adapter, the command: ip a, should show it with it's interface name.

It's not clear to me whether you were trying to get the usb wifi adapter up and running simultaneously with the "the build in Intel wireless card". That may be problematic.

[doraimom]

what I found in dmesg|more was:

[ 2.265424] usb 2-1: Product: Edimax AC600 USB

The manufacturer has a installation guide for linux in the link below:
https://www.edimax.com/edimax/mw/cufiles/files/download/QIG/EW-7811UTC/EW-7811UTC_QIG_English_EN.pdf


The instructions followed were:

Extract the driver

tar vxzf rtl8812AU_linux_v4.2.0_6952.20130315.tar.gz

cd rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.0_6952.20130315

sudo make

sudo insmod 8821au.ko

No errors found above during installation.


As I said, after that, I checked the wireless adapter and its light is turned off (no energy).


using the command lshw:

lshw

*-usb:0 UNCLAIMED

description: Generic USB device

product: Edimax AC600 USB

vendor: Realtek

physical id: 1

bus info: usb@2:1

version: 2.00

serial: 00e04c000001

capabilities: usb-2.10

configuration: maxpower=500mA speed=480Mbit/s

another command:

root@meu-debian:/home/eu# cat /etc/network/interfaces.d/setup

auto lo

iface lo inet loopback

#ALISSON ALTERA ABAIXO ETH0 PRA WLAN0

auto wlan0

iface wlan0 inet dhcp

Can you help me from this point on?

[doraimom]

about dmesg -w, it indeed detects the hardware, but it doesn't turn it on (lights off):

[14640.538191] usb 2-1: USB disconnect, device number 8
[14658.264545] usb 2-1: new high-speed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[14658.412899] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=7392, idProduct=a812, bcdDevice= 2.00
[14658.412902] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[14658.412904] usb 2-1: Product: Edimax AC600 USB
[14658.412905] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: Realtek
[14658.412906] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001

(first I disconnected the USB (first line), then I plugged the USB again (all other lines).

[arochester]

A few years have passed and you are still struggling with EDIMAX AC600? viewtopic.php?f=17&t=130898&p=631916&hi ... 00#p631916

In 2016 you were using Debian 8.5... O.K Its Debian, but what Release of Debian are you using now?

[doraimom]

A few years have passed and you are still struggling with EDIMAX AC600? viewtopic.php?f=17&t=130898&p=631916&hi ... 00#p631916

In 2016 you were using Debian 8.5... O.K Its Debian, but what Release of Debian are you using now?

I didn't even remember the existence of such an old thread.
Since you brought this up, I'll explain the context.

- I'm using a Dell XPS 12. After so many years of this laptop in the market, the wireless network problems are still well known and present in the community. Many threads in many different forums about it. I'm having the same problems here. Trying to fix those problems, I created the thread linked below:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=151649&p=751636#p751636
Since it's showing no perspective of progress there (so, no solution to fix the build in network card connection), I'm trying to use an USB network card adapter instead. Yes, I didn't buy I new one. Since I already own one adapter and it's not being used, why not try to use it instead of buying a new one?! That's the reason why this thread was created.
- You mentioned that I already created a thread about it in 2016. Yes. Was a solution found there at the time? No. So, 2022, can we try again?! This time the manufacturer is providing linux drivers, so It was supposed to be an easier job this time.
- Answering your question about my Debian version.

root@meu-debian:/home/eu# uname -a
Linux meu-debian 5.10.0-11-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 5.10.92-2 (2022-02-28) x86_64 GNU/Linux

P.S.: I'm using Unofficial non-free images including firmware packages
https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unof ... -firmware/
firmware-11.2.0-amd64-DVD-1.iso.torrent
https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unof ... 64/bt-dvd/
If you can help solve the problem, I thank you for any constructive suggestion you might have.
Thank you.

[NorthEast]

What comes to mind is to look at the drivers for your chip rtl8812AU_8821AU at github and perhaps see what they can do:
https://github.com/ulli-kroll/rtl8821au
https://github.com/morrownr/8812au

[doraimom]

What comes to mind is to look at the drivers for your chip rtl8812AU_8821AU at github and perhaps see what they can do:
https://github.com/ulli-kroll/rtl8821au
https://github.com/morrownr/8812au

I don't know what to do with the information above.How can you tell what chipset my adapter uses? It seems your links are about realtek chipset 8821au and 8812au. Where did that info come from? From dmesg Manufacturer: Realtek ok. But how about the rest? idProduct=a812 means rtl8812au? Why add a link for rtl8821au then?

Since the manufacturer provides a linux/ubuntu specific driver, if github is about installing the driver, why not use the manufacturer one?

[NorthEast]

doraimom asked:

Why add a link for rtl8821au then?

This appeared in your post above:

tar vxzf rtl8812AU_linux_v4.2.0_6952.20130315.tar.gz

cd rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.0_6952.20130315

It is sometimes the case that one driver covers a number of devices. I'm not familiar with these particular drivers, but since there hasn't been success, covering the field a bit wider may help. It may not of course. I also came across this:

We have not found a driver for the device in any Linux kernel versions up to 5.16 according to the LKDDb.

at http://linux-hardware.org/index.php?id=usb:7392-a812 which was not promising.

Since the manufacturer provides a linux/ubuntu specific driver, if github is about installing the driver, why not use the manufacturer one?

Did the manufacturer's one work?

[doraimom]

Did the manufacturer's one work?

As far as I know, it worked. No errors were found in the installation. Reposting below:

The manufacturer has a installation guide for linux in the link below:
https://www.edimax.com/edimax/mw/cufile ... ish_EN.pdf

The instructions followed were:

Extract the driver

tar vxzf rtl8812AU_linux_v4.2.0_6952.20130315.tar.gz

cd rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.0_6952.20130315

sudo make

sudo insmod 8821au.ko

No errors found above during installation.

The adapter is identified by system too, as shown before.
The main problems are two:
1) As posted before (output for command lshw) the adapter is as "UNCLAIMED". I don't know what that means exactly.
2) The second problem is that, even though the adapter is detected by the system as soon as I plug the adapter's USB connector (as shown before in the output of "dmesg -w" I think), the USB port is not powering the adapter. I know that because a blue light was supposed to be on but it is not. I don't know how that really works or how that's possible, but those are the facts. As soon as I plug the adapter's USB connector, the adapter appears in "dmesg -w" terminal output (meaning the device connected to the laptop), but the energy of the adapter is not turned on. Under Microsoft Windows, as soon as I plug the USB cable to the laptop the blue light appears immediately.

[doraimom]

Adding some information here. The driver that I installed was from the package

EW-7811UTC_UAC_DAC_Linux_Driver_1.0.3.4.zip

But I found another package to download called:

EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7.zip

I don't know why one is called UTC and the other UAC and what that means.
I tried to install the last one, but it comes with no README file and no installation guide at where I found it (Edimax webpage).
If you have any idea about how to install it, I can try it here. Inside that ZIP file there is onlyh one folder, no file, called:

rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517

Inside it, the following files:

-rw-r----- 1 1007 501 64 May 17 2013 clean
drwxr-x--- 3 1007 501 4096 Jun 6 2013 core
drwxr-x--- 5 1007 501 4096 Jun 6 2013 hal
-rw-r----- 1 1007 501 54 May 17 2013 ifcfg-wlan0
drwxr-x--- 4 1007 501 12288 Jun 6 2013 include
-rw-r----- 1 1007 501 109 May 17 2013 Kconfig
-rw-r----- 1 1007 501 30863 May 17 2013 Makefile
drwxr-x--- 3 1007 501 4096 Jun 6 2013 os_dep
-rw-r----- 1 1007 501 423 May 17 2013 runwpa
-rw-r----- 1 1007 501 294 May 17 2013 wlan0dhcp

Since I can't find any make file or *.sh file, I don't know what to do here.
Should we try this path? Do you know how to proceed?

[NorthEast]

doraimon wrote:

Since I can't find any make file or *.sh file, I don't know what to do here.

The makefile looks to be there.

-rw-r----- 1 1007 501 30863 May 17 2013 Makefile

doraimom asked:

Should we try this path?

If you don't try it, you shall be left wondering I would think. Things are reversible.

[doraimom]

Got an error.
Was I supposed to type

./Kconfig

before typing make?!

root@meu-debian:/home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517# make
make ARCH=x86_64 CROSS_COMPILE= -C /lib/modules/5.10.0-11-amd64/build M=/home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517 modules
make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-5.10.0-11-amd64'
CC [M] /home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517/core/rtw_cmd.o
In file included from /home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517/include/osdep_service.h:41,
from /home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517/include/drv_types.h:32,
from /home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517/core/rtw_cmd.c:22:
/home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517/include/osdep_service_linux.h: In function ‘_init_timer’:
/home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517/include/osdep_service_linux.h:254:8: error: ‘_timer’ {aka ‘struct timer_list’} has no member named ‘data’
254 | ptimer->data = (unsigned long)cntx;
| ^~
/home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517/include/osdep_service_linux.h:255:2: error: implicit declaration of function ‘init_timer’; did you mean ‘_init_timer’? [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
255 | init_timer(ptimer);
| ^~~~~~~~~~
| _init_timer
cc1: some warnings being treated as errors
make[3]: *** [/usr/src/linux-headers-5.10.0-11-common/scripts/Makefile.build:285: /home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517/core/rtw_cmd.o] Error 1
make[2]: *** [/usr/src/linux-headers-5.10.0-11-common/Makefile /home/eu/Downloads/EW-7811UAC_Linux_driver__v1.0.0.7/rtl8812AU_8821AU_linux_v4.2.2_7502.20130517] Error 2
make[1]: *** [/usr/src/linux-headers-5.10.0-11-common/Makefile:185: __sub-make] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-5.10.0-11-amd64'
make: *** [Makefile modules] Error 2

[doraimom]

Well friends, after much struggle, creating threads in multiple forums and even contacting the manufacturer, I was able to install a driver for the Edimax AC600 network adapter.

I followed the instructions here:
https://edimax.freshdesk.com/support/so ... -than-v4-1
How to install ew-7811-ac600-ew-7822uac in linux

After a quick reboot, two new things happened in the system:

1) The adapter's blue light (indicating it is powered up) finally started to shine and blink!

2) The second great thing that happened is that Gnome's Network Manager Window started to show available wireless networks again!


The problems that still remains are:

1) All available networks in Gnome's Network Manager Window shows a fully grey icon indicating zero signal strength. That's certainly a mistaken information, probably originated by some kind of conflict between the onboard network card and the recently installed USB network adapter.

2) My first intention was to edit again the file /etc/network/interfaces.d/setup changing the wlan0 reference for the interface name of my USB wireless adapter, but I can't find the interface name. The only command I know is

root@meu-debian:/home/eu# ip link show

1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000

link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00

3: wlx74da3874dfae: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 2312 qdisc mq state UP mode DORMANT group default qlen 1000

link/ether 74:da:38:74:df:ae brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

4: wlan0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP mode DORMANT group default qlen 1000

link/ether bc:a8:a6:30:34:0a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

but the command "ip link show" doesn't display the USB adapter.

I'm also not sure if editing /etc/network/interfaces.d/setup would be enough to fix the problems. I have already edited it before, replacing eth0 for wlan0 and because of that, Gnome's Network Manager stopped working properly.


Can anyone in the community help me in these that seem to be the last steps to fix the problem?

[NorthEast]

Congratulations on getting the driver up. It was some effort.

In relation to:

the command "ip link show" doesn't display the USB adapter.

the "ip link show" output shows both, "wlx74da3874dfae" and "wlan0". That's two wifi interfaces. Is one onboard and the other, the dongle?

[mrjcd]

just a NOTE:
if you add or change any wireless interface (USB or internal)
you must delete all 'Known WiFi Networks'
can easily be done in Gnome system preferences
All registered WiFi keys are registered to a specific WiFi interface MAC addresss

[doraimom]

just a NOTE:
if you add or change any wireless interface (USB or internal)
you must delete all 'Known WiFi Networks'
can easily be done in Gnome system preferences
All registered WiFi keys are registered to a specific WiFi interface MAC addresss

Why would that be necessary, since that would only delete the ID and password for the known networks? That didn't change.

[mrjcd]

just a NOTE:
if you add or change any wireless interface (USB or internal)
you must delete all 'Known WiFi Networks'
can easily be done in Gnome system preferences
All registered WiFi keys are registered to a specific WiFi interface MAC addresss

Why would that be necessary, since that would only delete the ID and password for the known networks? That didn't change.

That is my experience!!!
exat same brand USB WiFi will NOT connect to same network as previous.
only difference is the USB WiFi hardware MAC addy

[doraimom]

Congratulations on getting the driver up. It was some effort.

In relation to:

the command "ip link show" doesn't display the USB adapter.

the "ip link show" output shows both, "wlx74da3874dfae" and "wlan0". That's two wifi interfaces. Is one onboard and the other, the dongle?

I had posted a reply to this message here a few minutes ago, but it seems to have disappeared.
Anyway...
I wasn't expecting this bizarre word ("wlx74da3874dfae") to be the interface name. Anyway, as soon as I read what you posted, I edited my /etc/network/interfaces.d/setup replacing the fields with wlan0 for wlx74da3874dfae.
I also tried to disable the wlan0 to avoid conflicts and to make sure I was using the USB network adapter and not the onboard network card.
To do that, I added the line:

iface wlan0 inet manual

All of that didn't work really well and something even more bizarre happened. I typed the command ip link show again and this time "wlx74da3874dfae" wasn't displayed anymore! What got displayed was wlan0 and wlan1!!!!!
So, I edited /etc/network/interfaces.d/setup again, replacing wlx74da3874dfae for wlan1.
Typed systemctl restart networking.service
And Gnome's Network Manager Window is showing the available wireless networks to connect.
But, when I try to connect to the 2.4GHz wireless network I get an error message saying :

activation of network connection failed!

@mrjcd Yes, I deleted all networks stored in Gnome's list, and typed the password again in the attempt to connect, following your suggestion.

[doraimom]

I payed attention to the reboot screen and I noticed an error:

a start job is running for raise network interfaces

I googled it and found out a suggestion to replace the AUTO word in the networking setting for allow-hotplug.
That removed the error during the boot and it booted much faster than before

allow-hotplug wlx74da3874dfae
iface wlx74da3874dfae inet dhcp

Anyway, the Gnome's network manager window is not displaying anything again.