This is a downstream repo with a primary purpose of supporting development, testing and maintenance for the Realtek rtw88 series of WiFi 5 drivers in the Linux kernel.
The most recent addition to this repo is the driver for the RTL8814AU chipset. Testing is needed so if you have an adapter based on the RTL8814AU chipset, please test and report.
Update: There is now also a driver for RTL8814AE PCIe cards, ID 10ec:8813. lspci may call it RTL8813AE, same thing. Please test and report if you still have this card.
🌟 The code in this repo stays in sync with the wireless-next repository, with additional changes to accommodate kernel API changes over time.
📌 Note: The wireless-next repo contains the code set for the next kernel version. If kernel 6.X is out, kernel mainline repo is on 6.X+1-rcY, and wireless-next targets kernel 6.X+2 material.
Compatible with Linux kernel versions 5.4 and newer as long as your distro hasn't modified any kernel APIs. RHEL and all distros based on RHEL will have modified kernel APIs and are unlikely to be compatible with this driver.
- PCIe: RTL8723DE, RTL8821CE, RTL8822BE, RTL8822CE, RTL8814AE
- SDIO: RTL8723CS, RTL8723DS, RTL8821CS, RTL8822BS, RTL8822CS
- USB : RTL8723DU, RTL8811AU, RTL8811CU, RTL8812AU, RTL8812BU, RTL8812CU
- USB : RTL8814AU, RTL8821AU, RTL8821CU, RTL8822BU, RTL8822CU
Report problems in Issues after you have checked the Q&A at bottom of this README.
make[1]: *** /lib/modules/5.17.5-300.fc36.x86_64/build: No such file or directory. Stop.
This indicates you have NOT installed the kernel headers.
Use the following instructions for that step.
Below are prerequisites for common Linux distributions before you do a basic installation or installation with SecureBoot:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgradesudo apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential gitsudo dnf updatesudo dnf install kernel-devel gitsudo zypper install make gcc kernel-devel kernel-default-devel git libopenssl-develsudo pacman -Syusudo pacman -Sy base-devel git linux-firmwareRemember to install the corresponding kernel headers which is also needed for compilation.
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgradesudo apt install -y raspberrypi-kernel-headers build-essential gitUsing DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support) ensures that the rtw88 kernel modules are automatically rebuilt and re-signed whenever the Linux kernel is updated on systems with secure boot enabled. Without DKMS, these drivers would stop working after each kernel update, requiring manual re-compilation and re-signing. DKMS should be available through your distribution’s package manager. You can learn more about DKMS here.
Installation Process
-
Install
dkmsand all its required dependencies using your preferred package manager. -
Create a new Machine Owner Key (MOK).
-
Generate a private RSA key.
sudo openssl genrsa -out /var/lib/dkms/mok.key 2048
-
Generate an X.509 certificate from the private key.
sudo openssl req -new -x509 -key /var/lib/dkms/mok.key -outform DER -out /var/lib/dkms/mok.pub -nodes -days 36500 -subj "/CN=DKMS Kernel Module Signing Key/" -
Enroll the certificate.
sudo mokutil --import /var/lib/dkms/mok.pub
Note: At this point, you will be requested to enter a password. Remember this password and re-enter it after rebooting your system in order to enrol your new MOK into your system's UEFI.
-
Verify the new MOK was enrolled.
mokutil --list-enrolled
-
-
Clone the
rtw88GitHub repository to/usr/src.cd /usr/src && sudo git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw88.git rtw88-0.6
-
Add
rtw88todkms.sudo dkms add -m rtw88 -v 0.6
-
Build and sign
rtw88using your new MOK.sudo dkms build -m rtw88 -v 0.6
-
Install
rtw88.sudo dkms install -m rtw88 -v 0.6
-
Verify
rtw88was installed.dkms status
Uninstallation Process
sudo dkms remove -m rtw88 -v 0.6 --all # Remove rtw88 from dkms
sudo rm -r /var/lib/dkms/rtw88 # Remove rtw88 dkms build files (if they exist)
sudo make -C /usr/src/rtw88-0.6 uninstall # Run uninstall target in Makefile
sudo rm -r /usr/src/rtw88-0.6 # Remove cloned source code directorygit clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw88cd rtw88makesudo make installsudo make install_fwgit clone https://aur.archlinux.org/rtw88-dkms-git.gitcd rtw88-dkms-gitmakepkg -sigit clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw88cd rtw88makesudo make install_fwsudo make sign-installYou will be prompted a password, please keep it in mind and use it in next steps.
Reboot to activate the new installed module, then in the MOK managerment screen:
- Select "Enroll key" and enroll the key created by above sign-install step
- When promted, enter the password you entered when create sign key.
- If you enter wrong password, your computer won't be bootable. In this case, use the BOOT menu from your BIOS, to boot into your OS then do below steps:
sudo mokutil --reset- Restart your computer.
- Use BOOT menu from BIOS to boot into your OS.
- In the MOK managerment screen, select reset MOK list.
- Reboot then retry from the step
make sign-install.
Below is important information for using this driver.
A file called blacklist-rtw88.conf will be installed into /etc/modprobe.d when you run sudo make install. It will blacklist all in-kernel rtw88 drivers, however, it will not blacklist out-of-kernel vendor drivers. You will need to uninstall any out-of-kernel vendor drivers that you have installed that may conflict. blacklist-rtw88.conf will be removed when you run sudo make uninstall.
Some BIOSs have trouble changing power state from D3hot to D0. If you have this problem, then:
sudo cp suspend_rtw8822be /usr/lib/systemd/system-sleep/.That script will unload the driver before sleep or hibernation, and reload it following resumption. If you have some device other than the 8822be, edit the script before copying it.
sudo modprobe -r rtw_8723de # This unloads the module
sudo modprobe -r rtw_core
# Due to some pecularities in the modprobe utility, two steps are required.
sudo modprobe rtw_8723de # This loads the module
# Only a single modprobe call is required to load.When your kernel updates, run:
cd ~/rtw88Change the above to the location where you downloaded the driver if necessary.
git pull
make
sudo make install
or
sudo make sign-install
💡 Remember, every newly installed kernel requires this step - no exceptions. If the kernel update means that you have no network, skip the 'git pull' and build the driver as it is, but run git pull once you have connectivity, and rebuild if any updates were pulled.
Yes, this repository provides a way to sign the kernel modules to be compatible with Secure Boot. Check out the Installation with SecureBoot section.
Run this command in the rtw88 source directory and then the rtw88 driver will be unloaded and removed.
sudo make uninstall
For Arch-based distro users, run
sudo pacman -Rn rtw88-dkms-git
Q3: My wifi adapter is plugged in an USB 3 port, how can I keep it in USB 2 mode to avoid potential interference in 2.4 GHz band?
The module rtw_usb has a parameter named switch_usb_mode which can enable or disable USB mode switching, setting it to "N" will keep your adapter in USB 2 mode. You can simply run the command below, unplug the adapter, reboot your computer, replug the adapter back and then your adapter will be in USB 2 mode.
sudo sh -c 'echo options rtw_usb switch_usb_mode=N > /etc/modprobe.d/rtw88.conf'
Q4: My wifi adapter still doesn't work after installing this driver and lsusb shows it is in CD-ROM mode, what should I do?
Install usb_modeswitch which can switch your adapter from CD-ROM mode to Wi-Fi mode and then your wifi adapter should be in Wi-Fi mode after reboot.
Run make JOBS=x instead, x is the number of compilation jobs that will be executed simultaneously, you can adjust it according to the CPU cores available on your machine.
